Amy Ellen Richlin (born December 12, 1951) is a professor in the Department of Classics at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). Her areas of specialization include Latin literature, the history of sexuality, and feminist theory.

Early life

Richlin was born in

Hackensack, New Jersey Hackensack is the most populous municipality in and the county seat of Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.

on December 12, 1951, to Samuel Richlin and Sylvia Richlin. Her grandparents all immigrated to the US from Lithuania and Belarus. Her father studied at the

Eastman School of Music The Eastman School of Music is the music school of the University of Rochester, a private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. Established in 1921 by celebrated industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman, it was the ...

, where he was close friends with Alec Wilder, but worked afterwards as a kosher butcher. Richlin's mother worked as a typist and secretary, most notably to Manie Sacks.

Academic career

Richlin studied at

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts, United States. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smit ...

, then transferred in 1970 to

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

, where she was the founding captain of the women's rowing team. She graduated from Princeton in 1973 as part of the first co-ed class to study there and then completed her PhD at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

, writing her dissertation on "Sexual Terms and Themes in Roman Satire and Related Genres". She taught at

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

(1977–1979),

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

(1979–1982),

Lehigh University Lehigh University (LU), in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, United States, is a private university, private research university. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer. Lehigh University's undergraduate programs have been mixed ...

(1982–1989), and the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

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

Published works

Her first book was ''The Garden of Priapus: Sexuality and Aggression in Roman Humour'' (1983; rev 1992). She developed similar themes in collected works including ''Pornography and Representation in Greece and Rome'' (1992), and ''Feminist Theory and the Classics'' (co-edited with Nancy Sorkin Rabinowitz, 1993). She has publicly cited Australian classical scholar Suzanne Dixon as a great influence in shaping her work on gender politics. Richlin was the first to publish the word '

fuck ''Fuck'' () is profanity in the English language that 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 ...

' in the journal ''

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

''.

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 ( ; 254 – 184 BC) 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 genre devised by Livius Andro ...

(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 Labours of Hercules."

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

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

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

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus ( ; ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and a Stoicism, Stoic philosopher. He was a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty, the last of the rulers later known as the Five Good Emperors ...

and his teacher, Cornelius Fronto, 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 Millicen ...

(2004) * Loeb Foundation Fellowship (2010–2011) * Lambda Classical Caucus Rehak Award (2011) * Women's Classical Caucus Leadership Award (2017) * C. J. Goodwin Award of Merit for ''Slave Theater in the Roman Republic: Plautus and Popular Comedy'' (2018) * Doctor of Humane Letters ''honoris causa,'' University of Chicago

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Richlin, Amy Yale University alumni University of California, Los Angeles faculty American feminist writers Living people American classical scholars American 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