summer myth syl lab us

8/13/2019 Summer Myth Syl Lab Us

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Comparative Mythology: Humanities 8Summer, 2013 Moonday, Tuesday, WotansdaySec 8316 Juno 17-Julius 24Emeritus 1519 10:00 am-12:50 pm

Professor Eric Thompson,[email protected],V.M. 527-4625,

Office Hours: M: 1:00-2:00 pm; T: 9:00-10 am

4 Required Texts (available incampus bookstore)

*Thompson, trans. ed,

Comparative Mythology, LAD,

3rdEd.

*Kramer, Wolkstein, trans, ed.,

Inanna, Queen of Heaven and

Earth

*Graves, trans., The Golden Ass*Tedlock. trans. The Popol Vuh

This course investigates

myths representing diverse

global cultures; introducesscholarly theories and

methods of interpretation;compares and contrasts

plotstructures, themes andcharacter typeswithin andacross cultures; andtracesmyth'srelationship withreligion and the arts.

Student Learning Outcomes:

1. Analyze and critique a myth for its

ideological content and values.

2. Identify the source of a myth and

evaluate interpretive changes with

respect to its function and purpose

within a cultural context.

3. Distinguish the shared/universalaspects in a myth from its local

articularities.
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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Week 1 ScheduleMon. 6/17 Definitions, Methods, Theories, Intro ANE

Read Thompson 1-2

Tue. 6/18 Egyptian and Babylonian Creations Myths

Read Thompson 3-4

Wotan. 6/19 Canaanite and Israelite Creation MythsRead Thompson 5-6

Week 2 Review

Mon. 6/24 Review, add Iranian creation, flood myths

Read Inanna 1-2

Tue. 6/25 Unit Exam 1; Inanna, Lilith, mythic symbolism

Read Inanna 3-4

Wotan. 6/26 Hieros-gamos; Exposition on Myth and Ritual,

Sex and Death Read Ass Intro-6

Week 3 Review

Mon. 7/1 Unit Exam 2; The Greco-Roman Pantheon

Read Ass 7-10Tue. 7/2 Eros and Psyche: Romance

Read Ass 11-15

Wotan. 7/3 Mystery Cults; creation of and relationship

with deities Read Ass to end

Week 4 Review

Mon. 7/8 Excursion: Research, Interpretation,

Exposition of Myth Read PV 1-2

Tue. 7/9 Unit Exam 3; Native American mythic themes

Read PV 3

Wotan. 7/10 Video: Popol Vuh; Death and Afterlife

Read PV 4Week 5 Review

Mon. 7/15 Human Sacrifice and Sacred Violence;

Myths of Holy War and Conquest Project: select medium

Tue. 7/16 Unit Exam 4; The Trickster

Project work

Wotan. 7/17 Select Asian myths; Select contemporary

living myths Project work

Week 6

Mon. 7/22 Semester Project Due

Tue. 7/23 Select Scandinavian Myths; Review

Wotan. 7/24 Final Exam

Attendance Policy: All students are expected to be in class for all 18 sessions and forall the minutes from 10:00 am until 12:50 pm. There will be a 15-minute break in the middle

of class. Coming late, leaving early, or going out and in during class are NOT okay.If you miss

class because of an authentic, documentable reason (illness or death), or if you make personal,

individual arrangements with the professor in advancein case of a known upcoming

absence, accommodations can be made individually. OTHERWISE . . .


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If you are absent OR LATE on the day of a Unit Exam you get zero for that exam; nomake up exams will be given

If you are late when a homework assignment, including the final paper, is due, it willbe accepted at a 10 % penalty, but only on the same day as the due date

If you sign up to give an oral presentation you must in class on time or get zero If you miss class for any reason, it is your responsibility to borrow another students

notes to make up what you missed

No assignments will be accepted by email unless a prior in-person arrangement hasbeen made with the professor and then only for reasons of illness, injury or death

If you miss an assignment given orally in class because you were absent or left early,I will not give it to you by email

If any students absence fromclass equals 10 % of the total class minutes, (306minutes--less than two class sessions) the student may be dropped from the class

Note: Its a summer class, and Im sure we all have parties to go to, vacations to enjoy and

weekends to extend through Monday. But you have chosen to take a summer class, and all

choices mean excluding the other options not chosen. Me too. I have to arrange my Forth of

July plans (cant go to that family reunion in Idaho) because I signed up to teach a summerclass. Choices. Not showing up at all is mostly just bad for you, but your need to ask whats

going on or requests to make up points youve missed then involves inconvenience to

others. Coming late or leaving early, however, is always disruptive to those around you. It

screws up the flow, it is jarring and rude, and pollutes the sacred education space.

