Harvard University Course Catalog (main page)
2007-2008 FAS Courses of Instruction
Folklore & Mythology section in 2007-2008 catalog
|
Folklore & Mythology Courses (for Undergraduates and Graduates) |
|
| Freshman Seminars | |
|
|
|
Courses of Interest to Folklore & Mythology students
|
|
| * A star before a course title indicates that the instructor must consent to a student's enrollment by signing the study card. | |
| FOLKLORE & MYTHOLOGY COURSES (for Undergraduates and Graduates) | |
| BACK | |
| FALL 2007 | |
|
|
*Folklore and Mythology 90d. African Women Storytellers - (New Course) Reading (in translation) transcribed oral narratives, praise poems, autobiographies, plays and songs, in conjunction with historical and ethnographic sources, in this seminar we will attempt to understand the way in which (some) African women have shaped and been shaped by their societies, nations and families, how they envision their lives in relation to these social groupings, and how they express their experiences through these various performances. *Folklore and Mythology 98a (formerly *Folklore and Mythology 97b). Oral Literature and the History of Folkloristics Considers the implications of orality, literacy, performance, and transmission from ethnographic, literary and historical points of view. Examples and case-studies typically drawn from the Balkans, the American Southwest, Africa, and medieval Europe. Tutorial readings include works by Parry, Lord, Nagy, Ong, Foley, Zumthor, and Bauman. *Folklore and Mythology 98b. Tutorial - Junior Year Normally, this course is taken in the second semester of the junior year. *Folklore and Mythology 99. Tutorial - Senior Year Note: Required of all concentrators. The signature of the Head Tutor or of the Chairman of the Committee on Degrees in Folklore and Mythology must be obtained. Graded SAT/UNSAT. Folklore and Mythology 100. Performance, Tradition and Cultural Studies: An Introduction to Folklore and Mythology Surveys major forms of folklore (e.g., myths, legends, epics, beliefs, rituals, festivals) and the theoretical approaches used in their study. Analyzes how folklore shapes national, regional, and ethnic identities, as well as daily life; considers the function of folklore within the groups that perform and use it, employing materials drawn from a wide range of areas (e.g., South Slavic oral epics, American occupational lore, Northern European ballads, witchcraft in Africa and America, Cajun Mardi Gras). [Folklore and Mythology 114. Embodied Expression/Expressive Body: Dance in Cultural Context] An examination of the ways in which the dancing body internalizes and communicates cultural knowledge to both dancer and observer. By participating in dance workshops, watching dance performances (live and on film), and reading ethnographic and theoretical texts, we attempt to understand the emergent meaning of dance performances from multiple perspectives. [Folklore and Mythology 162. Edda and Saga: Myth and Reality of the Viking Age] Iceland produced a literature unrivaled in the medieval period for the insights its “eddas” grant into the mind of pre-Christian Europeans. The “sagas” tell of real men and women in pagan times and in the first Christian century, embodying classic themes of great literature: love and death, jealousy, rivalry, revenge, loyalty and betrayal—above all honor and pride. |
|
SPRING 2008 |
|
Folklore and Mythology 90e. Folklore and Nationalism - (New Course) Explores the relationship between folklore and national identity. Also considered: the valorization of folk traditions in elite cultural monuments; the manipulation of culture by political bodies; culture and tourism; authenticity; and intellectual property. [Folklore and Mythology 90f. The Moonbat Monologues: Tinfoil Hats, Conspiracies, and Popular Culture] - (New Course) Reviews American popular culture at the extremes in light of theories about ’scapegoats’, rumor (or moral) panics, and Internet hoaxes. Probable case studies include conspiracies about 9/11, "blood for oil", the CBS National Guard hoax, the Kennedy assassination, the Apollo 11 moon landing, Area 51, SRA, and ZOG. *Folklore and Mythology 97 (formerly *Folklore and Mythology 97a). Fieldwork and Ethnography in Folklore Introduces concentrators to the study of traditions - their performance, collection, representation and interpretation. Both ethnographic and theoretical readings serve as the material for class discussion and the foundation for experimental fieldwork projects. [Folklore and Mythology 102. Folklore, Nation-Building, and Nationalism] Explores the role folk tradition plays in shaping national, and nationalist, discourses in various colonial and post-colonial situations (e.g. Norway, Ireland, Greece, sub-Saharan Africa). The course examines learned society’s valorization of folk traditions in elite cultural monuments (e.g., Peer Gynt; Ballet Folklorico) and in public display venues (e.g., Olympic ceremonies; Old Sturbridge Village; Rumsiskes). Also considered: political manipulation of folklore under National Socialism and Communism; culture and tourism; authenticity; and intellectual property. [Folklore and Mythology 106. Witchcraft and Charm Magic] Reviews witchcraft and magic in medieval and early modern Europe (ca. 400–1700), focusing on such topics as pagan survivals in post-Conversion Europe; the construction of witchcraft in Church doctrine; charm magic and its performance in folk tradition; the witch-hunts of the 16th and 17th centuries; folk beliefs; the portrayal of witchcraft in film, fiction and folklore; and the historical roots of neo-paganism. Folklore and Mythology 111. In Search of Sung Narrative - (New Course) Ballads, the royal family of folksong, will occupy the center of our "search," but the performance of genres (lay, epic, romance) that flourished before and alongside the ballad also give rise to many questions: How does performance condition narrative? In what sense were "songs" such as the Chanson de Roland or the Hildebrandslied "sung"? Does the use of the harp (lyre) matter to the narrative of Beowulf? And since the "search" is timeless: what was Billie Joe throwing off the Tallahatchie Bridge? [Folklore and Mythology 112. Introduction to the Ballad] Narrative folk songs of Scotland and England present fascinating opportunities and questions for the student of folklore or literature. We will look into the birth, development, and dispersal of the genre and into the life of the traditional ballad. Readings (and ‘listenings’) from the Child corpus will be supplemented by ballad texts in translation from other European traditions. Special attention to language, narrative structures, and contemporary reflexes of the classic ballad (especially in North America). [Folklore and Mythology 124. Southern Folklore] Chiefly an introduction to the folk literature of the South—folk tales, ballads, and similar oral and popular genres—and to its cultural contexts. An unsystematic treatment of literary works that show interesting relations to folklore backgrounds. Special emphasis on Zora Neale Hurston, folklorist and writer. [Folklore and Mythology 127. Motherland: Gender, Indigeneity, and the American Environment] Seminar focused on contemporary Native American literature that explores the representation and conceptualization of a feminine, and ecologically potent, American land. Readings may include Cheryl Savageau’s Mother/land (poetry), Leslie Marmon Silko’s Gardens in the Dunes, Marilou Awiakta’s Selu, Linda Hogan’s Power, Deborah Miranda’s Indian Cartography (poetry), as well as parallel comparative texts such as Susan Orleans’ The Orchid Thief, Alice Walker’s "In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens," and Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring. |
|
| FRESHMAN SEMINARS | |
| BACK | |
CROSS-LISTED *Freshman Seminar 32v. The Art of the Storytelling Men and women tell stories to express the values found in experiences of everyday life. Based on storytelling traditions, each narrator shapes the story to reflect his or her own intentions, making it personally expressive as well as publicly meaningful to a particular audience. Examines the nature of storytelling, its enduring appeal, and its ability to adapt to multiple new technologies (print, film, internet). Participants will engage in the storytelling process itself.
