Women in Antiquity
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News and updates about the course are posted here.
Bookmark this page as your main entry point to the course website. That way, you’ll be sure to see any changes and other information I’ve posted here.
These announcements are also sent out by email to all actively enrolled students on my roster. If you are actively enrolled and are not receiving these emails, it may be that your email system is filtering emails from me (in which case, please whitelist me so you do receive them). Or, I may have the wrong email address for you. If you do not find the emails from me in your filtered emails folder, please send me an email and confirm your address so I am able to reach you with information and updates about the course.
Current Announcements (2)RSS feed
Grading page updated
29 May 2026
The grading page has been updated with all papers I have received and a provisional grade for the course. If there is an assignment or revision you’re sure you submitted but that isn’t reflected on the grading page, please contact me immediately.
Official grades will be posted to CUNYfirst on Friday night (May 29).
I hope you have a safe and happy summer break and that you enjoy success in your next endeavors.
Final Exam grades posted
28 May 2026
The grades and markups for the Final Exam are posted on the My Grades page on the course website.
Remember, the “Grade so far” calculation is provisional. If you have any missing assignments or reversible deductions, please submit them to Brightspace as soon as possible to bring about the highest possible course grade. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to seek me out by email.
Archive
Position Paper grades and markups posted
24 May 2026
The grades and markups for the Position Paper are posted on the My Grades page on the course website.
If you have any questions about the grades, comments, or deductions, please don’t hesitate to seek me out by email or in office hours.
Reversible deductions. Some of you may find that you received “reversible deductions” for issues relating to formatting and citations. The good news is, those are points that you can get back. Check the cover page of your markup to see if there are any check marks and points taken off next to the reversible deductions. If there are, I made notes on the cover sheet or in the essay about the issue, and included a handout with the requirements.
Please resubmit your essay to Brightspace with those problems fixed, and I’ll be in a position to reverse those deductions. Only reversible deductions can be reversed, so don’t resubmit for anything other than reversible deductions.
Missing essays. If you have not gotten your paper in, please do so as soon as you can. In terms of your course grade you’re better off with any grade, even with a lateness penalty, than a zero for the assignment. Remember also that the lateness penalty is capped at a maximum of 30 points, so turning your paper in, even very late, is better than not doing so.
Good luck on the exam!
23 May 2026
The final exam will be held in-person on Tuesday, May 26 from 6:15 to 8:15 p.m. in our normal meeting room.
Please arrive on time. You will only have the two-hour exam period to take the exam.
The exam review sheet and other review materials are posted on the Exams page. Email me with any questions.
Welcome to Week 13!
15 May 2026
This week we’re discussing the ways in which women were involved in the Roman religion.
Things to ponder as you explore the materials. The religious practices and superstitions of the Romans themselves are interestingly peculiar, and the special cult of priestesses known as the Vestal Virgins, who were entrusted with the guardianship of the eternal flame, is distinctive. What do you think the existence and importance of the Vestals tells us about how the Romans thought about gender and the gods? The Chief Vestal is an unusual figure, too, representing the pure separateness of the Vestals and the status and responsibilities of a Roman noble matron. What else strikes you as telling about the prominence of women in Roman religion?
Personal letters are a great resource for historians because they offer a subjective, unguarded, and firsthand view of cultural norms and idiosyncratic relations to them. What stands out to you from Pliny’s letters about how he talks about women he admires?
Finally, Cato’s speech on the Oppian Law is in defense of conservative values, but it has an impact on wealthy women in Rome, who had been agitating politically to wear ornamentations again, even appearing in mass demonstrations in the Forum. What’s Cato afraid of?
Looking forward to an interesting discussion for our last regular meeting. See you Tuesday!
Reminder about emails, logins, OneDrive files, and SETL
13 May 2026
I've been asked to pass along to everyone the following important notices from the College.
Your New Email & Microsoft 365 Apps Account. Your new student email address is now in this format: firstname.lastname##@stu-mail.lehman.cuny.edu. Your MS 365 Apps account is firstname.lastname##@login.cuny.edu, which is the same username and password you already use for CUNYfirst, Navigate, Brightspace, and other CUNY accounts.
Your previous lc.cuny.edu email will be turned off at the end of the Spring 2026 Semester. Also, your OneDrive files from your previous account (firstname.lastname@lc.cuny.edu) were not migrated to your new account. You must move any files you want to keep to your new OneDrive app within your MS 365 Apps account.
To log in to your new email account: Step 1: Go to https://outlook.office365.com/. Step 2: Sign in with your CUNY Login: firstname.lastname##@login.cuny.edu. Step 3: Use the same password you use for CUNYfirst/Brightspace. Step 4: Complete Microsoft MFA if prompted. Step 5: Open Outlook and check your new Lehman/CUNY email.
It is strongly advised that you log into your Lehman email regularly even if it is not your routine email account. Some official CUNY emails are only sent to your official school email accounts.
Student Evaluation of Teaching and Learning (SETL). I’ve also been asked to remind and encourage everyone to complete the student course evals. The survey is open, completely anonymous, and available until May 14 11:59 pm.
Students can also access the SETL Survey through their email, directly through Lehman 360 under My Apps, or at this link. Sign in with your CUNY Login account (firstname.lastname##@login.cuny.edu, i.e., the same username and password used for CUNYfirst, Navigate, Brightspace, and other CUNY systems).
Ultimate Deadline for Late Papers and Resubmissions
13 May 2026
As a reminder, the absolute deadline for all late papers and reversible deduction resubmissions is Thursday, May 28 at 11:59 p.m.
No papers or resubmissions will be accepted after that date. The only exception is if an incomplete has been mutually agreed prior to that deadline owing to documented emergency circumstances.
Please make sure to submit any late papers if at all possible. The lateness penalty is capped at 30 points, so you’re better off submitting even a very late paper than getting a zero. The points back for correcting reversible deductions can also make a difference.
Email me with any questions or updates.
Welcome to Week 12!
9 May 2026
This week we’re attempting to get at the Roman sense of gender division and gender norms below the upper classes.
Things to ponder as you explore the materials. How do you think things are different for women below the nobility? What do documents like the Twelve Tables tell us about how genders and families related to each other? What’s your sense of what ideas the Romans in general shared when it came to the importance of women to the survival of Rome?
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts and reactions. See you Tuesday!