Last Day to Drop a Class With a Refund:Tuesday, January 25
Last Day to Withdraw With a Grade of W: Monday, March 14
Required Texts:
Please Use Those Editions Available in the Bookstore
DO NOT PURCHASE ALTERNATE EDITIONS
African Myths of Origin (Belcher)
American Indian Myths and Legends (Erdoes)
Mabinogion (Davies)
Metamorphoses (Ovid)
Myths From Mesopotamia (Dalley)
Over Nine Waves (Heaney)
Poetic Edda (Larrington)
We Will Also Read Some of the Book of Genesis 1:1-11:10.
See this Link: http://www.bartleby.com/108/01/
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Prerequisites
English 112 or division approval.
Course Description
Studies selected mythologies of the world, emphasizing their common origins and subsequent influence on human thought and expression. Involves critical reading and writing.
This will be a class in close reading and the written analysis of literary, mythological, and religious texts from the earliest civilization to comparatively recent times (some were recorded quite recently though perhaps of ealier origin) from various critical perspectives.
We will initially ground our critical inquiry in comparative mythology, using it as a tool for analysis, but we will also question its validity, interrogate it's assumptionsm, and analyze its usefulness and accuracy in explicating the myths we encounter.
We will also explore a variety of possible interpretations of the texts we study which eschew comparative mytholgical approaches grounded in structuralism, including interpretations that borrow from ideas in disciplines like gender theory, psychoanalyitic theory, Marxism, identity theory, post colonial theory, cultural studies, and so on.
We will not--as is too often the case in contemporary literature classes--reduce the readings to their formal, structural, political, historical, cultural or sociological dimensions.
Instead, we will treat the texts as aesthetic as well as cultural artifacts with power to speak to us across a broad historical chasm. Our primary goal will be to learn to read carefully and insightfully and to enrich our understanding of mythological texts from around the globe.
READ THIS NOTICE
or
(“BEWARE OF THE LEOPARD”)
What I Will Do:
This is a class designed around the proposition that we will all read these books critically and carefully and then come to class prepared to discuss them intelligently.
- I will not lecture ad nauseum, nor will I tell you what you must think about the literary text. I will not give you the "right" answer.
- I will not quiz you with standardized tests to see what you recall, nor give intelligence-numbing tests in the model of the SOLs.
- I will not merely explain the text's meaning according to me (though I will give my point of view and share various points of view that I do not necessarily find persuasive), and then require you to recapitulate what I explained and think; that is not thinking.
- Instead, I will serve as guide and participant in the discussion. In other words, I will orchestrate your discussion, serving as a sort of ringmaster and Socratic gadfly for an active and insightful conversation about the text, providing prompts, specialized knowledge and background, and literary-critical insights as needed, but that is all.
· I will discuss adult themes of sexuality and desire as well as controversial theological, political and philosophical positions as they apply. We will also discuss texts still considered sacred (Genesis) by many in precisely the same way we discuss sacred texts which no one currently considers "true." However, this class will neither ask you to believe or cease to believe in the veracity of these texts.
What I Expect of You:
- I expect you to attend regularly. Those who are absent (in body or mind) will find the course less interesting and the material more difficult than those who attend and participate. You cannot "make up" the discoveries and the intellectual give-and-take created by a classroom full of individual personalities. Your absence also deprives the class of the unique perspective that only you can bring. I expect the real insights about the texts to come from collaboration as you share your ideas and work through your questions and comments about the text.
- I expect you to read. If you hate reading; if you intend not to read the texts or to read bookrags or sparknotes or gradesavers (yes, I know and have read all of these), or some other formulaic webpage instead, then you are in the wrong class. Now’s a good time to see what else is available in the course options.
- I expect you to be open to learning about the texts and subject. If analysis of literature seems pointless, irrelevant, or overkill to you, or if you are just looking to coast through in order to gain a few elective credits, then, again, you are in the wrong class. Now’s a good time to see what else is available in the course options.
