**The different course books rest at the very centre of the curriculum.  They will serve as the focal point for our bi-weekly seminars and for several different assignments.  It is fundamentally important that you acquire these books and then access them throughout the semester.  They are available for purchase at the NIC Bookstore.  I have also provided links to e-text editions below.  The Sanders translation of the Epic of Gilgamesh is available on-line in an audio edition.

1.  Compare creation myths from a variety of cultures.

2.  Identify and analyze the major gods, heroes and legends of Sumerians, Egyptian, Classical, Celtic, Norse, Mayan, Aztec and Northwest Coast mythology.

3.  Discuss the complex relationship between the gods and the mortals, and between life and death, within those mythic traditions.

4.  Relate mythologies to the historical and societal contexts out of which they emerged.

5.  Describe the various academic theories of myth and apply these to course curricular content.

6.  Compare and contrast different mythic traditions, with particular attention to recurring motifs and themes.

7.  Assess the extent to which mythic imagery, language and stories continue to influence contemporary culture, art and thought.

8.  Better understand how the continuing study of mythology might be effectively integrated into a lifetime of independent learning.

Homework Assignment #1:

Homework Assignment #3:

1)  You will have been assigned to one of five groups, each of which is responsible for listening to, watching, and reading a few resources associated with your particular two gods.  Use the resources provided in the  Olympian Pantheon Discussion Topic and spend at least two hours researching your Olympian gods.

2)  You are encouraged to browse extensively within the provided archive but then will be completing three file cards about specific resources.  Your responsibility is not to learn everything there is to know about either or both of your gods but rather to find particular resources of interest.  It is fine if all three of your items focus in on only one of your two gods.  Those who want to complete more than three file cards are encouraged to do.

Each file card should include the title of the resource chosen for that file card.  The front of the cards should include either a very brief summary of or notes on the resource, while the back of the card should offer your own thoughts in response to the resource.

You will then be having an informal discussion in class with your small group before sharing the highlights of that discussion with the class as a whole.

a)  One file card should be based upon one video from the Viewing Assignment section.

b)  One file card should be based upon one audio feature from the Listening Assignment section.  Listen to the full programme.

c)  One file card should be based upon one article from the Reading Assignment section.

Week 5

"Homer: The Iliad," Natalie Haynes Stands Up For The Classics, BBC Radio 4, October 13, 2020.  (28 mins)

"Greek Myths: Tales Of Traveling Heroes," BBC, 2010.  (89 mins)

Great Greek Myths -- Iliad, Arte France, 2019:

Audio Edition:  Epic Of Gilgamesh

Reading Assignment:

Optional Extras:

Francisco Del Rio Sanchez, "Opening The Floodgates: 'The Epic Of Gilgamesh,'" National Geographic History (January/February 2018): 90-93.

"Gilgamesh and The Flood," Histocrat, December 1, 2021.  (132 mins)

"Epic Of Gilgamesh," In Our Time, BBC Radio Four, November 3, 2016.

Homework Assignment #5:

Reading Assignment:

Browse extensively in Yggdrasil Discussion Topic

Class Preparation For March 9

Reading Assignment:

DK Publishing, Illustrated Mahabharata: The Definitive Guide To India's Greatest Epic (p. 1-209)

Reading Assignment:

Class Preparation For March 16

Reading Assignment:

DK Publishing, lllustrated Mahabharata: The Definitive Guide To India's Greatest Epic (p. 210-429)

Homework Assignment #7:

2)  You are encouraged to browse extensively within the provided archive but then will be completing three file cards about any three specific resources.

Each file card should include the title of the resource chosen for that file card.  The front of the cards should include either a very brief summary of or notes on the resource, while the back of the card should offer your own thoughts in response to the resource.

You will then be having an informal discussion in class with your small group before sharing the highlights of that discussion with the class as a whole.

