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Koster, Isabel

Assistant Professor

Positions

Research Areas research areas

Research

research overview

  • Isabel Köster (Ph.D. Harvard 2011) studies the history and literature of the Roman Republic and early Empire. She is particularly interested in the intersections between rhetoric, historiography, and religion. Her first book, Stealing from the Gods: Temple Robbery in the Roman Imagination (forthcoming with University of Michigan Press), investigates how authors writing between the first century BCE and second century CE addressed the issue of temple robbery or sacrilegium. She has written articles and chapters on topics such as Ciceronian invective, nymph worship, and sacrifices of flamingos associated with the emperor Caligula. Her current major project is a book on divine punishment in the Roman world.

keywords

  • Roman history, Greek and Roman religion, Latin prose literature, Latin historiography and rhetoric, Roman imperialism, Roman crime and punishment

Publications

selected publications

Teaching

courses taught

  • CLAS 1061 - The Rise and Fall of Ancient Rome
    Primary Instructor - Spring 2023
    Surveys the rise of ancient Rome in the eighth century B.C. to its fall in the fifth century A.D. Emphasizes political institutions, foreign policy, leading personalities, and unique cultural accomplishments. No Greek or Latin required. Same as HIST 1061.
  • CLAS 1140 - Bread and Circuses: Society and Culture in the Roman World
    Primary Instructor - Fall 2019 / Fall 2024
    Surveys the outstanding achievements of Roman culture and society as reflected in literature; philosophy and art; private and official religion; and legal and political thought. No Greek or Latin required.
  • CLAS 2110 - Gender and Sexuality in Ancient Rome
    Primary Instructor - Fall 2018 / Spring 2021 / Spring 2024
    Uses art, archaeology, and literature to study, from a contemporary feminist point of view, the status of women in works of Roman art and literature, the development of attitudes expressed toward them, and their daily life. No Greek or Latin required. Same as WGST 2110.
  • CLAS 2610 - Paganism to Christianity
    Primary Instructor - Spring 2024
    Offers a cultural history of Greek and Roman religion. Students read ancient texts in translation and use evidence from archaeology to reconstruct the shift from paganism to Christianity in antiquity. No Greek or Latin required. Same as RLST 2614.
  • CLAS 4081 - The Roman Republic
    Primary Instructor - Fall 2018 / Fall 2021 / Fall 2022 / Fall 2023
    Studies the Roman Republic from its foundation in 753 B.C. to its conclusion with the career of Augustus. Emphasizes the development of Roman Republican government. Readings are in the primary sources. No Greek or Latin required. Same as CLAS 5081 and HIST 4081.
    • ... more

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International Activities