Gilgamesh, Egyptian Poetry, Iliad,
Odyssey, Oedipus, the King
The
Divine Comedy: Inferno
Othello
M: Introduction to the class, syllabus, weekly assignments; introduction to Mesopotamia and Gilgamesh: timeline, map
W: Gilgamesh: Books 1-3; archaeology, slides
F: Book 4
M: Labor Day
W: Gilgamesh: Books 5-7; Response paper 1 due: Why is Gilgamesh so interested in fame?
F:Egyptian culture: read handouts; slides and discussion
Egyptian literature: Book of the Dead
M: Introduction to Iliad: map of Europe, Greece, plot and names, archaeology, slides of Troy, timeline, slides Mycenae and Crete;
W: Heroic Code, Sin vs. Shame cultures, read Book I, The Rage of Achilles,
Iliad; Response paper 2 due:
What do Achilles and Agamemnon sound like? How
would you characterize their "conversation"?
F: Why does Homer begin where he does? Discussion of Homer and the culture that created the Iliad
M: Iliad, Book VI, Hector Returns to Troy (begin with line 154); Essay 1 due: What kind of man is Hector?
W: Book IX, The Embassy to Achilles; Book XVI, Patroclus Fights and Dies
F: Book XVIII, The Shield of Achilles (end at line 415)
M: Book XXII, The Death of Hector
W: Achilles and Priam: Book XXIV; Response
paper 3 due: What's unusual about Achilles's response to Priam?
F: Film
M: Odyssey, Book I (Telemachos and the suitors); Book V (Odysseus on Kalypso's island)
W: VIII (Odysseus
has been shipwrecked on the island of the Phaiakians; he is wined and dined
and encouraged to tell the story of his adventures.)
F: Odyssey, Books IX-XII (chronological recounting of Odysseus's adventures since leaving Troy); Essay 2 due: What are Odysseus's experiences in the foreign countries he visits? What does he learn? What is the importance of his telling the Cyclops his name is 'Nobody'? In what sense is he 'Nobody'? What is symbolic about Odysseus losing men, ships, his loot from the Trojan War?
M: Continue discussion of Odysseus's travels
W: XXII-XXIV; Response paper 4 due: What progress
has been made from the days of the Iliad? How is the nature of the violence
different in Odyssey from the violence in Iliad?
F: Introduction to Greek drama; discussion of 5th century B.C. Athens;
slides of Greek theaters, architecture, the Parthenon, sculpture, pottery
M: watch the film in class, Oedipus the King by Sophocles, 120 minutes
W: continue the film
F: Discussion of Oedipus; response paper 5 due: What
is Sophocles's point? Is the universe -- or god -- 'out to get' humankind or
do humans bring tragedy on themselves?
Mid-term Exam to be taken in the Testing Center any time this week. Bring a Blue Book, picture I.D.
M: No class
W: No class
F: Introduction to the medieval world: cosmology; painting, architecture, social
structures, music.
M: Medieval ideas: courtly love; the influence of Augustine and Aquinas
W: Introduction to Dante, his biography, explanation of allegory.
F: Dante, Inferno, Cantos I-V; reponse paper 6 due: What is Francesca's attitude? How does her attitude show us the nature of sin? Does her attitude remind you of anything Greek? How does the physical punishment (concrete) represent the particular nature of the sin (abstract)?
M: Dante, Inferno, Cantos VI-XI (Circles 3-6);
W: Dante, Inferno, Cantos XII-XVII
(Circle 7)
F: Response paper 7 due: Many of the sinners Dante
speaks with, from circles 2 through 6, request something of him when he returns
to the land of the living. What do they want him to do for them and why?
M: Discussion of Circle 8; pictures by Dore, Botticelli, Blake.circle.
W: Read Cantos XXX-XXXIV (Circle 9);
F: Response paper 8 due: Place people in the twentieth
century in the circles of hell, but explain why you choose a particular circle,
round or bolge; introduction to the Renaissance
M: Shakespeare's background
W: no class: Thanksgiving
F: no class
M: Acts I; see film in class
W: Act II; see film in class
F: Act III; see film in class
M: Act IV; see film in class;
W: Act V
F: Discussion of play. Response
paper 8 due: TBA
Topics for the essay on Othello. Choose one.
1) Follow the course of Iago in the play, and discuss how the play presents Iago's tragedy as well as Othello's. (Without knowing the end, you can probably guess that things are not going to work out well for anyone in the play.) Begin with examining what kind of man he seems to be. How does he appear to others? Is he intelligent or stupid? Is he charming or not? Does he have the capacity to be a great man, a noble leader like Othello or is there something wrong with his character? If so what is wrong? Finally, what is tragic about Iago? The conclusion might be about your personal feelings toward him. Do you sympathize ultimately or do you always dislike him?
2) Follow the course of Othello in the play. Focus on the changes in Othello. At the beginning of the play what kind of man does he seem to be? How does he appear to others? Is he intelligent or stupid, rash or controlled, a great man or not? Trace the stages of his deterioration once Iago sets his game. Why does he act as he does? What is it about him that causes his tragedy? Could he act differently or not? Finally, what is tragic about Othello? The conclusion might be about your personal feelings toward him. Use quotations in the text to back up what you say about either character. Document in parentheses the act, the scene, and the line numbers. For example: (II, 5, 255-60).
Week 16
MWF, 11:00, Dec. 12, Wed., 11:00-1:00: Final Exam over Medieval and Renaissance
periods.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
