Instructor: Dr Cirrone
Office: RS322
Office Hours:
EngLT345
Meets: M/W 9-10:20
Welcome to Mythologies of the World!
This class has been designed to introduce you to some of the more complex mythos and
legendary figures throughout world history. For the first half of the class, we will
approach mythos both thematically and culturally, moving from universal or archetypal
commonalities (such as Creative mythos) to culturally specific anomalies (culturebased/geographical based mythos). The second half of the course will be dedicated to
exploring the archetypal hero, anti-hero and the cultural creation of legend.
Class Assignments (percent of final grade):
10 Reading Comprehension Pop-Quizzes (20%)
1 two page proposal (10%)
1 semester project, multi-media, accompanied by 7-8 page MLA essay (30%)
Midterm Essay Exam (15%)
Final Essay Exam (15%)
REQUIRED TEXTS
World Mythology—by Donna Rosenberg
The Lais of Marie de France—Burgess, trans. Penguin Classics Edition
Doctor Faustus – Christopher Marlowe
The Great Divorce – CS Lewis
Handouts (as indicated)
NOTE: Unless specifically indicated, all reading selections are due by the START of
the class or week indicated below.
SYLLABUS
August 24: Introductory Lecture:
What is Myth/Mythos; Man and the Divine; Parallel Mythos
August 26: CREATION Unit Begins!
Creation Mythos: Genesis, “In the Beginning,” from A History of God (handouts)
Rosenberg: pp. 2-11
August 31:
Creation Mythos continued: Rosenberg pages
Greek, 79-93
India, 289-296
China, 324-330
New Zealand, 351-360
Norse, 457-467
September 2:
Nigeria, 507-515
Bolivia, 567-574
Guatemala 595-600
Mexico 600-609
September 9—Greece and Rome Unit Begins!
Hercules, 100-106
September 14
Jason and the Argonauts, 159-204
September 16
Medea Rosenberg, pp 204-247)
September 21, 23—Middle Eastern Unit
Rosenberg, pages 1-79; Excerpt from Arabian Nights (handout)
NOTE: PROPOSAL DUE SEPTEMBER 23
NOTE: WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 28 and 30 – in-class meetings with project teams
October 5, 7—African Unit
Rosenberg pages 515-567
October 12, 14
The Ghost and the Darkness (movie—103 minutes—2 class periods)
OCTOBER 19—MIDTERM EXAM
(covers materials from August 24- October 14)
October 21—LEGENDARY HERO UNIT Begins!
Gilgamesh, 26-58
October 26
Ramayana, 296-324
October 28
Kotan Utunnai, 339-351
November 2, 4
Arthur, 418-457, and other handouts
November 9, 11
The Lais of Marie de France
November 16, 18—ANTI-HERO UNIT
“Renaissance Witch,” “Witch as Political Paradox,” “Divine Magi and Demonic
Witches,” “The Anti-Social Witch”—by Steve Cirrone
NOTE: The above essays are available online through the SCC Library Site and physically through
the SCC LIBRARY RESERVE DESK
November 23-25
Doctor Faustus by Marlowe
November 30-December 2
The Devil’s Advocate – Movie (144 minutes – 2 class periods)
NOTE: SEMESTER ESSAY/PROJECT DUE DECEMBER 2, 2009
December 7-9
The Great Divorce – C S Lewis
FINAL EXAM given during finals week
(covers materials from October 21-December 9)
Note: The syllabus is subject to change at the discretion of the instructor
Assignments Explained:
Reading Quizzes are randomly surprised on you throughout the term. Missed quizzes cannot be
made up unless you provide me proof of documented hospitalization or proof of another valid
reason for absence, such as a death in the immediate family. If I allow you to make up a pop-quiz,
it will be delivered to you as an oral exam in my office during my regular office hours or another
time convenient to me. Do your reading, come to class prepared.
