Classics Commons^™

Female Roles In Antiquity: The Dichotomy Between The Stage And The Page, Bella Biancone

Undergraduate Research and Scholarship Symposium

The women portrayed in Greek drama were often strong, courageous, and integral to the storyline. In contrast to their real-life counterparts (who may have not even been allowed to see the plays), these women stood out as individuals in their respective stories. They are bold, dynamic, intelligent and respected. They are meant to be seen and heard. Women in drama emerge as heroines of their own stories and serve to educate the audience on some aspect of women in Greece. On other hand, the women of Homeric epics tended to be subdued and traditional; they are background characters, merely present …

Etruscan Biophilia Viewed Through Magical Amber, Greta Rose Koshenina

Honors Theses

In this thesis, I explore the usage and purpose of amber objects in burials from Etruria, specifically from the late Villanovan Period (ca. 800-720 BCE) to the Orientalizing Period (ca. 720-580 BCE). I have followed a combination of quantitative and qualitative research approaches as well as visual analysis of amber grave goods. While there has been extensive research on the medicinal and ritual purposes of amber grave goods from excavated Etruscan tombs, I show that there was likely a specific interest in amber that contains organic inclusions likely because of the Etruscans’ interest in nature. I examine the presence and …

Epic On An American Scale: Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio, Tiffany M. Messick

Beyond the Margins: A Journal of Graduate Literary Scholarship

I am pleased to submit an original research article entitled “Epic on an American Scale: Sherwood Anderson’s Winesburg, Ohio” for consideration for publication in Beyond the Margins. In this article I examine the link between ancient Greek epic and American Midwestern Agrarianism. Specifically, I examine how Greek and Roman epic influenced Modernism as evidenced in one of the earliest Modernist works, Anderson’s Winesburg, Ohio. I find that Anderson employs many epic elements to convey the link between the two empires and emphasize the epic nature of the collapse of American Agrarianism.

I believe my article would be a …

Sexual And Erotic Transgression Through Aesthetic History: A Study Of Algernon Charles Swinburne, Ronny F. Ford

Beyond the Margins: A Journal of Graduate Literary Scholarship

This article examines the relationship between Algernon Charles Swinburne’s poetic writing and history, especially in regards to how he explores sexual transgressions. The article begins with how aestheticism works in tangent with history to further these transgressions within a historical context and especially within the realm of Victorian Christianity. Next, Swinburne’s medieval aesthetics in “The Leper” will be analyzed in regards specifically necrophilia and the taking care of a leper, and how the writing of this poem was both a condemnation of Christianity and an accidental upholding of it. The violent homoeroticism and monstrous femininity of “Anactoria” are also looked …

Exploring Mythology Through Writing, Jayce Rubel

Honors Projects

The following work is a creative adaptation of a series of Greek myths found in Ovid's Metamorphoses. In the project I attempt to replicate the virtual idea of the original author in a retelling of each story. I also make use of stylistic elements known in the epic tradition as well as major themes found commonly found in these myths.

Tracing The Past, Drawing The Present, Sixue Yang

Graduate School of Art Theses

The group of work, Rising Water, Floating Islands is inspired by traditional Chinese scroll landscape paintings. Such landscape paintings combine meticulous technique, compositional complexity, and tension between representation and abstraction to reveal an alternative universe that waits discovery amid our mundane existence. In “Rising Water, Floating Islands,” I explore the political and social ramifications of the ongoing cultural conflict between traditional and emergent contemporary values. By combining traditional Chinese elements and techniques with my own markings and gestural adaptation in my painting, I give the audience the opportunity to contemplate the implications of our present digital condition through traditional esthetic …

Applying Modern Immunology To The Plague Of Ancient Athens, Juhi C. Patel

Pursuit - The Journal of Undergraduate Research at The University of Tennessee

During the 5^th century BCE, ancient Athens and Sparta were involved in a major war during which an epidemic disease broke out in Athens, claiming the lives of a substantial part of the population. Although the ancient Greek historian Thucydides provides a first-hand account of the symptoms of the plague, modern historians have not been able to definitively identify the pathogen that caused the deadly epidemic. In 1994, a burial tomb of Athens was unearthed that unveiled the likely remains of plague victims. In 2005, scientists conducted molecular testing on the dental remains and used suicide PCR to compare …

