Course Syllabus

COURSE INFORMATION

CLASSICS 326A: WOMEN IN GREEK AND ROMAN ANTIQUITY

Tuesday and Thursday 10:30-12:20 

SMI 404

Olga Levaniouk 

pronouns: she/her                  

olevan@u.washington.edu

Professor, Department of Classics

Office hours: TBD and by appointment—please don't hesitate to get in touch! You don't have to have a specific question to come to the office hour—I am happy just to chat about women in Antiquity (or other things in Antiquity). You are also welcome to ask me questions not directly related to the course — about the Classics department and the courses it offers, studying Ancient Greek and Latin, my work, etc. 

Land Acknowledgment:

I am a white person of Jewish, Russian, Ukrainian, Belorussian, and Polish descent, and I am teaching this course on the Seattle campus of The University of Washington, which occupies the unceded lands of the Coast Salish Peoples, the lands which touch the shared waters of all tribes and bands within the Duwamish, Puyallup, Suquamish, Tulalip, and Muckleshoot nations, whose ancestors have dwelt here since time immemorial and who live here today.  

You can learn more about the history and culture of the Duwamish people from the resources at duwamishtribe.org. (Links to an external site.) Links to an external site.Real Rent Duwamish (Links to an external site.) Links to an external site. offers a collection of resources to learn more about the practices of Land Acknowledgement here (Links to an external site.) Links to an external site.. 

If you have comments about this Land Acknowledgement, please let me know: olevan@uw.edu

 

ABOUT THE COURSE   

Course goals: In this course we shall read and discuss ancient sources on religion, philosophy, medicine, literature, art, and  law along with modern scholarly analyses of ancient society to explore the lives of women in ancient Greek and Roman societies. Readings are chosen and discussions are structured with the aim of developing three types of awareness:

historical awareness --knowledge of basic historical realities of women and of family life, limitations and biases of surviving evidence, how different Greece and Rome are from each other, and from now; a sense of how political institutions can intervene in family relations

critical awareness -- an understanding of the history of changing interpretations of the ancient world -- how what people see in ancient Greece or Rome can also articulate what they value in their own cultures 

self-awareness -- a sensitivity to the forces (laws, customs, stereotypes, images and more) shaping our own social relations.

Required text:

M. Lefkowitz and M. Fant, Women’s Life in Greece and Rome: A Sourcebook in Translation, fourth edition (L&F hereafter)

Available from the University Book Store. Other readings will be made available on Canvas. 

 

Grading

Grades will be based on:

75% quizzes and assignments (individual and group) submitted through Canvas (two lowest scores dropped)

25% final project

Several assignments and activities during the term ask you to formulate your ideas about the project and identify resources so that I can give you feedback and advice along the way. For anything you are curious about in the ancient Greek or Roman world and its lasting legacies, someone has probably been writing something intriguing about it and I can help you find it. I use the Coffee Table Page to make available articles and books on a range of topics that you may enjoy browsing as you think about possibilities for the project. 

The 4.0 equivalency that will be used is as follows.  

% Score     Grade                    Score         Grade                    Score         Grade

100-94    4.0                         83              3.0                         73              2.0
93              3.9                         82              2.9                         72              1.9
92              3.8                         81              2.8                         71              1.8
91              3.7                         80              2.7                         70              1.7
90              3.6                         79              2.6                         69              1.6
89              3.5                         78              2.5                         68              1.5
87              3.4                         77              2.4                         67              1.4
86              3.3                         76              2.3                         66              1.3
85              3.2                         75              2.2                         65              1.2
84              3.1                         74              2.1                         64              1.1
                                                                                                  63              1.0

 

ACADEMIC SUPPORT   

Disability Resources:

If you have not yet established services through DRS, but have a temporary health condition or permanent disability that requires accommodations (conditions include but not limited to; mental health, attention-related, learning, vision, hearing, physical or health impacts), you are welcome to contact DRS at 206-543-8924 or uwdrs@uw.edu or uw.edu. DRS offers resources and coordinates reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities and/or temporary health conditions. Reasonable accommodations are established through an interactive process between you, your instructor(s) and DRS. It is the policy and practice of the University of Washington to create inclusive and accessible learning environments consistent with federal and state law.

Religious accommodations

“Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at Religious Accommodations Policy (https://registrar.washington.edu/staffandfaculty/religious-accommodations-policy/). Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request form (https://registrar.washington.edu/students/religious-accommodations-request/).”

Learning Support:

• Many materials for the class are provided via canvas. If  you do not have access to canvas please let me know  and we'll find a way of getting the materials to you.
• Access and Accommodations: Your experience in this class is important to me. If you have already established accommodations with Disability Resources for Students (DRS), please communicate your approved accommodations to me so we can discuss your needs in this course.
• UW Academic Support: http://depts.washington.edu/aspuw/more/campus-resources/ Links to an external site.

UW Counseling Center: http://www.washington.edu/counseling/

Student conduct:

The University of Washington Student Conduct Code (WAC 478-121) defines prohibited academic and behavioral conduct and describes how the University holds students accountable as they pursue their academic goals. Allegations of misconduct by students may be referred to the appropriate campus office for investigation and resolution. More information can be found online at https://www.washington.edu/studentconduct/

Notice to Students - Use of Plagiarism Detection Software

The University has a license agreement with SimCheck, an educational tool that helps prevent or identify plagiarism from Internet resources. Your instructor may use the service in this class by requiring that assignments are submitted electronically to be checked by SimCheck. The SimCheck Report will indicate the amount of original text in your work and whether all material that you quoted, paraphrased, summarized, or used from another source is appropriately referenced.