The Mirror of the Self – Sexuality, Self–Knowledge, and the Gaze in the Early Roman Empire

— —

Shadi Bartsch

The Mirror of the Self – Sexuality, Self–Knowledge, and the Gaze in the Early Roman Empire

Shadi Bartsch

$49.95

Paperback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

Chicago University Press
24 October 2014

History; European history; Ancient history: to c 500 CE; Western philosophy: Ancient, to c 500

People in the ancient world thought of vision as both an ethical tool and a tactile sense, akin to touch. Gazing upon someone—or oneself—was treated as a path to philosophical self-knowledge, but the question of tactility introduced an erotic element as well. In The Mirror of the Self, Shadi Bartsch asserts that these links among vision, sexuality, and self-knowledge are key to the classical understanding of the self.

Weaving together literary theory, philosophy, and social history, Bartsch traces this complex notion of self from Plato’s Greece to Seneca’s Rome. She starts by showing how ancient authors envisioned the mirror as both a tool for ethical self-improvement and, paradoxically, a sign of erotic self-indulgence. Her reading of the Phaedrus, for example, demonstrates that the mirroring gaze in Plato, because of its sexual possibilities, could not be adopted by Roman philosophers and their students. Bartsch goes on to examine the Roman treatment of the ethical and sexual gaze, and she traces how self-knowledge, the philosopher’s body, and the performance of virtue all played a role in shaping the Roman understanding of the nature of selfhood. Culminating in a profoundly original reading of Medea, The Mirror of the Self illustrates how Seneca, in his Stoic quest for self-knowledge, embodies the Roman view, marking a new point in human thought about self-perception.

Bartsch leads readers on a journey that unveils divided selves, moral hypocrisy, and lustful Stoics—and offers fresh insights about seminal works. At once sexy and philosophical, The Mirror of the Self will be required reading for classicists, philosophers, and anthropologists alike.

By: Shadi Bartsch
Imprint: Chicago University Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 235mm, Width: 150mm, Spine: 20mm
Weight: 496g
ISBN: 9780226211725
ISBN 10: 022621172X
Pages: 312
Publication Date: 24 October 2014
Audience: College/higher education , A / AS level , Further / Higher Education
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Shadi Bartsch is the Helen A. Regenstein Distinguished Service Professor of Classics and the Program in Gender Studies at the University of Chicago She has served as the editor of Classical Philogy and is the author of several books, including, most recently, Ideology in Cold Blood: A Reading of Lucan's Civil War.

Reviews for The Mirror of the Self – Sexuality, Self–Knowledge, and the Gaze in the Early Roman Empire

A brilliant and thought-provoking study of the role of mirrors and mirroring in ethical thought. While drawing the proper distinctions between ancient and modern understanding of the mirror, self-mirroring and, indeed, the self, Bartsch cannot help reminding us that ancient conceptions have not been jettisoned wholesale in the march of history. Her book makes stimulating reading for anyone interested in the drama of the ethical life, now and then. (Times Literary Supplement)