Assignments:Reading:Four books, all primary sources of ancient myths, are required and must be readcarefully and entirely. Doing well in the class will depend on doing the reading.

Exams: There will be four short unit exams and a final exam on the last day of class. Theunit exams will be a combination of multiple-choice, matching and short essay based on

both reading and lecture for each unit. The final will be all multiple-choice and matching

and based on the short unit exams.

Homework Assignments: Responses to questions about the assigned reading andquestions that arise during class discussion will be given about once per week as we go.

They will be given ad hoc, when the Muses move me.

Semester Project: On Monday of the last week of class each student will submit an essayor give a lecture on a topic partly of their choosing (see Rubric below).

Play: There will be opportunities, on a volunteer basis, to participate in theatrical

enactments of myths.

GradingUnit Exams: 50 Points each, 200 points total.

Homework Assignments: 100 points total. Length, content and number TBA

Semester Project: 100 points

Final Exam: 100 points 500 points possible


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451-500 = A; 401-450 = B; 351-400 = C; 301-350 = D; 300 & below = F

Notes on Assignments

All written work for this class that is homework--i.e. prepared outside of class andbrought to hand in, must be typed, spell and grammar checked, and if more than one

page, stapled (in college, staples are considered the students responsibility) Copying verbatim without giving credit is always a crime and will not be tolerated.

This includes copying from another student, as well as copying from internet or

print sources. Plagiarism or other forms of cheating will be prosecuted thus: first

offence--zero for the assignment (in the case of two students in the same class, in

the case of homework, both copier and copyee will get zero) AND a formal report

will be filed with the Student Services. The second offence means automatic F for

the course and another report. which will go on permanent record establishing the

offender as a serial cheater. If you are not sure what plagiarism is, look it up and

find out. You will never be in danger of committing it if you always do your own

thinking and writing in your own words, and document your sources whenever you

use sources. Always document your sources. Always, whenever you are using an idea you got

from somewhere else, or are referring to, summarizing, or quoting from a text, you

must give a citation. Always, always, always! I strongly prefer MLA form, but it is

not required. If you dont know what this means find out on line, in the library orask me.

Homework: Homework assignments will be announced during class and theinstructions will not be repeated for people who were not in the room to hear them unless

by in-person arrangement with the professor for a valid reason. Homework assignments

that are scrawled hastily in pencil on torn paper as I am collecting them will not be accepted

(this happens a lot here!)

Semester Project: Choose a theme (Creation, Trickster, Death, Sex, Food, Trees, Heros Journey, etc.) Select two myths covered in class, and one not covered in class, that exemplify the

theme

Explicate this theme by comparing, contrasting, and interpreting the myths--makegeneral observations based on the specific details of the myths you are explicating.

Select a medium: written or oral; either compose a 5-6 page essay, or design andprepare a 10-12 minute presentation


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RUBRIC For SEMESTER PROJECT

ESSAYMechanics (10 %):

--no more than 2 grammar, or spelling mistakes per page

--1 inch margins, 11-12 point type, at least 5 full pages

--organized, logical progression of sentences and paragraphs

--diction--word choice appropriate to meaning

Research (30 %):

--Works Cited page with at least one citation from every work on

list in body of paper

--Primary sources identified, listed and cited for all myths

--Secondary sources identified, listed and cited for all myths

--Precision of citations--citations are easy to find and actually say

what you say they say

--knowledge of cultural, historical, geographical context of myths

Content Appropriateness (20 %):

--three distinct mythic examples discussed

--all examples fit the definition of myth

--discussion demonstrates awareness of class content

Thesis (20 %)

--clearly stated, meaningful, falsifiable, defensible

Argumentation (20 %):

--thesis is defended and supported by logically valid and verifiable

observations from the evidence in the sources

ORAL PRESENTATIONMechanics (10 %):

--organized, logical progression of ideas

--a full 10 but not more than 12 minutes

--helpful visual aids, movement, projection, annunciation

Research (30 %):