Opinionated Poets, Opinionated Lovers: Callimachus And Martial On Social And Sexual Behavior, Charlotte Houghton

Classical Mediterranean and Middle East Honors Projects

This paper examines ancient conceptions of social behavior, using the works of two epigrammatists, Callimachus and Martial. Both poets lived under empires (Ptolemaic and Roman, respectively), and their writing engages with ideas of imperial power. I argue that Martial and Callimachus reinforce ideas of proper social behavior under empire, especially in the ways that imperial and public opinion influenced the expected behavior for women and sexual conduct of people of all genders. The epigrams themselves are evidence of these behavioral precepts, and epigrammatic tendencies aid in their interpretation. This paper provides a better sense of society’s behavioral expectations, bringing us …

The Evolution Of Hermes His Influences And Appearance From The Archaic To Classical Periods, Haley Lavach

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

The ancient Greek deity Hermes has gone through many evolutions since his conception as an early, pre-Olympian god. One of these changes occurred between the Archaic and Classical periods of Ancient Greece. In the Archaic period, Hermes, the patron god of shepherds, thieves and merchants, appeared as a mature, bearded god in sculpture and vase paintings. As the Classical period began, Hermes began to appear as a young, un-bearded man in sculpture, while still being archaized in some vase painting, and in herms. This change occurred because of the Homeric Hymn to Hermes (Homeric Hymn 4), which was written in …

Ancient Foodies: Modern Misconceptions, Alternative Uses, And Recipes For Food In Ancient Rome, Francesca Gillis

Classical Mediterranean and Middle East Honors Projects

Over the years, food has always tended to reflect a specific society and its cultural values. This phenomenon is demonstrated in Roman cuisine which is well documented thanks to the text of authors and material culture. In this paper, I analyze five protein sources (thrush, peafowl, mullet, dormouse, and Mediterranean moray) which Romans often consumed. Using modern anthropological theory, I analyze this foodstuff using the contrasting principles of public/private, import/domestic, and consumption/other in order to determine the societal implications of the ingredient. This analysis has revealed that these five animals had multiple uses and implications in the Roman world far …

The Reign Of Nero: A Delusional Journey To Suicide, Cayce Walker

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

This paper follows the life of Emperor Nero from Ancient Rome. When he first became emperor, he hosted lavish celebrations and parties, even participating in performances and was praised by his people and the senate. However, he quickly turned into a tyrannical and murderous emperor, plagued with paranoia and delusion, and began murdering his family and citizens. This paper attempts to sort through Nero’s life and to match his experiences and actions with those of someone undergoing psychosis, a mental disorder where the victim loses sight of reason and the difference between right and wrong, often leading to delusion and …

Is It So Bad To Be Yourself?, Andrew S. Russell

Graduate Theses

Homosexuality has been a topic of recent controversial religious discourse, not only in America, but also world-wide. This begs the question: when did homosexuality become such a divisive issue in religious circles? The purpose of this thesis is to examine how ancient western cultures perceived homosexuality and treated homosexuals. Starting with the pagan civilizations of Greece and Rome, and then looking at how homosexuality was perceived in the ancient Judaic world and into the early Christian community, it seems that homosexuality only gradually became stigmatized as early Christians sought to distinguish themselves as unique in the ancient world.

