For her voice is the only part of her that lives:
Heroines, Goddesses, Whores and Wives in Antiquity
Classics 381W Section 01
Summer Session I 2015
Online Course
Instructor: Prof. Shelly Jansen
Email: mjansen1@binghamton.edu
Fulfills the Composition and Humanities GenEd Requirements
Course Description:
The purpose of this course is to introduce you to the archetypes of women as portrayed in Greek
and Roman texts. We will explore the representations of women in Classical literature and art
and analyze the myriad characterizations and depictions of Woman. From these readings we will
discuss antiquity’s views on the role, function and value of women in society. Furthermore,
these readings will provide insight into issues of gender and sexuality within the ancient world.
Using these observations of the texts, students will develop key critical and scholarly skills to
craft an analytical essay with a clear thesis, focus, and structure.
General Education Learning Outcomes:
C Requirement – Composition
Students in C courses will demonstrate
1. The ability to write effectively and coherently, in ways appropriate to the
discipline and the level of the course.
2. The ability to revise and improve their writing in both form and content.
H requirement – Humanities
Students in H courses will demonstrate an understanding of human experience through
the study of literature or philosophy.
Course Goals and Objectives:



To provide an understanding of the complexities of the depiction of women/female
figures in Greek and Roman mythology and literature
To cultivate and sharpen critical and analytical skills
To enhance writing and composition skills through writing both formal and informal
writing assignment, and revising writing
Required Texts:
You will not be required to purchase any materials for this course. All texts will be available
online either on Blackboard under “Content” or via an online link I will post for you.
Course Requirements:
Discussion Board Entries
As this is a composition-intensive course, a primary aim is to develop skills in written expression
as well as in critical analysis. In the context of this online course, writing is the chief means by
which you will engage one another in a discussion of the texts. To use the “Discussion Board,”
click on the “Discussion” link on Blackboard and follow the thread(s) for the week in question.
In order to receive credit, your entries will need to exhibit the following features: (1) they must
respond either to the discussion threads I have posted or to comments made by a fellow student;
(2) they must enhance the discussion either through original contribution the questions at hand or
through the formulation of new questions that move the discussion forward; (3) they must
demonstrate that you have read both the assigned texts and the discussion board entries written
by your fellow students, referring to or quoting them directly; (4) they must be respectful toward
your fellow students, especially when expressing disagreement; and (5) you must write one
initial discussion board thread of approximately 200 words due on Thursdays (see daily breakdown schedule below) and then respond to at least two other students’ posts. These additional
posts/comments must be at least 100 words in length and are due on Fridays each week. You are
welcome, of course, to write additional entries as well, but they will not factor into your grade
except as a positive indication of your level of overall engagement/contribution. These
requirements for discussion board postings aim to help propel your overall engagement with the
texts, encourage your overall participation in the course, and help fulfill the necessary
composition (C) requirement.
Reading Journals
A reading journal is a series of individual entries, totaling two full double-spaced pages
(not one and a smidge on the second page), written in response to the reading assignment in
question. Each entry should be a response to a specific passage in the text – for example, to a
particular aspect of the critical readings or specific aspect of a myth/text. In other words, a
reading journal should not be merely a series of story/plot summaries. Entries can be about
nearly anything in relation to your response to the texts: observations about tone, form, structure,
imagery, philosophical or psychological issues, as long as they stay close to the text of the
literary work in question and are not merely a summary of the text. Entries can range in length
from a couple of sentences to a whole paragraph – though longer entries tend to be more
productive – and need not relate to one another.
Be sure that your journal covers a substantial portion of the reading assignment – not, for
example, only the first or second half of the assignment, or only one myth if three or four are
assigned for that week. Journals should be written after having read the texts thoroughly (and
repeatedly if necessary) so that your response is based on a solid understanding of the material at
hand. Although journals may be informal, they must, nevertheless, be written in complete
sentences, not in shorthand or bullet points. You should write multiple entries in your journal per
week. You do not have to write every day, but the journal should be a way for you to document
your progress through the texts and the course.
Critical Essays
This course fulfills the Composition requirement and thus will be a writing intensive class. In
order to meet the Composition gen-ed requirement, students must write at least 20 pages of
original work and revise some of that writing over the course. In addition to the weekly journals
you will also write two critical essays, each 5 full pages in length (Times New Roman, 12-point,
double-spaced). The prompts for the essays will be posted on Blackboard at least one week
before they are due. The essays should be well-organized around a central thesis and free of any
grammatical, spelling and usage errors. Your essay should also contain proper citations for all
quotes and references (you can use any citation style you like (e.g. MLA, APA, Chicago, etc.) as
long as you are consistent. The specific requirements for the paper will be described in greater
detail in the prompt. Remember that this is an essay and not a journal. This essay should
therefore have a clear thesis, an argument around which you focus your essay. Your essay
should not be a general response to the reading assignments like your journals might, but rather a
polished argument that analyzes the texts in support of your main thesis. You do not have to go
out and find additional outside research – but if you do quote from the text you are examining, I
would expect that you would cite that source. You will be given the opportunity to rewrite your
essays after I have initially graded them. Your final grade for each essay will be the average
of the original essay’s grade and the rewrite’s grade. Given the brevity of the course I have
made both of your rewritten essays due on the last day of class to ensure that you have enough
time to review my comments and incorporate these ideas into your rewrite.
Concerning Late Assignments:
I accept all late work for partial credit. Keep in mind, however, that due to the brevity and quick
pace of the course, it is imperative that students stay on schedule. Late assignments will be
marked a ½ grade lower for each day they are late. For example, a would-be B+ paper handed in
a day late will receive a B. For those of you taking this course while in another city or country
other than Binghamton, NY, please note that all due dates are in Eastern Standard Time and plan
accordingly.
