CLAS 362, “Women and Gender in Antiquity”
Fall 2013
1:00–1:50 p.m. MWF
ML 413
Marble image of L. Vibius Tros, his wife Vecilia Hila, and
their son L. Vibius Felicio, erected by their freedwoman Vivia
Prima. Photo from VRoma Project Image Archive.
Instructor:
Marilyn B. Skinner (mskinner@u.arizona.edu)
Office:
Telephone:
Office Hours:
LSB 225
(520) 621-1361
MW 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Other times by appointment, or e-mail me at any time
Graduate Assistant:
Emily Prosch (eprosch@email.arizona.edu)
Office:
Messages:
Office Hours:
See Department of Classics Information Desk
621-1689 or 621-3025
TBA
Requirements Met by This Course
CLAS 362 is a Tier Two Course in the University-Wide General Education Curriculum, located
under the category of Individuals & Societies. Tier Two courses in Individuals & Societies study
both the rules and values that given societies collectively impose upon members and the
individual behaviors of persons responding to those rules and values.
CLAS 362 satisfies Gender/Race/Class/Ethnicity Non-Western Civilization requirements.
This course is writing-intensive. It presupposes that you are able to write at a level appropriate
for a student with junior or senior class standing. All students taking the course for credit will be
expected to meet an upper-division level of writing proficiency. However, you will be given
ample opportunity to improve your writing skills through personalized assistance from the
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instructor before your paper is submitted. Once the paper is graded, you may also be permitted to
rewrite for a higher mark.
Objectives and Scope of the Course
Ancient Mediterranean gender systems provide a historically distanced model for understanding
how social constructions of masculinity and femininity necessarily reflect a wide array of other
cultural assumptions and how gender roles affect the lives and behaviors of individuals. This
course is aimed at introducing you to classical Egyptian, Greek and Roman views of gender and
sexuality and demonstrating their function in shaping the historical circumstances of women’s
existence, in the hope that you will gain new insights into sexual difference as it operates within
our own culture. A secondary objective is to provide practice in critical thinking through on-line
group discussion and writing essays.
You will be asked to apply a spectrum of archaeological, historical, and literary approaches to
Egyptian, Greek, and Roman materials. At the same time, you will practice critical thinking
skills by analyzing both the content of gendered representations in public discourse and the
questions normally asked of ancient evidence dealing with sex and gender issues. Reading
materials will include English translations of ancient documents, literary and non-literary, and,
for extra-credit Chat sessions, scholarly discussions of ancient evidence.
Assigned Textbooks
1. Robins, G. (= “Robins”), Women in Ancient Egypt. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 1993.
2. Fantham, E., with H. P. Foley, N. B. Kampen, S. B. Pomeroy, and H. A Shapiro (=
“Fantham”), Women in the Classical World. New York and Oxford: Oxford UP, 1994.
This is a green classroom. All supplementary course materials must be accessed on-line
through D2L and all quizzes and writing assignments submitted electronically. The only
exceptions will be the midterm and final, for which hard copy exam booklets will be
distributed. No blue books are required.
Accessing D2L
To access your course on D2L you must have a UA NetID and be officially enrolled in the
course for at least 24 hours. Your browser and its settings must be compatible with D2L.
1. Go to D2L at http://d2l.ltc.arizona.edu/. Click on the “Check that your browser is
compatible” hyperlink. (That's step Number 2 in the student login instructions.)
2. Click on the UA NetID Login button on the top left side of the screen.
3. Enter your UA NetID and password—this is the same information you provide to access your
UA Webmail.
4. Once you are inside click on the (+) symbol beside the Semester and Department names.
Then click on the hyperlinked Course Name.
5. On the Course Home page, take a look at blue and red navigational bars along the top of your
screen. Click “Content” to get to the syllabus, etc., for your course.
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On-Line Materials: D2L Content Page
1. Syllabus: Posted on the first module, “Course Materials.” During the semester other course
materials may be added to this unit.
