WORLD LITERATURE I (ENG 251)

 Unit 2: Greece, Rome and India

Dr. Diane Thompson, NVCC, ELI

Do not start Unit 2 until you have taken Exam 1. If you post Unit 2 work before completing Exam 1, you will need to repost the work after I have received your Exam 1. 

READING:

  • Homer's Odyssey
  • A Greek Play of your choosing
  • Virgil's Aeneid (selections)
  • Either The Bhagavad-Gita (a brief selection) or The Ramayana (selections from Book 2)
  • OR all the above can be read as etexts (see the Course Materials Table on the 251 Home Page)
  • Optional www links for Unit 2

SUMMARY OF TASKS FOR UNIT 2:

1  Read Homer Study Guide
2  Read the Odyssey
3  Select, prepare and post Activity 3
4  Read Greek Drama Study Guide
5  Select and read a Greek Drama
6  Select, prepare and post Activity 4
7  Read the Aeneid Study Guide
8  Read selections from the Aeneid and the Bhagavad-Gita or Ramayana
9  Select, prepare and post Activity 5

 

OBJECTIVES:

This Unit will introduce you to material ranging from amazing adventures to philosophical questioning of good and evil, divinity and destiny. You will learn about the different ways that mythic, "epic" material can be handled in different civilizations.

You will have a choice in this Unit: either you may do one Activity for each of the three reading groups, or you may do two Activities for one reading group and one for another, skipping the third. It's up to you. If you decide to do two Activities for one reading, be sure to label each one as a separate Activity. For example, you could do an Activity 3 for the Odyssey and then an Activity 4 for the Odyssey. This would give you a chance to spend more time on one of the readings, if you wished to do so.

You will read the Odyssey--a Greek masterpiece that focuses on the dangers of returning from the Trojan War to a hostile home. The clever survivor is Odysseus, who is protected by the goddess Athena. The tragic character who serves as a warning for all returning military adventurers is King Agamemnon, murdered in his bath by his wife, Clytemnestra.

You will then select a Greek play from the textbook to read and respond to.

Finally, you will read selections from two first century BCE epics, Roman Virgil's Aeneid and one of two Indian epics: The Bhagavad-Gita or The Ramayana. These epics all deal with important religious and ethical questions about love, war, destiny, the nature of divinity and the nature of the universe.

TASK 1.Read the Homer Study Guide, which will give you background information on the Troy Cycle and Homer's epics, the Iliad and the Odyssey.

You may choose to watch the Homer's Odyssey Video instead. It contains the same information. See instructions for accessing it on the Course Materials Table on the 251 Home Page.

Option: Watch the excellent video on the Odyssey on the Annenberg Introduction to Literature series. Instructions for getting to the  video are on the Course Materials Table on the 251 Home Page.

TASK 2. Read the Odyssey (Volume A, 225-530). This is, by far, the longest reading assignment you will have for this course, but it is a delightful story. Just allow yourself plenty of time. If you find it unbearably long, you may select an activity below and then focus your reading on the section of the Odyssey that deals with that question.

Option: Use the link to the etext of the Odyssey on the Course Materials Table on the 251 Home Page.  If you are using the etext, pay extra close attention to the Odyssey Study Guide.

TASK 3. Read through all the Homer's Odyssey Activities. Then, select one of these questions to answer for Activity 3, and post it to the Blackboard Activity 3: Odyssey Forum. Worth up to 50 points.

TASK 4. Read through the Greek Drama Study Guide. This will guide you as you select and read a Greek Drama.

You may choose to watch the Greek Drama Video instead. It contains the same information. See instructions for accessing it on the Course Materials Table on the 251 Home Page.

Option: Watch the excellent video on the Bacchae on the Annenberg Introduction to Literature series. Instructions for getting to the  videos are on the Course Materials Table on the 251 Home Page. If you decide to read this play, here is a link to its text: Bacchantes (same drama, different name) on the MIT Internet Classics site.

TASK 5. Select and read a Greek Drama from the textbook. The choices there are: Agamemnon  (Volume A, 537), Oedipus the King (Volume A, 617 ), Antigone (Volume A, 658), Medea (Volume A, 695) or Lysistrata (Volume A, 727).

Option:

TASK 6. Read through all the Greek Drama Activities. Then, select one of these questions to answer for Activity 4 and post it to the Blackboard Activity 4: Greek Drama Forum. Worth up to 50 points. 

TASK 7. Read through the Virgil's Aeneid Study Guide. This will give you background information on Virgil's Roman civilization and his epic poetry.

You may choose to watch the Virgil's Aeneid Video instead. It contains the same information. See instructions for accessing it on the Course Materials Table on the 251 Home Page.

TASK 8. Read the selections from the Aeneid (Volume A, 1052-1134) and the selections from the Bhagavad-Gita (Volume A, 1010-1028) , or the Ramayana (Volume A, 890-953).

Option: You may access free etexts of these epics on the Course Materials Table on the 251 Home Page.

TASK 9. Read through either the Virgil Activities or the Virgil's Aeneid/Indian Epic Activities. Then select one of these questions to answer for Activity 5, and post it to the the Blackboard Activity 5: Aeneid/Gita Forum. Worth up to 50 points.

After completing Task 9, go on to Unit 3.

If you have not submitted (and had accepted)  all of Units 1 and 2, including  Exam 1-- by your Last Withdrawal date, I will drop you from the course with a grade of W. Keep in mind that I only accept one piece of work at a time and I do not accept work that I consider "not college level" (see Course Guide).

 

(c) Diane Thompson:11/14/1998; updated: 01/28/2011