Student Spotlight: Visualizing Medea

By: Prof. Jennifer Phenix

Reception studies is a sub-discipline of Classics, whereby scholars assess the ways in which Greek (and Roman) material has been transmitted, translated, excerpted, interpreted, rewritten, re-imaged, and represented (Hardwick and Stray, 2008). In the degree breadth course, Heroes in Classical and Contemporary Myth, students engage with the reception of ancient myths and are invited to create a visual piece of Medea, the femme fatale of Euripides’ tragic play, Medea, as part of their research project. As part of their project, students assess the ways in which their contemporary Medea recalls and re-images Euripides’ classical heroine (or villain, depending on your perspective). The following are samples of students’ creative work for their research projects on Medea.