ATS3230 Sex, gender and power in the ancient Near East
Faculty of Arts
ATS3230 Sex, gender and power in the ancient Near East is a level 3, 6-credit-point, undergraduate unit from the Faculty of Arts, offered in 2021 in Semester 2 at Clayton. It has no prerequisites.
- Credit points
- 6
- Offered in 2021
- Semester 2
- Clayton
- Assessment
- No exam
- 5 tasks
- Workload
- 144 hours
- per semester
This is the 2021 handbook entry. See the 2027 entry.
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Requisites
Before ATS3230
No prerequisites or corequisites besides the enrolment rules below.
After ATS3230
No unit lists ATS3230 as a prerequisite in the 2021 handbook.
Enrolment rules
Overview
This unit explores the tension between sex, gender and power as it played out in the literature and art of the Ancient Near East through such artefacts as the Epic of Gilgamesh, the love poems of the Sumerians, Egyptians, and Israelites, coupling images from Babylon, texts detailing the intimate domestic life of the inhabitants of an ancient Egyptian town, and the records of the female Egyptian king Hatshepsut. We examine accounts of female and male sexuality -as well as the ambiguously gendered images of eunuchs- and attempt to untangle the cultural mesh that is formed by the intersection of sexuality and power. We explore how our own assumptions about sexuality, gender and power might be challenged by a close examination of the different perspectives encountered in the ancient world.
Offerings in 2021
| Teaching period | Campus | Mode |
|---|---|---|
| Second semester | Clayton | On campus |
Assessment
- Text Analysis30%
- Quizzes20%
- Presentation Summaries10%
- Essay Proposal15%
- Final Essay25%
Learning outcomes
When you finish this unit, you should be able to:
- 1
Be familiar with a range of literary and visual cultures of the ancient world;
- 2
Be aware of contemporary theories about gender and sexuality;
- 3
Recognize the different attitudes toward gender and sexuality displayed by the communities of the Ancient Near East;
- 4
Distinguish the varying status of women in ancient Near Eastern societies;
- 5
Understand the relationship between sexuality and power in the ancient world and contrast it to our modern view of this relationship;
- 6
Construct arguments about cultural contexts using ancient textual and visual sources.
Workload and teaching
- Tutorials24 hours
- Teaching approachActive learning
Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.
This unit engages students in actively applying their knowledge, skills and attributes in interactive, collaborative and reflective activities.
Where it fits
ATS3230 is part of 2 areas of study in the 2021 handbook.
Contacts
- Chief Examiners
- Dr Hilary Gopnik
- Unit Coordinators
- Dr Hilary Gopnik
Common questions
What are the prerequisites for ATS3230?
ATS3230 has no prerequisites, but enrolment rules apply.
When is ATS3230 offered?
In 2021, ATS3230 runs in Semester 2 at Clayton.
How much work is ATS3230?
The handbook expects about 144 hours of study across the semester. No students have rated its difficulty yet.
Does ATS3230 have an exam?
No. ATS3230 has 5 assessment tasks and no exam.
Which majors and minors include ATS3230?
ATS3230 is part of Archaeology and ancient history.