Course Credits (3)
i.e., evidence of Sappho in other ancient sources, we can make out the silhouette of an exceptionally creative and charismatic composer of lyric poetry. The personal nature of the poetry and Sappho’s style have fascinated human beings ever since she lived around 600 B.C. And yet, despite centuries of popularity, we struggle to understand who Sappho was. Today, there are about 200 fragments of her poetry extant, of which only a precious few might be described as complete, and the rest are maddeningly fragmentary. While the testimonia can help scholars reconstruct her identity somewhat, the assistance they offer is nevertheless limited. Moreover, our access to the historical Sappho is obscured both by the gendered reception of her poetry in the ancient Greek world, as well as by a kind of general conspiracy of silence about women’s lives that existed in that world. Given the lacunose nature of Sappho’s oeuvre, a comprehensive grasp of all the ancient evidence of Sappho represents a reasonable objective for a survey of the poet. First, we will read the ~200 extant fragments in translation. Then, we will turn to the ancient testimonia on Sappho’s life and her reception in the Classical and Hellenistic worlds. Next, we will review various theoretical approaches to Sappho’s gender, sexuality, and identity that have appeared in the last thirty years, when the long-held belief that Sappho was some kind of schoolteacher was at last called into question. Finally, students will propose and compose a research essay with an original argument on Sappho and gender, sexuality.
About Professor Buzick
Alex Buzick is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Writing Program, School of Arts and Sciences. He received his BA in Classical Studies from Dickinson College and his PhD in Classical Philology from Fordham University. At Rutgers, he teaches the following courses: College Writing, Exposition & Argument, Research in the Disciplines: Myth & Culture, Scientific & Technical Writing, and Writing for Business & the Professions.