- I expect you to state and defend your analysis and to listen respectfully to the analyses of others, giving everyone a chance to participate. Feel free to ask your peers to clarify, explain, restate, or offer their point of view. If, however, you feel shy about speaking out in class or feel I do not give you adequate opportunity to do so, come speak with me about your concerns, and we will adress them.
- I expect lively discussion, new insights, practice in thinking for its own sake, and a chance to learn and to teach.
· I expect you to bring your sense of humor and your intellect to class with you.
Along the way, in the interests of assessing what you have learned, I will require one presentation, one formal essay, an exam, and some informal commentary on the texts (Discussion Questions).
Class Policies
Cell Phones Etiquette:
Whatever message you wish to send or receive via phone, texting, twitter, or facebook on your smartphone or cell phone can almost always wait until class ends.
Therefore, unless you clear it through me in advance (i.e. you have to have access to your phone for emergency services duty, a kid in the hospital, to look up a fact or concept relevant to class discussion, etc…), use of cell phones, smartphones, etc… in class is annoying and rude, and, therefore, strictly forbidden. If I see you texting, etc…, I will ask you to leave the class for the day, and you will be counted absent.
Attendance:
As I indicated in my expectations of you, this class will be discussion-oriented, and in order for it to be successful, each of you must show up regularly and on time. Those students who attend class regularly almost invariably perform better than those who do not.
What constitutes an excused absence is fairly straight-forward:
Documented doctor appointments
Documented court appointments
Funerals…
Documented military service All excused absences must be accompanied by timely, appropriate, written documentation. More than three unexcused absences per semester will adversely affect your grade as follows
Ø 1-3 absences = no penalty
Ø 4 absences = -10 points from final grade
Ø 5 absences = -20 points in final grade
Ø 6 absences = -30 points in final grade
Ø 7 absences = failure of class
Students more than five minutes late to class will be counted absent for that day. If you are late, it is your responsibility, not mine, to ensure that I counted you present. To do so, check with me after class time ends.
Late Work:
- All work is due during class or prior to class. Work submitted after class will not be accepted.
- Assignments emailed to me, placed in my office mailboxbox, or those slipped under my office door, unless under my direct instruction, are not on-time submissions.
- No late work is accepted without an excused absence.
Discussion Questions (280 Points + 20 Points for Completing All Seven Sets ):
In order to facilitate discussion and close analysis of the literary works, I will require you to compose three discussion questions for each reading. You will receive a maximum of fourty points for each of the seven sets of discussion questions you submit. In order for you to receive full credit for these discussion questions, you must:
- Submit your questions on time.
- Type at least one page for each set of three questions
- Compose questions that generate discussion, not simple statements of taste: “I liked this”/ “I hated that”/ “This scene was cool”/ “I fell asleep at this part”, or simple questions of fact or plot: “Was Dracula written by Bram Stoker” or “What happens to the garlic around Lucy’s neck”
- Spend some time articulating in writing what puzzles you about the text, pose a question about that issue, speculate on why the author did what s/he did, consider the historical or cultural or aesthetic impact on the text, etc…
- Then answer your own question. Each of the disussion questions, then, has two parts. A question (together with what led you to think about it) and an answer to the question
- Indicate through your discussion questions that you have in fact read the text to the assigned point.
- Draw my attention to specific pages or passages in the text to make your point
The purpose of these questions is to let me know what you think about the text and to structure class discussion around key questions about the readings. Basically, they are a tool for organizing and stimulating discussion.
If you ask a question, be prepared to expound upon it in class when I call on you. Do not write the questions ten or twenty minutes before class. Give them serious attention and at least an hour of your time. The more interesting you make your questions, the more interesting the class will be.
ACHTUNG: I grade the discussion questions leniently if you follow the above guidelines. They comprise the single largest segment of your grade. Treat them seriously. Student who miss more than one or two sets of questions almost invariably do poorly in the class, students who turn in all of their discussion questions almost invariably do well.
Note: For pity’s sake, write and underline and comment in the margins of your text. You cannot sell these books back for much money, so write in them, it will help a great deal when it comes time to compose your final paper and discuss the text in class. Put in sticky notes, bend back pages. It helps! And Seven Times Always bring your book to class when we are discussing it.