OF INTEREST TO F&M STUDENTS *Freshman Seminar 33j. Greece and the East *Freshman Seminar 40t. An American Quilt - (New Course) *Freshman Seminar 44j. The Aztecs and Maya Explores religion, social relations, settlements, and history. Examines how modern scholars and students explore world-view, social relations, and history of other cultures. Investigates how observer bias plays role in describing and explaining "the other." Analyzes how religion fueled genesis and expansion of the Aztec empire as well as the Conquistadorsâ activities. Examines approaches used to piece back together puzzle of how a magnificent cultural tradition, the Maya, took root and thrived in tropical forest setting. *Freshman Seminar 44p. Contemporary India: Fact and Fiction Explores rich post-colonial literature, by Indians in English, interpreting Indiaâs variety and contradictions. Explores several themes at the heart of Indian society: the idea of India, legacy of colonialism, caste struggles, religious identities, changing role of women, and influence of the diaspora. What does it mean to be an Indian today? Readings from history, political science, and sociology provide basic concepts; fiction readings embed social science concepts and ground them in lived experience. *Freshman Seminar 44t. The Atomic Bomb in History and Culture |
|
| CROSS-LISTED COURSES | |
| BACK | |
| These courses can be counted for concentration credit. | |
[African and African American Studies 141. Afro-Atlantic Religions] Investigates the spiritual, political, and economic lives of millions around the Atlantic perimeter who worship African gods: West and Central Africans, Cubans, Brazilians, Haitians, and North Americans. For them, the gods are sources of power, organization, and healing amid the local political dominance of Muslims and Christians and the seismic expansion of international. capitalism—conditions which themselves require significant attention. Lectures focus on such themes as women’s empowerment and the construction of gender in these religions, while a series of in-class discussions with priests will propose its own themes. [African and African American Studies 182. Rhythm and Blues, Soul and Funk] Focuses on the history of African American popular music from R&B to Funk, with particular attention to the interplay among music and African American cultural and political consciousness. A variety of critical approaches to the study of popular music are also introduced. African and African American Studies 187. African Religions - (New Course) This course is a basic introduction to the history and phenomenology of traditional religions of the African peoples. Using diverse methodological and theoretical approaches, the course will explore various forms of experiences and practices that provide a deep understanding and appreciation of the sacred meaning of African existence: myth, ritual arts, and symbols selected from West, East, Central, and Southern Africa.
[Ancient Near East 124. Myth and Myth-Making in the Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern World] An exploration of the nature and function of myth in the context of the ancient Near East. The course focuses on selected mythic texts from various Near Eastern cultures and consider them in the light of general approaches to myth developed in Western scholarship. Particular attention is given to the issue of myth in the Hebrew Bible.
[Anthropology 1630 (formerly Anthropology 132). Anthropology of Religion ] From its inception as a discipline addressing non-Western cultures, anthropology has examined the religious beliefs and practices of people who are “not us.” Yet the cross-cultural study of phenomena such as “ritual,” “sacrifice,” and the “sacred” also renders absolute distinctions between “us” and “them” untenable. At a time when religion is in resurgence from the Americas to Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, we survey the contribution of anthropology to understanding its complexity and resilience. Anthropology 1870. Island Southeast Asia: Circulating Cultures An introduction to island Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei) emphasizing circulations of people, goods, ideas, beliefs, wealth, power, and images. Island Southeast Asia has a long history of involvement in global networks of economic distribution, exchange and appropriation. We will focus on cultural dimensions of such circulations, with topics to include urban gridlock, gay slang, terrorism, theme parks, female labor, political crisis, new media, democratization, and the lifestyles of the rich and famous.
Armenian Studies 100. Armenian Epic Reading in translation of The Wild Men of Sasun, with analysis of native historical and mythological sources, and thematic comparison to epic poetry of the neighboring Iranians (Ossetic Narts, Persian Shah-nameh, Kurdish epic songs), Turks (Dede Korkut), and Greeks (Digenes Akrites).
