My spirit moves to tell of shapes transformed
into new bodies.
— from Metamorphoses, translated by Stephanie McCarter

"All things are subject to the power of change: bodies, landscapes, cities, nations—even the cosmos," writes Stephanie McCarter in the introduction to her translation of Metamorphoses. The themes of Ovid's epic—power, defiance, art, love, abuse, grief, rape, war, beauty—are as changing as the transformations that take place on its pages. Ovid is keenly interested in the way power transforms those of us who have it and those of us who do not. 

In this three-part seminar, McCarter, the first female translator of Metamorphoses into English in over sixty years, will examine how the epic poem upturns almost every convention. Each session will be devoted to an in-depth discussion of Ovid's poetic technique and his interpretation of violence and defiance, piety, art, women's experience, and mutual love, among other topics. 

Class meets from 2:30 - 3:45 p.m. EDT on Mondays: May 13, 20, and 27.

McCarter will reference her translation of Metamorphoses (Penguin, 2023), winner of the Academy's Harold Morton Translation Award, which registrants are encouraged to buy.

This live, virtual course is structured to encourage active participation. Registrants will receive Zoom links a week before each session, a day prior to each session, and the morning of each session. All recordings will be made available within forty-eight hours of a session. All recordings and class material will remain available for thirty days after the final session

Scholarship applications must be submitted by Monday, May 6 at 5 p.m. EDT.

For information on how to register, how to receive the member discount, how to apply for a scholarship, how to access recordings and course materials, and more, please visit our FAQ page.