(Tom) Palaima Department
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CC 303 Intro to Classical Mythology 32925 MWF 12-1:00 JGB 2.324 Palaima, Thomas G. Professor Thomas (Tom) Palaima Department: Classics WAG 123 Mail Code: C3400 Office: Waggener 14AA Office Hours: M 3:30-4:30pm W 10-11:00 am and by appt [email protected] Campus Phone: 471-8837 fax: 471-4111 Dept. 471-5742 Assistant Instructors William (Bill) Farris Dept: Classics WAG 123 Mail Code: C3400 Office: Waggener 11 Office Hours: T 10-11am TH 12:30-1:30pm and by appt [email protected] Campus Phone: NONE fax: 471-4111 Dept. 471-5742 Samantha (Sam) Meyer Department: Classics WAG 123 Mail Code: C3400 Office: Waggener 13 Office Hours: M 9-10am F 1-2pm and by appt [email protected] Campus Phone: NONE fax: 471-4111 Dept. 471-5742 SI sessions: Mondays 5-6pm in CBA 4.330 Thursdays 6-7pm in MEZ 1.210 Supplemental Instruction (SI) consists of weekly voluntary discussion sessions that are aimed at helping students learn and practice study strategies with the course materials. Two sessions are offered each week (while you are absolutely welcome to come to both, you do not need to attend both). These sessions are facilitated by the SI leader, but primarily they are a space for collaborative, student-driven discussion and review. Please let Sam know if you have any questions! Course Description: Greek mythology is mainly a public performance literature embedded in a still primarily oral culture. Ancient Greek mythmakers (the word muthos means simply “something uttered,” i.e., what we call a “story”) used their stories in public settings to make sense of their world and to entertain, instruct, ask questions and provoke discussion among people who lived mainly in “continual fear and danger of violent death, [in historical periods when] the life of man [was] solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short” (Thomas Hobbes). Among these myths are top-ten all-time stories about —the ironies and savagery, honor and costs of war and the fates of men, women and children in times of war (Iliad, Trojan Women); —about exotic adventure, the dangers of travels on the seas, and difficulties most soldiers face in coming home from wars and (the Odyssey); —about the creation of the world and about how the gods, who hold the most power within the world and over human beings, have come to be (Theogony); —about hard work, hardships, injustices, political outrages, divine cruelty and why bad things happen to reasonably good people in the world (Works and Days); —about war, murder, justice and vengeance (Agamemnon); —about incest, voyeurism, developing sexuality, defying the restrictions society in general imposes on individuals, ecstatic cults, attempted and actual child murder, patricide, and fate (Oedipus Tyrannus and Bacchae); —about politics, religion, and social tensions caused by family obligations, personal morality and state laws (Antigone); —about passion, betrayal, fame, middle-aged anxiety, cross-cultural isolation, suspicion of foreigners, male privilege, the subordination of women, the power of love, vengeance and the murder of young children by their mother (Medea); —about detective fiction, personal fate, the pitfalls of being too damned smart, and hubris (Oedipus Tyrannus); —about the horrid aftermath for victors and the defeated after the siege of a city and the capture of its people (Trojan Women). —and about the meaning of life and of our lives (Viktor Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning and everything we will read and listen to and discuss this semester). As in all modern forms of telling stories, “sex, violence, action and mystery sell.” The Greeks also used music and dance in mythic presentation. All their poems (literally ‘made things’) were performed with music. Compare modern opera, music videos, folk and blues music, YouTube, television commercials, and even sound tracks in motion pictures (including early silent films that were accompanied by live piano playing). We shall compare the Book of Genesis with Greek creation myths and give some look at modern literature (especially war literature), contemporary events and music from the last 100 years. THIS COURSE IS NOT DESIGNED FOR YOU ONLY TO LEARN THE BASIC STORIES OF ANCIENT MYTHOLOGY. IT IS DESIGNED TO GET YOU TO THINK ABOUT HOW THE REALITIES OF HUMAN LIVES ARE REFLECTED IN LONG-LASTING MYTHS AND WHY THEY ARE AND WHAT THEY MIGHT STILL MEAN TO US NOW. In this course we shall read and discuss the great Greek myths in four ways: (1) to become familiar with them and how they worked within their culture; (2) to appreciate and enjoy them as great, but accessible works of the human mind and heart, in many cases the first such inventions in the history of human beings; (3) to understand how they worked as tools to explain the world and what most concerns and confuses human beings about