An Analysis Of Julius Caesar’S Generalship As Compared To Proper Generalship In Vegetius, William Carpenter

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

Little is known about Vegetius, who wrote the military handbook Epitoma Rei Militaris (RM), most likely for Emperor Theodosius I during the late 3^rd or early 4^th century CE. His manuscript is extensive, examining a wide array of military practices and norms that a proper Roman army should follow. The RM covers specific tasks and responsibilities of a general, which Vegetius appears to have drawn from earlier Roman writers, mainly those from the late Republic and early Principate. Comparing Vegetius’s writings to those of Julius Caesar, specifically to Caesar’s own narrative of his actions in Book I of …

Building Her Own Brand: Angelica Kauffman And Angelic Entrepreneurship, Katelyn Beach

Theses

This thesis focuses on Angelica Kauffman’s efforts to create an artistic brand during her time in Great Britain. While a creative entrepreneur is a contemporary idea, Kauffman made conscious decisions regarding her art and its use on various mediums. Her feminine figures and stylization became a popular aesthetic in Georgian England on paintings, prints, and other decorative schemes. Her decisions to implement the latest technologies as well as develop relationships with British engravers allowed her to take advantage of a growing art market and culture in Britain and create her own brand.

The Feminine Renaissance: Examining The Implications Of Disegno, Kim Pokorny

Theses

This paper analyzes the concept of disegno in its effect on the success of the female artist in the early modern era. Achieving disegno effectively meant that an artist had reached a renowned level of intelligence and artistic mastery. Formulating this principle in one's art was taught in studios and academies by use of gradual monitored practice and the study of the human figure. Disegno elevated the social status of the artist, as wealthy patrons understood the talent behind the work of an artist that could display it in their paintings. As women were not admitted into most academies and …

Gynocentric Apuleius: Female Agency In 'The Golden Ass', Kelsey Schalo

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Through a close reading of Apuleius’ Golden Ass, I argue that characters such as Byrrhena, Photis, and Psyche function as positive examples of female sexual authority and autonomy and effectively challenge the phallocentric theories commonly applied to Greek and Roman gender and sexuality, the Penetrative Model associated with Foucault, and structuralism, associated in classics with French historians Marcel Detienne, J-P Vernant, and Pierre Vidal-Naquet. While still penetrated, many of these women actively claim their agency in sex through pleasure and narrative. Additionally, in correlation with Julia Kristeva’s theory of the abject, while Apuleius’s female witches behave in horrific and chaotic …

The Musical Style And The Cultural Connotation Of Bright Sheng's Opera 'Dream Of The Red Chamber', Xirui Huang

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

When people speak about the book Dream of the Red Chamber, their hearts soften. This novel is one of the Four Great Classical Novels in China, and the best-known one. Commissioned by the former director of San Francisco Opera David Gockley, the composer Bright Sheng and the librettist David Henry Hwang adopted the novel into the opera version of Dream of the Red Chamber. Since it premiered at San Francisco Opera house in September of 2016, there is no doubt that the opera was aimed for the Western opera audiences. The original book Dream of the Red Chamber is a …

Gender And Fluid: A Reconsideration Of The Stain In The Painting Of Helen Frankenthaler, Michael F. Hogan

Theses

This paper explores the stain technique of Helen Frankenthaler through a reconsideration of its novelty and innovation. Recent scholarship has assessed the technique and its critical acceptance through a primarily feminist lens, focused on either assessment of the gendered language utilized by critics or application of a uniquely feminist approach in determining its meaning. The singular focus applied in recent criticism is consistent with past approaches that have typically isolated a particular methodology – formalistic, technical, comparative, or historical – to the exclusion of broader consideration of other methodologies. Moreover, prior critical efforts frequently limited analytical consideration to her groundbreaking …

The Aesthetics Of Storytelling And Literary Criticism As Mythological Ritual: The Myth Of The Human Tragic Hero, Intertextual Comparisons Between The Heroes And Monsters Of Beowulf And The Anglo-Saxon Exodus, Daniel Stoll

Undergraduate Honors Theses

For thousands of years, people have been hearing, reading, and interpreting stories and myths in light of their own experience. To read a work by a different author living in a different era and setting, people tend to imagine works of literature to be something they are not. To avoid this fateful tendency, I hope to elucidate what it means to read a work of literature and interpret it: love it to the point of wanting to foremost discuss its excellence of being a piece of art. Rather than this being a defense, I would rather call it a musing, …

The Green Poem: An Original Play In Two Acts, Emily Arancio

College Honors Program

An original play in poetic dialogue based on the philosophy of Lucretius.