Montclair State University is offering the rare opportunity to take a class on Cleopatra taught by world renowned expert, Prudence Jones. This class is taught completely online and is open to anyone interested!
Prudence Jones holds a Ph.D. and M.A. from Harvard University and a B.A. from Wellesley College. She has published three books and numerous articles. Her two books on Cleopatra are
Cleopatra (Life & Times) and
Cleopatra: A Sourcebook. She is currently an Assistant Professor at Montclair State University. She has lectured widely on Cleopatra, including at the APA Annual Meeting in Dallas in 1999. In 2008, she traveled to Egypt as part of a BBC/Discovery Channel documentary, "Cleopatra: Portrait of a Killer."
This course will examine Cleopatra VII both as she appears in the historical record and as later authors and artists have shaped her image. Issues considered include female power, east vs. west, and politics and propaganda. Cleopatra is not only a fascinating personality but also will afford us the opportunity to consider the Hellenistic period, the origins of the Roman empire, the cosmopolitan city of Alexandria, and women’s roles in ancient society. In addition, the course will offer an introduction to the study of reception, the re-creation and re-interpretation of history, art, and literature in subsequent ages. Thus, in addition to studying the historical Cleopatra, we will examine such works as Chaucer’s The Legend of Good Women, Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra, and the decorative arts associated with the “Egyptomania” that accompanied the Napoleonic invasion of Egypt.Readings will include ancient sources (the historians and literary authors from the ancient world who wrote about Cleopatra), modern biographies of Cleopatra, and post-antique texts that portray Cleopatra.
This course is conducted on Blackboard, completely self-paced and no scheduled meetings. Assignments include readings, Blackboard quizzes, and short papers.
June 13, 2011 - July 7, 2011.