[Celtic 113. Gaelic Women’s Poetry] Explores the ways gender, genre, and tradition intersect in the poetic tradition of Gaelic Ireland and Scotland from the Middle Ages to today. After an excursion into early medieval literature, we focus on the work of women aristocrats, female genres of oral folk tradition, and contemporary poetry. [Celtic 114. Early Irish Historical Tales] Introduction to early Irish story-material about legendary and historical persons and events. Attitudes to kingship and views of history in the tales are explored. [Celtic 137. Celtic Mythology] A survey of the sources for the study of Celtic mythology, with special attention to selected texts from early Ireland and Wales. Celtic 138. Narrative Traditions of Medieval Wales An exploration of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi, Welsh Arthurian romances and tales, and the bardic lore associated with them, in the context of the literary culture of Wales in the twelfth through fourteenth centuries. Celtic 151. The Literature of Medieval Celtic Christianity A study of selected texts representative of early and medieval Christianity in Ireland and Wales, including monastic rules and penitentials, saints’ lives, voyage and vision narratives, and lyric and bardic poetry. [Celtic 166. The Folklore of Women] Investigates women’s songs and stories collected from Irish, Scottish, and Breton oral tradition. Reading (and, whenever possible, listening to) ballads, work songs, wonder tales, fairy legends, and humorous anecdotes traditionally performed by women, we explore the way women have used oral literature to enhance, underscore, sidestep, subvert, and transcend the gender roles allocated to them within their rural patriarchal communities. [Celtic 184. The Táin] A study of the exuberant Irish prose epic Táin Bó Cuailnge (‘Cattle-Raid of Cooley’).
[Chinese Literature 132. Chinatowns] Explores ways that “Chinatown” has circulated as ‘memory, fantasy, narrative, myth’ in the dominant cultural imagination the last century and a half, and how realities of overseas communities, Asian American history, and conceptions of ‘Chineseness’ have engaged with real and phantom Chinatowns. Though emphasis is on cultural and theoretical issues rather than socio-historical study of the “Chinatown” phenomenon, participants are encouraged to pursue multi-disciplinary approaches, such as studies in urban history, economics, or creative projects. [East Asian Studies 180. Asia Wave] Cinema, music, television, dance, food, clothing, currency, and language: the present-day "waves" that seem one after another to sweep across East Asia’s borders and boundaries also have historical counterparts. The course will examine the seismic events and media, practices, and circulation systems that constitute the contemporary Asian culture scene, and then how these are linked to or disassociated from the past. Classical Philology 263 (formerly Classics 263). Homer Studies in the Iliad and the Odyssey. Topics of special interest will include the reception of Homer in classical Athens and in Hellenistic Alexandria and Pergamon.
*English 90cd. Introduction to Medieval Drama - (New Course) This course examines dramatic texts and performance from the early Middle Ages up to and including the sixteenth century. Investigating ritual performance and the liturgy; carnival games and mummers’ plays; civic drama and staging the Passion; court pageantry and spectacle; commercial theater, its reforming opponents, and the medieval stage of Marlowe and Shakespeare – considers the limits of performance (in drama, ritual, magic), the implications of playing God, and suffering as spectacle. English 102e. Anglo-Saxon Language and Culture: Introduction to Poetry Introduction to the language and culture of England before 1066, with special attention to poetry and poetics that have influenced modern poets such as Pound and Auden. By the end of the term we will have read, in the original, a handful of the greatest short poems in the English language, among them The Wanderer and The Seafarer. English 103e. Anglo-Saxon Language and Culture: Beowulf and Elegy Tolkien thought Beowulf as much “elegy” as “epic,” and current readers treat the poem as a cultural elegy for a passed or passing world. Close reading of about one-half of the poem in the original, the rest in the Heaney translation, leading to criticism and scholarship on Beowulf and elegy in Old English and related literatures. Builds on English 102e, continuing the language study and cultural survey with focus on the central poetic monuments of Anglo-Saxon England. English 115b. Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales A study of the most famous work of English literature before Shakespeare, both as a work of art and as a product of its place (London) and time (the 1390s).
