In this course students critically investigate and analyze how central philosophical ideas – truth, justice, revenge, relation to the divine, law, and love – were coded along gendered (as well as class, race, and ethnic) lines by the Hellenic people during different times in the Pre-Classical and Classical period. As we rethink many aspects of gender today, understanding its deep history in Ancient Greek culture and the thought to which we are the heirs enriches our own understanding. Students read and critically think through canonical texts of the Western tradition, including: Hesiod's Works and Days, Aeschylus's Oresteia, Homeric Hymn to Demeter, Antigone, Plato’s Symposium, and other works of the Archaic period. Students also choose and read a contemporary novel that takes up ancient gender themes in a contemporary perspective. GE: Humanities - Philosophical Inquiry
- Teacher: Sally Fischer