Charlotte Munglani (KCL) - 2019-20 Students
charlotte.munglani@kcl.ac.uk

An Examination of Female Knowledge and Sexuality in Roman Imperial Literary Culture

My research explores the topic of female sexuality and knowledge in male-authored texts from the Roman Imperial period, creating a corpus of evidence that does not currently exist. The notions of female sexuality, and in particular of female homoerotic desire, have been overlooked and downplayed by previous scholarship. In order to address this deficiency, my thesis will allow for a re-examination of female sexuality and epistemology in a broader sense using sources that are currently underutilised in the modern scholarly narrative. Through close readings of these texts, my thesis will both uncover a new area in Roman Imperial literary studies and contribute to lesbian historiography.

Primary supervisor: Professor Daniel Orrells, KCL