2. Maps: The second module, “Maps,” contains four maps of the ancient world—Ancient
Egypt, Greece and the Aegean, Italy, and the Roman Empire—for your convenience.
3. Class Notes: A PDF of notes for all my lectures is posted on the third module, “Course
Notes.” While these lecture outlines are intended to reduce the work of note-taking, since you
can just print them out and follow along, you will be responsible for all information
presented in lectures, not just what is contained on the outline itself.
4. PowerPoints: All 20 PowerPoints shown in lectures are posted on the fourth module. Since
PowerPoints for particular days are noted on the syllabus, you are advised to download and
view them ahead of time. You are responsible for all content on PowerPoints, including
images.
5. Assigned Readings: Textbook readings and other reading assignments for each week are
given on the syllabus. PDFs of other assigned readings are posted on the fifth module. These
include scholarly articles to be discussed on Chat, which are under their own heading.
6. Writing Assignments: As noted below, you will be responsible for three 750-word writing
assignments. General writing assignment guidelines and instructions for each writing
assignment are posted to the sixth module. It is your responsibility to read these guidelines
and instructions before undertaking the assignment.
7. Study Guides: Before the midterm and the final, an exam study guide will be posted to the
seventh module. Availability of each guide will be announced as “News” on the D2L course
Home Page.
On-Line Tools: Discussion Group
Before the beginning of the semester, students will be randomly divided into Breakout
Discussion Groups with approximately six members in each group. Click the “Groups” link on
the Student Tools (bottom left) section of the Navbar to find out which numbered group you
belong to. After each group (Group 1, Group 2, etc.) there is a “Members” number; click on the
numbers successively until you find your name. You will continue to work with the same group
throughout the semester.
Each group should choose (democratically, if at all possible) a Convener or Moderator who will
be responsible for overseeing the discussion, moving it along if it gets bogged down, reminding
members to participate, and, at the end, POSTING the final answer to that week’s prompt arrived
at by consensus. If someone in the group will be unable to post during the week, s/he should
inform the group Moderator.
Each week a new Discussion Forum will be unlocked and made available for participation. Go to
the Discussions page, select the Forums & Topics list, and join the discussion for your numbered
breakout group. In each weekly Forum, group members will address a prompt measuring
comprehension of current week’s reading assignments. Incorporation of material found in your
readings is essential. You must finish the readings before you start to post so that you can
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quickly refer to information contained in them. Prompts will be the same for all groups although
each group will be able to access only its own responses. The midterm and final examinations
may incorporate some questions originally posed in the Forums.
Participation in discussion is mandatory. You must continue posting to each weekly Forum until
the group has arrived at a consensus and posted its final response to the prompt. The expected
level of participation for any one member will be one posting on each of three days (which need
not be consecutive), although you may make several postings on any given day.
Grading will be on a group basis and will count for 15% of the final grade.
Every week, a group’s complete set of postings will be evaluated by the GAT and graded
according to the rubric available on D2L under “Rubrics.” The same grade will be assigned to all
members of the group. Please become familiar with the levels and criteria of the rubric; keeping
them in mind as you post will improve the quality of your contributions and replies over time.
Although it is expected that groups will monitor themselves, the GAT may step in if discussion
becomes heated. Besides arriving at a satisfactory answer to the prompt through consensus,
positive participation in a way that forwards understanding will be the most important criterion
for a good group grade. Hostile or intimidating remarks will be strongly penalized. In the latter
event, negative points may be assigned at the GAT’s discretion.
While discussion postings on weekly Forums will be available for viewing during the entire
semester, discussion itself will be cut off at 11:59 p.m. on Saturday of that week. Comments
posted after the deadline will not count for anything. If an answer to the prompt has not been
found by that time, woe betide.
