University of Kentucky
CLA 135: Greek and Roman Mythology
Summer 2012
Section 220
Department of Modern and Classical Languages
College of Arts and Sciences
Course Administrator: Claire Bishop
Email: claire.bishop@uky.edu
Phone: 257-7014
Office: POT 1022
Course Description:
CLA 135, Greek and Roman Mythology, has as one of its general goals that of creating
an environment in which the student develops his or her skills of learning and thinking
about the humanities. The course provides a foundation for the exploration of critical
approaches to classical mythology and those areas of human experience affected by these
systems of thought and promotes the intellectual development of the students.
Students will become familiar with the characters, themes, and patterns of classical
mythology, develop an understanding of the nature and function of myth in human
society, and learn to work with mythology in an analytical and critical fashion. To that
end the course will examine the cultural context from which classical myth arose, its
appearance in the literature and art of its time, and the effect it has had on Western
culture in areas such as literature, art, religion, and philosophy.
General Humanities Outcomes:
At the completion of the course the student should be able to
1. Demonstrate the ability to present and to evaluate in a critical manner
interpretations of myth through analysis and argumentation in writing and orally;
2. Demonstrate the ability to distinguish different artistic, literary, philosophical,
religious, linguistic and historical schools of interpretation according to the
varying approaches and viewpoints characterized by each;
3. Demonstrate the ability to identify the values and presuppositions that underlie
the world-views of the different cultures and peoples represented in the
mythology;
4. Demonstrate disciplinary literacy (vocabulary, concepts, methodology) in
the study of myth;
5. Demonstrate the ability to conduct a sustained piece of analysis concerning
some aspect of the mythology under examination.
Subject Specific Outcomes:
At the completion of the course the student should be able to
1. Demonstrate an understanding of Greek and Roman mythology in its
anthropological, historical, religious, and sociological context;
2. Demonstrate an understanding of the various approaches to the interpretation
of myth;
3. Demonstrate an understanding of the use of classical myth in the literature and
art of the ancient world;
4. Demonstrate an understanding of the influence of classical myth through the
Middle Ages and Renaissance to modern times.
Course Assignments:
The assignments tailored to meet these outcomes include exams, a term paper designed to
exercise critical reasoning and analytical skills, and journal entries on mythological
perspectives. These journals are designed to take the place of classroom observations and
discussions in an online setting.
Course Text: Powell, Barry B. Classical Myth. 7th ed. New York: Pearson, 2012.
ISBN, 978-0-205-17607-6.
The course content is complemented by study materials provided by the publisher on its
website here: http://www.pearsonhighered.com/powell7e.
Course Requirements: The course grade will be determined by four exams, a term paper,
and journals. The exams, weighted equally, will be multiple-choice tests of 50 questions
covering the chapters studied since the last exam.
The chapters to be covered on each exam are these:
Exam 1, chapters 1–5
Exam 3, chapters 13–18
Exam 2, chapters 6–12
Exam 4, chapters 19–25
Term Paper: The term paper will require the student to examine critically some aspect of
one of the myths studied in the course. Specific requirements for this paper are covered
in Preparing the CLA 135 Paper, located in the Exams and Essay tab on Blackboard.
Journals: Four times during the term you will also be asked to submit short journals on
the chapter perspectives. These should be written to the Journals pages found on the
Journals tab. Instructions for using this tab may be found in the file Using Your Course
Journal. As with the assessment of participation during a normal term, these journals
will be evaluated based upon the insightful nature of the responses given. Journals will
be due by 5:00 PM on the assigned dates. Late work will NOT be accepted.
Both the term paper and the journals should be uploaded through the links of the Exams
and Essays tab using the directions found in the “Assignment Directions for Students”
file.
A course-specific research guide has been developed for our course:
http://libguides.uky.edu/cla135. A link to it may be found on the Research and Links tab
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on Blackboard. Papers will be submitted electronically to the Exams and Essays tab on
Blackboard. Specific instructions for uploading your papers are at that tab as well.
The final grade for the course will be determined in the following way: Exams, 20%
each; Paper, 10%; Reflections, 10%.
Standards of Grading: Scores will be assigned based on the following standards:
A
90-100%
D
60-69%
B
80-89%
E
below 60%
C
70-79%
Examination Schedule: Course exams will be taken on Blackboard and will be available
on the days indicated below, from 8:00 AM of the first day until 11:59 PM of the second
day. Once you have opened the exam on Blackboard, you will have one hour to complete
the exam; however, you should plan on beginning the exam so that, should you be
accidentally bumped off the test, the availability window will still be open and you can
get back to the exam.
Exam 1:
Exam 2:
July 1/2
July 11/12
Exam 3: July 22/23
Exam 4: July 31/August 1
Different versions of each exam will be administered. Students may take the exam on
either day, but only once.
Online Examinations: It is your responsibility to make sure that you access the material
during the times when the tests will be available. Once you access an examination, the
examination will remain open until you complete the exam, but you must finish within
one hour; otherwise, you will be asked to retest.
