Reading and Teaching Ovid's Metamorphoses with Ecopsychology

Abstract: In this article I introduce the value of reading and teaching Ovid's Metamorphoses from a phenomenological and more specifically an eco-psychological perspective on the text's narratives of transformation that prioritize embodied experiences of human and other-than-human inter-relationships. An overview of pedagogical frameworks for phenomenology and ecopsychology will lead to close readings from the Metamorphoses that suggest Ovid's epic naturally invites ecopsychological reflection and participation from its receiver. I include a short practical exercise in this mode of reading for readers of this article to experience, followed by a discussion of similar exercises I have developed for a graduate course on Roman mythology. Student impressions of these exercises demonstrate the epistemological value learners can derive from reading Ovid from an ecopsychological framework.