Since the late 1970s, gender studies have had a deep impact on Ancient History. By examining the ways in which the Greeks and Romans defined genders and controlled sexual behaviour, we can gain a deeper understanding of their societies. We can also start to question our modern attitudes towards gender and sexuality. This module is an introduction to the history of gender and sexuality in the societies of Greece and Rome, from the Archaic period to the advent of Christianity (eighth century BCE to fifth century CE). We will study ancient themes that still resonate in the twenty-first century, such as the social constructions of masculinity and femininity; the status of same-sex relationships; beauty standards; sexual harassment and rape; and attitudes towards eunuchs and hermaphrodites. We will ask to what extent modern categories such as ‘homosexuality’ and ‘pornography’ can be applied to the ancient world. A vast array of sources will be used, including poetry, history, drama, philosophy, medical writings, legal texts, and archaeological and visual evidence. 

• demonstrate a knowledge and critical understanding of the key notions of gender history and history of sexuality.
• demonstrate a knowledge and critical understanding of modern theories and debates in gender history, and an ability to express their own views.
• demonstrate a knowledge of a range of sources for ancient gender history and history of sexuality, including poetry, history, drama, legal texts, philosophical and scientific texts, and archaeological and visual evidence.
• demonstrate an understanding of how ancient sources can be brought to bear in modern debates on sexuality and gender.
• analyse these sources and evaluate their biases, in particular male-centeredness, and significance.
• recognise changes in attitudes towards gender relationships and sexual behaviour from the eighth century BCE to the fifth century CE.
• discuss these issues in written work with coherent and logical arguments, clearly and correctly expressed.

10 2-hour teaching sessions; 2 activities, including film, exhibition, theatre or museum visit; independent study; 1 coursework feedback tutorial; 1 revision session

The teaching sessions will offer a combination of traditional lecturing, class discussions, and other exercises. Lectures will present an outline of the evidence for the study of Greek and Roman gender and sexuality, and provide a framework for the interpretation of that evidence by introducing the major approaches and debates that have shaped research into the subject. Slides and, where appropriate, handouts are used to illustrate the material discussed.

These lectures will be a useful starting point for further discussion and exercises taking place during the teaching sessions. This will provide an opportunity for students to analyse and discuss key issues and topics in the module, and to get feedback on their ideas from the tutor and their peers. Handouts with material for study and suggestions for preparatory reading will be circulated prior to the sessions.

The activities, which could consist of a film screening, a visit to a museum collection or an exhibition, or a theatre outing, will allow students either to observe material evidence relevant to the study of ancient gender and sexuality in a museum setting, or to further their understanding of the reception of ancient gender and sexuality themes.

Independent study enables students to familiarise themselves with the primary source material and the most important modern approaches and debates on the subject. A reading list is provided, with guidance on key items of reading for major themes and lecture topics.

Coursework feedback tutorials provide students with an opportunity to get feedback and guidance on all aspects of their written work.

• assimilating and synthesising complex information and ideas
• critical thinking skills, such as analysing and evaluating evidence, critiquing interpretations or arguments, and challenging assumptions
• constructing and defending arguments based on evidence
• clear, accurate and effective communication of ideas and arguments in writing and in debate
• employing basic skills and conventions in the presentation and use of literary and material evidence
• bibliographic and referencing skills
• using IT resources effectively
• independent working and time management

The module will be assessed through a 2000-word essay (50%) and an exam consisting of one essay question and one source criticism exercise, weighted 70:30 (50%).

The essay and exam questions will require knowledge and critical deployment of evidence and critical understanding of modern scholarship to answer questions and construct arguments relating to gender and sexuality in Greece and Rome.

In the source criticism exercise, specific written or material sources relating to the ancient history of gender will be set, and students will have to assess their significance, thus deploying their knowledge of the issues and their interpretations.

The opportunity for reassessment in this module

 Students who fail the module will normally be expected to resit the failed component(s) in the summer resit period

• gender stereotypes and gender construction
• same-sex relationships
• beauty standards in the ancient world
• intersexuality, eunuchs and hermaphrodites
• sexual harassment and rape
• romantic love and marital relationships
• pornography and deviant sexual behaviours
• prostitution
• gender and the law
• gender and political power
• gender and philosophy
• gender and religion

M. Lefkowitz and M. Fant, Women's Life in Greece and Rome (third edition, 2005)

J. Rowlandson, Women and Society in Greek and Roman Egypt (1998)

P. Brown, The Body and Society: Men, Women and Sexual Renunciation in Early Christianity (1988)

J. Davidson, Courtesans and Fishcakes (1997)

M. Dillon, Girls and Women in Classical Greek Religion (2002)

K.J. Dover, Greek Homosexuality (1978)

M. Foucault, The Use of Pleasure: History of Sexuality, vol. 2 (translated from the French, 1985)

T.K. Hubbard, Homosexuality in Greece and Rome (2003)

T.K. Hubbard (ed.), A Companion to Greek and Roman Sexualities (2014)

E.C. Keuls, The Reign of the Phallus: Sexual Politics in Ancient Athens (1985)

M. Kilmer, Greek Erotica (1994)

H. King, Hippocrates’ Woman: Reading the Female Body in Ancient Greece (1998)

N.S. Rabinowitz and A. Richlin (eds.), Feminist Theory and the Classics (1993)

N.S. Rabinowitz and L. Auanger (eds.), Among Women: From the Homosocial to the Homoerotic in the Ancient World (2002)

A. Richlin (ed.), Pornography and Representation in Greece and Rome (1992)

M. Skinner, Sexuality in Greek and Roman Culture (2005)

S. Tougher, The Eunuch in Byzantine History and Society (2008)

J.J. Winkler, The Constraints of Desire (1990)

See the module handout for the full reading list.