--Works Cited page given prior to presentation

--Primary sources identified, listed and cited for all myths

--Secondary sources identified, listed and cited for all myths

--Precision of citations--citations are easy to find and actually saywhat you say they say

--knowledge of cultural, historical, geographical context of myths

discussed

Content Appropriateness (20 %):

--three distinct mythic examples discussed

--all examples fit the definition of myth

--discussion demonstrates awareness of class content

Thesis (20 %)

--clearly stated, meaningful, falsifiable, defensible

Argumentation (20 %):

--thesis is defended and supported by logically valid and verifiable

observations rom the evidence in the sources


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Definition of Myth

There is no such thing as the true definition of any word (thats a fact of the messy reality

that is language). But definitions can be more or less helpful. Words are tools, and

definitions of words provide a sharper or duller tool depending on how effective they are.

The English define comes from the Latin definio which means to mark out or set the limits

of something (finite means limited). Drawing boundaries or limits necessarily involvesidentifying what is out as much as what is in the category. Definitions that are too broad

cease to be helpful: a word that means everything means, eo ipso, nothing at all. So a good

definition should be useful in setting apart what is NOT included.

So, what exactly are the boundaries--limits--around our subject, when we do

MYTHO-logy? For the purposes of this class, I give a working definition here that is: 1)

informed by the work of professional scholars who study and write on myth (as opposed to

popular culture); and, 2) it is somewhere between the extremes (some authors, e.g. Joseph

Campbell, define myth as absolutely any story; other others, e.g. Micea Eliade define myths

as only dealing with Gods and creation; I accept neither extreme) 3) it is one that is most

useful for practical purposes, it seems to me. This is the definition that students will be

asked to work with in doing assignments for the class. So . . .

A myth is a1) narrative, a story (i.e. it has a plot), that involves

2) divine beings, supernatural entities, and/or causes, and is

3) anonymousin origin, has, that is, evolved by collective transmission through time, and

4) held sacred(true) by a community--it is the basis of religious belief and ritual, ethnic or

national identity, etc.), but is actually


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5) imaginatively constructed, not factually (historically or scientifically) true in the

sense of not supported by evidence

See the appendix in the text for some elaboration. This definition is compatible with

many contemporary dictionaries. Compare, for instance, Websters [I have inserted

comments in brackets]: [A myth] is a story[#1] that is usually of unknown origin[#3],

and at least partially traditional[#3], that ostensibly[#5--look up ostensibly if you dontknow what it means] relates historical events usually of such a character as to serve to

explain some practice, belief, institution or natural phenomenon, and that is

especially associated with religious rites and beliefs [#2, 4].

So then, what is nota myth? A single symbol or picture is not a myth. Neither is an axiom (a

proverb, saying or factoid like, driving while talking on a handheld cell phone is as

dangerous as driving drunk--the stuff dealt with by Mythbusters). Symbols and axiomsare not stories and therefore not myths (# 1). Fairy tales are not myths; scholars often

distinguish them from myths on the point that they usually dont involve deities (# 2) andfurthermore they are not sacred (# 4). Lies are not myths. Lies, as self-conscious deception

fail criteria #3 & 4. Novels with a single named creator who gets royalties for the work (C.S.

Lewis Narnia Chronicles, Tolkiens Lord of the Rings trilogy) are not myths (# 3). And theBig Bang Theory is not myth, though some myth textbooks treat it as a creation myth

(Leeming, e.g.). While it is true that scientific theories sometimes turn out to be false, and

that they involve imagination, they are nevertheless completely different things than myths

(# 2, 3, and 5).

Bibliography

This is a small sampling illustrating Genres of Material (This is barely a scratch at the

surface of whats available), in print.

I. Myth: Ancient Primary Sources. There are several translations for most or all of these. I

have given the information for translations that I favor.

Carson, Ciaran. Trans. The Tain: A New Translation of the Tain Bo Cuailnge. Penguin, 2007.

Cashford, Jules. Trans. The Homeric Hymns. Penguin, 2003.

Dalley, Stephanie. Trans. Myths From Mesopotamia: Creation, The Flood, Gilgamesh and

Others. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989.

Graves, Robert. Trans. The Transformations of Lucius Otherwise Known as The Golden Ass.

New York: Farrar, Strause and Giroux, 1951.

Larrington, Carolyne. Trans. The Poetic Edda.Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996.

OFlaherty, Wendy Doniger. Trans. & Ed. The Rig Veda: An Anthology. New York: Penguin,1981.

