Course Syllabus

ENGL 2230 Introduction to Mythology

Course Description

This course explores the myths from cultures around the world. Greek and Norse mythology are central to the class, but students will also encounter narratives from the Americas, Africa, Asia, the Pacific Islands and other areas. The course focuses on application of the myths to literature, culture, and history.

Justification

This course has a common number with other USHE schools, which is evidence that it is a standard course option at the 2000 level. ENGL 2230 serves as an important option for English majors, who need to understand ways in which myth intersects with written literature. The course is also an excellent option for students looking for a Humanities credit; ENGL 2230 can easily be taught in ways that fullfill those knowledge area outcomes.

The Humanities are a group of academic disciplines that study the many ways by which humans have attempted to understand themselves and their world. At Snow College, the Humanities focus on cultural traditions that are expressed largely through text or which have a strong textual component: languages, literature, and philosophy. The methods by which the Humanities study culture are at once analytical and interpretive, objective and subjective, historical and aesthetic.

General Education Outcomes

1. A student who completes the GE curriculum has a fundamental knowledge of human cultures and the natural world. Students will read and discuss a selection of oral and written myths—including some of the earliest-known writings and stories from a variety of cultures—focusing discussion on the ways the writings have influenced the development of civilization and culture.
   
   Students will demonstrate their consideration of readings, and their applications of the texts, in examinations, writings, projects and class discussion.
2. A student who completes the GE curriculum can read and research effectively within disciplines. Students will read a variety of texts and are quizzed on content.
   
   They will demonstrate constructive and critical responses to discussion questions, writing prompts, and writing assignments.
3. A student who completes the GE curriculum can draw from multiple disciplines to address complex problems. Students will use insights from geography, history, climate and geological science, the arts, and the humanities to read and interpret myths. This work will inform discussion about the epistemological work of narrative.
   
   They will demonstrate constructive and critical responses to discussion questions, writing prompts, and writing assignments.
4. A student who completes the GE curriculum can reason analytically, critically, and creatively. Students will identify and discuss interpretations and applications of the readings in class, both in small groups and in open discussion. Additionally, students' written assignments are designed around the collaborative model and incorporate all elements of the writing process. Written assignments will be returned with suggestions for improving the student's writing skills.
5. A student who completes the GE curriculum can communicate effectively through writing and speaking. Students will critically evaluate the ideas and themes of many myths and folk tales, identifying differences between their values and the values of the culture being studied.
   
   Students will demonstrate their ability to read and think critically about literature, understand its context, and interpret meaning through essay exams, papers, and class discussion.

General Education Knowledge Area Outcomes

1. Students will read about and discuss questions about human experience as reflected in myth that have been raised over several millennia and across the globe. These questions deal with the origins of the world, human relationships, taboos, social structures, etc.
   
   Students will demonstrate their engagement with these questions through class discussion, quizzes/exams, reading journals, and papers. Students will read about and discuss questions about human experience as reflected in myth that have been raised over several millennia and across the globe. These questions deal with the origins of the world, human relationships, taboos, social structures, etc.
   
   Students will demonstrate their engagement with these questions through class discussion, quizzes/exams, reading journals, and papers.
2. Understand how knowledge is created through the study of language systems, literature, and/or philosophy. Students will explore ways in which oral and written literature connect by studying myth and folktales. Additionally, they will use the lens of humanities to read these narratives as examples of the human ways of knowing.
   
   Students will demonstrate their understanding through class discussion, quizzes/exams, reading journals, and papers.
3. Understand cultural traditions within an historical context and make connections with the present. Students will situate myths within proper historical context as well consider these narratives' applications to modern people.
   
   Students will demonstrate their understanding through class discussion, quizzes/exams, reading journals, and papers.
4. Critically read and respond to primary texts (original, uninterpreted) from a Humanities’ perspective. Students will read myth closely, paying attention to language, oral- formulaic-structures, themes, and other literary devices.
   Students will demonstrate their ability to read closely through class discussion, quizzes/exams, reading journals, and papers.
5. Write effectively within the Humanities discipline to analyze and form critical and aesthetic judgments. Students will develop their skills in written communications by using effective writing processes as they work on reading journals, response papers, and formal papers (assigned with the instructor's discretion).
   
   Students will demonstrate these writing skills by the both finished written documents and with their response to instructor feedback on drafts.

Course Content

This course will focus on myths from around the world. Greek and Norse mythology are among the most influential myth systems in the world, but others, including myths from Polynesian, Egyptian, Yuruban, Mayan, Navajo (and other North American tribes), Persian, Irish, Chinese, Pashtun, Hindi cultures are among the many other options.

Furthermore. rather than simply attempting to cover each myth systematically, the class will aim to explore trends, contradictions, and themes. Students may also consider related narrative genres of folktales, legends, and memorates.

Finally, instructors will guide students in considering literature, art, and history that invokes myth.