Grading:
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
CD
F
93-100
90-92
87-89
83-86
80-82
77-79
73-76
70-72
60-69
59 or less
Discussion Board Postings (total) – 100 points
Journal 1 (2 pages) – 30 points
Journal 2 (2 pages) – 30 points
Journal 3 (2 pages) – 30 points
Journal 4 (2 pages) – 30 points
Journal 5 (2 pages) – 30 points
Essay 1 and Rewrite (5 pages) – 125 points
Essay 2 and Rewrite (5 pages) – 125 points
Total = 500 points
Communications and Technology:
Announcements
Please check the Announcements section of Blackboard every day. I will very frequently
add announcements about assignments, grading, changes in schedule, etc. throughout the course.
Typically I also send out the most important of these announcements via email as well, but it is
important that you take the responsibility to keep up with the announcements on your own.
Email Correspondence
Please reserve email correspondence for questions that pertain to you individually. In
other words, please do not email with questions whose answers can be found in the syllabus. If
you are unsure about the nature of a given assignment, due date, etc., be sure to consult the
syllabus first. The purpose of this policy is to make sure that my inbox is not flooded with
superfluous emails, a circumstance that might prevent me from responding to serious and
pertinent inquiries in a timely manner. If you have any questions that the syllabus cannot answer,
please feel free to email me using my email address (mjansen1@binghamton.edu). Please do not
use the Inbox or Communication features of Blackboard as I do not regularly check that site and
do not want to miss or be delayed in responding to any of your questions.
Assignments and Readings
The syllabus, weekly readings, and prompts for your essays will be posted on Blackboard
under “Content.”
Turning in Assignments
All assignments will be submitted using Turnitin. To turn in an assignment, go to
“Content” on Blackboard and click on the link for the assignment in question. You will be
prompted to upload your essay and click Submit. You should receive a receipt email once this is
complete. If you do not receive an email receipt, you have not successfully turned in your
assignment. Please be sure to keep these receipts in case of technical difficulties in order to prove
that you have turned in your assignment on time.
COURSE SCHEDULE
Below I’ve provided a day-by-day break out detailing how I think you should schedule your time
over the week so that way things do not pile up. This is simply a guide of how you might
schedule your time. Hard deadlines are in bold below.
WEEK 1: Eureka! Creation Myths and Women
*Please note that this week is different as we start on a Tuesday due to the holiday.*
Readings: Excerpts from Hesiod’s Works and Days and Theogony; story of Pygmalion from
Ovid’s Metamorphoses; Book One of Ovid’s Metamorphoses
5/25: Happy Memorial Day!
5/26: Course Begins - Readings
5/27: (Re)readings; Read lecture
5/28: Post your initial Discussion Board thread by today; (Re)readings
5/29: Continue Discussion Board DB comments AND Journal 1 Due by 11:59PM EST
Over the weekend: work on Essay 1 and/or start Week 2 readings
WEEK 2: Purity and Sacrifice: The Virgin Martyr Archetype
Readings: Iphigenia in Aulis by Euripides; Chapter on Athena from Classical Mythology;
Antigone by Sophocles
6/1: Readings
6/2: (Re)Readings
6/3: Read lecture; Discussion Board; (Re)readings Essay 1 Due
6/4: (Re)readings; Post your initial Discussion Board thread by today
6/5: Continue Discussion Board DB comments AND Journal 2 due by 11:59PM EST
Over the weekend: begin Week 3 readings
WEEK 3: Illicit Desire, Temptation, and the Whore/Witch Archetype
Readings: Excerpts from Odyssey re: Circe and the Syrens; Hippolytus by Euripides; stories of
Myrrha, and Byblis from Ovid’s Metamorphoses
6/8: Readings
6/9: (Re)Readings
6/10: Read lecture; Discussion Board; (Re)readings
6/11: (Re)readings; Post your initial Discussion Board thread by today
6/12: Continue Discussion Board DB comments AND Journal 3 due by 11:59PM EST
Over the weekend: work on Essay 2
WEEK 4: The Only Bee in the Bonnet: The Ideal Wife
Readings: Semonides’s Poem 7 (on the types of women); Excerpt from the Odyssey Book 23
about Penelope; Alcestis by Euripides
6/15: Readings Essay 2 Due
6/16: (Re)Readings
6/17: Read lecture; Discussion Board; (Re)readings
6/18: (Re)readings; Post your initial Discussion Board thread by today
6/19: Continue Discussion Board DB comments AND Journal 4 due by 11:59PM EST
Over the weekend: Begin Week 5 readings and/or work on revising Essays 1 & 2
WEEK 5: Crossing Gender Boundaries: Warriors, Androgens, and Avengers
Readings: Medea by Euripides; story of Salamacis and Hermaphroditus in Ovid’s
Metamorphoses; excerpt on Penthesilea, the Amazonian Queen, from Quintus Smyrnaeus
6/22: Readings
6/23: Readings
6/24: Read lecture; Discussion Board; (Re)eadings
6/25: (Re)reading; Post your initial Discussion Board thread by today
6/26: Continue Discussion Board DB comments AND Journal 5 AND Essay 1 & 2 Rewrites
due by 11:59PM EST
Note: You may turn in your Essay 1 & 2 Rewrites at any time during the course, but it must be in
by 11:59PM EST on the last day of class 6/26.
*Note: This course fulfills the “C” (composition) and “H” (humanities) GE requirement.
** Note: Plagiarism, in any form, will not be tolerated in this or any course at Binghamton
University. If you are caught plagiarizing, you will automatically fail that assignment. If you have
any questions regarding plagiarism or academic honesty, please consult me or the University’s
Student Handbook for more information.
***Note: I reserve the right to alter the syllabus or schedule at any time.