ENGLISH 241 (3645) Dr. Melinda G. Kramer
Mythology, Legend, and Folklore Office: M3078
Fall 2006 Phone: 301-322-0578
MW 1:30 - 2:45 p.m. Email: kramermg@pgcc.edu
M2062 (classroom) Office hours: MW 2:45 - 3:15 p.m. and by
appointment
Required textbooks: Powell, Classical Myth, 5th ed. (Prentice Hall, 2007). Homer, The Iliad, Fagles translation (Penguin). Aeschylus, The Oresteia: Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, The Eumenides (Penguin, 1977). Berger, Little Big Man (Delacorte, 1989). Course readings packet (purchase at PGCC bookstore).
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Monday |
Wednesday |
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Aug. 28 Introduction: What is myth and why should we care? Differences between myth, legend, and folklore. |
Aug. 30 The classical context: Greek geography and society Due: CM, Chapts. 1 -2 |
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Sept. 4 NO CLASS MEETING: Labor Day. COLLEGE CLOSED. |
Sept. 6 Creation myths: the universe and the gods Read Genesis 1.1 - 2.4 Due: CM, Chapt. 4; "Four Worlds" (packet) In-class report groups assigned: reports due Mon., Sept. 25. |
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Sept. 11 Creation myths: humans Read Genesis 2.4 - 2.23 Due: "The Creation of Human Beings," pp. 4-6; "Prometheus, The Fire-Bringer," pp. 161-177 (packet) |
Sept. 13 Classical Mythology Creation myths, cont'd. Due: CM, Chapt. 5 |
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Sept. 18 Classical Mythology The Olympians: Zeus and Hera -- "Take my wife… please." Due: CM, Chapt. 6 |
Sept. 20 Classical Mythology The Olympians: other male and female deities Due: CM, Chapts. 7 - 8 |
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Sept. 25 Classical Mythology/Legends In-class reports from CM, Chapts. 9 - 11: 9. Fertility (Demeter, Persphonê, et al) 10. Fertility (Dionysus/Bacchus) 11. Death & the Underworld |
Sept. 27 Classical Legends Heroes & Heroines: the heroic pattern Video: "The Hero's Adventure," from The Power of Myth, Joseph Campbell Due: CM, Chapts. 12 & 14 |
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Oct. 2 Classical Legends in Poetry The Trojan War: the plot What are these people fighting about? The roles of the gods and fate. Due: CM, Chapt. 19; Iliad, Book 1 |
Oct. 4 Classical Legends in Poetry The Trojan War: heroes & heroines; the roles of women Due: Iliad, Book 6 |
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Oct. 9 Classical Legends in Poetry The Trojan War: the poetry Themes in Homer's Iliad: love, war, jealousy, honor Due: Iliad,
Books 22, 24; CM, Chapt. 20, pp. 566 - 581. |
Oct. 11 Classical Legends in Drama The stuff of heroes; the origins of modern drama. The Greek tragedy continues. Aeschylus's version compared to Homer's. Due: Agamemnon,
ll. 1 - 610. |
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Oct. 16 Classical Legends in Drama Themes in Agamemnon. Due: Agamemnon,
ll. 611 - 1071. |
Oct. 18 Classical Legends in Drama Themes in Agamemnon, cont'd. Due: Agamemnon, ll. 1072 - 1708; CM, Chapt. 20, pp. 556 - 567. |
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Oct. 23 Norse Mythology Cosmology & Context: Nordic geography and beliefs. Comparison of Nordic and classical Greek mythic themes. Due: "The Norse Myths" (packet) |
Oct. 25 Midterm Exam In-class essay test. |
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Oct. 30 Folklore Discussion of semester project and topic selection. Folklore themes (handout). Ash lad stories and "The Twelve Wild Ducks"
(packet) |
Nov. 1 Folklore The function of folk tales Variations of "Red Riding Hood" Due: Red Riding Hood stories (packet). Research semester project topic. |
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Nov. 6 Folklore Transformation folk tales Due: "The Frog King" (packet) Research semester project topic. |
Nov. 8 Folklore Tricksters African and African-American folk tales Due: "Anansi, the Clever One," pp. 7-16;
"El Bizarron and the Devil" and "Wiley and the Hairy
Man," pp. 321-346 (packet). |
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Nov. 13 Folklore Tricksters Native American folk tales Due: "Giant, the Fire-Bringer," pp. 364-70; "Kokopilau" (packet) Due: proposal for
your semester project |
Nov. 15 Myth in the Modern World Due: Little Big Man, by Thomas Berger, pp. xix – 107. |
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Nov. 20 Myth in the Modern World Little Big Man,
pp. 109 - 185. Tues., Nov. 21, last day
to withdraw from class with W |
Nov. 22 Thanksgiving break begins NO CLASS MEETING |
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Nov. 27 Myth in the Modern World Little Big Man, pp. 187 -339. |
Nov. 29 Myth in the Modern World Little Big Man, pp. 341 - 440. |
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Dec. 4 Oral presentation of projects. Due: Semester research project |
Dec. 6 Oral presentations cont'd. |
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Dec. 11 Final exams/last week of classes. Review for final exam (voluntary). |
Dec. 13 Final exams/last week of classes. Final exam. |
The learning outcomes for EGL 241
Students
who successfully complete this course will be able to:
1. Explain belief systems, social constructs, and literary
forms (creation stories; war epics, hero stories, etc.) of various Western
cultures and compare them to the beliefs, constructs, and literary forms of
selected non-Western cultures such as Chinese, Indian, Native-American, and
Babylonian.
