Professor of Comparative Literature Nancy Sorkin Rabinowitz recently presented a guest lecture for the Classics Department of Boston University. The talk, “Gender and Sexuality: Lenses on the House of Atreus,” focused on the relationship between Orestes and Pylades.
Orestes was a mythic hero, the son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra; Pylades was his faithful companion. The myth is a complex one, full of murder and revenge. Rabinowitz explored the relationship between masculinity and same-sex desire in the myth.
Rabinowitz has turned her traditional scholarly research on sex and gender to the theatre. She recently spent several days working with London theatre group By Jove on a collaborative production based on her research on the House of Atreus myth. As dramaturg, Rabinowitz will help write, organize, and conceptualize the piece. She also plans to participate in the group’s next workshop, scheduled for July.
