Gender and Sexuality Studies Program, Classical Studies Program, Art History and Visual Culture Program, and Language and Literature Present
Grammatical Gender and Biological Sex: The Invention of Heterosexuality in Ancient Rome
Tuesday, March 3, 2015
Olin Humanities, Room 102
6:00 pm EST/GMT-5
6:00 pm EST/GMT-5
Anthony Philip Corbeill
This talk explores how the daily use by Latin speakers of a single linguistic category—grammatical gender—cultivates a sensitivity to the role of biological sex in Roman perceptions of both the human and more-than-human realms. The presentation has four parts: first, a demonstration that ancient scholars viewed grammatical gender as intricately connected with biological sex, even in the case of inanimate nouns; next the ways in which an awareness of this identification of grammar with biology enhances appreciation of Roman poetry; third, how the Romans imagined their earliest gods; and, finally, Roman attitudes toward human hermaphrodites and their visual representation. No knowledge of Latin, or of ancient Rome, is necessary.A Lecture by
Anthony Philip Corbeill
Professor of Classics, University of Kansas
Blegen Research Fellow, Vassar College
For more information, call 845-758-7158, or e-mail [email protected].
Time: 6:00 pm EST/GMT-5
Location: Olin Humanities, Room 102