Gender and Sexuality in Greco-Roman Antiquity

In this course, we'll explore how ancient Greeks and Romans thought about gender and sexuality. We'll draw on ancient texts in translation as well as visual and material culture, and we'll engage with different scholarly approaches to the topic. As we do this, we'll discuss questions such as: How did the Greeks and the Romans define masculinity and femininity? What can we tell from our sources about those who did not fit neatly into this binary? How did ancient Greeks and Romans think about male and female anatomy and psychology? How did the Greeks and the Romans construct sexuality and how did they approach homosexual and heterosexual relationships? How did class, ethnicity, and age intersect with ideas about gender and sexuality in antiquity? We'll study both societal ideals as well as individuals who broke norms. While our focus will be on the ancient world, we'll also think about how the past can provide new perspective on the present.