On-Line Tools: Chat
As opposed to Discussion Groups, participation in Chat is optional. However, it is a way to earn
Extra Credit points that will count toward your final course grade. The instructor will monitor
Chat discussion, which is open to all students in the course. Every Monday before class (or on
Wednesday, if Monday is a holiday) she will post a question or observation to start off
discussion for that week. Questions will be open-ended (answers are not in the textbooks) and
may ask you to draw upon personal experience. Elaborating on someone else’s comments is
encouraged. As an alternative, the instructor may post a link to an on-line scholarly article and
ask you to relate its conclusions to material learned in class. Postings to a weekly thread will be
closed at 11:59 p.m. on Saturday of that week. At the end of the semester the instructor will
reread the postings to evaluate the overall quality of each person’s contributions and assign a
score of up to 5 points for Chat participation. In order to be eligible for one or more Extra Credit
points a student must have posted to Chat at least once each week. Extra Credit points will be
added directly to the student’s cumulative final score before grades are assigned.
On-Line Tools: Glossary
Go to the “Glossary” page to find definitions of many of the most important terms used in this
course. You will be responsible for knowing a selection of these terms for both the midterm and
the final.
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On-Line Tools: FAQ
Before you e-mail the GAT or the instructor about course policies, check the “FAQ” page to see
whether the answer to your question is already on-line. If not, go ahead and ask it, but don’t be
surprised if it gets added to the list.
On-Line Tools: Quizzes
Quizzes (see below) will be found on the “Quizzes” page. On the day after the quiz is
administered, it will be made available, together with correct answers, on the same page. You are
advised to review each of the quizzes as part of your preparation for the midterm and final.
Course Requirements
ATTENDANCE AND PREPARATION. To get the most out of this course, it is important that
you come to class each day with the complete reading assignment prepared in advance.
Attendance will be taken and poor preparation will be noted. If you must be absent, please
notify the GAT beforehand so that she can excuse you. More than five unexcused absences
will result in a lowered course grade.
WRITING ASSIGNMENTS. Three short papers will be assigned during the semester. Each
paper must be at least 750 words long. You will be asked to read an original ancient text in
translation or closely view an ancient image and respond to a general prompt about those ancient
materials. Papers will be expected to cite textual or visual evidence to support a claim; the
instructions for the particular writing assignment will explain how to do that.
All written assignments must be submitted electronically to the appropriate dropbox folder on
the precise day they are due. Dropboxes labeled “Graded Papers” will be open for 24 hours on
that due date, but not before or after. Be sure to submit your paper to the correct folder!!
Unexcused late assignments may be penalized by lowering the grade, and such late grades
cannot be subsequently adjusted. Papers that do not follow instructions—for example, a paper
that simply regurgitates class notes instead of responding to the assigned ancient material and
prompt—will receive a failing grade. Papers that do not meet minimum length requirements will
not be graded. Under these circumstances, resubmitted papers that do conform to specifications
will be accepted but will still be treated as late papers.
Predrafts and rewrites are allowed in this course. They are submitted to separate folders on the
dropbox page according to paper number. A predraft is an early draft submitted for feedback
regarding content and organization; it is NOT the same as a “rough draft.” You will be expected
to submit clean copy, proofread and free of typos and grammar and spelling errors. On the
graded version, any remaining uncorrected mechanical errors will be penalized more heavily
because your attention has already been called to them. Subject to conditions, each of the three
papers may be rewritten once to earn a higher grade. See the general writing guidelines for more
information about rewrites.
TESTS. Your broader grasp of course material and lectures will be assessed through quizzes and
examinations.
Quizzes: Each Monday, except when noted, you will be expected to take a ten-minute on-line
quiz on the previous week’s material. The quiz will consist of T-F and multiple choice questions.
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It will be available on the “Quizzes” page that whole day, from 12:00 a.m. until 11:59 p.m., and
will time out after ten minutes whether you have answered all the questions or not. You are
therefore strongly discouraged from consulting books or notes while the quiz is in progress.
There will be eleven quizzes administered and the lowest score will be dropped. If you miss a
quiz, you will have no opportunity to take it on a later date; it must count as the dropped quiz.
