Roman Sexual Poetics: Navigating Sex, Sexuality and Gender in Latin Poetry

CX289-30 / CX389-30

Module value: 30 CATS

Module convenor: Dr Joe Watson

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Summary

This module explores the relationship between the realms of sexuality and gender and Latin literature. Topics of sex and gender are present throughout Roman literature, from the scatological poetry of Catullus to Statian poems commissioned to celebrate same-sex relationships. In this module, students will focus on two major currents:

1. How sexual/gendered themes become evident in Latin poetry;
2. The ways in which these themes construct, disturb, contribute to and problematise the poetics of Latin literature.

The module will introduce and develop students’ understanding of hermeneutic tools for Latin literature like queer theory, trans theory, feminism and narratology.

This module will develop students’ appreciation of the poetics of Latin literature, and will equip them with interpretative tools for unpacking it. It also aims to demonstrate to students the critical debates on sex, sexuality and gender which are ongoing in our discipline, enabling them to navigate different perspectives on these issues whilst also forming their own critical voice and opinions.

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Texts

Set texts for all students

Where a specific section of a text is given, that is the entirety of prescribed content. However, students are actively encouraged to read the entire works in question and should, at minimum, be familiar with the contents of the entire works.

• Catullus Carmina 10, 16, 21, 28, 37, 42, 47, 56, 74, 106.
  • Lee, G. (2008). Catullus: The Complete Poems. (Oxford: Oxford University Press).
• Tibullus Elegies 1.4, 1.8, 1.9.
  • Juster, A.M. (2012). Tibullus: Elegies. (Oxford: Oxford University Press).
• Propertius Elegies.
  • Lee, G. (2009). Propertius: The Poems. (Oxford: Oxford University Press).
• Horace Odes 4.10.
  • Rudd, N. (2004). Horace: Odes and Epodes. (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press).
• Ovid Amores 1.1, 1.5, 1.7-9, 3.1, 3.12.
  • Showerman, G. & Goold, G.P. (1989). Ovid. Heroides. Amores. (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press).
• Ovid Ars amatoria 1, 2.703-46 and 3.
  • Mozley, J.H. & Goold, G.P. (1989). Ovid. Art of Love. Cosmetics. Remedies for Love. Ibis. Walnut-tree. Sea Fishing. Consolation. (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press).
• Ovid Metamorphoses 6.1-151, 9.450-10.739, 12.
  • McCarter, S. (2022). Ovid's Metamorphoses. (London: Penguin Books).
• Carmina Priapea.
  • A translation of the CP will be available on Moodle at the start of the course; if you would like a copy over summer, please email the module convenor.
• Seneca Phaedra.
  • Bartsch, S. ed. (2017). Lucius Annaeus Seneca: The Complete Tragedies, Vol. I. (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press).
• Statius Silvae 2.6.
  • Nagle, B.R. (2004). The Silvae of Statius. (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press).
• Martial Epigrams 1.praef., 1.35, 1.90, 2.83, 4.43, 6.37, 6.39, 7.58, 7.67, 7.70, 11.90, 11.94, 11.104, 12.16.
  • Shackleton-Bailey, D.R. (1993). Martial. Epigrams, Vols. I-III. (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press).
• Juvenal Satires (especially 2, 6 and 9).
  • Braund, S.M. (2004). Juvernal and Persius. (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press).

It will also be useful for all students to have read the following texts in English, although they are not prescribed:

• Ovid Heroides 4.
• Ovid Medicamina Faciei Femineae.
• Apuleius Metamorphoses 10.

Set texts for Q800 students / Students taking the module as a Latin text option

We will read Propertius, Juvenal and some of Ovid in Term 1; in Term 2, we will finish Ovid and read Seneca.

• Propertius Elegies 2.3, 2.10, 2.11, 2.12, 2.13, 2.15, 2.34.
  • Text from Heyworth, S.J. (2007). Sexti Properti Elegi. (Oxford: Oxford University Press).
    • Available online and as a hard-copy from the University Library.
    • Purchasable second-hand for around £30.
  • Commentary from Camps, W.A. (1967). Propertius: Elegies Book II. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).
    • Available to borrow freely online through archive.org (at time of writing).
    • Purchasable second-hand for around £24.
• Juvenal Satires 6 [selections].
  • Watson, L. & Watson P. (2014). Juvenal: Satire 6. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).
    • Available online and as a hard-copy from the University Library.
    • Purchasable new for £23.99 and second-hand for around £20.
• Ovid Metamorphoses 450-665 (Byblis).
  • Anderson, W.S. (1972). Ovid’s Metamorphoses: Books 6-10. (Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press).
    • Available online and as a hard-copy from the University Library.
    • Available to borrow freely online through archive.org (at time of writing).
    • Purchasable second-hand for around £30.
• Seneca Phaedra [selections].
  • Coffey, M. & Mayer, R. (1990) Seneca: Phaedra. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).
    • Available in hard-copy from the University Library.
    • Purchasable new for £26.99 and second-hand for around £20.

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Learning Outcomes

By the end of the module, all students should have:

• A deeper understanding of Latin literary genre and poetic construction;
• An appreciation of the conflicting and contradictory scholarship on matters sexual and gendered;
• A deeper ability to engage critically with the ideas of secondary scholarship;
• An increased awareness of the hermeneutic tools which scholars use to unpack Classical texts;
• The ability to seek out appropriate secondary literature and show discernment in the types of primary evidence addressed.

In addition, final year students will be able to show

• The ability to set their interpretations into a wider comparative context, drawing in other aspects of the study of the ancient world.

Q800 students and students taking the Latin text option should have:

• An increased facility in reading Latin literature;
• An understanding of how topics of sex, sexuality and gender impact Latin literature on the linguistic level.