Dear Mythologists,
On Tuesday, November 22, we'll bring our unit on Jason & Medea to a close. Please do the following:
(1) Prepare for Quiz 3, which we'll have at the start of class. Most of you may have about 30 minutes to complete it, then take a long break. Those who need extra time can work longer, then take a shorter break. Either way, we'll reconvene at 4:35 p.m. for the second half of class.
(And, yes, since this is a school day, I do expect you to return for the second half. No, the fact that your ride is supposedly leaving campus is not an acceptable excuse to miss either class or the quiz. Sorry — travel is what Wednesday is for.)
(2) Read these excerpts from Homer's Odyssey and come to class prepared to discuss both them as well as the Iliad excerpts assigned the previous Thursday. As before, feel free to fill in the gaps with a reliable summary of the poem.
After the quiz, at 4:35, we'll kick off Unit 4 with a discussion of the Trojan Saga and Homer (hint: not the same thing).
DC
Showing posts with label Unit 3. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Unit 3. Show all posts
Saturday, November 12, 2016
Assignment for Thursday, 11-17-16
Dear Mythologists,
With Thanksgiving break approaching, we're going to have to vary the rhythm of the class a bit. Please read this post and its sequels carefully so that you understand not only WHAT we'll be doing over the next few days, but also WHY.
For Thursday, November 17, please do the following:
(1) Read these excerpts from Homer's Iliad in preparation for Unit 4. We won't discuss them for today's class, but you should read them now in order to avoid conflicting with the Odyssey selections due next class. You may fill in the gaps between books with a reliable online summary of the Iliad, so long as you understand that the summary is no substitute for the grandeur of the epic itself.
IMPORTANT NOTES:
(a) There's no assigned film to view before today's class. Rather, we'll use class time to screen the rarely-shown A Dream of Passion (Jules Dassin,1978), the last film in our Jason & Medea unit, and an interesting meditation on the intersection between myth in art and myth in real life.
(b) We'll begin the screening promptly at 3:40 and watch all the way through. Since the film runs 110 minutes, we'll have to let the tape roll and won't have time for a break. Plan accordingly!
DC
With Thanksgiving break approaching, we're going to have to vary the rhythm of the class a bit. Please read this post and its sequels carefully so that you understand not only WHAT we'll be doing over the next few days, but also WHY.
For Thursday, November 17, please do the following:
(1) Read these excerpts from Homer's Iliad in preparation for Unit 4. We won't discuss them for today's class, but you should read them now in order to avoid conflicting with the Odyssey selections due next class. You may fill in the gaps between books with a reliable online summary of the Iliad, so long as you understand that the summary is no substitute for the grandeur of the epic itself.
IMPORTANT NOTES:
(a) There's no assigned film to view before today's class. Rather, we'll use class time to screen the rarely-shown A Dream of Passion (Jules Dassin,1978), the last film in our Jason & Medea unit, and an interesting meditation on the intersection between myth in art and myth in real life.
(b) We'll begin the screening promptly at 3:40 and watch all the way through. Since the film runs 110 minutes, we'll have to let the tape roll and won't have time for a break. Plan accordingly!
DC
Assignment for Tuesday, 11-15-16
Dear Mythologists,
For Tuesday, November 15, please do the following:
(1) Watch Medea (Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1969), taking notes as you see fit. In addition to the DVD being reserved at the library, the film is also streaming on Amazon.
(2) Read Kristi M. Wilson's essay, "Hero Trouble: Blood, Politics, and Kinship in Pasolini's Medea," another entry from the Of Muscles and Men volume. Wilson will fill in the background on Pasolini and his intentions, which you might want after seeing this film.
(3) Remember by noon on Tuesday to comment on this post with your choice of a sequence from Medea to view in class.
NOTE: Our speaker, Meredith Safran, might be joining us in class, so look sharp!
DC
For Tuesday, November 15, please do the following:
(1) Watch Medea (Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1969), taking notes as you see fit. In addition to the DVD being reserved at the library, the film is also streaming on Amazon.
(2) Read Kristi M. Wilson's essay, "Hero Trouble: Blood, Politics, and Kinship in Pasolini's Medea," another entry from the Of Muscles and Men volume. Wilson will fill in the background on Pasolini and his intentions, which you might want after seeing this film.
(3) Remember by noon on Tuesday to comment on this post with your choice of a sequence from Medea to view in class.
NOTE: Our speaker, Meredith Safran, might be joining us in class, so look sharp!
DC
Friday, November 4, 2016
Assignment for Thursday, 11-10-16
Dear Mythologists,
For Thursday, November 10, please do the following:
(1) Watch Medea (Lars Von Trier, 1988), taking notes as you see fit. NOTE: THE FILM IS NOT STREAMING on any of the major video services, so please plan your viewing accordingly. As per usual, the DVD is available on reserve in Scribner Library. (Yes, it's on YouTube, but not in English.)
(2) Read "'An Orchid in the Land of Technology': Narrative and Representation in Lars Von Trier's Medea," by Susan Joseph and Marguerite Johnson. NOTE: To access this article, you might have to first access the Project Muse database via the Scribner Library portal.
(3) Remember by noon on Thursday to comment on this post with your choice of a sequence from Medea to view in class.
