Ateneo - UPO

Female characters of Greek history.

The exam program includes the study of:
- M.P. Castiglioni, The Greek woman, Il Mulino, 2019.
and a monograph chosen from the following:
- E. Carney, S. Mueller (eds.), The Routledge Companion to Women and Monarchy in the Ancient Mediterranean World, Routledge, 2021.
- L. Braccesi, Olimpiade, queen of Macedonia. The mother of Alexander the Great, Salerno, 2019;
- L. Capponi, Cleopatra, Laterza, 2021.
For non-attending students, the preparation of the text by N. Loraux, Grecia al feminine, Laterza, 1993 is also mandatory.

The course aims, at a basic level, to transfer to students: 1) knowledge and skills: it is intended to provide a basic knowledge of the main female characters of Greek history, examining their representation in ancient sources. The in-depth study of some gender issues applied to the Greek world will provide students with the skills to critically analyze the events that had women as protagonists and to approach questions of historiographical method.
2) ability to apply knowledge and skills: knowing how to analyze ancient documentary sources and their interpretation in contemporary bibliography;
3) expression of judgments: knowing how to evaluate historical testimonies, critically framing them within the ideological, political, social, economic context of reference; knowing how to identify and judge the ideological tendency underlying the story of the facts in the proposed historiographical sources;
4) communication skills: knowing how to discuss historical facts and historiographical testimonies using suitable technical language;
5) study skills: knowing how to independently study the issues related to historical facts, through the analysis of specialized texts and the reading of ancient sources. At a more advanced level, the course aims to acquire: 1) knowledge and understanding: in-depth and complete knowledge of the main thematic nodes of the topics covered in class; - 2) ability to apply knowledge and understanding: ability to place the events covered in a broader historical, religious, cultural context; - 3) transversal skills: expressing critical judgments on the topics discussed, also based on a personal reworking of the student; illustrating the topics covered through a fluent, precise presentation and using specific terminology; in more advanced cases, knowing how to propose new solutions. These objectives will be measured during the learning assessment.

Historical knowledge and skills acquired in secondary school. Knowledge of the Greek language is not required. Passing the exam of Greek history, although not essential, is recommended.

The teaching strategies adopted include frontal lessons, but the possibility of starting seminar meetings will be evaluated. In addition, where possible, lessons are held by specialist lecturers from outside the Department.

Class attendance is strongly recommended. Students are invited to register on the module's DIR page in order to access the uploaded teaching materials and receive any communications from the teacher. Students with disabilities or Specific Learning Disorders (SLD) or Special Educational Needs (SEN) can request specific services and tools dedicated to them by contacting the Career Development and Coordination and Student Services Staff and by consulting the dedicated page on the University website: https://uniupo.it/it/servizi/servizi-studentidisabili- e-dsa Students with disabilities, SLD, SSEN, once they have contacted the University Staff, can contact the professor in charge of the course in relation to the declination of the exam methods, regarding the didactic aspects. The objectives and contents of the course take into account the provisions of Ministerial Decree 616/2017 and its annexes in order to recognize the 24 credits Pre-competition for area D (Methods and teaching technologies) for the competition classes: A11, A12, A13, A19, A22, A70, A71, A72, A73, A74, A75, A78, A77, A79, A80, A81, A82, A83, A84, A85.

The exam is usually held in oral form and consists of three questions; attending students will be asked questions that will verify the knowledge of the topics addressed during the lessons. Non-attending students will also have a question on the text by N. Loraux, Grecia al femminile, Laterza, 1993. At the request of attending and non-attending students, the exam can also be held in written form, through the administration of three open-ended questions, which will ascertain complete knowledge of the discipline and the student's ability to accurately describe the historical facts, using appropriate language, which is also suitable in a school lesson. The request to take the exam in written form must be submitted at the time of registration for the exam.
The exam will verify knowledge of the topics in the program (objectives 1-2); the ability to judge (objective 3), the use of appropriate terminology (objective 4); finally, the acquisition of an appropriate study method (objective 5).
The outcome will be positive, if the vote of 18/30 is reached, to achieve which the student will have to demonstrate that they have understood the essential aspects of the topics covered.
To arrive at a full grade, equal to 30/30, students will have to reach.
Full knowledge and understanding of historical facts and related sources,
the ability to place them in the right context and the ability to present their knowledge in appropriate language.
In the final evaluation the first skill will weigh for 80%, the second and third for 10% each.

Starting from the figure of the Greek woman in general, we will examine female characters who have left their mark in Greek history, a history traditionally dominated by male figures: intellectual women, wives of tyrants, women of particular importance in Sparta and Athens and finally also, and above all, queens, from Olympiad, the mother of Alexander the Great, to Cleopatra VII, the last queen of Hellenistic Egypt. Particular attention will be given to the representation of female characters in ancient sources, usually male authors, and to gender issues applied to the Greek world.

Students are expected to be able to:
1) knowledge: know the historical events;
2) skills: critically analyze the events;
3) transversal skills: explain the events, using a proper terminology.
To achieve an advanced level, the student must demonstrate that he/she possesses:
- an organic vision of the topics addressed, with the ability to analyze and synthesize;
- ability to critically elaborate the topics dealt with, with full command of the language;
- ability to autonomously investigate particular topics.
These results are consistent with the provisions of the SUA of the three-year framework study course A4.b.2.