Office hours: I have an open door policy. If the door is open, you are most welcome to come in. Course objectives

30:251 Gods, War, and Love: Greek Poetry in Translation (Winter 2017)

Dr. Rosanne Gasse

CHO 107

204-727-9795 / [e-mail]

No attachments, please!

Office hours: I have an open door policy. If the door is open, you are most welcome to come in.
Course objectives: This course is an introductory survey of the poetry of the ancient Greeks, the origin of many English literary forms and, for authors both today and in the past, the source of much subject matter. As a survey course, the pace is brisk.
Texts Required: Homer, The Iliad. Penguin Classics

Homer, The Odyssey. Penguin Classics

Barbara Hughes Fowler, trans. Hellenistic Poetry.

Hesiod, Theogony & Works and Days. trans. M.L. West

Andrew Miller, trans. Greek Lyric: An Anthology in Translation
Reading List: Homer, The Iliad

Homer, The Odyssey

Apollonius of Rhodes, The Argonautica

Hesiod, Theogony

Hesiod, Works and Days

Tyrtaeus, selections #5, 6, 7

Semonides, selections #1, 2

Sappho, selections #1, 4, 6, 12, 14, 18, 21, 23,

and hand out in class

Anacreon, selections #2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15

Simonides, selections # 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 14, 15,

16, 17

Pindar, Olympian 2, Olympian 14, Pythian 3,

Nemean 5, Isthmian 6, Enkomion for

Theoxenos

Bacchylides, Dithyrambs 17 & 18, Enkomion for

Alexandros

Theocritus, Idylls I, II, VI, XI, XV, XXIV

Callimachus, “On the Bath of Pallas”

a selection of epigrams

Moschus, "Europa"

technopaignia “Wings” and two more handed out in class

Marking Scheme:

short writing assignment — 10% (due Jan. 23)

website evaluation — 15% (due Feb. 17)

term paper — 35% (due April 7)

final examination — 40% (April 12)
Grading Equivalents for This Course:
letter grade g.p.a. numerical grade
A+ 4.3 95 - 100

A 4.0 85 - 94 Exceptional

A- 3.7 80 - 84

B+ 3.3 77 - 79

B 3.0 73 - 76 Above Average

B- 2.7 70 - 72

C+ 2.3 67 - 69

C 2.0 63 - 66 Average

C- 1.7 60 - 62

D 1.0 50 - 59 Needs Improvement

F 0.0 0 - 49 Failure
Human Rights Compliance:

Brandon University is committed to providing reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities. If you need such accommodation, please contact Michelle Magnusson, Accessibility Services Coordinator, Student Services (MCK 106). Students are responsible for registering with the Special Needs Coordinator and for requesting the appropriate accommodation with reasonable advance notice.

Statement of Fair Warning:
Literature deals with subjects central to the human condition. Works covered in this course can include (but are not limited to) themes of sexuality, violence, and negative views of women. Students may on occasion find some of the worldviews and/or topics discussed in class personally offensive, disturbing, or otherwise troubling.
Statement on Academic Integrity:
You know plagiarism is wrong. Just don’t do it. See section 3.13 in the 2016-17 Undergraduate Calendar for the consequences. You are responsible for what you hand in, and for when you hand it in. While there may be some flex as to when assignments during the term can be handed in, material will not be accepted without full medical documentation one calendar week after the assignment was due.

Short Writing Assignment (10%)
Due: January 23, 2017

Length: 500 words

Format: any standard 12 point font, double spaced, regular margins

With the exceptions of Zeus, Athene, and Apollo, choose any ONE of the gods or goddesses of Greek mythology and examine that figure's nature, role, and thematic importance in Homer's Iliad. (The god/goddess you choose, of course, must appear as a character in the Iliad!)

