Sexuality and Gender in the Classical World: Readings and Sources (Interpreting Ancient History) [Paperback]

Laura K. McClure (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0631225897 | ISBN-13: 978-0631225898 | Publication Date: October 7, 2002 | Edition: 1

This volume provides essays that represent a range of perspectives on women, gender and sexuality in the ancient world, tracing the debates from the late 1960s to the late 1990s.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

This book explores the fascinating world of sex and gender roles in the classical period. It provides readers with essays that represent a range of perspectives on women, gender and sexuality in the ancient world. They are accessible to general readers whilst also challenging them to confront problems of evidence and interpretation, new theories and methodologies, and contemporary assumptions about gender and sexuality.

The essays cover a broad spectrum of scholarly perspectives, and trace the debates and themes of the field from the late 1960s to the late 1990s. They also address a range of literary and non-literary genres, including some non-canonical sources such as medical writings and inscriptions, to elucidate ancient ideas about sexuality and the discourses that shaped these ideas. The book also provides translations of primary sources to enable readers to confront the evidence for themselves and assess the methodology used by historians. It includes Greek literature and society, Roman culture and the legacy of classical myth for modern feminist scholars. It includes and examines not only women in antiquity but also masculinity and sexuality to provide a comprehensive account of this fascinating topic.

About the Author

Laura K. McClure is Associate Professor of Classics at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Her books include Spoken Like a Woman: Speech and Gender in Athenian Drama (1999), and an edited volume, Making Silence Speak: Women's Voices in Greek Literature and Society (co-ed. with Andre Lardinois, 2001). She has also published articles on Athenian tragedy, the classical tradition and ancient gender studies. Her current research focuses on the representation of courtesans in second sophistic literature.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell; 1 edition (October 7, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0631225897
• ISBN-13: 978-0631225898
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #300,359 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, June 12, 2008

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Little Stevie (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Sexuality and Gender in the Classical World: Readings and Sources (Interpreting Ancient History) (Paperback)

The perspectives and interpretations of historical events or stories, and how they are used to provide some meager understanding of the 'classical' concept of sexuality and gender are specific to certain theoretical models of historical analysis, but the writing is overall clear and succinct so as to be convincing. The article by King title 'Bound to Bleed' did more to explain women's place in Ancient Greece then did two other entire classes on ancient Greek society! The section on Roman history gave a similar detailed accounting of women in Rome, Finley's 'The Silent Women of Rome' is short and easy to read for a good overview of the problem of understanding women's minds of that time, Joshel's 'Body Female and the Body Politic' is a great read on the myths of Roman history and how they established the future place of women in that culture. Actually, each article is strong in its own way, some more 'theory-bound' than others, and the supply of source material for all the referenced passages makes this one of the most useful books for my use in other situations, or even to read to keep my mind from becoming too limited by my own white/male/modern American perspective!!!