Purpose
The purpose of this assignment is to articulate a response to one point you found to be subject to criticism.
Texts
- Plato’s The Symposium
- Eve Sedgwick “Epistemology of the Closet”
- Judith Butler “Imitation and Gender Insubordination”
Topic
In his Symposium, Plato images a glittering array of Greek artists, thinkers, and leaders dedicating their time to praise the god Eros. In Greek thought, eros did not just mean sexual passion but included any of the bodily desires such as hunger and thirst. However, the men at this drinking party are largely concerned with sexual passion. They also celebrate pederasty besides homosexuality. Athenian culture had developed a social system that encouraged relations between younger and older men, with which Plato disagreed. In The Symposium, Plato will wrestle with Eros’s power, subdue it, and put it in the service of virtue.
Writing Assignment
Using a Gender Studies or Queer theoretical framework, respond critically to the following:
What can we learn from The Symposium
if we apply a Gender Studies or Queer Theoretical framework?
Directions
- Please type three pages of double-spaced
- Times New Roman
- 12-point font
- One-inch margins
- Include an original title
- Include quotes so that I can identify what specific words or ideas you are responding to
- Quote from both Plato and Sedgwick or Butler
0 comments