[Foreign Cultures 12. Sources of Indian Civilization] An exploration of the ideas, ethics, narratives, and religious movements that have shaped a complex civilization from the Indus Valley to Mahatma Gandhi. Readings in primary sources–Vedas and Upanishads, Buddhist and Jain texts, the Mahabharata and the Bhagavad Gita, Bhakti and Sufi poets, Sikh gurus and Muslim kings, and modern thinkers and reformers. Attention to the ways in which these continue to be of significance to the understanding of modern India. Foreign Cultures 46. Caribbean Societies: Socioeconomic Change and Cultural Adaptations Caribbean societies are largely the economic and political creations of Western imperial powers. Though in the West, they are only partly of it, and their popular cultures are highly original blends of African and European forms. The course examines the area as a system emerging from a situation of great social and cultural diversity to the present tendency toward socio-economic and cultural convergence. Patterns of underdevelopment are explored through case studies of Latin and Afro-Caribbean states, as are cultural adaptations through studies of Afro-Caribbean religions, folkways, and music. Foreign Cultures 74. Cultures of Southern Europe This is a survey of the modern cultures of Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal, and Spain. Southern Europe has been viewed as both the fount of “Western civilization” and as a poor and crime-ridden backwater; it has been home to imperial powers and humiliated client-states alike. Through the reading of anthropological field studies (urban and rural), literary and historical portrayals, and artistic representations (including film and opera), this course focuses on what such contradictions mean for people in those countries at the level of everyday life, and provides an account of differences as well as similarities among the countries discussed.
Historical Study A-21. Africa and Africans: The Making of a Continent in the Modern World Understanding Africa as it exists today requires an understanding of the broader historical trends that have dominated the continent’s past. This course will provide an historical context for understanding issues and problems as they exist in contemporary Africa. It will offer an integrated interpretation of sub-Saharan African history from the middle of the 19th century and the dawn of formal colonial rule through the period of independence until the present time. Particular emphasis will be given to the continent’s major historical themes during this period. Selected case studies will be offered from throughout the continent to provide illustrative examples of the historical trends.
[*History 1655. Native American Identities: Research Seminar] Using readings in history, literature, anthropology, sociology, law and policy, and the arts, this conference course will explore how Native Americans define themselves to one another and to non-Indians in local, personal, tribal, and national contexts.
Humanities 24. Childhood: Its History, Philosophy, and Literature - (New Course) With the so-called discovery or invention of childhood in the 16th and 17th centuries came a newfound emotional attachment, imaginative investment, and philosophical interest in the child. We explore literature for the child (Alice in Wonderland) as well as literature about the child (Lolita) and investigate how childhood has been constructed, investigated, and represented. Analysis of works by Locke, Rousseau, and Freud, as well as Dickens, J. M. Barrie, Henry James, and Roald Dahl.
[Indian Studies 206. Old Indian and Eurasian Creation Myths: Seminar] An analysis of selected Old Indian cosmogonic myths contrasted with comparable ones from other Indo-European and Asian traditions. The respective mythological systems, possible interpretations, and an emerging framework for their form and structure are investigated. Indian Studies 207a. Understanding Indian Ritual Investigates the indigenous theory and practice of Indian ritual, from its beginnings in the second millennium BCE (Rgveda) to present time. Stress on the development of the Agnihotra and Homa and Puja rituals, with materials from Vedic, Puranic, Tantric, and Buddhist sources, including their use in Bali, Tibet and Japan, and audio-vidual materials. Recent theories of ritual will also be discussed. Sanskrit texts are used in translation, while read in original in the tandem course, Sanskrit 214. Indian Studies 207b. Understanding Indian Ritual Continuation of Indian Studies 207a.
[Japanese History 125. Japanese Religious Traditions: Spirituality and Popular Culture] An introductory course designed for students to understand some central values in Japanese religious culture. It first observes popular religious ceremonies, festivals, and rituals and studies their historical transformation; then investigates the interaction between Buddhism and native Japanese religion; and finally studies the permeating influence of religion on traditional Japanese art and literature. The concluding section considers wide-ranging contemporary and traditional religious issues in Japanese popular culture. [Japanese History 126. Shinto: Conference Course] An examination of Shinto, emphasizing its concepts of deity (kami), patterns of ritual and festival, shrines as religious and social institutions, political culture and interactions with party politics, and its contribution to contemporary youth culture.
