Greek Mythology (CLHU O246) Dr. Karen Rosenbecker MWF 2:30-3:20 Bobet 312 Location TBA [email protected] Office Hours Spring ‘20 MWF 12:30-1:30 and by appointment
Greek Mythology Please note that all dates, times, and assignments are subject to change at instructor discretion
Required Texts: Classical Mythology (11th ed.), Mark P.O. Morford, Robert Lenardon, and Michael Sham; Oxford University Press (2017). ISBN 9780190851644. Est. Price Range: $11.00-$94.00 Please note that there are many editions of this book available. Should you choose to use an earlier edition, be aware that you are still responsible for any content available in the 11th that my not be in the earlier editions.
NB-- This class requires that you have consistent access to Blackboard and the ability to explore the On-line Resource Site for the Textbook. If you are not able to access the Blackboard site for this class, please go to the Monroe Library circulation desk ASAP and ask them to add you to the class list.
On-line resource site for the textbook: www.classicalmythology.org (http://www.oup.com/us/companion.websites/9780195397703/)
Brief Course Overview: Throughout this class, we will become familiar with the major story arcs in Greek and Roman Mythology. We will become versed in recognizing iconographic representations of gods, goddesses, and heroes both in classical and post-classical art; we will also explore how the genres of literature that preserve these stories have shaped them and how modern thinkers have delved into the question “why is mythology important?”
Course Goals, Objectives, and Student Learning Outcomes: Students will be able to.... 1. The course will help you develop effective skills in critical thinking and writing through in-class writing, exams, presentations, and discussions. 2. The course will help you develop reading, listening, and speaking skills through the assigned texts, class discussion, and responses to the texts and to other students’ ideas 3. The course will help you develop an appreciation for the importance of mythology not just for Greco-Roman culture, but also for the history of Western Europe and modern America. 4. The course will help you recognize those basic story patterns and character archetypes that are rooted in Greek/Roman mythology and that profoundly influence later authors and genres of literature. 5. The course will help you recognize classical tropes and images in the fine arts. 6. The course will help you focus on issues of the relationship of god/God and humanity, specifically how that connection is represented in literature and art and how that the human conception of that relationship changes over time.
Basis for Course Grade: Grading Scale Weekly Reading Quizzes 20% Exams 1-4 80%
Types of Assignments:
Weekly Reading Quizzes: will be brief quizzes given in a variety of formats meant to encourage students to keep up with the reading and reward them for studying throughout the term. The topic and format of the quizzes will be announced ahead of time and posted on BlackBoard so that students will have ample time to study.
Exams 1-4: will contain a variety of formats (i.e. short answer, slide identification, essay answer, multiple choice, etc.). Study guides for each will be give out in class and posted on BlackBoard, and some time for review before each exam will be set aside in class. Exam 4 will NOT be a traditional cumulative final.
Attendance: Please note that attendance is NOT part of your grade for this class. It does not need to be. It has been my experience that poor attendance will naturally result in poor grades. Any attendance sign in sheets are being used to monitor attendance at the request of the Loyola Administration and not as part of the grade for this class.
What to do if you miss class: Emergencies happen. Illnesses happen. When you must miss class, the best thing to do is to get notes from a classmate and copies of all handouts ASAP, and then to come speak to me about what you missed.
Rescheduling Quizzes and Exams: If you have a scheduling conflict with any of the quizzes or exams, PLEASE SPEAK TO ME IN PERSON AHEAD OF TIME. YOU MUST RECEIVE MY PERMISSION TO RESCHEDULE AND SET A NEW DATE WITH ME IMMEDIATELY. YOU MAY NOT RESCHEDULE A RESCHEDULED EXAM. I have no problem rescheduling most things if I am given prior notice. However, if you come to me after the fact (i.e. you’ve already missed a quiz/exam) and ask to take it, the answer will be no.
Extra Credit: Periodically during the term, I will make extra credit options available. Extra credit is lagniappe. It will not bolster a dismal test grade, but it will fill in a point of two on dismal quizzes. Please be aware that extra credit is neither a mandatory part of this course nor a requirement for this course; your participation in extra credit events is NOT compulsory.
How to Do Well in this Class: Come to class. Even if you have not done the readings and are confused by mythology, come to class. Even if you are confident that you have mastered the material, come to class. Even if you must come directly from the Boot, just come to class.
Contacting Rosenbecker: Although you can reach me via email, you will get a response faster if you text me. You are welcome to text me about anything related to class at 504.982.2656. When you do, please include your name and which class you are in as well as your question. Please also understand that sometimes I may be unable to answer your text for a while. Also, be aware that more complicated issues are impossible to discuss via text and are better off saved for an in-person meeting. Cheating and Plagiarism All work in this class is to be done without unauthorized data and/or help. The university’s mandate against representing someone else’s academic work as one’s own applies to ALL assignments in all classes. Any student caught in violation of this rule will receive “no credit” for the assignment in question and as a result may fail the course (see I. Integrity of Scholarship and Grades in the Student Handbook). Technology Policy Please do NOT use your laptops/tablets for note-taking in class. There will be assignments/activities for which we will need them, but not for daily activities. If you would like to use your devices in class, please check in with me first.
Schedule of Readings and Topics This Schedule is subject to change for reasons both within and beyond my control. Please note that additional instructions/readings will be handed out in class.
