Discuss the ways in which ancient Greek and/or Roman ideas of community (e.g. family, tribal group, village, city, class/caste) are informed and influenced by the categories of gender and/or sexuality (you can address just one of these or both in your paper). Don’t try to give a comprehensive answer for all the material we’ve studied: rather, pick three or four
examples which allow you to construct an informative, focused response. For instance:
you might choose to talk about the ways that expression of sexual desire is coded into different kinds of ancient poetry, and use that to draw conclusions about the different audiences those texts define for themselves.
you might think about the way that different authors imagine a kind of utopian or impossible female mirror to male power structures and male authority (the “women in power” theme). Bear in mind that producing and consuming poetry is itself a social institition that, among other things, engages with existing power structures.
you might think about the ways that legitimacy (being considered a real, genuine, socially authorized person) is mediated by gender
relations, especially marriage, parentage, naming conventions etc.
you might think about the extent to which one’s social role is constructed according to one’s habits, preferences and behavior as
opposed to an abstract idea of one’s permanent identity (what one is vs. what one does).
Please use the sources provided below!!!!!!
