C494/0967 Problems in Classical Civilization (3cr.) meets 9:30A-10:45A
Tuesday and Thursday in SY 137.

In this course we will use translated texts by and about women to
explore issues relating to the construction of gender in Byzantium.
The sources we will study range from the age of Justinian to the
fourteenth century and include representative works of historiography,
hagiography, hymnography, and romance.  Although our focus will be on
women, the case of Matrona, a transvestite saint who entered religious
life disguised as a eunuch, illustrates the need to include men and
the "third gender"as well.  In addition we will consider the
advantages and disadvantages of various analytical methods such as the
use of statistics, modern feminist theory, and scholarship on women in
antiquity.  We will also consider larger issues such as periodization,
that is, whether the traditional eras of Byzantine political history,
such as Iconoclasm, are useful for the study of women's history.

Requirements: oral reports (25%), an essay with disciplinary focus of
the student's choice (50%), and a final exam to cover readings and
material presented in class (25%).