Rebecca Deitsch
Visiting Lecturer in Classical Studies
I enjoy teaching Latin and Greek as well as courses on a variety of topics related to epic poetry, classical mythology, and gender in the ancient world. My current book project examines how gender, divinity, and politics intersect to shape the characterization of goddesses in the epic poetry and coinage of the Flavian period (69-96 C.E.). I am also developing side projects on heroism in Valerius Flaccus’ Argonautica and on the reception of Classics in 19th -century Polish literature.
I am passionate about language pedagogy and making ancient languages accessible in the college classroom and to the general public. I run a popular website for Latin learners and an accompanying Instagram account, Latin with Livia. In my spare time, you can find me practicing Slavic languages, reading fantasy novels, and exploring obscure historical sites in the Boston area.
Current and upcoming courses
Greek and Roman Mythology
CLCV104
Achilles' heel, the Trojan Horse, Pandora's Box, an Oedipal complex, a Herculean task-themes and figures from classical mythology continue to play an important role in our everyday life. We will read the original tales of classical heroes and heroines as depicted by Homer, the Greek tragedians, Vergil, Ovid, and others. Why do these stories continue to engage, entertain, and even shock us? What is the nature and power of myth? Readings from ancient sources in English translation.
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In conjunction with a thorough review of Latin grammar, we will make the transition to Latin literature and Roman culture. Selections in Latin may include Catullus (poetry), Ovid and the other love elegists, the emperor Augustus' The Deeds of the Divine Augustus, Perpetua (one of the earliest known women Latin authors) and the anonymous novella, The Story of Apollonius King of Tyre. Topics to be studied might include social status and identity (What defined you? Might your status/identity change, whether for better or worse?); Rome's relation to Greece, which Rome conquered but which long dominated Roman culture; or the nature and function of literature in Roman life.