Readings in Latin Literature (310-0-2)

Topic

Crafting the Witch: Gender and Magic in Latin Lite

Instructors

Francesca Tataranni
847/491-8029
Kresge Hall 4363

Meeting Info

University Library 3322: Tues, Thurs 12:30PM - 1:50PM

Overview of class

Starting with the first appearance of a "strix" in Plautus' comedies, this course examines a number of portraits of female practitioners of magic - commonly but problematically labeled as "witches" in English - in different Latin authors across time and literary genres (Horace, Ovid, Petronius, Apuleius). From the young and beautiful sorceresses of Greek mythology to the elderly and foul hags of the Roman imagination, the portraits of female magical specialists who populate Latin literature are better studied as cultural constructs dependent upon specific social contexts and ideological systems. Although ancient sources indicate that men did engage in "artes magicae", literary representations of male magicians are fewer and far less horrific than those of sorceresses and witches. In this course, we will analyze and seek to denaturalize the gendered stereotypes at work in these portraits by reflecting on the underlying anxieties about bodies, identities, and threats to social order that shaped them.

Class Attributes

Advanced Expression
Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline
Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area