Spring 2013 195_244_01 Introduction to Mythology Coleman

8/10/2019 Spring 2013 195_244_01 Introduction to Mythology Coleman

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Introduction to MythologyComparative Literature 195:244:01

Spring 2013MTh3 (11:30 - 12:50)

Frelinghuysen Hall, B4, CAC

Instructor: Tara ColemanEmail address: [email protected] Office Hours: Mondays and Thursdays, 1-2pm in Au Bon Pain (CAC) or by appointmentCourse website: https://sakai.rutgers.edu/portal , ―Intro to Myth‖ tab Program in Comparative Literature website: http://complit.rutgers.edu/

Learning Goals

Note that this course fulfills the following requirements: SAS Liberal Arts Distribution Requirements

This course fulfills the Humanities and Writing requirements.

The Liberal Arts Distribution Requirements are restricted to:o first year students enrolled in SAS prior to Fall 2011o transfer students enrolled in SAS prior to Fall 2012o school to school transfer students enrolled in SAS prior to Fall 2012o First year students entering SAS in Fall 2011 or later and transfer students

entering SAS in Fall 2012 or later must complete the Core Curriculum .

Comparative Literature Learning Goals:This course employs the learning goals that have been developed by the Program in ComparativeLiterature for its respective majors, minors and for non-majors who take these courses aselectives:

Students will demonstrate familiarity with a variety of world literatures as well asmethods of studying literature and culture across national and linguistic boundaries andevaluate the nature, function and value of literature from a global perspective.

They will demonstrate critical reasoning and research skills; design and conduct researchin an individual field of concentration (such as literary theory, women's literature, postcolonial studies, literature and film, etc); analyze a specific body of research and write aclear and well developed paper or project about a topic related to more than one literaryand cultural tradition.

Course Description

What is myth? What is it for ? This course will examine mythological works from a range ofcultural contexts in order to trace some of the common features of myth, while also paying closeattention to how myth functions differently in different times and places. Genres related to myth,such as ―legend,‖ ―fairy tale‖ and ―folklore,‖ will also be discussed, and we will think about howthese narratives inform a society’s understanding of itself. We will apply techniques derivedfrom literary theory and criticism to the analysis of myths, while also asking about the difference

between myth and literature. What happens to myth when it becomes part of literary or filmicnarratives? During the course, some of the major twentieth-century theories of myth will be

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https://sakai.rutgers.edu/portal



http://complit.rutgers.edu/



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introduced. As the study of myth has had wide-ranging influence on the study of culture more broadly, we will discuss some of the ways in which these theories have been applied to culturalstudies beyond the realm of mythology.

Attendance Requirements

Students are expected to attend all classes and attendance will be taken at each class meeting. Ifyou expect to miss one or two classes, please use the University absence reporting websitehttps://sims.rutgers.edu/ssra/ to indicate the date and reason for your absence. An email isautomatically sent to me.

Each student is allowed two unexcused absences for the semester ; exceeding that numberwill result in a lowering of the final grade for each further absence. Your overall participationand quiz grades will also be affected if you are not present in class.

If you expect to miss class for religious holidays, athletic competitions, job interviews or

doctor’s appointments, you will be excused if you notify me in advance. If you do not notify mein advance, absences will only be excused with some form of verification, such as a doctor’s note.

Late arrivals of more than 15 minutes will count as half an unexcused absence.

Long-term absences . In cases where students must miss classes for periods longer than oneweek, they are directed to see a Dean of Students for assistance to help verify thesecircumstances.

Required Texts- available at the RU Bookstore

1. Eva M. Thury and Margaret Devinney, Introduction to Mythology: Contemporary Approachesto Classical and World Myths [ISBN: 9780199859238]

Please note: The textbook ordered through the Rutgers bookstore is the Third Edition.You may also purchase the Second Edition for a cheaper price at Amazon or another used

book outlet. [ISBN: 9780195332940].

