Writing Women at Rome

Catalog description

In this course, students will read texts in Latin from a variety of classical Roman genres - letters, love poems, epic, history, graffiti - that represent women’s communications. While working on their own translations, students will become familiar with the contemporary lively discussion surrounding the interpretation and translation of the poet Ovid through contemporary opinion pieces. At the same time, we will also get to know some of the historical evidence for women’s educational, philosophical, literary, and sexual activities. We will read the mysterious poems attributed to Sulpicia, one of the few bodies of pre-Christian writings in Latin attributed to a woman - and understand the debates surrounding her work. Principal readings will be drawn from Ovid (Metamorphoses, Heroides), Sulpicia (Elegies), and Roman satire.