Prof. Stefania Santelia of University of Bari ‘Aldo Moro’ will lead a discussion – based on the reading of Latin sources translated both in English and in Italian – on the most praised feminine virtues in the Roman world: chastity, dedication to husband and children, frugality, industriousness, obedience, and above all, the ability to remain silent.
The condition of women in Rome must be considered in light of both the reality of the Roman familia and the prerogatives of the pater familias (who had power of life and death over wife, children, and slaves) and the restrictions imposed on women: the prohibition of participating in political life, of drinking wine, inheriting, or managing their own assets, of deciding whether to carry a pregnancy to term or “to delay childbirth” (to have an abortion, as the Romans said).
The conversation will also initiate a deeper reflection on women’s “achievements” in Italy: the recognition of an equal position within the family; access to the judiciary and military careers, the possibility of terminating a pregnancy, the abrogation of the so-called ‘honor killing’ and of ‘reparative marriage’; the right to vote.
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Stefania Santelia is a Professor at the University of Bari ‘Aldo Moro’, where she teaches Latin Language and Literature and Late Latin Literature.
Her scientific interests include, in the field of Greek literature, the production of mime (both literary and anonymous) and historiography; in the field of Roman literature, especially in recent years, she has studied authors and aspects of late antique literary production, with particular reference to linguistic aspects, compositional techniques, the relationships between the Roman elite and the barbarian world, the editing and circulation of texts, the forms of ‘reuse’ of the classical tradition; and the changes that characterize the transition from the ‘classical-pagan’ period to the later antiquity of the early centuries of the Christian era. A particular aspect of her research interests concern the perception of the female world and the relationship between women and culture from the classical age to the 5th century AD.
She is the author of numerous articles and various monographs; she is engaged in the activities of interdepartmental and interuniversity centers of the University of Bari and the University of Naples Federico II; she participates in Italian and International research projects; she has given presentations at conferences and seminars in Italy and abroad; she has herself organized numerous conferences.
Stefania Santelia has long been engaged in intense teaching activities, not only curricular but also in master’s and doctoral courses in Italy and abroad; she is also particularly committed to the so-called ‘Third Mission’ activities: she believes in every kind of initiative aimed at spreading her specific expertise outside the scientific world; in particular, she is often invited to discuss gender issues by cultural associations, secondary education institutes, or within the framework of public initiatives on this topic.
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