Further missed quizzes will be scored as “0”.
It is your responsibility to make sure your computer is in working order, your electric bill has
been paid, your cell phone is turned off, and the door is locked (if necessary) during the ten
minutes you spend taking the quiz. Excuses involving abruptly failing hard drives, etc., will be
treated with a lack of sympathy born of long acquaintance with them.
There will also be a one-hour in-class midterm examination and a two-hour in-class final
examination. Examinations will be objective, testing knowledge of factual material learned from
readings and class lectures. Going over group answers to discussion questions is strongly
advised. The final is cumulative and may include materials previously covered on the midterm.
Test format could contain any or all of the following: brief identifications, true or false and
multiple choice questions, matching columns, and short response questions, including image
questions.
Grading
Since this is a writing-intensive course, 50% of the grade will depend upon written assignments.
The writing grade will be based upon the average of the three individual paper grades.
NOTE: To pass this course, you must complete all written assignments. Even though you
may have received a satisfactory grade on your tests and discussion, failure to hand in one
or more papers will result in an automatic failing grade in the course.
Weights
Papers: 50%
Quizzes: 10%
Discussion: 15%
Midterm: 10%
Final: 15%
Attendance, preparation, and class participation will be taken into account in borderline
situations. I reserve the right to modify the grading scheme described above in the interests of
overall fairness.
PLEASE NOTE: As a matter of policy, I do not give extensions on assignments or grant
incompletes except in documented cases involving a serious personal emergency (e.g., illness
requiring hospitalization, death in family, etc.). You will be expected to take examinations and
hand in papers on the appointed dates as specified below. Please plan your schedules
accordingly.
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Cheating and Plagiarism
Violations of the Code of Academic Integrity, which prohibits students from cheating on
examinations or attempting to earn credit for written work not their own, will be punished by the
instructor in accordance with sanctions prescribed by the Code. Sanctions that may be imposed
by the instructor include a written warning, a grade reduction or loss of credit for the work
involved, and a failing grade in the course. Instructors may also recommend probation,
suspension or expulsion.
Disruptive Behavior
Please show courtesy to your classmates at all times and avoid behavior that makes it difficult for
others to concentrate on the lecture and discussion (such as talking among yourselves while
someone else has the floor, making noisy entrances and exits during class time, etc.). Reading a
newspaper during the lecture irritates instructors, who wonder why you bothered to attend class.
Turn off cell phones before entering the classroom; beepers should be set to vibrate, not sound.
Please leave the classroom if you must respond to the beeper. Cell phones must be switched off
and put away during tests. In cases of habitual, seriously disruptive conduct, the instructor
reserves the right to report the offender.
Adult Content
Analysis of medical writings and texts concerned with sexual norms and behavior, as well as
viewing images with graphic content, are necessary strategies for the study of gender in the
ancient Mediterranean world. Such materials are assigned in this course. I will make every effort
to present them in an objective and non-offensive way. Needless to say, providing information
about pre-modern notions of gender, sexuality, and sexual mores does not constitute an
endorsement of those notions!
Schedules
Quiz Dates
Sept. 9: Quiz 1, covering Weeks 1 and 2
Sept. 16: Quiz 2, covering Week 3
Sept. 23: Quiz 3, covering Week 4
Sept. 30: Quiz 4, covering Week 5
Oct. 7: Quiz 5, covering Week 6
Oct. 14: Quiz 6, covering Week 7
Oct. 28: Quiz 7, covering Weeks 8 and 9
Nov. 4: Quiz 8, covering Week 10
Nov. 18: Quiz 9, covering Weeks 11 and 12
Nov. 25: Quiz 10, covering Week 13
Dec. 9: Quiz 11, covering Weeks 14 and 15
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Test Dates
Oct. 21: Midterm, covering Weeks 1 through 8
Dec. 16: Final, covering the entire course, with emphasis on Weeks 9 through 16
Paper Deadlines
Sept. 16: First paper
Oct. 14: Second paper
Nov. 13: Third paper
Reading and Viewing Assignments
Week 1, Aug. 26–30: Introduction to Course; Ancient Demographics; Overview of Egypt
Readings: Robins, “Introduction”; PDF of “Osiris, Isis, and Horus” (D2L “Content”: module “Assigned
Readings”)
PowerPoint: “Egypt: Geographical, Historical, and Religious Background”
On-Line Group Discussion: Post at least three times to the Forum thread (covering Week 1 readings) for
your breakout group.
