Publications

We live in an era of convenience, and trying to make someone fall in love with you using only your personality is time-consuming. It might be time to try a different kind of charm: ancient Greek magic! The Core spoke with Chris Faraone, Frank Curtis Springer and Gertrude Melcher Springer in Classics, about the kinds of love spells described in his book Ancient Greek Love Magic. Faraone explained that men and women typically used different kinds of spells, an eros spell for men and a philia spell for women. The eros spell was used as more of a curse, designed to cause the woman an unbearable amount of torture which could only be relieved by the man who cast the spell. The philia spell was designed to bind the man closer to the woman, and was related more to healing magic than to torture (which presumably comes in the later stages of the relationship).

Erica Rand, AM'81, PhD'89, published a book of essays--part cultural critique, part memoir--last year titled Red Nails, Black Skates: Gender, Cash, and Pleasures On and Off the Ice. The idea for the book began when Rand, a professor in women's and gender studies and art and visual culture at Bates College, started figure skating and noticed the numerous ways in which the sport intersected with her academic interests: strict gender rules, class distinctions, and heavy emphasis on popular culture. For example, both male and female skaters, must follow strict guidelines for apparel, such as white skates and short skirts for women, black skates and spandex--clingy, but still masculine--for men. The book contains Rand's observations about the skating world from the point of view of a "self-identified queer femme in a heavily sequined sport."

Read more about Rand's research and the work of other UChicago alumni here.