Kinship Community: Ancient Texts and Modern Theories

Catalog description

What is the relation of the family to larger structures of community and of state? Do kinship bonds provide a model for those of community or must they be superseded in the interest of a more enlightened state? To what degree do contemporary aspirations for gender equality entail a radical renovation of our understanding of the family? We will consider these questions through a close reading of ancient texts, from the Greek and Judeo-Christian traditions, which we will read in conjunction with some contemporary thinkers on kinship and the state. Primary readings include: Aeschylus Oresteia, Homeric Hymn to Demeter, Sophocles Oedipus Tyrannus and Antigone, Euripides Ion, Plato Republic, Aristophanes Ecclesiazusae, Longus Daphnis and Chloe, Genesis and Exodus, Paul Romans and Galatians, Martyrdom of Perpetua, Kushner Angels in America, Nelson The Argonauts; theoretical texts include: Freud Totem and Taboo and Moses and Monotheism, and selections from Engels, Lévi-Strauss, G. Rubin, P. Clastres, A. Rich, and J. Butler.