Books on Reserve for Book Reports

The following books have been placed on reserve in the Reserve Area on the first floor of the main library. All are on seven-day reserve (but if reserved for another course as well, they automatically go on two-day reserve).

I have grouped together books that I consider acceptable equivalents for each paper topic. Because the library has asked instructors to limit their use of the library reserve service, I have scaled down the list of books to five for each topic and tried to provide the most readable.

First Paper: Egyptian Women

HQ 13 M36 1987 Manniche, Sexual Life in Ancient Egypt. Pictures explicit; if you let your little brother find it, your mother will be on your case. Discussion, however, is in good taste. Easy to read.

DT61 .T9 1994 Tyldesley, Daughters of Isis: Women of Ancient Egypt. Book reports should compare and contrast this study with textbook (Tyldesley was used previously as a text in this course). Probably easier to read than Robins, but you may be put off by its flippant tone.

DT 87. 15. T95 1996 Tyldesley, Hatchepsut: The Female Pharaoh. Biography explores many issues surrounding functions of Egyptian pharaohs and their royal women. Easy to read.

DT 87. 45. T95 1998 Tyldesley, Nefertiti: Egypt’s Sun Queen. Thorough discussion of Nefertiti’s important ritual role in worship of Aten, and explanation of the complicated problems of evidence regarding her possible status as co-ruler. Easy to read.

HQ 1137.E3 W37 1991b Watterson, Women in Ancient Egypt. Structural parallels with your textbook invite close comparison of treatment of particular points. Slightly more technical than Tyldesley, but still easy.

Second Paper: Greek Women

HQ 1134 B58 1995 Blundell, Women in Ancient Greece. Compiles recent work on the topic; could be effectively contrasted with Pomeroy’s discussion of the same materials. Moderately difficult.

HQ 1134. D385 1997. Davidson, Courtesans and Fishcakes: The Consuming Passions of Classical Athens. Everything you ever wanted to know about food, wine, and sex in the Athenian dining room. Dazzle your friends by informing them how much a Greek gourmet would spend on fish. Very readable.

KL 4115.6. N43 H 36 2003 Hamel, Trying Neaira: The True Story of a Courtesan’s Scandalous Life in Ancient Greece. In the course of getting all the delicious dish on Neaira and Stephanos, you also learn a great deal about the historical, legal, and cultural conditions of life for non-elite women in Athens. A great read, with a few sexy pictures.

HQ 1134.K48 1985 Keuls, The Reign of the Phallus. Fifth-century B.C.E. Athens as a “phallocracy.” Another one to keep out of the hands of your little brother. Relies heavily on vase paintings; some are explicit. Engaged, feminist-oriented, easy to read, but do evaluate argument carefully.

HQ 1134. P66 2002. Pomeroy, Spartan Women. The definitive study of conditions of life for women in Sparta. Like Pomeroy’s other books, it is lively and easy to read.

Third Paper: Hellenistic Women

DT 92.7 F55 1997 Flamarion, Cleopatra: The Life and Death of a Pharaoh. Study of Cleopatra VII as a dynastic figure and a Pharaonic successor. Moderately difficult.

DT 92.7 G7 Grant, Cleopatra. One of the standard biographies of Cleopatra VII. Grant is very easy to read, but please evaluate his presentation of Cleopatra for old-fashioned assumptions; contrast with Pomeroy.

HQ 1137.E3P65 1984 Pomeroy, Women in Hellenistic Egypt. Standard treatment of women’s lives in Egypt during this era. Like your textbook, easily accessible.

PA 3067.S69 1989 Snyder, The Woman and the Lyre. Women writers in ancient Greece and Rome. Could be used for earlier Greek or Roman paper as well, but the majority of the texts discussed are Hellenistic. Easily accessible.

Internet Resource (NetLibrary e-book) Carney, Women and Monarchy in Macedonia. Important study of the political activities of female members of the Argead dynasty, including Olympias. Accessible, but sidebars containing biographical information on various individuals may be distracting.

Fourth Paper: RomanWomen

HQ 759.D59 1988 Dixon, The Roman Mother. Standard work on the social construction of Roman motherhood. Moderately difficult.

HQ 1136.E92 1991 Evans, War, Women and Children in Ancient Rome. Social consequences of the Punic War for upper-class Roman women. Compare with Pomeroy on this topic. Moderately difficult.

HQ1136 .D35 2007 D’Ambra, Roman Women. Basic survey of women’s daily lives—family and household, work and leisure, religious and social obligations. Very accessible. Excellent illustrations.

Internet Resource (NetLibrary e-book) Joshel, Work, Identity and Legal Status at Rome. Inscriptional evidence for lives of slaves. Challenging, because of heavy use of statistics, but informative and often poignant.

HQ13 .S535 2005 Skinner, Sexuality in Greek and Roman Culture. Accessible, I think, and the topic is obviously absorbing—though not, of course, bedtime reading for little bro. You can use this book as a substitute for a paper on Greek, Hellenistic, or Roman women, but you have to read the whole thing, not just one section. If you feel uncomfortable handing a report in to me, you can ask the GAT to read, grade it, and communicate the grade to me.

Fair Warning: Yes, I have read all of these books (and reviewed some of them for scholarly journals). Since I use them regularly in teaching and research, I’m extremely familiar with their contents. Don’t even think about faking a report without actually reading the book. You won’t get away with it.