2. Roland Barthes, Mythologies . Translated by Annette Lavers. [ISBN: 9780374521509]

Films for Viewing

The Searchers (1956), dir. John Ford

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), dir. Ang Lee Pan’s Labyrinth (2006), dir. Guillermo del Toro

All three of these films are available at the Douglass Media Center (in the basement of the MabelSmith Douglass Library). All three are also available on DVD through Netflix (with asubscription) and are available to stream on Amazon (for a fee).

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Course Etiquette

Our class meetings will be a time for us to come together to dive into the readings and to developand refine our ideas about them. It will also be the time for us to draw connections between textsand traditions. In order to be prepared for discussion, you must read the texts or view the films in

their entirety before class. Because interpretation and analysis require close readings, youmust bring a hard copy of the assigned readings to every class. For readings made availableon Sakai, you are required to print them out and bring them to class. I will note downstudents who do not have the readings in front of them. Consistently failing to bring the readingsto class will affect your participation grade at the end of the semester.

The class discussion is meant to be a time for lively discussion and debate. While I hope you willdisagree with each other and challenge one another to push your ideas further, a productiveintellectual community requires respect for every participant’s views. All students should feelfree to pose questions and suggest interpretations, whether to check a basic fact or test out a not-yet-fleshed-out idea. Class time will also be used to develop your writing skills and workshop

papers. I expect all students to provide respectful, constructive feedback on their peers’ work. Please note that all cell phones, tablets, netbooks, laptops and any other form of electronicequipment must be turned off and put away during class. Improper use of laptops and cell

phones violates the spirit of intellectual working together that constitutes the classroomexperience. Unfortunately, it is impossible for one instructor to monitor the use of electronicdevices by all students in the classroom and therefore such devices may only be used withspecial permission (e.g. if you want to look something up during group work). In all other cases,I will interpret the use of such devices as evidence of less than full participation in the day’sdiscussion, and your participation grade will be affected as a result.

Course Requirements

Attendance and participation: 10%In-class quizzes: 10%Response papers: 20%Midterm paper: 30%Final paper: 30%Total--------------------------------------100%

In-class quizzes: Short quizzes will be given randomly at the start of class to make sure that youare keeping up with the readings. Quizzes cannot be made up due to lateness or absence.

Response papers: You will write four short responses (2-3 pages each) during the semester. Inthese responses you will practice doing an interpretive analysis of the readings and may eitherrespond to the suggested topics or explore your own ideas. They are meant to help you preparefor the longer midterm and final papers. Responses will be submitted through Sakai and are due

before the start of class that day (11am). Late responses will not be accepted.



Midterm and final papers: You will write two longer papers (5-7 pages each) which will bringtwo or more texts from the course together. Each paper will be organized around your ownargument, but suggested topics will be provided. The midterm and final papers will be submittedthrough Sakai and checked for plagiarism.

Grading Rubric

A=90-100; B+=87-89; B=80-86; C+=77-79; C=70-76; D=60-69; F=59 and belowA specific rubric for your written assignments will be posted on Sakai.

Policy on Plagiarism

Plagiarism can include using information from published materials (including the internet)without acknowledging the source, teaming up with a classmate to write a paper, and havingsomeone else write some or all of a paper for you. In this course I am interested in your ideas, inyour work. If I should discover evidence of plagiarism, I will pursue it following the interim

Rutgers Academic Integrity Policy, which can be accessed by clicking on this link:http://academicintegrity.rutgers.edu/files/documents/AI_Policy_9_01_2011.pdf

Violations of the policy include: cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, denying others access toinformation or material, and facilitating violations of academic integrity. Here is a plagiarismtutorial that students might wish to consult for clarification of what plagiarism is:

http://sccweb.scc-net.rutgers.edu/douglass/sal/plagiarism/Intro.html

Students with Disabilities

Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey abides by the Americans with Disabilities Act of1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments (ADAA) of 2088, and Sections 504 and508 which mandate that reasonable accommodations be provided for qualified students withdisabilities. If you have a disability and may require some type of instructional and/orexamination accommodation, please contact your instructor early in the semester. If you have notalready done so, you will need to register with the Office of Disability Services, located in theKreeger Learning Center, 151 College Avenue, Suite 123, phone number 732-932-2848.