Jewish Studies 104. Introduction to Yiddish Culture An exploration of a thousand years of European Jewish culture through its vernacular, Yiddish. Topics covered will demonstrate the geographical, intellectual, and artistic breadth of this culture, and will include the history of the Yiddish language, selections of pre-modern and modern Yiddish literature, folklore, the press, film, theater, klezmer music, and song.
[*Literature 140 (formerly *Literature 128). Performing Texts] Examines performance as its own subject in drama, opera, musical theater, film, and dance (e.g., Tosca,The Red Shoes,The Seagull), and as represented in verbal and visual art. Juxtaposes perspectives rendered by literature and the arts with theoretical readings in the emerging interdisciplinary and de-centered field of performance studies. [*Literature 162 (formerly *Comparative Literature 207). Theory and Methods in Comparative Oral Traditions: Seminar] Genres, forms, and themes of oral traditions in poetry and prose. Theories of performance and composition. Comparative metrical and formulaic analysis.
[Literature and Arts A-11. Arthurian Literature: Epic versus Romance] A permanent fault-line runs throughout Western literature, between epic and romance. Epic contests territory, while romance discovers the self. Epic focuses on charismatic leaders, represents the rise and fall of societies, and depicts war across a realistic geography. Romance focuses on the energetic young, represents trials of sexual desire ending either in marriage or adultery, and has a symbolic geography. Epic and romance critique each other, without resolving this inevitable conflict. This course focuses on brilliant examples of literature about King Arthur’s court, written between the 12th and the 15th centuries, with some reference to 19th-century English and American texts. [Literature and Arts A-47. The Perfect Tale: The Art of Storytelling in Medieval France] The goal of this course is to present students with medieval literature as creative writing. It focuses on 12th- and 13th-century Old French narratives that influenced greatly the development of European literature and are still a source of inspiration for writers and screenwriters. Our reading of Arthurian romances, epics, chronicles, and short stories explores the innovative techniques that master story-tellers such as Chrétien de Troyes and Marie de France developed to start and end a story, build a character, delineate a plot, entertain and educate their readers. [Literature and Arts A-53. “Athens and Jerusalem”: Self and Other in Classical Greek and Hebrew Literature] Examines the representation of “self” and “other” in two literatures foundational to Western culture, Classical Greek and Biblical Hebrew. The premise is the necessity of an “other” in order to define the “self.” Starts with “Athens” and “Jerusalem” as emblematic of the self/other polarity that the West drew out of these literatures. Then explores in them other manifestations of self and other: group identity and group origins, woman and deity as other, the development of heroic selfhood, and the emergence of self-knowledge. Emphasizes throughout how poetic and narrative forms both shape and are shaped by visions of self and other. [Literature and Arts A-67. Poetry and Power: The Celtic Bard] The Celtic word “bard” comes from languages now spoken by relatively few. Once, bards were powerful: they could destroy weak, unjust, or greedy kings with their invective, or make good kings prosperous, victorious and fertile. Over time, poets found new ways to use their powers–in love, in politics, in lament. When their languages began to retreat before the advancing tide of English, bards found themselves making poems about language and about poetry itself. We read (in translation, but with glimpses of the originals) poetry of Celtic bards from the Middle Ages to the present, tracing the transformations of power that it undergoes. [Literature and Arts A-82. Orpheus: Literary, Artistic, and Cultural Figurations] The course spans over two thousand years of varying interpretations, settings, and appropriations of the Orpheus myth. The power of music and the fatality of passion, the expropriating effects of language and the regeneration of poetry, are but a few of the themes addressed and elaborated within the myth’s threefold configuration of harmony, descent, and dismemberment. In addition to investigating the rich literary tradition, the course also turns to significant versions in opera, ballet, film, and