Monday, April 6

***No Class: Easter Monday

a)  Letter of Introduction (1%)

Write a short letter of introduction to me at the beginning of the semester.  This should be at least 100 words in length and is designed to give me a beginning idea of who you are and how I might best serve you as a teacher, and to provide me with an opening snapshot of the class as a whole.  You need not use the following questions as cues but they may be helpful.  Who are you?  Where are you from?  How might you begin to describe your community and what life is like there if you've come to NIC from far away?  What do you miss and what do you think would most surprise me if I were to visit your hometown?  What are your interests?  Why are you taking this course?  What are your thoughts and reflections as you begin HIS 135?  What is myth and what is the importance of studying it?  Are there topics associated with the course that you know will be of potential interest?  Do you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions?  This is an assignment I ask of students in each of my classes.  Although this is not a graded assignment, I would appreciate it if you took several minutes writing a thoughtful introduction.  If you are enrolled in more than one class with me this semester, a single letter of introduction will suffice, but mention something about each of the courses.  If you have taken a class with me before, please update what you wrote before and complete a new letter of introduction.

b)  Seminar Notes (40%) [4 different short seminar notes in total]

c)  Homework Assignments (15%)

The four seminar notes are the most important writing assignments in this course.

However, they will be  will be complemented by a series of small Homework assignments that will be coordinated with some of our other class discussion and one assignment exploring the concept of the afterlife in different civilizations.  Typically the Homework exercises will ask you to browse extensively within resources associated with different mythological traditions and then take some notes and offer some commentary upon resources of particular interest.

You will arrive at the relevant class sessions with these notes and use them to share your findings with your fellow students.  I will collect these materials in individual student folders and evaluate these based upon the promptness and consistency of the submissions, and upon the thoroughness and thoughtfulness of the work itself.  I will also ask you to provide self-evaluation in regards to your efforts here.

d)  Trip Of A Death-Time Brochures (14%)

You will design three separate brochures advertising tourist trips to three different mythic afterlives.

e)  Class Participation And Contributions (10%)

The class participation grade will be based upon attendance; pre-class preparation; and the willingness to contribute thoughtfully to small-group and full-class discussion.

HIS 135 will combine lectures and documentaries with extensive discussion.  Several times during the semester, we'll devote an entire course period to a seminar discussion about one of our core texts.  It is expected that you will demonstrate during these particular classes that you have directly engaged with each of the books and then struggled to offer your own interpretations of these stories.  At other times, we will have shorter but focused full-class or small-group conversations about particular topics.

I would like to encourage a classroom environment in which all are eager to share their ideas an in which lectures are accompanied by thoughtful dialogue.  This will be dependent not just upon your willingness to speak, but your pre-class preparation and your willingness to listen.  The significant class participation component derives from my belief that the most engaging and successful courses are not ones in which knowledge is merely transferred from instructor to student but in which a genuine learning community exists in which all participants share their perspectives and insights.

Although attendance is not required, I will take roll, and those who are not in class regularly will both receive a poor grade for this part of the course and deprive others in the class of their own insights.

I do appreciate that some students are shy or for other reasons may find it intimidating to speak in our full-group setting.  I do want these students to push themselves to nonetheless fully engage with the class and participate in discussions.  I will nonetheless be understanding of these students so long that they can clearly demonstrate to me by other means that not only do they come to class but they do so well-prepared and are engaged with the course material.

f)  Final Exam (20%)

Late Policy

Writing Support And Peer Tutoring

Writing Support is available to all students at no additional cost.  Go to Writing Support for any or all of your assignments.  Every visit is a step toward becoming a better writer.  Use Writing Support as many times as you like, and at any point in your writing process.  The writing support faculty can help you understand the assignment, develop your ideas, outlines, thesis, and revision -- and anything else in-between.  Book your appointment through the library website, or visit the library desk to inquire about drop-ins.  There's also WriteAway, an online tutoring platform that allows you to upload your papers and assignments for detailed written feedback.  Both services may be found at https://library.nic.bc.ca/WritingSupport .

Student Technical Services

Our Student Technical Service team is available to help you with any technical issues that you may be experiencing as a student.  Please go to https://library.nic.bc.ca/studenttech for more information.

Learn Anywhere

NIC's Learn Anywhere website is geared to provide a collection of information that will help you be successful learning digitally by covering area such as: What is digital learning? How to be a digital learner while using NIC-supported technologies during your studies? A list of key skills and knowledge all students should have for successful learning in today's world, knowing your rights and responsibilities and Technology Readiness Checklists. More details at: https://learnanywhere.opened.ca/

Related Policy