1 / 16

Apuleius’ Golden Ass

Apuleius’ Golden Ass. Desire and its Discontents 1. A title, a story…. Midas. Pan. Apollo. Agenda. Foucault’s Care of the Self Desire Reevaluated? Apuleius ’ Metamorphoses Introduction Discussion “Asinine Values” and Their Universality?. Foucault’s Care of the Self.

malory
Download Presentation

Apuleius’ Golden Ass

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Apuleius’ Golden Ass Desire and its Discontents 1

  2. A title, a story…

  3. Midas Pan Apollo

  4. Agenda • Foucault’s Care of the Self • Desire Reevaluated? • Apuleius’ Metamorphoses • Introduction • Discussion • “Asinine Values” and Their Universality?

  5. Foucault’s Care of the Self Desire Reevaluated?

  6. History of Sexuality (1976-1984) • An Introduction • Modernity(1800 CE-) • The Use of Pleasure • Archaic-Classical Greece(700-300 BCE) • The Care of the Self • Imperial Rome, Greco-Roman late antiquity(1-200 CE)

  7. Foucault: From Vol. 2 to Vol. 3 Use of Pleasures (vol. 2) Care of the Self (vol. 3) “[I]n this game of violence, excess, rebellion, and combat, the accent is placed … on the weakness of the individual, … on his need to … protect and shelter himself. Sexual ethics requires ... that the individual conform to a certain art of living…. But this art refers … to universal principles of nature or reason….” (67) • Gender/sex performance art • Normativity navigated • by “free” actors… Foucault, Michel. The History of Sexuality. Volume 3: The Care of the Self. New York: Pantheon Books, 1978. Print.

  8. Apuleius’ Metamorphoses Introduction

  9. history Apuleius map • born 125 CE Madaura (Algeria) • African-Roman Orator, author, philosopher • Prosecution for magic • widow Pudentilla

  10. Story Arc • Lucius curiosus • Busybody, voyeur • Lucius asinus • Bestial appetites, exaggerated anatomy • Lucius initiatus • Isis worship, transformation

  11. “Adultery itself indeed seems to be only the fruit of curiosity about another man's pleasures, and an inquiring and prying into things kept close and hidden from the world; while curiosity is a tampering with and seduction of and revealing the nakedness of secrets.”Plutarch De curiositate (Moralia 519b–c)

  12. Actaeon spies on Diana bathing, Italian, 17th-18th cent.

  13. Discussion “Asinine Values” and Their Universality?

  14. Finnis v. Nussbaum Finnis Nussbaum Evolving standards perspective Ancient texts as Thought experiments in diversity • Traditional morality standard • Textual-historical validation

  15. Journal Question Does the narrative dramatize a value system alien to the Finnis-Nussbaum debate? Does it seem to validate either thinker in any way? Explain. . . .

  16. Discussion • agreed with finnis • fidelity/hetero relationships • as in satyricon, so here • clashing of f and n • tradition • surface affirmation • deeper challenge • photis’ hair • lustful, physical, less affectionate • witches thing • thelyphron??? • thieves honor system • trying to be heroic, self-validating strategy • no one wants to think of themselves as the bad guys

More Related