Hendrickson harnesses the curricular freedom in his role as teacher at an online high school to boost student writers into the realm of publishing, and the quality of this edition reveals the meticulous attentions of the entire group toward producing a polished product. One can only hope more teachers will take such a leading role in broadening access to such interesting texts.
Isotta Nogarola's Defense of Eve
A Latin Text of the De Pari aut Impari Evae atque Adae Peccato with Running Vocabulary and Commentary
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In 1451, Isotta Nogarola took up her pen in defense of Eve. For over a thousand years, writers from Tertullian to Boccaccio had blamed Eve for Original Sin.
Nogarola’s Defense of Eve, which traditionally bears the title Dē Parī aut Imparī Ēvae atque Ādae Peccātō, laid the foundation for an argument that women were not inherently inferior. As Margaret King and Diana Robin write, “The importance of this work and its place among inaugural texts in the history of the European controversy over gender and nature cannot be overstated” (2004: 142).
This edition of Isotta Nogarola’s Defense of Eve aims to enable students of Latin to read the text in its original language. A substantial introduction provides background on the woman, her text, and her times. The Latin text includes a running glossary and grammatical commentary on every page.
Author(s)
Isotta Nogarola
Editor(s)
Amelie Wilson-Bivera, Dhru Goud, Finn P. Boyle, Justine A. Stern, Kennedy Leininger, Siddhant Karmali, Siria A. Chapman, Thomas Hendrickson
[T]his publication clearly responds to an urgent need in the field of classical and humanist studies: the lack of accessible Latin texts written by women for use in the classroom. Although a previous edition of the Defense of Eve was available, its more than 100 pages of Latin in its introduction made it daunting for most students. By contrast, Hendrickson’s volume offers a more manageable alternative, making it far easier to integrate Nogarola’s voice into courses on Latin language, Renaissance humanism, and the history of women’s writing. This volume – and the whole Experrecta series – is truly a great source of inspiration for Classics teachers; not only does it deepen students’ knowledge of Latin, but it also allows them to create something meaningful. I cannot imagine a better way to approach education.