2. Explain the major mythological and folkloric genres (epic,
hymns, folk-tale, etc.) and motifs of different peoples and analyze them using
some theories of interpreting myth.
3. Write analytically with adequate documentation about a topic
relevant to mythology.
4. Explain the interdisciplinary approach to mythology by using
such scholarly theories as structuralism, etiological theory, etc.
If
you do the assignments, attend class, and apply critical thinking skills to the
material covered in both, you should achieve the course outcomes.
EGL
241 is a lot of fun. We will look at
some of the myths, legends, and folklore that have underpinned human culture
from the dawn of storytelling to the present day. As book reviewer Michael Dirda has written in
the Washington Post:
Mythology -- especially that
of the Greeks and Romans -- is probably the single most important body of
knowledge that anyone who wishes to understand the great art, music and
literature of the West should master.
These stories, of transformations and odysseys, of rapes and rescues,
pervade our culture; indeed, they are our culture. Without them, we wouldn't have, just to
mention some random instances, Yeats's "Leda and the Swan," Welty's The Golden Apples or the scores of retellings of Orpheus in
the Underworld (baroque operas, Cocteau's "Orphée," the Brazilian
film "Black Orpheus," Russell Hoban's novel The Medusa Frequency, etc. etc.). Learn the ancient myths, the Old and New
Testaments and the classic fairy tales, and you will be better prepared to read
poems and look at paintings than half our recent liberal-arts graduates.
"Book World," 17 Aug.
2003, 15.
As
you complete this course, you will begin to see evidence of these myths and
legends everywhere -- in movies, on television, in comic strips, even in the
advertising on the backs of trucks. And
it's not your imagination. The
references are there. Although they may
have changed a bit over time, the mythological sources still resonate
meaningfully in the modern world.
Grading
reading
quizzes 10% no makeups
two
exams 50% no makeups
semester
research project 25%
oral
reports 15%
All
papers must be typed, double spaced, in standard format. Necessary citations or documentation of
sources should be in correct MLA style.
Papers lose a letter grade for each class they are late. Papers more than two classes late will
fail. Papers containing deliberate or inadvertent plagiarism will fail, and a
charge will sent to the Vice President for Student Affairs for action. See the
college Student Handbook for details.
Attendance
I
do not differentiate between “excused” and “unexcused” absences. You are allowed three absences without
penalty; I do not need to see a note from a doctor or anyone else. Analogous to sick leave at work, after your
three absences are gone I will begin deducting points from your grade. If you miss 25% percent or more of our class
meetings, departmental policy permits me to fail you for the course. If you know you are going to be absent, tell
me ahead of time if possible. You are
responsible for finding out from a classmate what you missed (make friends;
exchange phone numbers and email addresses).
Repeated tardiness will be figured as appropriate fractions of absences.
Classroom
Decorum
No
cell phones, pagers, iPods, or earphones, please. Turn them off and put them out of sight. You may not leave the classroom to
answer a call. No food of any kind. You may
bring beverages (be neat). I expect
courteous and respectful behavior toward everyone in the class. Anyone who disrupts class a second time after
being warned once can expect to receive a Charge of Student Disruption with
commensurate penalties.
Disabilities
If
you have a documented cognitive or physical disability that requires
accommodation, please see me.
Honors
Contracts
Students
who plan to take EGL 241 for honors credit need to meet with me well before the
contract application due date to discuss contract projects. Honors contracts mean extra out-of-class
work beyond the syllabus assignments. Contracts require my approval as well as the
approval and signature of the Honors Coordinator and the Liberal Arts
Dean. The dean reads the contracts
carefully to make sure the proposed projects are worthwhile. A proposal thrown together at the last minute
is not likely to receive my approval or the dean's.
Welcome to the world of
mythology, legend, and folklore. You’re
going to enjoy it!