the visual arts. [Literature and Arts B-78. Soundscapes: Exploring Music in a Changing World] Many musical traditions at the turn of the 21st century cross geographic boundaries. Nowhere are diverse music traditions more prominently represented in public performance and maintained in private practice than in North America, where centuries of immigration and an increasingly multiethnic population have given rise to a complex musical environment. “Soundscapes” explores a cross-section of the different musical styles that coexist and interact in today’s society, examining their relationship to their historical homelands and to their present-day settings. Literature and Arts C-14. Concepts of the Hero in Greek Civilization The true “hero” of this course is the logos or “word” of logical reasoning, as activated by Socratic dialogue. The logos of dialogue requires careful thinking, realized in close reading and reflective writing. The last “word” in the course will come from Plato’s memories of Socrates’ last days. These memories depend on a thorough understanding of heroic concepts in all their historical varieties throughout Greek civilization. This course leads to such an understanding through dialogues, guiding the attentive reader through many ancient Greek Classics, including works by Homer, Hesiod, Sappho, Alcman, Pindar, Theognis, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Herodotus, and Plato. Literature and Arts C-18. Hindu Myth, Image, and Pilgrimage An exploration of the religious worlds and gods of Hindu India–Vishnu, Krishna, Shiva, and Devi–through readings in the classical Puranas, the Ramayana, and devotional poetry. Studies the visual images through which the gods are envisioned and embodied and the meaning of such a repertoire of images. Tracks the relationship of these gods to the living landscape of temples and pilgrimage sites in India today. Literature and Arts C-20. The Hero of Irish Myth and Saga A study of the ways in which the hero is represented in early Irish sources, especially in the saga literature. The texts reflect the ideology and concerns of a society which had been converted to Christianity, but continued to draw on its Indo-European and Celtic heritage. The biographies of the Ulster hero, Cú Chulainn, of his divine father, Lug, and of certain king-heroes are studied in depth. The wisdom literature, and archaeological and historical evidence will be taken into account. [Literature and Arts C-28. Icon-Ritual-Text: Reading the Culture of Medieval Rus’] An introduction to the culture of the medieval East Slavs, precursors of the Russians, Ukrainians, and Belarusians. The course examines icon and fresco painting, architecture, ritual, music, folklore, and literature in historical and social context for clues to the evolution of an apocalyptic worldview, extending from the Christianization of Rus’ in the 10th century, through the reign of Ivan the Terrible, to the advent of Peter the Great at the end of the 17th century. [Literature and Arts C-42. Constructing the Samurai] Examines the rise and fall of Japan’s warrior class and of the bushido ethos. Concentrates on two interrelated themes: the historical reality and the construction of a mythology—both positive and negative—in Japanese popular culture and the Western imagination. Themes will include warfare, training, religion, values, art, literature, and family life. Visual materials will be used extensively.
Medieval Latin 105 (formerly Medieval Latin 205). The Waltharius Studies a poem about an early Germanic hero, Walter of Aquitaine. Considers problems connected with the poem, from date and authorship to its essential meanings. Seeks to relate poem to both Germanic and Latin contexts, with attention to versions in other languages (in translation) and to sources and analogues in classical and Christian Latin literature. Modern Greek 145 (formerly Comparative Literature 145). Dreams and Literature - (New Course) Against the dual background of ancient and medieval commentaries on the one hand, and modern psychoanalytic and ethnographic studies on the other, diverse literary texts will be explored. The major focus will be on Greek literature, but examples from other European literatures will also be considered (including film). Major topics: typology of dreams; dreams as narratives; dreaming and writing; religious dimensions. Theoretical readings to include: Aristotle, Aelius Aristides, Artemidorus, Synesius of Cyrene; Freud, Jung, Levi-Strauss, Foucault, Lyotard.