their lives. (4) to discuss what they mean for us and our problems—this is, after all, why they still survive and are read or otherwise taken in again and again. An old professor once told his student, theater director Brian Doerries, “The secret of reading is to close the book.” What does this mean? We will use modern, but not necessarily contemporary (for you), parallels suggested by my activities as a commentary writer, a general book reviewer, a teacher of ethics and leadership, and a student of the human experience of war and violence and how human beings come to terms with the meaning of life and death. You are invited to think about these ideas and propose your own. Let us try to remember to ask questions at the beginning of every class. If I do not ask for them, please raise your hand anyway, if you have a question or observation. BOOKS ORDERED IN COOP: Stanley Lombardo, Homer, The Iliad (Hackett ISBN 0-87-220352-2 pbk) Emily Wilson, Homer, The Odyssey (Norton ISBN 978-0-393-35625-0 pbk) Stanley Lombardo, Hesiod, Works and Days and Theogony (Hackett ISBN 0-87220-180-5 pbk) Peter Meineck, trans. Aeschylus, Oresteia includes Agamemnon Hackett 0872203905 Diane Arnson Svarlien, Euripides, Medea (Hackett ISBN 978-0-87220-923-7) Paul Woodruff, Euripides, Bacchae (Hackett ISBN 0-87220-392-1 pbk) Paul Woodruff and P. Meineck, Sophocles, Oedipus Rex (Hackett ISBN 0-87220-492-8 pbk) Paul Woodruff, trans. Sophocles Antigone (Hackett 978-087220-571-0 2001) H.A. Shapiro, trans. and ed., Euripides. Trojan Women (OUP 9780195179101) Viktor Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning (Beacon Press 9780807014271) Syllabus, notes, background information, will all be available on CANVAS. Additional primary readings will be available on CANVAS also. GRADES: We will use +/- grading. WE WILL HAVE IN-CLASS DISCUSSION on SELECTED FRIDAYS. There will be three in-class examinations. These will be partly short-answer identification and partly essay. These will count for 20% 25% and 25% of your grade. There will also be four in-class ten-question multiple choice factual quizzes. These will count for 5% 5% 10% and 10% of your grade. Grade Scale: A 94-100; A- 90-93; B+ 87-89; B 84-86; B- 80-83; C+ 77-79; C 74-76; C- 70-73; D+ 67-69; D 64-66; D- 60-63; F 59 and below. Disabilities UT Austin provides upon request appropriate academic accommodations for qualified students with disabilities. For more information, contact SSD at 471-6259, or go to http://www.utexas.edu/diversity/ddce/ssd/. Note: students must present a UT "accommodation letter authorizing specific accommodations.” Religious holy days If you need to miss a class or other required class activity, including examinations) for the observance of a religious holiday, you must notify me as far in advance as is possible, preferably at least 14 days in advance, so we can make alternative arrangements for your absence and to complete missed assignments within a reasonable time after the absence. Note: the University's Religious Days Policy is online: http://www.utexas.edu/provost/policies/religious_holidays/ UT Honor Code: “The core values of The University of Texas at Austin are learning, discovery, freedom, leadership, individual opportunity, and responsibility. Each member of the university is expected to uphold these values through integrity, honesty, trust, fairness, and respect toward peers and community.” Scholastic dishonesty on any graded assignment will result in a grade of F for the course. Scholastic dishonesty includes any kind of cheating or collaboration on tests, or submitting work that is not either your own or not accurately attributed to its source. For more information, contact Student Judicial Services at 471-2841, or go to http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/sjs/acint_student.php. Late work It is hoped all will go smoothly with the health and lives of all participants in this course. If you take ill or have a medical emergency (including for mental health issues), please email us or talk to us and provide appropriate documentation. If you have personal or family crises or a sudden avalanche of things that have to be done, we shall try to work with you on rescheduling deadlines without too much in the way of penalty. No make ups without sound documentation. Behavioral concerns: If you are worried about someone who is acting differently, you may use the Behavior Concerns Advice Line (BCAL) to discuss by phone your concerns about another individual’s behavior. This service is provided through a partnership among the Office of the Dean of Students, the Counseling and Mental Health Center (CMHC), the Employee Assistance Program (EAP), and The University of Texas Police Department (UTPD). Call 512-232-5050 or visit http://www.utexas.edu/safety/bcal If needed, take advantage of the counseling services here before problems get out of hand.