Course Details in 2025/26 Session

Module Title	LI Matrons and Monsters: Women in Rome and Byzantium
School	History and Cultures
Department	Classics, AH and Archaeology
Module Code	09 36039
Module Lead	Elena Theodorakopoulos
Level	Intermediate Level
Credits	20
Semester	Semester 2
Pre-requisites
Co-requisites
Restrictions	None
Contact Hours	Lecture-20 hours Guided independent study-180 hours Total: 200 hours
Exclusions
Description	This module focuses on the representation of women in the Roman world from the late Republic to the Byzantine empire, and on theoretical approaches used by scholars to examine these representations. Primary sources will include literary texts, letters, historiographical accounts, as well as material objects such as toys and amulets. Themes will include for instance: women’s sexual and reproductive lives; women as patrons; women as authors; women’s asceticism and stoicism; women and magic/superstition.
Learning Outcomes	By the end of the module students should be able to: Demonstrate knowledge of a range of representations of women in ancient Roman and Byzantine sources; Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of key methodologies relevant to the study of women and gender in antiquity; Undertake independent enquiry into the representation of Roman women, and the scholarship concerned with it; Analyse and interpret textual and material sources concerning the representation of Roman and Byzantine women.
Assessment	36039-01 : 4500 Word Essay : Coursework (100%)
Assessment Methods & Exceptions	Assessment: 1 x 3,000-word coursework (100%) Reassessment: Resubmission of failed component(s)
Other
Reading List