Senior Seminar: Medea: 2,500 Years of a Tragic Heroine

From Euripides’ play to the contemporary films of Pier Paolo Pasolini and Lars von Trier, Medea’s story has been retold for two and a half millennia. In this course we will investigate some of the avatars of Medea, from drama (Euripides and Seneca), to epic (Apollonius and Ovid), to philosophical discussions of her plight (Epictetus). We will also consider her role in early modern drama (Macbeth) and modern film. What does Medea represent? The overwhelming power of love and madness? The triumph of barbarism over civilization? The fragility of culture when confronted with the Other? How can we explain her continued presence through the centuries? All readings will be in English, but students with Greek or Latin will read selections from the original texts.