Week 2, Sept. 4–6: Queenship; The 18th Dynasty
Readings: Robins, ch. 1, “Royal Women and Queenship” and ch. 2, “Queens, Power and Kingship”; PDF
of “Genealogy of Kings of the 18th Dynasty” (D2L “Content”: module “Assigned Readings”)
PowerPoints: “Grooming, Adornment, and Meaning” and “Queens of the 18th Dynasty”
On-Line Group Discussion: Post at least three times to the Forum thread (covering Week 2 readings) for
your breakout group.
Week 3, Sept. 9–13: Marriage; Motherhood; Family and Household
Readings: Robins, ch. 3, “Marriage”; ch. 4, “Fertility, Pregnancy and Childbirth” and ch. 5, “The Family
and the Household”
PowerPoint: “House and Home”
Preparation for First Paper: Carefully read PDFs of “Writing Assignment Guidelines” and
“Introduction to First Paper,” which contains a link to an image you will be asked to discuss
and the prompt to which you should respond (D2L “Content,” module “Writing
Assignments”). Dropbox for predrafts open from 12:00 a.m. Monday, September 9, until 9:59
p.m.1 Friday, September 13.
On-Line Group Discussion: Post at least three times to the Forum thread (covering Week 3 readings) for
your breakout group.
Week 4, Sept. 16–20: Work and Titles, Law, Religion
Readings: Robins, ch. 6, “Women outside the Home”; ch. 7, “Economic and Legal Position of Women”
and ch. 8, “Women and Temple Ritual”
Although the Writing Assignment guidelines say that dropboxes for predrafts will close at “11:59 p.m.”on the
Friday before the paper is due, D2L is down for maintainance on Friday nights starting at 10:00 p.m. I have reset the
dropbox closing times for each of the three predrafts accordingly.
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PowerPoint: “Scribes and Their Careers”
On-Line Group Discussion: Post at least three times to the Forum thread (covering Week 4 readings) for
your breakout group.
Week 5, Sept. 23–27: Death; Egyptian Female Images; Greek Goddesses
Readings: Robins, ch. 9, “Personal Religion and Death” and ch. 10, “Images of Women in Literature and
Art” and “Conclusion”; “Lovers’ Dialogue from the New Kingdom” (D2L “Content”:
module “Assigned Readings”)
PowerPoints: “Death and the Afterlife”; “Gender Roles in Egyptian Art”; “Goddesses of Ancient Greece”
On-Line Group Discussion: Post at least three times to the Forum thread (covering Week 5 readings) for
your breakout group.
Week 6, Sept. 30–Oct. 4: Archaic Greek Women and Women in Sparta
Readings: Fantham, “Women in the Greek World”; ch. 1,“Women in Archaic Greece” and ch. 2,
“Excursus: Spartan Women in Control”
PowerPoint: “Female Bonding”
On-Line Group Discussion: Post at least three times to the Forum thread (covering Week 6 readings) for
your breakout group.
Week 7, Oct. 7–11: Women in Classical Athens: Law and Public Life
Readings: Fantham, ch. 3, “Women in Classical Athens”, pages 68–96
PowerPoint: none
Preparation for Second Paper: Carefully read PDF of “Introduction to Second Paper”, which
contains the prompt to which you should respond. (D2L “Content,” module “Writing
Assignments”). Dropbox for predrafts open from 12:00 a.m. Monday, October 7, until 9:59
p.m. Friday, October 11.
