This course explores the ways in which Greek and Roman attitudes toward gender and sexuality shaped Judaism and Christianity at their “origins” and, in so doing, explores the foundations of modern attitudes toward gender and sexuality. We will consider a range of materials from the Ancient Near Eastern, Greek, Roman, Judean, and Christian contexts, including myths, scriptures, philosophy, and law, encountering a world that is truly different from our own and yet strangely familiar as well. The goal of the course is to learn to think critically about gender, sexuality, and the encounters between various traditions of the ancient Mediterranean, while also developing skills in historical analysis, textual interpretation, and writing. In addition, this course counts toward History (HIST) and Bibliographic Research in Writing (BRW) requirements.
- Teacher: Daniel Kimmel