The exams will come available in the Exams folder on Blackboard on exam days during
the time window indicated. Until that time, the exam will not appear. You may start
once you have access to the exam. At that point, unless the computer kicks you off, you
should be able to finish the exam within approximately 30 minutes; however, completion
times may vary depending on the speed of your computer and the number of times you
save your material.
As you take the exam, you will notice a small clock which will keep track of the time
expired. If you go over the allowed time of one hour, that attempt will be cleared and
you will be asked to retake the exam.
If you encounter problems when taking an exam, please send us an email and include a
phone number where you can be reached.
Online examinations are CLOSED BOOK examinations. You cannot use your textbook,
dictionary, or notes.
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The exam will be automatically graded, and your score will be available in the
Blackboard grade book. You can review your scores by going to MY GRADES in the
Tools folder on Blackboard.
You will be allowed to revisit the examination and see the questions you missed after all
students have completed the exam. This will normally be one or two days after the
scheduled exam days.
Since this is an online course offered through Blackboard, you should check that the
email address listed for you on Blackboard is your current email address (it does not have
to be a UK address, just the email that you regularly use).
To check your email address, go to the first window that opens when you log in to
Blackboard (before you click on any courses). In that window under Tools, select
Personal Information. Then select Edit Personal Information. If the email address that
appears is not your regular email address or if the email address listed is not compatible
with Blackboard (e.g., Hotmail accounts sometimes have compatibility problems), you
may change the address that Blackboard uses.
Missed Exams: Make-up exams (for missed examinations) will only be given for
documented excused absences as defined by the University (Senate Rule V.2.4.2) and are
scheduled as needed. A missed exam will result in a score of zero for that exam, unless
an acceptable written excuse is presented within 48 hours of the missed examination.
Office Hours: The fastest way to contact me is through email. I check my email regularly
during the day (M–F). Emails received before 5:00 PM on a weekday will be responded
to on that day. Emails received after 5:00 PM will be responded to by 10:00 AM the
following morning. Emails received after 5:00 PM on Friday will be responded to within
24 hours. If you are in the Lexington area and would like to speak to me personally,
email me to set up a meeting time.
Technological Requirements: In order to participate fully in this course, you will need
access to a computer with the minimum hardware, software, and internet configuration.
To check out your computer, please go to this site:
http://wiki.uky.edu/blackboard/Wiki%20Pages/Home.aspx.
Recommended browsers for the course include the following: Mozilla Firefox 5+,
Internet Explorer 9, Chrome, and Safari 5.
Students and faculty can download Microsoft Office Suite (including Word and
PowerPoint) from this site: https://download.uky.edu/.
If you experience technical difficulties with accessing course materials, the Customer
Service Center may be able to assist you. You may reach them at 859-218-HELP (4357)
or by email at helpdesk@uky.edu. Please also inform the course instructor when you are
having technical difficulties.
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The local bookstores that handle our textbooks are these stores:
Kennedy Bookstore, 405 S. Limestone, (606) 252-0331 or 1-800-892-5165, or go to the
website: http://www.kennedys.com.
Wildcat Text Books, 563 S. Limestone, (606) 225-7771, or go to the website:
http://www.wildcattext.com.
UK Bookstore 106 Student Center Annex, phone (606) 257-6304 or 1-800-327-6141, or
go to the website: http://www.ukbookstore.com.
Distance Learning Library Services: As a Distance Learning student you have access to
the Distance Learning Library services at http://www.uky.edu/Libraries/DLLS. This
service can provide you access to UK’s circulating collections and can deliver to you
manuscripts or books from UK’s library or other libraries. The DL Librarian, Carla
Cantagallo, may be reached at 859-257-0500, ext 2171, or 1-800-828-0439 (option #6) or
by email at dlservice@email.uky.edu. For an interlibrary loan, visit:
http://www.uky.edu/Libraries/linpage.php?lweb_id=253&llib_id=16.
Disabilities/Medical Conditions: If you have a documented disability that requires
academic accommodations, please see me as soon as possible. In order to receive
accommodations in this course, you must provide us with a Letter of Accommodation
from the Disability Resource Center (Room 2, Alumni Gym, 257‐ 2754, email address
jkarnes@email.uky.edu) for coordination of campus disability services available to
students with disabilities.
Unresolved Academic Issues: Consult the University of Kentucky Student Rights and
Responsibilities regarding the steps for addressing unresolved academic issues.
Honor Reminder: All work completed by students for this class should be the product of
the personal efforts of the individual registered for the course. Presenting another’s work
or ideas as one own is a form of cheating or plagiarism, is unethical, and will lead to
those penalties outlined in the University Senate Rules (6.3.1 & 6.3.2). Students are also
referred to the UK Student Rights & Responsibilities handbook. Students found in
violation of this university policy risk receiving a zero for a specific requirement or a
grade of E for the course, if the infraction warrants.
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