CLA 401 - Amazons: Myth and Reality

The question of women and war, including the question of women warriors, has engaged people for centuries. Beginning with the mythology and mythic history of Amazons in ancient Greece, this course traces the tradition of the woman warrior in Western cultural representations (literature, art, legend). Several non-European cultural traditions of women warriors, and the testimony of women who have fought in resistance movements and war in the modern period, contemporary attitudes toward women within the military. Depiction of Amazons in contemporary fantasy and film compromises an additional component of the course.

Satisfies the General Education Cultural Diversity and International Perspectives, and Western Cultural Traditions Requirements.

Prerequisites
Sophomore Standing.

Credits: 3