Session Leaders 200 Points:
For each text we study, I will choose a group of students to lead discussion. Each member of this group (of two or more people) will pick at least one of the following areas to research for each text:
· Historical period in which the text was written: Tell me the quirky interesting facts, as well as the new ideas, art, technologies and theories that came from their era. I want to know what they ate, what they wore, what sports they liked, how they found mates, what entertained them, how they thought of marriage, how affluent they were, what they made and sold, how they treated women, strangers, slaves, their enemies. Do not use a timeline or series of dates for events that happened. Describe the period as you would describe our own historical time.
· Biographical information about the author (When the author is known: i.e. Ovid, Homer, Aeneus). Do not provide time lines or lists of dates here. Tell us the story of the author’s life; that is, tell us anything interesting about the author and how that biographical information may have shaped his or her work. Give us the good, the bad, and the ugly about the author: like it is an expose' on E! as much as a biography on PBS.
· Literary analysis of the text, or of a segement or story within the text,of the type of myth, or of myths from that specific culture. In other words, summarize and explain what a trained critics has discovered about how we can or should read the text, a segment of the text, a type of myth (like a flood myth or hero myth), or a culture's myths (Greek myths, African myths etc). You should not produce reviews (it was good/I liked it or It was bad/I hated it). Instead, I’m looking for interpretations of the text. You may refer to Spark Notes, Cliff’s Notes, Masterplots,Bookrags, Wikipedia, etc. -- but you must use at least one genunie scholarly article or book chapter. See me if you have difficulty finding such information, but start with Project Muse or JSTOR available at the CVCC library page)
· An overview of the theory and practice of comparative mythology of one of the following figures:
Sigmund Freud
Carl Jung
Claude Levi-Strauss
Mircea Eliade
Joseph Campbell
Branislaw Malinowski
Richard Bauman (Story, Perfromance and Event)
Vladimir Propp
Each group will pick one person to provide an in depth overview of how one of these critics understands and explains myth, providing the class with a theoretical framework for understanding mythology. No two groups can cover the same thinker. So, the thinker selected will need to be one no one else has covered (i.e. no two groups can cover Freud).
On the first day we discuss a text, the session leaders will present their information to the class. The presentation should contain the following components:
· Individual oral presentations of the subject matter researched (these should last about five minutes each)
· A typed handout from each member of the group (put your MLA header on it), outlining the information presented and
· The bibliographic sources used, listed in correct MLA, Works Cited, style: (30% of your grade for the assignment)
· One copy of each handout should be made for every member of the class.
· I will copy these handouts for you if you submit them to me in a reasonable period prior to class time. If you show up to class without copies, you will lose points.
· An activity to stir the class’s imagination, entertain us, and test out knowledge of the material you present. Make sure you work together on this and have it ready to go prior to class; last minute figuring out of presentation details in class (deciding who goes first, honing rules of the activity, or other signs of being ill prepared) will negatively affect your grade
Your grade will depend on the depth and enthusiasm of your presentation and on your use of correct MLA documentation style.
In a sense, group leaders will lead discussion for a given text. Now, I will, of course, also help orchestrate discussion in various ways, but the discussion groups should always be ready to introduce a new line of inquiry by calling on their fellow students to answer and speculate on the questions they asked.
Note: I have had group leaders in the past try every manner of pedagogical approach; sometimes an approach works brilliantly, sometimes not. It all depends on the class and the group. Some classes respond well to trivial pursuit style games (complete with prizes provided by the group to the winner), testing everyone’s knowledge of the material presented in the group presentations; others despise them. Some classes respond well to dramatic readings, group work, enactments of scenes, group videos, cake decorating, collages, craft projects, song-writing activities, puppet shows, feasts of food typical to the culture of the text, etc… Whatever works best should be employed, but you should use—as session leader—the entire class period on the day of your presentation, and you should keep us interested, so be creative.
One Researched Paper 300 points:
A seminar paper of about seven to ten typed pages will be due on the last day of class discussion.
