58勛圖

CL4465 Gender and Sexuality in Greek Literature

Academic year

2026 to 2027 Semester 2

Further information on which modules are specific to your programme.

Key module information

SCOTCAT credits

30

The Scottish Credit Accumulation and Transfer (SCOTCAT) system allows credits gained in Scotland to be transferred between institutions. The number of credits associated with a module gives an indication of the amount of learning effort required by the learner. European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) credits are half the value of SCOTCAT credits.

SCQF level

SCQF level 10

The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) provides an indication of the complexity of award qualifications and associated learning and operates on an ascending numeric scale from Levels 1-12 with SCQF Level 10 equating to a Scottish undergraduate Honours degree.

Availability restrictions

Available to General Degree students with the permission of the Honours Adviser

Planned timetable

To be confirmed

This information is given as indicative. Timetable may change at short notice depending on room availability.

Module coordinator

Dr M J Carroll

Dr M J Carroll
This information is given as indicative. Staff involved in a module may change at short notice depending on availability and circumstances.

Module Staff

Dr Michael Carroll

This information is given as indicative. Staff involved in a module may change at short notice depending on availability and circumstances.

Module description

Literature is a key source of information about gender and sexuality in ancient Greek society. Literary texts often deal with these issues in rich and complex ways, however, and this makes them very challenging for scholars of gender and sexuality to analyse: we may think of the dynamic, eloquent female characters of tragedy, the combination of aggressively obscene sexual references and inverted gender norms in certain comedies, or the nuanced treatment of sexuality and gender identity in lyric poetry. This module will have two main aims. Firstly, a selection of (mostly poetic) texts will be examined for what they reveal about the experience and understanding of gender and sexuality in ancient Greek culture. Secondly, we will consider the methodological challenges involved in this type of analysis, and become familiar with some of the theoretical approaches (anthropology, gender studies, Foucault, etc.) that literary scholars who work on ancient gender and sexuality have drawn on.

Relationship to other modules

Pre-requisites

AS STATED IN THE SCHOOL OF CLASSICS UNDERGRADUATE HANDBOOK

Assessment pattern

3-hour Written Examination = 50%, Coursework = 50%

Re-assessment

Examination = 100%

Learning and teaching methods and delivery

Weekly contact

2-hours x 11 weeks

Scheduled learning hours

22

The number of compulsory student:staff contact hours over the period of the module.

Guided independent study hours

278

The number of hours that students are expected to invest in independent study over the period of the module.

Intended learning outcomes

  • Summarise the content of a selection of (mostly poetic) texts from archaic and classical Greece that touch on issues of gender and sexuality
  • Identify and describe a number of important theoretical approaches that have informed the study of gender and sexuality in ancient Greece in recent decades
  • Discuss particular works of scholarship in relation to these broader trends
  • Analyse some of the characteristic ways in which literary texts from archaic and classical Greece explore, construct and challenge conceptions of gender and sexuality
  • Evaluate the relative merits of the different theoretical approaches to gender and sexuality in light of the insights they yield when applied to literary texts
  • Formulate sophisticated arguments about gender and sexuality in archaic and classical Greek literature using appropriate evidence and demonstrating awareness of the methodological and theoretical challenges of the topic