Journeys and Identities from Gilgamesh to Candide

CLCV 229-01 Instructor: Michael Mordine M/W 1:30-2:45 Office: Seabury T-212 Room: TBA Office Hours: TBA

Syllabus

Course Description

This course combines the reading of tales of exploration and adventure from widely different cultures and time periods with hands-on exploration of the city of Hartford and its environs. Our goal is to bridge the distance between the past and present, the foreign and the familiar, between literature and our lived experiences. The five texts will be the Near Eastern epic Gilgamesh, the early Greek epic the Odyssey by Homer, the Roman national epic the Aeneid by Vergil, the medieval Arthurian romance Yvain: The Knight of the Lion by Chrétien de Troyes, and the early modern story Candide by Voltaire.

Requirements

Consistent attendance and preparation for class are essential. Especially important is thoughtful participation in class discussions, whether offering ideas, asking questions, commenting on the readings, etc. A necessary prerequisite for full participation is a thorough engagement with the reading.

Students will give an oral presentation on an article or other materials related to one of the texts. There will also be a final exam but no midterm. Instructions for the presentation and the final exam will be discussed later but, of course, well before the assignments are due. Most importantly, students will keep a journal of their own questions, observations and reflections as they read the texts, and I will ask you to address specific important themes of each of these works of literature over the course of the semester. I will also collect and look over these journals at certain points throughout the semester.

The final course grade will be based on the following percentages:

Participation: 35% Oral Presentation: 15% Journal: 35% Final Exam: 15%

Required Texts

Gilgamesh: A New English Version Stephen Mitchell, tr. Free Press (January 24, 2006) ISBN-13: 978-0743261692

Homer The Odyssey D.C.H. Rieu, rev. tr. Penguin Classics (revised edition, 2003) ISBN-13: 978-0140449112

Vergil The Aeneid Robert Fagles, tr. Penguin Classics; Reissue edition (December 28, 2010) ISBN-13: 978-014310629

Chrétien de Troyes Yvain: The Knight of the Lion (Yvain, Le Chevalier au Lion) Burton Raffel, tr. Yale University Press (September 10, 1987) ISBN-13: 978-0300038385

Voltaire Candide: Or, Optimism Penguin Classics; Deluxe edition (October 25, 2005) ISBN-13: 978-0143039426

Academic Integrity

I expect your work to be your own product, and in this class there will be no need to consult any outside sources beyond the texts themselves and any handouts I give or articles I assign. Plagiarism is a severe infraction against college rules and subjects a student to disciplinary action, including failure of the course. Please consult your Student Handbook for information regarding school policy and due process procedures.