SYLLABUS FOR ENGLISH 475:
CLASSICAL MYTHOLOGY

Spring Quarter
1999-2000
Instructor: Dr. Bruce R. Magee

Mythology Links
English 475-001
Room: WH 204
Time: 11:00-12:15 MWF
Home Page: 
http://www2.latech.edu/~bmagee
http://garts.latech.edu/bmagee
E-mail: 
bmagee@LaTech.Edu
Office: GTM 222 
Phone: 257-3033 
Hours: 8:00-9:30 MWF
     2:15-2:45 MWF
     10:00-11:00, 1:30-2:30 TTh
or by appointment
Textbooks
  • Powell, Barry B.  Classical Myth. 2nd ed.  Translations by Herbert M. Howe.  Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, 1998.
  • Hesiod.  Hesiod, Homeric Hymns, Epic Cycle, Homerica.  New and rev. ed. Loeb Classical Library 57.  1936.  Cambridge, MA: Harvard U. Pr., 1998.
  • Ovid.   The Metamorphoses.  Trans. and intro. Horace Gregory.  New York: New American Library, 1958. 
  • Magee 475 Mythology Packet.
Course Description
Catalog Data
ENGL 475: Special Topics. 0-3-3. Seminar with topic to be designated by the instructor. Preq. English 201 or 202. (Eligible for graduate credit)
Objective
English 475: Classical Mythology is designed to introduce the students to the different myths of ancient Greece and Rome. We shall also study the types of literature that record ancient myths as well as theories regarding the intrerpretation of mythology.
Prerequisites
English 201 or 202.
Attendance Requirements
  • Class attendance is regarded as an obligation as well as a privilege, and all students are expected to attend regularly and punctually all classes in which they are enrolled.
  • Attendance is 10% of your grade.
  • I shall keep a permanent attendance record for this class. This record is subject to inspection by appropriate college or university officials.
  • Regular attendance will help you understand your assignments and complete them on schedule. I encourage you to attend unless you absolutely cannot avoid being absent.
  • Make an extra effort to be in class on the days your are scheduled to make a presentation. The nature of the course does not leave time for you to present makeup work later in the quarter.
Conferences
Conferences are encouraged during the quarter. They will be used to discuss specific writing strengths and/or weaknesses.
Note for students with disabilities:
Students needing testing accommodations or classroom accommodations based on a disability should discuss the need with me as soon as possible.
Miscellaneous
* Bring a 9" x 12" manilla folder to class for me to file your work in. 
* KEEP A PAPER COPY OF YOUR ASSIGNMENTS IN YOUR OWN FILES. It's the cheapest insurance you can buy. 
* COMPLETE ANY MAKE-UP WORK BEFORE FINALS WEEK.
Note. English 475 is a demanding course. Be sure to arrange your schedule so you can spend adequate time for class preparation, researching, and writing.
GRADES
Daily Quizes 45%
In-class Essay Exam 15%
Sentence Outline 10%
Paper 20%
Attendance 10%
Total 100%

The grading scale is A: 90-102%, B: 80-89%, C: 70-79%, D: 60-69%, F: 0-59%. 

Graduate Requirements:
In addition to meeting the above requirements, graduate students enrolled in the course: 
  • must write a substantially longer research paper than undergraduates. (12-15 pages for graduate students, 8-9 pages for undergraduates.)
  • may be asked to give presentations to the class.
  • should show leadership in class discussion.
Graded Material
In the event of a question regarding an exam grade or final grade, it will be the responsibility of the student to retain and present graded materials which have been returned for student possession during the quarter.

Accommodations for Students with Disabilities
Students needing testing or classroom accommodations based on a disability are encouraged to discuss those needs with me as soon as possible.

Honor Code
In accordance with the Academic Honor Code, students pledge the following: Being a student of a higher standard, I pledge to embody the principles of academic integrity.

