Katz,"Daughters of Demeter" (Tuesday) The chapter, in contrast to the material we looked at in class on Thursday, emphasizes women's integration into the socio-cultural life of the ancient polis. It proceeds more or less chronologically, and it is organized around ideology and reality: in each section there is a discussion of a text or texts, and then remarks on some aspect of corresponding social reality. For each section (including the Introduction), identify for yourselves the content of the ideology. What is it, specifically? Which aspects of social reality incorporate the ideology? Which aspects contradict it? For each section, specify what the contribution of women to communal life was (or was not). As you read each section, and at the conclusion of the chapter, think over what your general impression of women's lives in ancient Greece is, based on your reading. How does it accord with or differ from the "popular" and "orthodox" views we discussed in class on Thursday? Ask yourselves some questions also about how you would contrast the roles and status of women in ancient Greece with those in the modern world. Are women better off in every respect, or only in some? Are modern women worse off in any respects? What are the major issues for women's roles and status in the contemporary world? How do you define them generally, and how do you define them with reference to your views of your own future? These are some of the topics we'll be discussing in class. But you should also feel free to ask questions of the material other than those suggested above. Are there things you want to discuss that are not listed above? What are they?
This chapter, like "Daughters of Demeter," emphasizes women's integration into the socio-cultural life of the ancient polis. Unlike "Daughters of Demeter", however, it is not organized chronologically, but instead explores seven aspects of the polis in the classical period, with remarks on how women, children, and other outsiders did or did not participate in them. The seven aspects are: Religion, Law, Politics, Economics, Theater, Village Life, and the Household. In each section, women's situation is contrasted or compared with that of children, citizen men, metics, and slaves. (Not much is said about citizen men: the emphasis is on those populations traditionally considered "outsiders" in the polis.) For each section, specify for yourselves the character of women's participation as contrasted with that of (a) citizen men and (b) the other "outsider" groups. (Don't forget to take into account also the "Panels" and the "Illustrations", where material is presented that doesn't appear in the chapter text itself.) What is your impression of how women were or were not integrated into the ancient polis? How does their participation or lack of it compare with that of other groups? Are there any areas of ancient communal life you can think of which are not discussed in the chapter? Do you have any ideas about why they weren't treated? As you did for Tuesday, think over generally, as you read and at the conclusion of your reading, what your impression of women's part in the polis was. How does it differ from that of women's role in the contemporary state? Address yourself especially to the idea of "integration": what does it mean for women to be or not be "integrated" into the communal life of the polis or state? In what respects, if any, are women not integrated into our own forms of communal life? (In order to answer the last question, you'll obviously have to identify what you think contemporary forms of communal life are!) As before, feel free to formulate your own questions for discussion and bring them to class.
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