The Undergraduate Program in Comparative Literature

Comparative Literature is an exciting interdisciplinary program that allows you to studyliterature as it shapes and is shaped by the world of science, economics, politics, sexuality, andother cultural and historical forces. It is a major that should be attractive to students with a wideranging interest in literature, theory, and cultural studies, and who also wish to read literature inthe original language as well as in translation. For more information on majoring or minoring inComparative Literature at Rutgers, please visit: http://complit.rutgers.edu/ or contactUndergraduate Director Jorge Marcone at [email protected] .

http://academicintegrity.rutgers.edu/files/documents/AI_Policy_9_01_2011.pdf
















Schedule of Readings

**Page numbers are given for readings found in the textbook, Introduction to Mythology:Contemporary Approaches to Classical and World Myths . Readings not found in the requiredtexts are on Sakai, under the ―Resources‖ tab.

Jan. 24- Introduction: What is Mythology?

Jan. 28- Lauri Honko, ―The Problem of Defining Myth‖ and G. S. Kirk, ―On Defining Myths‖ [Sakai]; Biblical Creation Stories (pp. 50-56)

Jan. 31- African creation stories (pp. 102-109); Indigenous Australian dreamtime stories [Sakai]

Feb. 4- Native American Creation Stories (pp. 89- 101); ―A Chinese Creator Goddess‖ (pp. 111 -124)

Feb. 7- The Prose Edda (pp. 78-88, pp. 147-154 and pp. 218-230) – Response Paper 1 due

Feb. 11- The Ramayana (pp.203-217); Excerpts from The Hero With A Thousand Faces [Sakai]

Feb. 14- Excerpt from The History of the Kings of Britain [Sakai]

Feb. 18- Epic of Gilgamesh (pp. 166-188)

Feb. 21- Epic of Gilgamesh , cont’d (pp. 189 -192); ―A Levi-Straussian Analysis of the Epic ofGilgamesh‖ (pp.193 -202) – Response Paper 2 due

Feb. 25- The Structural Study of Myth (pp. 280-294)

Feb. 28- Selections from Russian Fairy Tales [Sakai]

Mar. 4- The Morphology of a Folktale (pp.499- 513); ―A Proppian Analysis of The Wizard of Oz ‖(pp.514-523)

Mar. 7- NO CLASS

Mar. 11- Man and His Symbols (pp. 468-484); Workshop midterm papers

Mar. 14- ; ―The Raven‖ (pp. 531 -534), ―How to Perform a Jungian Analysis of a Myth or FairyTale‖ (pp. 485 -493)- MIDTERM PAPER due Mar 14 by midnight

Mar. 18 + 21- SPRING BREAK

Mar. 25- Oedipus the King (pp.231-279)

Mar. 28- Ovid’s Metamorphoses (pp.42-56, 129-138)

Apr. 1- Myth in Poetry [selected poems available on Sakai]



Apr. 4- Myth in Poetry, cont’d – Response Paper 3 due

Apr. 8- The Searchers – film; Excerpt from Signs and Meaning in Cinema [Sakai]

Apr. 11- The Searchers , cont’d; Excerpt from Stars [Sakai]

Apr. 15- Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon - film

Apr. 18- Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon , cont’d; ―The China Simulacrum‖ and excerpt fromVisuality and Identity [Sakai]

Apr. 22- Pan’s Labyrinth - film; read ―Pan’s Labyrinth, Fear and the Fairy Tale‖ [Sakai]

Apr. 25- Pan’s Labyrinth , cont’d; ―Embracing the Horror‖ [Sakai] – Response Paper 4 due

Apr. 29- Mythologies (selections TBA)

May 2- Mythologies , cont’d May 6- ―Ara Irititja: Protecting the Past, Accessing the Future — Indigenous Memories in aDigital Age ‖ [Sakai] ; Conclusion

FINAL PAPER DUE May 6 by Midnight

Documents

Spring 2013 195_244_01 Introduction to Mythology Coleman