Douglas Honors College Humanistic Understanding II Instructor: Texts: Overview: Grades: Dr. Gerald Stacy 408 C Language and Literature Building Office Hours: 1:00 2:00 Monday and Thursday Also by appointment Phone: 963-1533, E-Mail stacyg@cwu.edu Coursepack: Western Mythology: Greece and Rome Homer. The Odyssey. Trans. Robert Fagles. New York: Penguin Books, 1996. Aeschylus. The Oresteia. Trans. Robert Fagles. New York: Penguin Books, 1979. Sophocles. The Theban Plays. Trans. E. F. Watling. New York: Penguin Books, 1974. Euripides. Medea. Trans. Rex Warner. New York: Dover Publications, 1993. Virgil. The Aeneid. Trans. Patric Dickinson. New York: Signet Classic, 1962. Ovid. The Metamorphoses. Trans. Horace Gregory. New York: Signet Classic, 2001. During Winter Quarter, you will be introduced to the mythology and the religion of ancient Greece and Rome through class lectures, film, and most importantly through the reading of classic literature. You will learn to distinguish between the Greek mythos (stories involving heroes and supernatural beings) and Greek religion (the worship of those same supernatural beings). You will see how the myth and the worship sometimes overlapped and influenced every day life and art in the culture. Your final grade for this course will be based on a number of pop quizzes on the readings, a mid-term, a final examination, and two 500 to 700 word papers. I will average the five grades from these assignments to determine your final grade. 1
Quizzes: Papers: Exams: Attendance: In order to help you stay current with the very heavy reading schedule, there will be a number of unannounced quizzes on the reading. Taken together the quizzes will equal one grade. There will be no make up quizzes. Any quiz which you miss simply counts as a zero. However, I will drop the one lowest quiz grade. I am asking you to write two 500 to 700 word papers. The first paper will be due on Monday, February 13 th, and the second will be due on Friday, March 9 th. As we get into the quarter, I will provide you topics for the first paper. However, I always allow students to meet with me and discuss the possibility of choosing their own topics. See, for example, the attached paper from a student who went to see a modern adaptation of the Greek play Lysistrata and wrote a review of it. Note two additional points: 1. For each day a paper is late, I will reduce the grade by one level, for example: B to B-. 2. I expect to receive papers which are free from grammatical errors. I take off substantially for papers containing these errors. There will be two exams: a mid-term, February 7 th, and a final examination, Thursday, March 15 th, at noon. The mid-term will be very much dependent on your class notes. Can you define terms? Can you identify Greek gods and heroes and what they are known for? Can you identify and comment upon certain important quotations from the readings? The final exam will not only test your knowledge in the areas described above, but it will also allow you to write on an essay question which will let me see if you are able to tie various strands in the course together. This is a very short quarter (46 classes), so it is very important for you to attend every class. Because I know that students some times get sick or have family responsibilities, I will allow you four absences without penalty. For every absence over four, your final grade 2
will decrease by one level. For example, if your final grade would have been an A-, five absences will earn you a B+, and six absences will decrease your grade to a B. Readings and Lectures January 4 January 5 January 6 January 9 January 10 January 11 January 12 January 13 January 16 January 17 January 18 January 19 Prolegomena Hesiod s Creation Story Coursepack, pages 1-8, up to the birth of Atlas. Hesiod s Theogony Continued Coursepack, pages 8-15. Worship of the God at Their Sites Introduction to The Iliad Coursepack, pages 17-21. Aphrodite Wrecks Havoc Coursepack, pages 22-28. Hera Outflanks Zeus Coursepack, pages 29-35. The Death of Patroklos Coursepack, pages 37-49. Martin Luther King Holiday Achilles Revenge Coursepack, pages 50-62. Priam Meets Achilles Coursepack, pages 63-74. Introduction to Homer s The Odyssey Read Book I and a bit of II, pages 77-99. 3
January 20 January 23 January 24 January 25 January 26 January 27 January 30 January 31 February 1 February 2 February 3 February 6 February 7 February 8 Odysseus, Nymph Kalypso and Shipwreck The Odyssey, pages 152-167. Odysseus and the Phaeacians The Odyssey, pages 168-210. Polyphemus Invites Odysseus to Dinner The Odyssey, pages 211-229. Odysseus Disarms Kirke s Magic The Odyssey, pages 230-248. Odysseus Visits Hades The Odyssey, pages 249-270. The Cattle of the Sun God Helios The Odyssey, pages 271-286. Ithaca, Athena, and Eumaeus The Odyssey, pages 286-337. Odysseus Reunited with Telemachus The Odyssey, pages 338-353. Odysseus Assumes a Disguise The Odyssey, pages 354-374. A One Sided Boxing Match The Odyssey, pages 375-389. Penelope Entertains a Guest The Odyssey, pages 390-409. The Slaughter and Revelation Finish The Odyssey, pages 410-485. Mid-Term Exam Introduction to Greek Drama 4
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