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GRC20300

Academic Year 2024/2025

Women in Ancient Greece (GRC20300)

Subject:
Greek & Roman Civilization
College:
Arts & Humanities
School:
Classics
Level:
2 (Intermediate)
Credits:
5
Module Coordinator:
Ms Suzanne Lynch
Trimester:
Spring
Mode of Delivery:
On Campus
Internship Module:
No
How will I be graded?
Letter grades

Curricular information is subject to change.

NB Please be aware that this module covers topics such as gender-based and sexual violence. This module explores the lives of women in archaic and classical Greece, drawing on a broad range of sources, including poetry (epic, lyric, tragedy), prose (legal oratory, histories, philosophy), art (vase-paintings, sculpture) and archaeology/material culture. Traditionally, Classics has been dominated by the study of men. Almost all the written sources that survive from antiquity were written by men and thus focus on male experiences, values and interests. In contrast, women are largely silent in the historic record: they have left us with little of their own writing, and they are frequently overlooked in the male-authored sources. Yet they account for half the population of the ancient world, and any study of the ancient world which does not take them into account is incomplete. What did Greek women do while their men were passing decrees in assemblies and fighting wars? What kind of labour did they perform? What art did they make? What roles did they hold in their community? How did the laws on marriage, rape, and adultery impact their lives? How did the lives of free citizen women differ from the lives of enslaved women and non-citizen metic (foreign) women? What role did women play in the creation and transmissions of mythological narratives? What happens when we centre the enslaved women of epic and tragedy rather than the male heroes? Moreover, given the biases and gaps in the evidence, how can we as scholars access ancient women’s subjective perspectives and experiences?

The Instructor for this module in Spring 2025 is Dr Suzanne Lynch.

About this Module

Learning Outcomes:

Upon successful completion of the module students will demonstrate:
• understanding of the different types of evidence we have for studying the lives of women in Ancient Greece
• an ability to synthesise and critically evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of different types of sources
• an awareness of, and critical engagement with, modern scholarship on women, gender, and sexuality in antiquity
• development of oral and written communication skills through engagement in tutorial discussions and writing academic essays

Indicative Module Content:

Topics may vary from year to year, but in Spring 2025 the module will examine topics, such as:
- the social, political and legal position of women in the archaic and classical polis
- marriage, adultery, sex-work, and sexual violence
- the portrayal of women in Greek myth, literature, and art and in feminist retellings of Greek myths
- women’s writing, including Sappho
- female labour, space, and dress
- women and war
- women and religion
- woman as 'other'

Student Effort Hours:
Student Effort Type Hours
Specified Learning Activities

34
Autonomous Student Learning

50
Lectures

11
Tutorial

5
Total

100

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
Lectures will introduce students to key topics and themes surrounding the study of women, gender, and sexuality in ancient Greece. Suggested readings will accompany each session. In tutorials students will engage with key passages / images and prompts that they are asked to reflect on prior to class and during the session. In tutorials individual students will be divided into small groups to confer and then reconvene as a class to discuss. Students will undertake research to complete the end-of-trimester essay and reflect on their own learning and engagement with the module and individual tutorial topics.

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 

Assessment Strategy
Description Timing Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade In Module Component Repeat Offered
Assignment(Including Essay): End of trimester essay c.2,500 words Week 14 Graded No
60
 No
Participation in Learning Activities: Tutorial attendance & participation - attendance at 5 tutorials and participation in class discussions and activities, with a short (c.400 words) written reflection on each tutorial Week 14 Graded No
40
 No

Carry forward of passed components
Yes
 

Resit In Terminal Exam
Autumn No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Not yet recorded.

Name Role
Ms Eleanor Kellett Lecturer / Co-Lecturer

Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.
Spring Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 Wed 11:00 - 11:50
Spring Tutorial Offering 1 Week(s) - 21, 23, 25, 29, 31 Tues 11:00 - 11:50
Spring Tutorial Offering 2 Week(s) - 21, 23, 25, 29, 31 Wed 14:00 - 14:50
Spring Tutorial Offering 3 Week(s) - 21, 23, 25, 29, 31 Wed 12:00 - 12:50
Spring Tutorial Offering 4 Week(s) - 21, 23, 25, 29, 31 Thurs 14:00 - 14:50
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