Ovid. The Metamorphoses. Trans. Allen Mandelbaum. New York: Harcourt & Brace, 1993.

Smith, John D. Trans. & Ed. The Mahabharata.London & New York: Penguin, 2009.


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Sturluson, Snorri. Edda.Trans. Anthony Faulkes. London: Everyman, 1987.

Virgil. The Aeneid. Trans. David West. London, New York, et al.:Penguin, 1991

Waters, Frank. The Book of the Hopi.New York: Penguin, 1963.

II. Retelling of Myth, Dictionaries and the Like: Secondary Sources

Cotterelle, Arthur. Oxford Dictionary of World Mythology. Oxford: Oxford University Press,

1986.

Davis, F. Hadland. Myths and Legends of Japan. New York: Dover, 1992.

Graves, Robert. The Greek Myths. London & New York: Penguin, 1955, 1960, 1992

(Combined Edition.).

Green, Roger Lancelyn and Michelle Paver. Puffin Classic, revised 2013.

Hamilton, Edith. Mythology. Warner Books, 1942.

III. Scholarship on Myth (Secondary Sources)

Armstrong, Karen.A Short History of Myth. Edinburgh & New York: Canongate, 2005.

Campbell, Joseph. The Hero With a Thousand Faces.Princeton: Princeton University Press.

2nd Ed, 1968.

Colby, Frederick S. Narrating Muhammad's Night Journey: Tracing the Development of the

Ibn Abbas Ascension Discourse. SUNY Press, 2008.

Doniger, Wendy. The Implied Spider: Politics and Theology in Myth. New York: Columbia

University Press, 1998._____________ (OFlaherty). Other Peoples Myths: The Cave of Echoes. Chicago & London:University of Chicago Press, republished w/new preface, 1995.

Eliade, Mircea. The Sacred and the Profane: The Nature of Religion; The Significance of

Religious Myth, Symbolism, and Ritual Within Life and Culture. Trans. Willard R.

Trask. New York: Harper Torchbooks, 1959.

_____________. Myths, Dreams and Mysteries: The Encounter Between Contemporary Faiths and

Archaic Realities. Trans. Philip Mairet. New York: Harper Torchbooks, 1960.

_____________. Myth and Reality.Trans. Willard R. Trask. New York: Harper Torchbooks,

1963.

Hyde, Lewis. Trickster Makes This World: Mischief, Myth and Art. New York: North Point

Press, 1998.

Kinsley, David. Tantric Visions of the Divine Feminine: The Ten Mahavidyas.Berkeley:University of California Press, 1997.

Leeming, David. The World of Myth: An Anthology. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992.

.Jealous Gods and Chosen People: The Mythology of the Middle East. Oxford,

2005.

Patton, Laurel L., and Wendy Doniger, Edd. Myth and Method. Charlottesville and London:

University of Virginia Press, 1996.


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Thury , Eva and Margaret Devinney.Introduction to Mythology: Contemporary Approaches to

Classical and World Myths. Oxford: Oxfrod University Press, 2012.

There are scads of internet sources for myth. Use with discretion and skepticism. A very

large amount of what is said about ancient myths on websites and in computer and video

games is BS that people made up because they arent scholars, didnt do their research well,

or just changed things to suit their purpose. There is, to emphasize the point again, A LOT ofthis on the internet. Exercise basic critical thinking skills when doing research.
http://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Mythology-Contemporary-Approaches-Classical/dp/019985923X/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1370980436&sr=1-9&keywords=world+mythologyhttp://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Mythology-Contemporary-Approaches-Classical/dp/019985923X/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1370980436&sr=1-9&keywords=world+mythologyhttp://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Mythology-Contemporary-Approaches-Classical/dp/019985923X/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1370980436&sr=1-9&keywords=world+mythologyhttp://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Mythology-Contemporary-Approaches-Classical/dp/019985923X/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1370980436&sr=1-9&keywords=world+mythologyhttp://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Mythology-Contemporary-Approaches-Classical/dp/019985923X/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1370980436&sr=1-9&keywords=world+mythologyhttp://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Mythology-Contemporary-Approaches-Classical/dp/019985923X/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1370980436&sr=1-9&keywords=world+mythologyhttp://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Mythology-Contemporary-Approaches-Classical/dp/019985923X/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1370980436&sr=1-9&keywords=world+mythology

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