Your PROPOSAL is to be a two-page typed, double spaced statement that proposes your project
topic to me as the Museum Board (see below). Your proposal must indicate how your topic fits in
the parameters of this class and connects to the reading materials on your syllabus, why you have
chosen this topic, what your critical focus will be, what kind of research you intend to do, what
materials you intend to “gather” this semester to support your focus, and how you plan to design
your “exhibit” (see below). It is an opportunity for you to make your case to me and ask my
permission to write on your topic of choice, as well as to share with me the scope of your
intended argument. I will read these and meet with you individually during scheduled in class
meetings to discuss your proposal, help you tailor it, suggest critical sources, and “sign off” on
your semester project. You may be required to meet with me again over the course of the
semester during my office hours. You may ALWAYS come to me yourself during my office
hours with questions or to ask direction. Please note that no semester paper/project may be turned
in to me on December 2 without my prior approval.
SEMESTER PROJECT
You have been hired by the Metropolitan Museum of World Art and Culture to create a
temporary exhibit that deals with an aspect of World Myth for its prestigious grand opening! You
have unlimited funds and resources at your disposal for the exhibit—however, your exhibit must
“fit” into the museum’s lower east wing (25’ x 25’). You have access to computers (you may put
computers, hence the internet, into your exhibit) and you have access to all the art and literature
(primary and secondary texts) in the known universe. It is your job to: 1) choose an appropriate
topic/focus for the exhibit (one that fits into the parameters of this class); 2) write a 7-8 page
critical and researched “justification” for the creation of the exhibit, one that will serve to prove
to the Museum Board (me) to expend the resources to create your exhibit; 3) do the necessary
field research to “gather” the materials for the exhibit (you must have at least 10 pieces for the
exhibit—visuals, music, drama, literature, art, whatever materials you will thoughtfully compile
and use in the exhibit must be produced or reproduced in some fashion for the Museum Board);
4) lay out the exhibit carefully and thoughtfully (you may do this virtually, on power-point, or on
large grid or poster paper); 5) create a flyer on the exhibit that will be given to visitors and serve
to accompany spectators so they may understand the purpose and scope of your exhibit.
The project must be multi-media in format and may be worked on with one other student in
class—or you may work on this alone. Some form of visual representation of your exhibit must
accompany your justification essay and may be done in several ways: you may create a web site
around the topic that contains all of your researched, documented information; you may create a
power-point presentation that accompanies the written essay; you may stage and submit a script
and act out scenes for a camera, and accompany the written essay with a video on DVD; you can
add or create music, artwork, images into a portfolio; you can lay out the room on grid paper,
indicating what images and information go where, and why, accompanied by the flyer that
“guides” us through the layout; you may do ALL of the above and create a tour-de-force around
your chosen topic. You may come up with something completely different and creative—the
choice is yours.
To give you an idea of the kind of project you can create this term, PAST PROJECTS HAVE
FOCUSED ON SUCH SUBJECTS AS (remember these are SUBJECTS, not critical foci!):
How Creation Myths Provide Cultural Meaning
The Oedipal/Electra Complex in Contemporary Myth
The Purpose of the Holy Grail
The Malinche
Renaissance Witchcraft
The Great Stag
Greek Mythology in Poetry
The Demise of Paganism
Helios and the Sun Gods
The Magic Lamp
Puck, or Robin Goodfellow
Gender-Biases in Myth
Pope Joan
Vampires and Marginal Sub-Culture
Transformations as Punishment and as Reward
Artistic Representations of Aphrodite
Hermes Trismagistus
Angels We Have Heard on High
Merlin the Magnificent
The Power of the Chinese Dragon
The Legend of Joan of Arc
Alchemy and Transubstantiation
The Great All Powerful Wizard of Oz
The Oracle of Apollo and Prophecy
The Sphinx
Queen Mab
Death and Rebirth Myths
Demoniacs
How Myths Controlled Public Opinion
Numerology in Practice
Faeries and the Djinn
The Virgin Birth and Virgin Magic