Classical Studies 240 - Scandalous Arts in Ancient and Modern Communities

Dr. Ralph M. Rosen,

General Information and Requirements
This course examines our conceptions of art (including literary, visual and musical media) that is deemed by certain communities to transgress the boundaries of taste and convention. It juxtaposes modern notions of artistic transgression, and the criteria used to evaluate such material, with the production of and discourse about transgressive art in classical antiquity. While the Greeks and Romans certainly differed from our own culture in many respects, they did, like us, have concepts of scandalous expression, and they fretted as much as we do about the power that language, image and music could have over a society. In comparing modern and ancient notions of transgressive art, students will attempt to understand why societies and communities feel compelled to repudiate some forms of art, while turning others into “classics.”