How to read for class: Be aware that while lectures and in-class discussions will focus on specific material in a given MLS chapter, you will still need to read the whole chapter and be responsible for the material in it. The support materials and quizzes can be very helpful in this regard (see support site at: www.classicalmythology.org (http://www.oup.com/us/companion.websites/9780195397703/)
Readings: MLS= Readings in Classical Mythology Textbook BB= Readings posted on BlackBoard
Week One: Introduction to Greek Mythology M 01/06 Introduction MLS 2: Historical Background for Greek Myth W 01/08 MLS 1: Definitions and Ideas about Mythology
F 01/10 Reading for Discussion: Excerpts from Homer’s Iliad (BB)
Week Two: Views of Creation and Order; Life as Conflict? Tolkien’s Mythos M 01/13 MLS 3: Creation and Divine Order
W 01/15 MLS 4: Zeus’ Rise to Power F 01/17 Reading for Discussion: Excerpt from the Book of Genesis (BB), “The Music of the Ainur” (Tolkien, BB), “Prometheus Against Zeus” from the Theogony (MLS 4)
Week Three: The Rise of Zeus, The Creation of Man M 01/20 Martin Luther King Jr. Day W 01/22 MLS 6: The Nature of the Gods
F 01/24 MLS 5: Zeus, Hera and Their Children
Week Four: The Plight of Man, Sea Deities, EXAM 1 M 01/27 Reading for Discussion: “The Tragedy of Croesus” from Herodotus’ Histories (MLS 6), “The Creation of Pandora” from the Theogony (MLS 4), “The Ages of Man” from Works and Days (MLS 4)
W 01/29 MLS 7: Poseidon and Sea Deities Review for Exam 1 F 01/31 Exam 1
Week Five: The Archetype of the Virgin Goddess; Hindu Mythology M 02/03 MLS 8: Athena
W 02/05 MLS 10: Artemis
F 02/07 Reading for Discussion: “The Birth of Kali” from Linga Purana (BB), “The Birth of Athena” from the Homeric Hymn to Athena (MLS 8)
Week Six: Goddesses of Love and Fertility; Mesopotamian Mythology M 02/10 MLS 9: Aphrodite and Eros
W 02/12 MLS 14: Demeter and the Eleusinian Mysteries
F 02/14 Reading for Discussion: “The Affair of Aphrodite and Ares” from the Odyssey (MLS 5), “The Rape of Persephone” from the Homeric Hymn to Demeter (MLS 14), “The Wrath of Ishtar” from the Epic of Gilgamesh (BB)
Week Seven Numen Lumen—Light, Intelligence, Creativity; Norse Mythology M 02/17 MLS 11: Apollo
W 02/19 MLS 12: Hermes
F 02/21 Reading for Discussion: “Hermes Steals Apollo’s Cattle” from the Homeric Hymn to Hermes (MLS 18), “The Theft of Thor’s Hammer” from Thrimksvitha (BB)
Week Eight: Mardi Gras Break! Go worship Dionysus!
Week Nine: Exam 2; Dionysus M 03/02 Exam 2
W 03/04 MLS 13: Dionysus
F 03/06 Reading for Discussion: Excerpts from the Bacchae (Euripides, BB)
Week Ten: Heroic Quests; Polynesian Mythology M 03/09 MLS 24: Jason and Medea
W 03/11 MLS 21: Perseus
F 03/13 Readings for Discussion: Paikea rides the whale (BB)
Week Eleven: The Trojan War and the Idea of the Hero; Celtic Mythology M 03/16 MLS 19: The Trojan Cycle and the Iliad W 03/18 Reading for Discussion: “Hector and Andromache”, “Priam Ransoms Hector” (Homer, BB)
F 03/20 Excerpts from the Táin Bó Cúailnge (Kinsella [trans], BB)
Week Twelve: The Hero’s Journey—Learning Through Suffering in Mycenae and Thebes M 03/23 MLS 18: The Mycenaean Saga
W 03/27 MLS 17: The Theban Saga
F 03/27 Reading for Discussion: Excerpts from Agamemnon (Aeschylus, BB), Excerpts from Oedipus Tyrannus (Sophocles, BB)
Week Thirteen: EXAM 3, The Hero Realized—Hercules M 03/30 Exam 3 W 04/01 MLS 22: Heracles F 04/03 Reading for Discussion: “The Apotheosis of Hercules” from the Metamorphoses (Ovid, BB)
Week Fourteen: Making Modern Myth—Joseph Campbell, Walter Burkert, and the Batman M 04/06 Joseph Campbell, Walter Burkert, and Modern Hero with a Thousand Faces—Batman
W 04/08 Holy History Books, Batman!—Batman’s origins, incarnation as 60’s pop icon, rebirth as noir hero in Miller’s The Dark Night graphic novel series
End of Week Fourteen into Fifteen: Easter Break Week Fifteen Continued: Batman and the Underworld
W 04/15 In-Class Viewing: Select scenes from The Dark Knight (Nolan, 2008) and Batman: The Movie (Martinson, 1966)
F 04/17 MLS 15: Views of the Afterlife—The Realm of Hades
Week Sixteen: The Underworld; Roman Mythology M 04/20 Reading for Discussion: Excerpt from Dante’s Inferno
W 04/22 MLS 26: Roman Mythology and Saga
F 04/24 Reading for Discussions: Excerpt from Vergil’s Aeneid
Week Seventeen: Ancient Mystery Cults; Buddhist Mythology M 04/27 MLS 16: Orpheus and Orphism—Mystery Religions in Roman Times
W 04/29 Reading for Discussion: Orpheus and Eurydice from the Metamorphoses (MLS 16), Siddhartha faces Mara from The Enlightenment of the Buddha (BB)
Week Eighteen EXAM 4 Monday May 4th at 2:00PM