Watching the Girls Go By: The Wife of Ischomachus and Theodote the Courtesan
presented by Dr. Emily Baragwanath, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Monday, April 3, at 4:30 PM in HUMN 250
Across his eclectic literary oeuvre Xenophon displays a remarkable interest in women and their role and value in society. Shining a spotlight on the portraits in his Socratic works of two women of AthÂens - the courtesan Theodote, a key figure in modern constructions of Athenian prostitution, and her opposite number, the unnamed citizen wife of an Athenian gentleman - the paper examines the literary strategies through which Xenophon provocatively tested readers' assumptions about female agency and experience. It also looks afresh at the nature of Xenophontic irony, created by showcasÂing the ideal household against the backdrop of its future scandal and ruin, and in the startling sustained comparison drawn between Theodote and Socrates himself.
Sponsored by Graduate Committee on the Arts Humanities, Center for Western Civilization, Thought and Policy, and the Departments of Classics, History, Philosophy, and Women and Gender Studies.
Results:
Prof. Emily Baragwanath engaged a long-held tradition about Xenophon’s approach to gender, challenging the traditional assumption that Xenophon was generally backward or un-enlightened in his gendered thinking, but rather that he was much the opposite. The comments at the talk’s conclusion were both lively and productive, and added great depth to the topic from several different academic and amateur perspectives.
The occurrence of this event also allowed Prof. Baragwanath to sit as an outside-reader for a dissertation defense (which has in turn produced a letter of recommendation for the student in question); Prof. Baragwanath also attended several lunches and dinners with departmental members, and followed up afterward not only in kind phrases but by attending many CU Â鶹ӰԺ graduate students’ talks at a regional conference shortly thereafter. She has taken up a continuing scholarly discussion with Prof. John Gibert, in whose name this grant was offered.
The Center for Western Civilization, Thought and Policy funds research and educational initiatives that contribute to critical reflection on the development of Western civilization. All CU Â鶹ӰԺ faculty and students are eligible to apply If you are interested in applying for a CWCTP faculty grant, deadlines are rolling throughout the year.