AP/DC Summer Reading 2015
Overview:
Incoming AP/DC literature students are required to participate in summer reading in preparation
for the course and for the AP students, the subsequent AP exam. The goal of this summer’s
reading is to initiate you into the conversation about ideas through works by classic and
contemporary authors. Dual Credit students should also have a wide array of reading
experiences upon which to draw for analysis, writing, and conversation.
AP/DC Literature and Composition is college; it is not a preparation for college. If you are
looking for a way around this reading assignment then perhaps you should reevaluate your
reasons for taking this course.
Students who do not complete the summer reading assignment will be at a severe disadvantage at
the beginning of the school year. It is much harder to catch up than to just do the work in the first
place.
If you have any questions about this assignment you may email us at the following addresses:
debra.koehler@nisd.net. Or rebecca.marez@nisd.net
We are looking forward to a great year!
Mrs. Koehler and Ms. Marez
Requirements:
Each student must do the following:
I. Read Edith Hamilton's Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes (ISBN-13:
9780316223331). The overall purpose of reading this text is to help you become familiar with
the collection of myths that form the core of what is considered Western mythology, that is, the
myths produced by western cultures (Greek and Roman). These myths have long been part of our
literary culture and are important to recognize. Let the following ideas guide your reading:
• These myths reveal the worldviews of the cultures that produced them and are,
therefore, central in helping us understand those cultures and, in turn, give us insight into
our own.
• The writers in western societies have made -- and continue to make -- countless
references to these myths, assuming that readers are familiar with the original stories.
• Being familiar with the myths is an integral part of being "culturally literate.”
• Being culturally literate about Western culture allows you to investigate other cultures’
values and worldviews with more understanding.
Reading Expectations and Guidelines
Hamilton’s Mythology is a readable, understandable, and comprehensive text and a necessity for
all DC/AP Literature and Composition students. The stories themselves are indeed "timeless" in
AP/DC Summer Reading 2015
the sense that they often reveal universal truths about human nature even for the most
contemporary reader. Nevertheless, the book does include very detailed information. Therefore,
let me give you some direction:
A. Read to become familiar with the plots of the myths. Read to discover what happens in
the stories. Read to enjoy these stories. Read each of the following chapters in their
entirety, unless otherwise instructed:
• Introduction
• Part 1: The Gods, the Creation, and the Earliest Heroes
• Part 2: Stories of Love and Adventure
• Part 3: The Great Heroes before the Trojan War
• Part 4: The Heroes of the Trojan War
• Part 5: The Great Families of Mythology
• Part 6: The Less Important Myths
B. As you read each chapter, try to become familiar with the names of the important
characters, creatures, and places in order to be able to identify them with at least a few
essentials. Also, you will learn more about major gods in later chapters, so leave some
room or develop some kind of coding system. You should know
• their Greek and Roman names (Zeus/Jupiter),
• any symbols associated with them (aegis, thunder, eagle, oak and bull),
• of what they are the god (the sky, the god of all gods).
• any stories that are associated with each god.
You will take these notes—in some form of organized note taking—in a 100 page, stitched
composition book (not a spiral or loose-leaf paper). These notes will be collected for a grade
during the first week of school. You will be graded on the completion, thoroughness, and quality
of your work.
II. Dante Alighieri’s The Inferno (ISBN: 978-0-451-53139-1). There are two assignments for
this work that began at the end of English III AP class with Mrs. Marez and Ms. Mantes.
A. The Thirty Quotes assignment: Your job is to present a total of thirty quotes from your
reading of Dante's work. The quotes you choose must be significant to you for whatever
reason -- you like the sound of the words, you can relate to the meaning, etc. Here's the
format of this assignment:
1. Quote presented according to MLA formatting and parenthetically cited.
2. Context of the quote -- who said it to whom and under what situation and
context?
3. Meaning of quote -- what was the intended meaning and significance of the
quote? What interpretation do you glean from it -- literal, allegorical, archetypal,
ethical?
AP/DC Summer Reading 2015
4. Explain what the quote means to you. Why did you select it? A simple
“because” answer won’t cut it in this class.
Requirements of the quote assignment:
 MLA formatted, title, headers, margins, parenthetical citations, work cited page
for text (Dante as author, Ciardi as translator)
 Typed, 12 pt. font, Times New Roman
 Quote formatting:
1. Quote
A. context
B. meaning and interpretation of quote
C. significance to you
B. The Chart: For each Canto, you will list the circle, sin, guardian, punishment, sinner,
interpretation of that circle, and other pertinent information you think is important to
remember for that canto. See next page for the chart. Understand that your information
will require multiple pages of the chart to cover all the cantos.