Website Evaluation Assignment (15%)
Due: February 17, 2017

Length: 4 - 6 typed pages

Format: any standard 12 point font, double spaced, regular margins
Find and evaluate two websites which are devoted in whole or in part to the study either of Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey or of Apollonius’s Argonautica. Your evaluation is to be in two parts: a technical assessment (5%) and a critical assessment (10%). For this assignment you are asked to find websites. Academic databases like Project Muse, Ebscohost, and JStor are not suitable choices for this assignment. Perhaps begin your search for websites by simply Googling ‘Homer’ or ‘Apollonius of Rhodes’ and check out what pops up.
You must, of course, provide me with a functional URL for each of your websites.
The first part is a technical assessment of the website’s features. Consider, for example, such aspects as the following questions. How well is the website laid out? Is it easy to use? Are specific articles/subjects easy to find? When was the last time the website was updated? Are interesting links provided to other sites related to Homer or Apollonius? Are the links current? Are the links of any use?
The second part is a critical assessment of the websites’ contents. The quality of material on the internet should be a concern for anyone relying upon a website’s evidence. Famously, for instance, Wikipedia for a while actually listed Borat as the president of Kazakhstan in the article posted on that country. On Amazon, literary agents were caught posting glowing reviews of the books written by the authors whom they represented. So consider carefully: a .com site is a commercial site, which means it is designed to sell you something. How does that commercial motive influence the information provided on the site? That is, you need to consider the agenda of the person who posts the information. Is the website an educational resource for studying Greek literature’s historical, cultural, and literary background? A free edition of the text? Someone’s high school or university essay? Look for signs of quality assurance in the information provided. What are the academic credentials of the persons posting articles? Who is the site designed for: the high school student? the interested amateur? the university student? the academic specialist?
In sum, which of your chosen two websites is the better source for information? Would you recommend either website to another person interested in learning more about ancient Greek poetry? If so, explain which one and why. If not, explain why.

Suggested Term Paper Topics (35%)

Due: April 7, 2017

Length: 10 - 12 typed pages (not including the Works Cited/Bibliography page)

Format: either MLA or Chicago style.
N.B. If you wish to work on a topic other than one of those listed below, you must first have it approved by me.
N.B. The major paper in this course is a research paper and has a research requirement. You must cite at least three critical, scholarly sources (i.e. academic books in the library, articles published in academic journals) in your paper, as well as the primary texts of the literature itself.

1. Examine in detail how English writers have adapted the structure, themes, motifs, and style of Greek literary forms. (For example, compare Theocritus’s Idyll XI and Christopher Marlowe’s “The Passionate Shepherd to his Love” as examples of the pastoral invitation. Or compare Pindar’s “Olympian 1” and Ben Jonson’s “Ode on Cary and Morison’s’ as examples of the ode.) Be very specific in your choice of works to compare.

2. Examine the theme of love in Greek poetry. Include some discussion of the ancient Greek attitude toward women as evidenced in their literature as well as consideration of the different kinds of love.
3. Examine the figure of Odysseus as he appears in Homer’s Odyssey and Iliad and in specific works of English literature (for example, Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida or Tennyson’s “Ulysses” and “The Lotos Eaters”). What continuity exists between the two literary traditions? What differences?
4. Compare the treatment of the Jason and the Argonauts story as told by Apollonius of Rhodes in the Argonautica and as told by Pindar in his Fourth Pythian Ode. (Please note that this poem is not included in your Greek Lyric text.) Consider the handling of characterization, plot, and theme.
5. Two of the great maxims of ancient Greek thought are “Know Thyself” (the motto of the oracle at Delphi) and “The unexamined life is not worth living” (attributed to the Greek philosopher Socrates). Discuss how the theme of self-recognition is reflected in Greek poetry. You must consider the work of at least three authors on the course.
6. Consider The Iliad, The Odyssey, or the Argonautica as treated in pop culture. Examine adaptations of a major Greek narrative as found in various pop culture media (e.g. comic books, novels, television, movies). You may compare adaptations or discuss one version in detail. How have these media interpreted the classical Greek text for our modern age? (A critical film review featured in a major publication can count as a ‘scholarly’ source for this assignment.)

Final Examination: Wednesday, April 12 (40%)
Details TBA