Dear Mythologists,
A friendly reminder that the third milestone of our semester project, the annotated bibliography,
is due via email by 11:00 p.m. Also remember that a tweaked version of your overall bibliography (with mini-thesis) is also due.
Details are available on the Project web page, but remember to submit your work as a double-spaced PDF with numbered pages and one-inch margins.
DC
Tuesday, November 22, 2016
Assignment for Thursday, 12-01-16
Dear Mythologists,
For Thursday, December 1, please do the following:
(1) Watch Troy (Wolfgang Peterson, 2004), taking notes as you see fit. In addition to the DVD being reserved at the library, the film is also streaming on Amazon. Remember as you watch that this movie was conceived in the full fervor of post-Gladiator fever.
(2) Read the second half of Looking at Movies Chapter 5 ("Mise-en-Scene") (pp. 187–210).
(3) Read Monica Cyrino's essay, "Helen of Troy" (2007), a pivotal piece in a scholarly volume specifically conceived in response to the film (one of several such volumes edited by the prolific Martin L. Winkler).
(4) Remember by noon on Thursday to comment on this post with your choice of a sequence from Troy to view in class.
DC
For Thursday, December 1, please do the following:
(1) Watch Troy (Wolfgang Peterson, 2004), taking notes as you see fit. In addition to the DVD being reserved at the library, the film is also streaming on Amazon. Remember as you watch that this movie was conceived in the full fervor of post-Gladiator fever.
(2) Read the second half of Looking at Movies Chapter 5 ("Mise-en-Scene") (pp. 187–210).
(3) Read Monica Cyrino's essay, "Helen of Troy" (2007), a pivotal piece in a scholarly volume specifically conceived in response to the film (one of several such volumes edited by the prolific Martin L. Winkler).
(4) Remember by noon on Thursday to comment on this post with your choice of a sequence from Troy to view in class.
DC
Assignment for Tuesday, 11-29-16
Dear Mythologists,
For Tuesday, November 29, please do the following:
(1) Watch Helen of Troy (Robert Wise, 1956), taking notes as you see fit. In addition to the DVD being reserved at the library, the film is also streaming on Amazon. Remember as you watch that this movie is not only the archetype of Troy (2004), but also the precursor of the peplum craze from 1958 onward.
(2) Read the first half of Looking at Movies Chapter 5 ("Mise-en-Scene") (pp. 171–87). This chapter, the last we'll read in the textbook, seems appropriate for an epic of the sort to which Helen of Troy aspires.
(3) Remember by noon on Tuesday to comment on this post with your choice of a sequence from Helen of Troy to view in class.
DC
For Tuesday, November 29, please do the following:
(1) Watch Helen of Troy (Robert Wise, 1956), taking notes as you see fit. In addition to the DVD being reserved at the library, the film is also streaming on Amazon. Remember as you watch that this movie is not only the archetype of Troy (2004), but also the precursor of the peplum craze from 1958 onward.
(2) Read the first half of Looking at Movies Chapter 5 ("Mise-en-Scene") (pp. 171–87). This chapter, the last we'll read in the textbook, seems appropriate for an epic of the sort to which Helen of Troy aspires.
(3) Remember by noon on Tuesday to comment on this post with your choice of a sequence from Helen of Troy to view in class.
DC
Saturday, November 12, 2016
Assignment for Tuesday, 11-22-16
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
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
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
Fall Classics Lecture on Tuesday, 11-15-16
Dear Mythologists,
On Tuesday, November 15, at 5:30 p.m. (David Auditorium) the Classics Department will present its fall lecture: “The Aeneid in America, from First Contact to Final Frontier.”
Our speaker is Professor Meredith Safran of Trinity College, a recognized expert in the field of classical reception. Her presentation will explore the cultural heritage of Vergil’s Aeneid in the United States, from the controversial Vergilian quotation on the 9/11 Memorial in New York, to the recent reboot of the vintage science-fiction series Battlestar Galactica.
Since this lecture is perfect for our seminar, I'm going to offer a 5% bonus to your class participation grade if you attend. Furthermore, if you ask Prof. Safran an intelligent question during the Q&A (or after the talk is over), I'll award an additional 5% bonus.
Additional information follows. I hope to see you there.
DC
What is classical reception? What can classicists contribute when materials and motifs from the ancient world garner the attention of modern audiences? These and other questions will be considered from the perspective of Vergil’s epic poem, Aeneid, drawing case studies from the U.S. Postal Service, the 9/11 Memorial in New York, and the recent Syfy series, Battlestar Galactica.
Published after Vergil’s death in 19 BCE, the Aeneid became an instant classic, a seminal text for the nascent Roman empire. Its story of a man fleeing the destruction of his homeland and searching for a new one echoes loudly in the cultural history of the United States, with its own empire, and is even heard in the genre of the space Western. Professor Safran will help us perceive these echoes and offer some strategies for interpreting them.
WHO: Meredith Safran, Assistant Professor of Classics, Trinity College.
WHAT: “The Aeneid in America, from First Contact to Final Frontier.”
WHEN: Tuesday, November 15, 2016, 5:30 p.m.
WHERE: Davis Auditorium.
On Tuesday, November 15, at 5:30 p.m. (David Auditorium) the Classics Department will present its fall lecture: “The Aeneid in America, from First Contact to Final Frontier.”
Our speaker is Professor Meredith Safran of Trinity College, a recognized expert in the field of classical reception. Her presentation will explore the cultural heritage of Vergil’s Aeneid in the United States, from the controversial Vergilian quotation on the 9/11 Memorial in New York, to the recent reboot of the vintage science-fiction series Battlestar Galactica.
Since this lecture is perfect for our seminar, I'm going to offer a 5% bonus to your class participation grade if you attend. Furthermore, if you ask Prof. Safran an intelligent question during the Q&A (or after the talk is over), I'll award an additional 5% bonus.
Additional information follows. I hope to see you there.
DC
* * * * *
What is classical reception? What can classicists contribute when materials and motifs from the ancient world garner the attention of modern audiences? These and other questions will be considered from the perspective of Vergil’s epic poem, Aeneid, drawing case studies from the U.S. Postal Service, the 9/11 Memorial in New York, and the recent Syfy series, Battlestar Galactica.
Published after Vergil’s death in 19 BCE, the Aeneid became an instant classic, a seminal text for the nascent Roman empire. Its story of a man fleeing the destruction of his homeland and searching for a new one echoes loudly in the cultural history of the United States, with its own empire, and is even heard in the genre of the space Western. Professor Safran will help us perceive these echoes and offer some strategies for interpreting them.
WHO: Meredith Safran, Assistant Professor of Classics, Trinity College.
WHAT: “The Aeneid in America, from First Contact to Final Frontier.”
WHEN: Tuesday, November 15, 2016, 5:30 p.m.
WHERE: Davis Auditorium.
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
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