Amy Ellen Richlin (born December 12, 1951) is a professor in the Department of Classics at the

University of California Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a Normal school, teachers colle ...

(UCLA). Her specialist areas include Latin literature, the history of sexuality, and feminist theory.

Early life

Born in

Hackensack, New Jersey Hackensack is a city in and the county seat of Bergen County, New Jersey, United States.New Jer ...

on December 12, 1951, to parents Samuel Richlin and Sylvia Richlin, her grandparents all immigrated to the US from Lithuania and Belarus. Neither of her parents were in the classic field with her father pursuing careers in music, poetry and butchery and her mother being a typist and secretary, most notably to Manie Sacks.

Academic career

Richlin studied at

Smith College Smith College is a private liberal arts women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith and opened in 1875. It is the largest member of the historic Seven Sisters colleges, a group of elite women's c ...

, then transferred to

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the n ...

in 1970, graduating in 1973 as part of the first co-ed class to study there, where she then went on to found The Princeton University Women's Crew and then studied for her PhD at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

writing her dissertation on "Sexual Terms and Themes in Roman Satire and Related Genres". Since 1977, she has taught at

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and wa ...

(1977–1979),

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...

(1979–1982),

Lehigh University Lehigh University (LU) is a private research university in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer and was originally affiliated with the Ep ...

(1982–1989), and the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8. ...

(1989–2005), before moving to the University of California at Los Angeles. She retired from the University of California at Los Angeles after 45 years of teaching in 2022.

Published works

Her first book was ''The Garden of

Priapus In Greek mythology, Priapus (; grc, Πρίαπος, ) is a minor rustic fertility god, protector of livestock, fruit plants, gardens and male genitalia. Priapus is marked by his oversized, permanent erection, which gave rise to the medical term ...

: Sexuality and Aggression in Roman Humor'' (1983; rev 1992). She developed the theme in collected works including ''

Pornography Pornography (often shortened to porn or porno) is the portrayal of sexual subject matter for the exclusive purpose of sexual arousal. Primarily intended for adults,

and Representation in Greece and Rome'' (1992), and ''Feminist Theory and the Classics'' (co-edited with

Nancy Sorkin Rabinowitz Nancy Sorkin Rabinowitz is a classical scholar, specialising in ancient Greek literature and intersectional feminism. Career Sorkin Rabinowitz graduated from City College of New York and received her Ph.D. from University of Chicago for the thesi ...

, 1993). She has publicly cited Australian classical scholar

Suzanne Dixon Suzanne Dixon (born 1946) is an Australian classical scholar, widely recognised as an authority on women's history and particularly marriage and motherhood. Career Dixon's career spans posts at the Australian National University as well as th ...

as a great influence in shaping her work on

gender politics Identity politics is a political approach wherein people of a particular race, nationality, religion, gender, sexual orientation, social background, social class, or other identifying factors develop political agendas that are based upon these ...

. Richlin was the first to publish the word '

fuck ''Fuck'' is an English-language expletive. It often refers to the act of sexual intercourse, but is also commonly used as an intensifier or to convey disdain. While its origin is obscure, it is usually considered to be first attested to ar ...

' in the journal

Classical Philology Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

In ''Rome and the Mysterious Orient'', Richlin translated three works – '' Curculio'', '' Persa'' and ''

Poenulus ''Poenulus'', also called ''The Little Carthaginian'' or ''The Little Punic Man'', is a Latin comedic play for the early Roman theatre by Titus Maccius Plautus, probably written between 195 and 189 BC. The play is noteworthy for containing text ...

'' – by the Roman playwright

Plautus Titus Maccius Plautus (; c. 254 – 184 BC), commonly known as Plautus, was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are the earliest Latin literary works to have survived in their entirety. He wrote Palliata comoedia, the ...

(notably using "references taken right out of American pop culture" to make Plautus more understandable to modern audiences).''Rome and the Mysterious Orient: Three Plays by Plautus'', translated with introductions and notes. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2005. Pp. xiv, 288. .
Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2006.05.35
by Vincent Hunink). For example, the conventionally translated text:

The lover that first set out on the highways of love with an empty purse went in for harder labours than Hercules

was translated by Richlin as:

The dude who first set out to go on the road of love without no dough, / this guy had to go through way more shit than all them Labors of Hercules."

Her translation of Plautus' '' Rudens'' was adapted in a play ''Tug of War'' performed at the

Getty Villa The Getty Villa is at the easterly end of the Malibu coast in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. One of two campuses of the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Getty Villa is an educational center and museum de ...

in 2007. Richlin also engaged on a long-term project on the amatory letters of the young

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Latin: áːɾkus̠ auɾέːli.us̠ antɔ́ːni.us̠ English: ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good ...

and his teacher,

Cornelius Fronto Marcus Cornelius Fronto (c. 100late 160s AD), best known as Fronto, was a Roman grammarian, rhetorician, and advocate. Of Berber origin, he was born at Cirta (modern-day Constantine, Algeria) in Numidia. He was suffect consul for the ''nundinium' ...

, with ''Marcus Aurelius in Love'' published in 2007.

Awards and achievements

* ACLS Travel Grant (1987) *

National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...

Fellowship (1987-1988) * Women's Classical Caucus Prize (1992) * Mortar Board Faculty of the Month (September, 1995) * USC Associate Award for Excellence in Teaching (1996) * ACLS Fellowship (2003-2004) * Visiting Membership of High Table,

Newnham College, Cambridge Newnham College is a women's constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1871 by a group organising Lectures for Ladies, members of which included philosopher Henry Sidgwick and suffragist campaigner Millicent ...

(2004) * Loeb Foundation Fellowship (2010-2011) * Lambda Classical Caucus Rehak Award (2011) * Women's Classical Caucus Leadership Award (2017)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Richlin, Amy Yale University alumni University of California, Los Angeles faculty American feminist writers Living people American classical scholars Women classical scholars Smith College alumni Princeton University alumni Rutgers University faculty Dartmouth College faculty Lehigh University faculty University of Southern California faculty 1951 births Classical scholars of the University of California, Los Angeles