[Music 208r. Ethnomusicology: Seminar] Note: Expected to be given in 2008–09. Open to undergraduates with permission of instructor. Music 209r. Ethnomusicology: Seminar Music and Mali. Examines the musical cultures and history of Malian music, including the traditional musics of the Mande hunters and the Senufo, as well as contempory Malian popular musics that have had a deep impact on "world music." A highlight of the course will be engagement with primary research materials on the music of Neba Solo, a Senufo composer and balafonist, who has modernized traditional Senufo music in Mali to wide acclaim.
Religion 1001. Religion and Ethnography - (New Course) This course explores the use of ethnographic methods by anthropologists and scholars of religion as a means of interpreting the lived religious experiences of everyday people. Students will read contemporary ethnographies and conduct their own ethnographic research in order to discover how participant observation, interviews and other qualitative methods allow scholars to make sense of the very real religious sensibilities of worshipers, while simultaneously bringing to bear their own issues of subjectivity as ethnographers. [Religion 1011. The Tree at the Center of the World] This comparative conference course will examine historical and contemporary traditions of primordial, cosmic, and sacred trees in religion, folklore, mythology, and ritual, including the ways in which the special natural characteristics of trees have been interpreted metaphorically and metaphysically. We will consider primary iconographic and textual evidence as well as secondary sources. Individual research projects in particular traditions will be featured. Religion 1028. Icon or Idol? Attitudes to the Sacred Image - (New Course) The study of iconography, literally "in writing in images," is a powerful lens through which to view the religious traditions of the world. Through a historically informed, cross-cultural survey, this course examines how conceptions of the sacred are visually communicated. Treats differing attitudes towards the representation of divinity, symbolic versus "real" presence, as well as negative attitudes to images - iconoclasm, the transcendence of images, and the reinterpretation of iconic vision in abstract or noniconic expressions. Religion 1702. The Buddha in Myth, Image, and Ritual - (New Course) Is the Buddha a spiritual exemplar, the founder of a religion, the iconic locus of devotional ritual, a cosmological principle, or all of the above? This seminar will explore the multifacited nature of the figure of the Buddha primarily within the context of Theravada Buddhism with a particular focus on the Buddha image consecration ritual. Narrative and doctrinal constructions of the Buddha will be informed by recent studies of icons, images, relics, and ritual.
[Scandinavian 80. The Vikings and the Nordic Heroic Tradition] Examines the heroic legacy resulting from the historical events in northern Europe AD 800 to AD 1100, concentrating on the medieval Icelandic sagas. The course focuses on how those texts present their heroes as warriors, kings, poets, outlaws, and adventurers, and reviews how the viking image is received and shaped in later periods (e.g., Victorian England). Such topics as pre-Christian mythology and the Norse experience in “Vinland” also considered. Note: Expected to be given in 2008–09. All readings and discussions in English. This course, when taken for a letter grade, meets the Core area requirement for Literature and Arts A. Scandinavian 160a. Old Norse Language, Literature, and Culture: The Viking Legacy Introduction to the language and literary culture of medieval Scandinavia, emphasizing works treating the Viking Age and their valorization of an heroic ideal. In addition to basic language skills, students acquire familiarity with key critical tools of the field. Readings include scaldic poetry, selections from Egils saga and the Vinland sagas, and various runic monuments. Scandinavian 160br (formerly Scandinavian 160b). Old Norse Language, Literature, and Culture: Mythology Builds on Scandinavian 160a, continuing the language study and cultural survey of the first term, but now considers mythological texts relating to Viking religious life, mainly selections from the prose and poetic Eddas. Special attention is paid to scholarly tools and debates concerned with the interpretation of these cultural monuments. |
|
| COURSES of INTEREST to Folklore & Mythology students | |
| BACK | |
| These courses are likely to be of interest to students engaged in the study of Folklore and Mythology; please consult the Head Tutor about credit for concentration. (This list is not necessarily complete; please feel free to inquire about courses that you do not see listed here, as well.) | |
(Coming soon!) |
|
| BACK | |