HOC OPUS, HIC LABOR EST
Registration Week: March 6-10
Period 1
  • Powell. Chapter 1.
  • Packet.  Franklin 204.
Period 2
  • Powell. Chapter 2.
  • Packet. Keats 224.
Week 1: March 13-17
Period 1
  • Powell. Chapter 3.
Period 2
  • Powell. Chapter 4.
  • Hesiod.  Theogony 78.
    • "Homeric Hymn 30: To Earth" 456.
  • Ovid. 30-33.
  • Packet.  Tennyson, "Tithonus" 334.
Period 3
  • Powell.  Chapter 22.
Week 2: March 20-24
Period 1
  • Powell.  Chapter 5.
  • Hesiod.  Works and Days 2.
  • Ovid. 33-43.
  • Packet.  Introduction to Drama 6.
    • "How Coyote Stole Fire" 14.
    • Aeschylus. Prometheus Bound 71.
    • Genesis 2-3,  92.
    • Plato. Protagoras 250.
Period 2  
Period 3
  • Powell.  Chapter 6.
  • "Homeric Hymn 6: To Aphrodite" 426 
Week 3: March 27-31
Period 1
  • Powell.  Chapter 7.
  • "Homeric Hymn 3: To Apollo" 324
    • "Hymn 9: To Artemis" 434
    • "Hymn 27: To Artemis" 452
  • Ovid 43-47, 167-174.
  • Packet.  Rich, "Orion" 252
Period 2
  • Powell. Chapter 8.
  • Ovid 51-52, 163-167.
  • "Homeric Hymn 4: To Hermes" 362.
    • "Hymn 8: To Ares" 432.
    • "Hymn 19: To Pan" 442.
Period 3
  • Powell.  Chapter 9.
  • "Homeric Hymn 2: To Demeter" 288
  • Ovid 289-290, 149-159.
  • Packet.  Creeley "Kore" 97.
Week 4: April 3-7
Period 1
  • Powell.  Chapter 10.
  • Ovid. 92-94, 100-107, 299-305.
  • "Homeric Hymn 1: To Dionysus" 286.
    • Hymn 7: To Dionysus" 428.
  • Packet.  Euripides, Bacchantes 104.
Period 2  
Period 3
  • Powell. Chapter 11.
  • Ovid. 273-276, 299-301, 415-428.
  • Packet. Ashbery, "Syringa" 86.
    • Julian the Apostate "Letter to Arsacius" 222
    • Swinburn "Hymn to Proserpine" 326
Week 5: April 10-14
Period 1  
Period 2
  • Powell. Chapter 12.
  • Ovid. 331-342.
  • Packet.  Genesis 39, p. 95.
    • Euripides Hippolytus 161.
Period 3
  • Powell.  Chapter 13.
  • Ovid. 219-222.
Week 6: April 17-21
Period 1
  • Powell.  Chapter 14.
  • Ovid.  47-50, 129-146.
  • Packet. Aeschylus Prometheus Bound 71 (Io section only)
Period 2 Sentence outline due
  • Powell.  Chapter 15.
  • Ovid 247-255.
  • Packet. Euripides, Heracles 141.
Period 3 Off
Week 7: April 24-28
Period 1 Off
Period 2
  • Powell.  Chapter 16.
  • Ovid 85-95.
  • Packet.  Eliot "The Wasteland" 101
    • Sophocles Oedipus Rex 278.
      • Oedipus at Colonus 295.
      • Antigone 314.
Period 3  
Week 8: May 1-5
Period 1 Essay Exam
Period 2
  • Powell.  Chapter 17.
  • Ovid 290-295.
  • Packet. Euripides Medea 182.
Period 3
  • Powell. Chapter 18.
  • Ovid 278, 206-311, 325-329.
  • Packet. Auden "The Shield of Achilles" 88.
    • Homer Iliad 18, 207.
    • Seneca Thyestes 253.
    • Yeats "Leda and the Swan" 340.
    • Mona van Duyn "Leda" 340.
Week 9: May 8-12
Period 1
  • Research paper due
  • Powell. Chapter 19.
  • Ovid 347-368.
  • Packet. Aeschylus Agamemnon 17
    • Libation Bearers 40.
    • Eumenides 56.
Period 2  
Period 3
  • Powell. Chapter 20.
  • Ovid 372-380.
  • Packet. Dante Inferno 99
    • Euripides Cyclops 126.
    • Tennyson "Lotus Eaters" 329
      • "Ulysses" 337
Week 10: May 15-19
Period 1  
Period 2
  • Powell. Chapter 21.
  • Ovid. 369-372, 397-410, 437-441.
  • "Homeric Hymn 5: To Aphrodite" 407.
Period 3