Classical Mythology (260-0-1)

Instructors

Germán Campos-Muñoz

Meeting Info

Kresge Centennial Hall 2-435: Mon, Wed 12:30PM - 1:50PM

Overview of class

This course provides an overview of the multicultural and transhistorical phenomenon of ancient Greek mythology. While paying close attention to the literary and narratological aspects of the mythical corpus (stories, characters, themes, perspectives, etc.), we will place special emphasis on their material and historical implications. This means that we will consider myths not only as imaginative tales whose plots may address universal questions or philosophical concerns, but also as signs of Mediterranean intercultural and economic transactions; as ornamental codes in everyday utensils, practical artifacts, and religious and public monuments; as recollections of major military tensions among kingdoms, leagues, and city-states; as religious and political arguments; as performative tools for dramatic and oratory practices; and as mechanisms to negotiate questions of identity in the complex geopolitical scenario of ancient Greece from the late Bronze Age through the Classical period. By exploring the heterogenous array of textual and non-textual sources that have served to preserve and transmit the tales, we will foreground the importance of integrating archeological findings, historiographic methods, and socio-political and cultural analyses in the discussion of ancient Greek mythology.
The course requires attending weekly lectures and a discussion session. Assessment will include active participation, quizzes, tests, writing assignments, a group project, and one mandatory visit to the Art Institute of Chicago.

Class Materials (Required)

• Aeschylus. Oresteia. Hackett, 1998. ISBN-13: 978-0872203907
• Euripides. Bacchae and Other Plays. Oxford UP, 2000. ISBN-13: 978-0199540525
• Homer. The Essential Homer. Selections from the Iliad and the Odyssey. Hackett, 2000. ISBN-13: 978-0872205406
• Plato. Symposium. Hackett, 1998. ISBN-13: 978-0941051569
• Sophocles. Theban Plays. Hackett, 2000. ISBN-13: 978-0872205857
• Trzaskoma, Stephen and R. Scott Smith, Anthology of Classical Myth: Primary Sources in Translation. 2nd. ed. ISBN-13: 978-1624664977

Class Attributes

Historical Studies Foundational Discipline
Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline
Historical Studies Distro Area
Interdisciplinary Distro-rules apply
Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area
Ethics & Values Distro Area

Associated Classes

DIS - University Library 3622: Fri 9:00AM - 9:50AM

DIS - University Library 3622: Fri 10:00AM - 10:50AM