DC
For Thursday, November 10, please do the following:
(1) Watch Medea (Lars Von Trier, 1988), taking notes as you see fit. NOTE: THE FILM IS NOT STREAMING on any of the major video services, so please plan your viewing accordingly. As per usual, the DVD is available on reserve in Scribner Library. (Yes, it's on YouTube, but not in English.)
(2) Read "'An Orchid in the Land of Technology': Narrative and Representation in Lars Von Trier's Medea," by Susan Joseph and Marguerite Johnson. NOTE: To access this article, you might have to first access the Project Muse database via the Scribner Library portal.
(3) Remember by noon on Thursday to comment on this post with your choice of a sequence from Medea to view in class.
DC
Assignment for Tuesday, 11-08-16
Dear Mythologists,
For Tuesday, November 8, please elect to do the following:
(1) Watch Jason and the Argonauts (Nick Willing, 2000), taking notes as you see fit. In addition to the DVD being reserved at the library, the film is also streaming on Amazon.
(2) Perhaps not unsurprisingly, there's not much worthy scholarship available on this screen text. Given that fact, and because the film is long, please just consider the following questions as you watch:
(3) Remember by noon on Tuesday to comment on this post with your choice of a sequence from Jason and the Argonauts to view in class.
DC
For Tuesday, November 8, please elect to do the following:
(1) Watch Jason and the Argonauts (Nick Willing, 2000), taking notes as you see fit. In addition to the DVD being reserved at the library, the film is also streaming on Amazon.
(2) Perhaps not unsurprisingly, there's not much worthy scholarship available on this screen text. Given that fact, and because the film is long, please just consider the following questions as you watch:
- How does this version pay homage to and/or self-consciously correct the 1963 version?
- What is this version's conception of heroism vs. that of other screen texts?
- How does Medea in this version compare to Medea in the 1963 film?
(3) Remember by noon on Tuesday to comment on this post with your choice of a sequence from Jason and the Argonauts to view in class.
DC
Assignment for Thursday, 11-03-16
Dear Mythologists,
For Thursday, November 3, please do the following:
(1) Watch Jason and the Argonauts (Don Chaffey and Ray Harryhausen, 1963), taking notes as you see fit. In addition to the DVD being reserved at the library, the film is also streaming on Amazon. The movie clearly falls on the action/adventure side of the Jason & Medea myth, and will also give you another chance to appreciate Ray Harryhausen — this time in his prime.
(2) Read "Myth and the Fantastic," which is Chapter 6 of Alastair Blanshard's and Kim Shahabudin's 2011 book, Classics on Screen. This piece will review the salient facts of Harryhausen's career and move our ongoing discussion of special effects a little further.
(3) Remember by noon on Thursday to comment on this post with your choice of a sequence from Jason and the Argonauts to view in class.
DC
For Thursday, November 3, please do the following:
(1) Watch Jason and the Argonauts (Don Chaffey and Ray Harryhausen, 1963), taking notes as you see fit. In addition to the DVD being reserved at the library, the film is also streaming on Amazon. The movie clearly falls on the action/adventure side of the Jason & Medea myth, and will also give you another chance to appreciate Ray Harryhausen — this time in his prime.
(2) Read "Myth and the Fantastic," which is Chapter 6 of Alastair Blanshard's and Kim Shahabudin's 2011 book, Classics on Screen. This piece will review the salient facts of Harryhausen's career and move our ongoing discussion of special effects a little further.
(3) Remember by noon on Thursday to comment on this post with your choice of a sequence from Jason and the Argonauts to view in class.
DC
Assignment for Tuesday, 11-01-16
Dear Mythologists,
On Tuesday, November 1, our unit on Jason & Medea begins. As before, we start with a look at some ancient sources on these characters.
Note that the myth divides pretty cleanly into two parts: adventure in the quest for the Golden Fleece versus tragedy in the death of Jason and Medea's children. We'll be spending equal cinematic time with both, but our primary and secondary sources for today will emphasize the latter.
(1) Read the following chapters from Emma Griffiths' book, Medea (Routledge, 2006). These brief overviews of Medea's mythology and her treatment by Euripides (and, by extension, those of Jason) ought to set the tone for this unit.
NOTE: It's up to you whether you want to read Chapter 6 before or after Euripides' play (see item 3, below).
(3) Read Euripides' tragedy, Medea, arguably the tragedian's most famous play and the quintessential Medea text. Though our first films will focus on the voyage of the Argo, we'll quickly realize that tragedy is never too far away for Jason and Medea.
DC
On Tuesday, November 1, our unit on Jason & Medea begins. As before, we start with a look at some ancient sources on these characters.
Note that the myth divides pretty cleanly into two parts: adventure in the quest for the Golden Fleece versus tragedy in the death of Jason and Medea's children. We'll be spending equal cinematic time with both, but our primary and secondary sources for today will emphasize the latter.
(1) Read the following chapters from Emma Griffiths' book, Medea (Routledge, 2006). These brief overviews of Medea's mythology and her treatment by Euripides (and, by extension, those of Jason) ought to set the tone for this unit.
NOTE: It's up to you whether you want to read Chapter 6 before or after Euripides' play (see item 3, below).
- Chapter 1, "Introducing Medea"; and
- Chapter 6, "Euripides' Version of the Myth."
(3) Read Euripides' tragedy, Medea, arguably the tragedian's most famous play and the quintessential Medea text. Though our first films will focus on the voyage of the Argo, we'll quickly realize that tragedy is never too far away for Jason and Medea.
DC
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