Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Spring 2023 - HUM 102W D100

Classical Mythology (3)

Class Number: 6280

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Jan 4 – Apr 11, 2023: Mon, 2:30–4:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Exam Times + Location:

    Apr 24, 2023
    Mon, 7:00–10:00 p.m.
    Burnaby

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

An introduction to the central myths of the Greeks and Romans. The course will investigate the nature, function, and meaning of myths in the classical world and their considerable influence on western civilization. Students with credit for HUM 102 may not take this course for further credit. Writing/Breadth-Humanities.

COURSE DETAILS:



This course will focus on the stories the people of the ancient Greek and Roman worlds told: to entertain each other, to explain the nature of their world and its institutions, to reflect on current challenges, and to preserve a memory of their distant past.  Their mythology was a pervasive vehicle for communication, a sort of language.  Because classical mythology is also so thoroughly anthropomorphic, it also raises questions about the nature of the human condition.  These questions have led people to return to its stories continually since antiquity.  While keeping aware of our own, modern perspective, our goal in this course is to begin to master and appreciate these stories and the role they played in the Greek and Roman cultures that produced them.  We shall read the stories in the great literary forms of the ancient Greek world, epic and tragedy, and seek an appreciation of them as storytelling forms.



 

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

To guide the student to a basic understanding of, and a fluency with, the fundamental elements of classical mythology.

Grading

  • Tutorial Participation 10%
  • Four short papers 55%
  • Midterm 15%
  • Final Exam 20%

NOTES:

This course counts towards the concentration in Mythologies and Hellenic Studies for students enrolled in a Global Humanities major or minor program. 

REQUIREMENTS:

For every class, students will be expected to have done the required readings and to be able to participate in written tutorial discussion about the assigned topics.  Grades for participation rely on the following factors: participation in short, weekly zoom meetings with three other students, and in synchronous written discussions on Canvas.  (In tutorials, discussion must shed some light on the texts by discussing specific passages and by reacting to others’ discussion of passages.)  Each student must hand in four 450-500-word prepared papers. The papers must address the topics each week and be submitted the day the material is being discussed in Class (keep a copy for yourself). Both the mid-term and final (90 minutes) will have both multiple-choice essay questions based on the readings and lectures. To receive credit for this course, students must complete all requirements.

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

Homer (trans. Fagles), The Iliad. Penguin Classics, ISBN 9780140445923

Homer (trans. Fagles), The Odyssey. Penguin Classics, ISBN 9780140268867

Sophocles II, University of Chicago Press. ISBN: 9780226311555

Euripides V, University of Chicago Press. ISBN: 9780226308982

Homeric Hymns (trans. Shelmerdine), Hackett, ISBN 9781585100194


REQUIRED READING NOTES:

Your personalized Course Material list, including digital and physical textbooks, are available through the SFU Bookstore website by simply entering your Computing ID at: shop.sfu.ca/course-materials/my-personalized-course-materials.

Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

SFU’s Academic Integrity website http://www.sfu.ca/students/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating. Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.

Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the university community. Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the university. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the university. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html