This essay:
1. Must be a minimum of seven pages in length
2. Must analyze at least two of the texts, drawing connections between them
3. Must make and defend an argument on how the texts should be read/understood (i.e. they should make an analysis of the texts)
4. Must use pretinent quotations from the text to support key points
5. Must not summarize the texts
6. Must use MLA format
7. Must be carefully edited for grammar and style (Poff’s Pet Peeves)
8. Must use and quote from at least five secondary sources in addition to the two primary sources. I suggest you use Project Muse, J-Stor, and the MLA Database as tools for locating literary criticism on a given text or author.
All of these sources must appear originally in print form or as part of an academic online journal or database.
You may not use the following to meet the requirement of your five secondary sources :
Encyclopedias
Dictionaries
Collections of Quotations
The Bible (or other Holy Book, except as a primary source)
Wikipedia
Non-scholarly Webpages
Sample Essay Sites
You may, of course, discuss any and all paper topics with me in advance via conferences during office hours and or phone calls.
I am, of course, more sympathetic to topics that are submitted to me a week or month in advance than I am to those submitted an hour or two before class.
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The Final Exam: 200 points:
The final exam will be an in-class or take home essay test that will ask you to make connections and distinctions between the texts we have studied utilizing your critical skills and the information you have gleaned about these texts during the course of the semester.
You will be required to respond to one of a number of questions I present to you, using your texts and notes.
I strongly recommend you choose the question you will respond to ahead of time and plan your answer, being careful to find and identify key quotations useful to supporting your point before sitting down to write your response.
You should spend no more than two hours typing your response to the exam.
VERY IMPORTANT WARNING ABOUT THE HONOUR CODE
Okay, let us be honest: we have all been tempted to cut corners in our classes. This class, in particular, will require a great deal of difficult reading, and at one point or another, depending on your level of interest, you may be tempted to read the Sparknotes, Cliff’s Notes, Grade Saver, Bookrags or whatever other nonsense turns up on a quick google search, to skip the reading, to “fake it,” and so on. I understand you have busy lives, that this is not your only class, and that sometimes we will read a text that is not your favorite.
Nevertheless, to turn in any written work on a text (discussion questions, exams or papers) which you have not actually read is an act of academic dishonesty.
In other words, if you turn in a set of discussion questions, you are tacitly claiming to have read the assigned text in its entirety. If you have not read the text, and you turn in the questions, you are committing an act of academic dishonesty or plagiarism.
Plagarism is a serious offense and will result in a failing grade for the assignment, a failing grade for the course, and, possibly, expulsion or suspension from CVCC.
Please be aware that plagiarism includes submitting work you wrote for another instructor or another class whether in college or otherwise, and whether substantially revised or not, submitting work in which you claim to have read an assignment you have not read, using outside sources which you do not quote and/or cite appropriately, having someone else write your work for you, or copying your work from an online essay source, and etc…
Please see the student handbook for definitions of plagiarism and how it can affect your academic career.
Please be aware that plagiarism includes submitting work you wrote for another instructor or another class whether in college or otherwise, and whether substantially revised or not, submitting work in which you claim to have read an assignment you have not read, using outside sources which you do not quote and/or cite appropriately, having someone else write your work for you, or copying your work from an online essay source, and etc…
Please see the student handbook for definitions of plagiarism and how it can affect your academic career.
Since we cannot have a meaningful class discussion when only one or two of us have read the text, I will vigorously enforce the policy on academic dishonesty as explained in your student handbook.
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Grading:
There are a maximum of 1000 points in the class. At the end of the semester, I will simply total all the points you have accumulated to determine your final grade. A standard college grading scale will be used to determine your letter grade:
A = 900-1000
B = 800-899
C = 700-799
D = 600-699
F = 599 and below
The breakdown of points for each assignment is as follows:
Discussion Questions: 300 points
Prersentation: 200 points
Researched Paper: 300 points
Final Exam: 200 points
This syllabus is subject to change at my discretion. You will be informed immediately of any changes.