Spring 2008
Professor Irby-Massie
Office: Morton 329
Office phone: 221-2162 (better to avoid
the phone and come by the office or use e-mail)
Office Hours: MW 3:00-4:00 p.m.
e-mail:
glirby@wm.edu
web pages:
Grading scale:
100-93% = A; 92-90% =
A-; 89-87% = B+; 86-83% = B; 80-82% = B-; 79-77% = C+; 76-73% = C; 72-73%
= C-; 69-67% = D+; 66-63% = D; 92-60% = D-; 59%-0% = F
Exams and Course Grade:
| Exam I (12 February) | 100 points |
| Exam II (25 March) | 100 points |
| Weekly Quizzes & Class Participation | 100 points |
| Final Exam (30 April: 1:30-4:30) | 100 points |
| Final Project (due 24 April) | 100 points |
| Total | 500 points |
Course Objectives: This course is intended to familiarize the student with the principal stories and themes from Classical Mythology, their interpretations, their social significance, and the impact of Classical Mythology on Western literature, art, and tradition. This course is merely an introduction and may be used as a springboard for further study in the Classics and Ancient Civilization.
CLCV 205 satisfies a GER 5: Literature and History of the Arts:
A liberally educated person should possess knowledge of important and influential forms of literary and artistic achievements and how those achievements both reflect and shape their cultural contexts. A GER 5 course introduces students to at least two major forms, genres, eras, cultures or movements and/or at least two methods of analysis. It provides students with the vocabulary of the discipline and teaches them to apply the appropriate methodology for critical analysis.
Make-up Policy: No make-up work will be allowed for any reason. No e-mail submissions will be accepted. One quiz will be dropped. No exams will be dropped from your final average.
Class Room Policies: Regular attendance is strongly encouraged. The lectures are intended to supplement rather than reiterate the readings. Exams will cover material from the class lectures and the assigned readings. Additional readings and changes to the syllabus may be announced in class.
Note: you are expected to complete the reading assignments for each class in advance.
Despite (because of) the large enrollment of Classical Mythology, proper classroom decorum is expected at all times: behavior deemed inappropriate will result in dismissal from class or a failing grade.
Quizzes: Quizzes will take several forms:
Exams: Exam questions will be precise, and your answers are expected to be detailed and analytic. Sweeping vagaries will not suffice. Detailed study guides will be published before each exam, and I am available during office hours for questions and discussion.
General Directions for all in-class work (quizzes and exams): Print your name clearly (DO NOT SIGN IT). Write legibly throughout. Use standard pencil or blue or black ink. Be accurate and concise throughout. Do not try to pad answers with false information or unsupported guesses. Be sure to include DATES, EXAMPLES, and do not forget to explain the SIGNIFICANCE of events and people. On sections where you have a choice, answer only the specified quantity. All negative points will be subtracted from the final score.
Final Project: worth 20% of your final grade, your one page, typed, double-spaced proposals are due no later than 3:20 p.m. 14 February
you have two choices
- themes in the Odyssey
- the heroic journey
- works of literature (A Euripides play, Ovid's Metamorphoses)
- folk hero vs. epic hero
- compare/contrast the functions of two gods (e.g., Apollo vs. Dionysus)
- mythical allusions in a Shakespeare play
- explore the functions a god more deeply
- compare Black Orpheus to the Greek Orpheus story,
- Phantom of the Opera to Hades,
- The Seven Samurai to the Theban saga,
- Stars Wars (Luke Skywalker as epic hero),
- Star Trek, Stargate,
- Purcell, Dido and Aeneas,
- Holst, the Planets
- For further ideas on the survival and reinterpretation of Classical Mythology see
- CM, [the optional text for this course], part four
- or Harris and Platzner, Classical Mythology: Images and Insights, chapter 21
Schedule of Readings: Read the assignments before coming to class. It is your responsibility to keep up with any changes to the reading assignments.
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No work will be accepted late
No make-ups will be permitted
No e-mail submissions will be accepted
Arrive prepared and on time
Minor adjustments to the syllabus
may be announced in class
It is your responsibility to keep
informed about changes to the syllabus and exam schedule
Turn off cell phones and beepers
before coming to class
Do not talk, eat, read, or study for other courses during class
Regular attendance is strongly encouraged
Hark upon the Gale: Remember the Honor Code
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Required Texts
Recommended
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Tentative schedule of assignments and quizzes
readings from CM (book or web) are strictly optional
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CM readings are recommended but optional |
| 17 January | Introduction & Greek History and Society |
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| 22 January | Myths
of Creation & |
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| 24 January | 12 Olympians and the nature of the gods |
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| 29 January | Poseidon & Athena & Aphrodite |
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| 29 January | AIA lecture | John Pollini, University of Southern California, “Christian Destruction and Desecration of Images of Classical Antiquity,” (Co-sponsored by the Departments of Art and Art History, Classical Studies and Religious Studies), Andrews 101, 4:30 pm |
| 31 January | Artemis & Apollo & Hermes |
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| 5 February | Demeter |
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| 7 February |
catch up and review Myth is all around us Mythic Relevancy I (Olympian Gods): due today: find a modern reference to an Olympian god in modern culture (e.g., find the name -- Greek or Roman -- or a very clear allusion, i.e., a trident in a nautical context: remember the Neptune statue in VA Beach)
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| 12 February |
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| 12 February | AIA lecture |
February 12, 2008 David Bush, Heidelberg College, “Maintaining or Mixing Southern Culture at the Johnson’s Island Civil War Confederate Officer Prison,” Andrews 101, 4:30 pm (Stone Lecture, AIA) |
| 14 February | Dionysus |
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| 19 February | Realm of Hades & Orpheus |
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| 21 February | Theban Saga |
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| 26 February | Perseus |
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| 28 February | Herakles |
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Spring Break: 1-9 March |
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| 11 March | Herakles |
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| 13/18 March | Theseus |
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| 18 March | AIA lecture | Nikola Theodossiev, Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski “Ancient Thrace during the First Millennium BC,”Andrews 101, 4:30 pm (Kress Lecture, AIA) |
| 20 March | Jason |
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| 25 March | Exam II see study guide II and a word game |
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| 25 March | J. Ward Jones Lecture | Susan Ford Wiltshire, Vanderbilt University, “"Why Vergil Still Matters: Using the Classics in Contemporary Discourse," Andrews 101, 4:30 pm (J. Ward Jones Lecture) |
| 27 March | Trojan War: historical Troy |
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| 1 April | Trojan War: Mythic Background: the houses of Pelops and the children of Leda |
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| 3 April | Trojan War |
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| 8 April | Trojan War: nostoi and |
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| 10 April | Odysseus |
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| 15 April | Alexandrian Romance & astrology | Ovid, pp.
Anthology, pp. 102-106, 399-401
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| 16 April | TBA | |
| 22 April | Roman Myth |
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| 24 April |
catch up and review see the study guide try your hand at a Trojan War Word Find and a Roman Myth Word Find Projects and Essays due today |
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| 30 April | Final Exam | 1:30-4:30 p.m. |
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