2nd week of class

This past week, I have thoroughly enjoyed our class discussions. I think many people in class were frightened by our in depth talks about Gods, Godesses, Patriarchy, and gender roles in society. I was surprised to see so many people dropped out. I thought our discussions were thought provoking. Although, I was sad that when we were talking about gender roles, I was the first to bring up LGBT issues in regards to marriage—and that when I did bring it up, lgb marriage was compared to heterosexual marriage in that either would take the role of dominant or submissive. I think that dominant and submissive ideology in regards to marriage is a social construct. I think it is possible for both people in the relationship to be partners to one another, and complement each other, rather than rise up above one another. Actually, I think dominant and submissive relationships often lead to abuse. Because dominant assumes that you have “power over” another. If one person has power over one another, than that means that you can use your power to make them do things that they wouldn’t want to do themselves.
I also enjoyed the readings. I was surprised to hear that the idea of a matriarchal society was probably not possible. It is unfortunate that this was not the case. I was also surprised to hear the idea that women also helped install patriarchy into the construction of society. I never thought of women as playing a part in their own domination, but it makes sense. Women were expected to be submissive and then many did not break out of their submissive stereotypes. We have stood by and let history claim its place with little regard to women.
I am very confused about what I want to write about my book review. I am very interested in certain microcosms of the Greek world, and how mythology affected the way women lived and were treated. I am torn to write about either Jewish women in Hellenistic times, because I am a Religious Studies major or I am hoping to write about Greek homes, marriages, and examples in mythology about how the Greeks were supposed to live. I loved Fr. Hartin’s Greek Gods and Heroes (unfortunately named without Godesses or Heroines in the course title). I enjoyed learning about Greek Godesses, the island of lesbos, and Spartan and Amazonian women. I would not mind writing a book review about them. Women looked up to Hestia, the goddess of the hearth. I think it was in his class or another, where Father Hartin described women as owning the hearth of their house, which is very different from women simply taking care of their children or doting on a man’s wishes. If women take care of the home completely, and men take care of the finances and upholding to the states values, then their role seems to be more balanced. Another thing to note is that often in mythology, which Greeks looked to for counsel about how to live their lives, Greek Gods (rarely Goddesses) had extramarital affairs. There was a very distinct power balance for affairs. A Greek male God could rape a human woman, but a Greek Goddess could not have sex with a human man. This is because men were expected to be stronger and overpower females, even during sex. Along with how society constructed how women were supposed to act, I am interested in the “microcosms” of the Hellenistic world. Currently, I am reading one of the books I borrowed from a student in class, Sappho. It is interesting to read about women who are in love with only women. The island of Lesbos is a very interesting microcosm of the Hellenistic world. Another interesting dynamic of women is Sparta, where women could fight in the war. Overall I am interested in society and how women lived because of social constructions. I hope I will be able to find an interesting, worthwhile topic to review.

Week One

1. Explain or describe why you took this course. What are your specific interests in Greek and Roman women? What do you hope to gain from this course? How does it fit with your academic goals?

2. Create a magazine cover that best reflects what you have written about yourself above.

I took this course for a few different reasons. The first is that I am pleasantly surprised that Gonzaga can offer such a specific course. Last semester, I took Greek Gods and Heroes with Father Hartin. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about Greek Goddesses. In particular, I liked learning about Aphrodite, and Amazonian women. Because of that class, and because I am taking Hebrew, I am able to achieve a classical civilizations minor. I can fulfill course requirements for my minor. But even though it fulfills my course of study requirements, I took this course because I thought it would be a fun thing to study.

I am a religious studies major with a Classical Civilizations Minor. If I could major in Anthropology, I would, but unfortunately Gonzaga does not offer it. I am particularly interested in studying Jewish history but I am also interested in learning about the state of Greece and Rome before Jesus. I hope to learn more about how women and minorities lived and were treated around and before the time of Jesus. This way I can examine the bible with a better knowledge of its audience. With my knowledge from the New Testament, I hope to be able to reexamine the bible through an anthropological and feminist lens. If at all possible, I would also like to research Jewish women during Hellenic times.