Monmouth College, Spring 2019
MW 2-3:15
It is said that every great culture has its epic; the text that recounts its mythic history, and celebrates its beliefs through tales of heroism and glory. In this class, we will read several of these texts, from different cultures around the world, and examine the lessons they offer, and the values they enshrine. All of these texts are war stories, but how do they describe military conflict – as adventure, or tragedy? What do they tell us about family life, or social norms? What kinds of religious views do they represent? And how do these various ideas emerge from, and shape, the stories they tell? As we read, we will also consider how these works persevere as “classics,” and how we relate to them today, as a way of allowing these texts to guide us towards an examination of the kinds of stories we tell about our own culture, and the values we celebrate.
Texts:
Epic of Gilgamesh
Signs Preceding the End of the World, Yuri Herrera
Iliad, Homer
Mahabharata
Journey to the West
Genesis
Sundiata
Beowulf
Grading:
Weekly Written Responses 20%
Final Project 30%
Class Participation 20%
Quizzes, Assignments, In-class Writing 30%
Course Engagement:
You should expect to spend an average of 14 hours per week on this class; 2 1/2 hours of scheduled class time, and 12 hours per week of reading, writing, and reflecting on the material. This is a reading heavy course! Plan accordingly!
Weekly Responses
Every week, you will write a 1-2 page response on the reading for the week. Sometimes I will give you a specific prompt, sometimes I will leave the topic up to you. These are meant to be somewhat informal pieces of writing — they do not need an Introduction and Conclusion. BUT they should have some kind of central idea, paragraphs with claims, and have reasonably polished spelling and grammar. Which is to say, you might write them as a kind of blog post or journal entry, but what you turn in should not be a stream-of-consciousness, but a second draft, where you’ve done some light revisions and organized the ideas more clearly.
Weekly responses are due by email every Friday at noon.
Course Content Note
Some of the material that we will be discussing in this class may be upsetting or disturbing to you. We will deal quite explicitly with matters of gender, race, and sexuality, as well as rape and sexual assault. You may find some of the content challenging, and it may trigger you. I have chosen the material on the syllabus with great care, and I believe that it has educational value, and that it is important for us to discuss it together in class. However, if you find that the material is overly traumatic and class discussion is threatening your emotional well-being, please come see me and we will make alternate arrangements.
Schedule
M Jan 14 Hello!
W Jan 16 Epic of Gilgamesh, Tablets I-V
M Jan 21 NO CLASS, MLK Day
W Jan 23 Epic of Gilgamesh, Tablet V-XI
M Jan 28 Signs Preceding the End of the World
W Jan 30 Iliad, Book 1, 3
M Feb 4 Iliad, Books 6, 9
W Feb 6 Iliad, Book 16, 18
M Feb 11 Iliad, Books 22, 23
W Feb 13 Iliad, Book 24
M Feb 18 Mahabarata 1- 43
W Feb 20 Mahabarata 44-71
M Feb 25 Mahabarata 72-159
W Feb 27 Mahabarata 160-216
M Mar 4 SPRING BREAK! Woo!
W Mar 6 SPRING BREAK! Woo!
M Mar 11 The Monkey and the Monk, 1-81
W Mar 13 The Monkey and the Monk, 81-142
M Mar 18 The Monkey and the Monk 143-234
W Mar 20 The Monkey and the Monk, 235-288
M Mar 25 The Monkey and the Monk, 289-369
W Mar 27 The Monkey and the Monk 370-415
M Apr 1 The Monkey and the Monk, 416-497
W Apr 3 Genesis, Ch 1-22
M Apr 8 Genesis, Ch 23-35
W Apr 10 Genesis, Ch 35-end
M Apr 15 Sundiata
W Apr 17 Sundiata,
M Apr 22 No class, EASTER BREAK
W Apr 24 Beowulf,
M Apr 29 Beowulf
W May 1 Review, Wrap-up
Midterm Paper:
Compare and contrast the Iliad and Mahabharata. Your paper should not simply list the differences or similarities, but will focus on one specific aspect (such as the representation of war, the idea of fate, or the status of women) and use an explanation of some of those similarities and differences to arrive at a synthetic thesis, an argument about the overall vision of both texts. 3-5 pages.
Final Paper:
Choose a contemporary re-telling or adaptation of one of the texts we’ve read and explain how it functions as a modernized version of the story, focusing on the changes (or continuities) in the kinds of values that the modern work celebrates (see the back of this sheet for a list of potential works to consider, but you’re free to choose another one!). Again, you will not simply be describing how the more recent work is different, but explaining the significance of those differences.
Memorial : an excavation of the Iliad / Alice Oswald.
Rage of Achilles / Terence Hawkins.
Ransom / David Malouf.
Song of Achilles / Madeline Miller.
The Women of Troy / Pat Barker
War music : an account of Homer’s Iliad / Christopher Logue.
Roll of the dice : Duryodhana’s Mahabharata / Anand Neelakantan.
Yajnaseni : the story of Draupadi / Pratibha Ray ; translated by Pradip Bhattacharya.
Great Indian novel / Shashi Tharoor.
Laughing sutra : a novel / Mark Salzman.
American born Chinese / Gene Luen Yang
Tripmaster monkey : his fake book / Maxine Hong Kingston.
Grendel / John Gardner
The Mere Wife / Maria Dahvana Headley
Kasia Reads 