On-Line Group Discussion: Post at least three times to the Forum thread (covering Week 7 reading) for
your breakout group.
Week 8, Oct. 14–18: Women in Classical Athens: Private Life
Readings: Fantham, ch. 3, “Women in Classical Athens”, pages 96–124
PowerPoints: “Women in Classical Athens”; “The Greek Wife and Mother”
Study guide for midterm posted Monday, October 14. Review session for midterm TBA.
On-Line Group Discussion: Post at least three times to the Forum thread (covering Week 8 reading) for
your breakout group.
Week 9, Oct. 21–25: Midterm; Hellenistic Women
Readings: Fantham, ch. 5, “The Hellenistic Period”
PowerPoints: “Women in the Hellenistic World”; “Hellenistic Queens”
On-Line Group Discussion: Post at least three times to the Forum thread (covering Week 9 reading) for
your breakout group.
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Week 10, Oct. 28–Nov. 1: Medicine and Sexuality
Readings: Fantham, ch. 6, “Excursus: Medicine” and PDF of Skinner, “Introduction” to Sexuality in
Greek and Roman Culture (D2L “Content”: module “Assigned Readings”)
PowerPoint: none
On-Line Group Discussion: Post at least three times to the Forum thread (covering Week 10 readings) for
your breakout group.
Week 11, Nov. 4–8: Women in Republican Rome
Readings: Fantham, “Women in the Roman World” and ch. 7, “Republican Rome I”, pages 227–228,
230–237; ch. 9, “Republican Rome II”; PDF of “Favorinus on Wet Nursing” (D2L
“Content”: module “Assigned Readings”)
PowerPoint: “Women and Wealth in Republican Rome”
Preparation for Third Paper: Carefully read PDF of “Introduction to Third Paper”, which contains the
prompt to which you should respond (D2L “Content,” module “Writing Assignments”).
Dropbox for predrafts open from 12:00 a.m. Monday, November 4, until 9:59 p.m. Friday,
November 8.
On-Line Group Discussion: Post at least three times to the Forum thread (covering Week 11 readings) for
your breakout group.
Week 12, Nov. 13–15: Female Autonomy
Readings: Fantham, ch. 8, “Excursus: Etruscan Women” and ch. 10, “Excursus: The ‘New Woman’”;
Skinner, “Conclusion: A Woman in a Man’s World” (D2L “Content”: module “Assigned
Readings”)
PowerPoint: “Etruscan Women”
On-Line Group Discussion: Post at least three times to the Forum thread (covering Week 12 readings) for
your breakout group.
Week 13, Nov. 18–22: Women under the Early Empire
Readings: Fantham, ch. 11, “The Age of Augustus,” and PDF of “Musonius Rufus on the Chief End of
Marriage” (D2L “Content”: module “Assigned Readings”)
PowerPoint: “Augustus and the Family”
On-Line Group Discussion: Post at least three times to the Forum thread (covering Week 13 readings) for
your breakout group.
Week 14, Nov. 25: Women in Pompeii
Reading: Fantham, ch. 12, “Excursus: The Women of Pompeii”
PowerPoint: “Women and Civic Space in Pompeii”
On-Line Group Discussion: Post at least three times to the Forum thread (covering Week 14 reading) for
your breakout group.
Week 15, Dec. 2–6: Women in the High Roman Empire
Reading: Fantham, ch. 13, “Women of the High and Later Empire”
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Power Points: “Imperial Era Portraiture”; “Working-Class Romans”
On-Line Group Discussion: Post at least three times to the Forum thread (covering Week 15 reading) for
your breakout group.
Week 16, Dec. 9–11: Egypt Revisited; Final Examination Review
Reading: “Aretalogy of Isis,” Fantham pp. 154–55
Power Point: “Egypt Revisited”
Study Guide for Final will be posted December 9. Course Evaluation and Final Examination Review
December 11. Additional Final Examination Review TBA.
FINAL EXAMINATION: 10:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Monday, December 16, in ML 413
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