Syllabus for Metamorphosis of Myth

Metamorphosis of Myth Fall 1997 Syllabus

Course Information:

CLAS 311-03 : MW 3-4:15 p.m. in Art 201

Prof. Barbette Spaeth (x3078, email: spaeth@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu)

Office Hours: MW 1:45-2:45 p.m. in Jones 210A

Course Description:

This course investigates both ancient and modern dramatic interpretations of two myth cycles: the Theban Saga and the Mycenean Saga. Emphasis is placed on the versatility of myth: the ways in which an individual myth may be transformed to accomodate the purposes of different dramatists and various cultural contexts.

Texts:

Anouilh, Jean (1991). Five Plays. New York
Cocteau, Jean (1963). The Infernal Machine and Other Plays. New York.
Eliot, T.S. (1966). The Family Reunion. San Diego, New York, London.
Grene, David and Lattimore, R., ed. (1953) Aeschylus I. Chicago and London.
Grene, David and Lattimore, R., ed. (1991) Aeschylus II. 2nd ed. Chicago and London.
Grene, David and Lattimore, R., ed. (1958) Euripides IV. Chicago and London.
Grene, David and Lattimore, R., ed. (1959) Euripides V. Chicago and London.
Grene, David and Lattimore, R., ed. (1991) Sophocles I. 2nd ed. Chicago and London.
Grene, David and Lattimore, R., ed. (1957) Sophocles II. Chicago and London.
O'Neill, Eugene (1995). Three Plays. New York.
Slavitt, David and Bowie, Palmer, ed. (1995). Seneca: The Tragedies. Vol. I. Baltimore and London.
Slavitt, David and Bowie, Palmer, ed. (1995). Seneca: The Tragedies. Vol. II. Baltimore and London.
Sartre, Jean-Paul. (1989). No Exit and Three Other Plays. New York.

Class Schedule:

Aug. 27 (W) Introduction

Sept. 1 (M) LABOR DAY HOLIDAY

Sept. 3 (W) Sophocles, Oedipus Tyrannus

Sept. 8 (M) NO CLASS

Sept. 10 (W) NO CLASS

Sept. 15 (M) Seneca, Oedipus

Computer Assignment Due

Sept. 17 (W) Jean Cocteau, The Infernal Machine

Sept. 22 (M) FILM: Pasolini, Oedipus Rex

Sept. 24 (W) Sophocles, Oedipus at Colonus

Proposals for Group Projects 1 & 2 Due

Sept. 29 (M) Aeschylus, Seven Against Thebes

Oct. 1 (W) Sophocles, Antigone

Oct. 6 (M) FILM: Antigone

Short Paper Due

Oct. 8 (W) Jean Anouilh, Antigone

Oct. 13 (M) Euripides, Phoenissae

Essay Questions for Midterm Due

Oct. 15 (W) Conclusions on Theban Myth Cycle

Group Projects 1 & 2 Due

Take Home MIDTERM Distributed

Oct. 20 (M) Aeschylus, Agamemnon

Take Home MIDTERM Due

Oct. 22 (W) Aeschylus, Choephoroi

Oct. 27 (M) FILM: Choephoroi

Oct. 29 (W) Aeschylus, Eumenides

Nov. 3 (M) Sophocles, Electra

Nov. 5 (W) Euripides, Electra

Nov. 10 (M) Euripides, Iphigenia in Aulis

Nov. 12 (W) Seneca, Agamemnon

Proposals for Group Projects 3 & 4 Due

Nov. 17 (M) FILM: Kakoyiannis, Iphigenia

Long Paper Due

Nov. 19 (W). Eugene O'Neill, Mourning Becomes Electra

Nov. 24 (M) T.S. Eliot, The Family Reunion

Nov. 26 (W) THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY

Dec. 1 (M) Jean Paul Sartre, The Flies

Essay Questions for Final Due

Dec. 3 (W) Conclusions on Mycenean Myth Cycle

Group Projects 3 & 4 Due

Take Home FINAL Distributed

Dec. 14 (Su) Take-Home FINAL Due (1:00 p.m.)

Note: The take-home final may be turned in any time before the due date. No final exams will be accepted after the due date and time.

Course Requirements:

Each student will be required to complete an electronic component, participate in class discussion, serve as a scribe for one class discussion, participate in a group project, write one short paper and one long paper, and take a midterm and a final examination. The grade breakdown is as follows:

Electronic Component 5%
Scribal Report 5%
Class Participation 10%
Group Project 10%
Short Paper 10%
Long Paper 25%
Midterm 15%
Final Exam 20%

Electronic Component

Students are required to obtain an email account and a student web page from Tulane Computing Services. Students will be asked to complete an assignment utilizing these facilities early in the semester. In addition, each student will place his/her scribal report on the student web to make it available to the class as a whole and will email to the instructor 3 possible examination questions for the midterm and the final exam.

Scribal Report

Each student will take notes for one assigned class period and publish these notes to the class as a whole by putting them up on the student web. The scribal report must be up on the web by one week after the class in which the notes were taken.

Class Participation

Each student is expected to be present at each class meeting and to participate intelligently and courteously in class discussion. Intelligent participation requires completion of the assigned reading before the class at which that reading is to be discussed.

Group Project

Students will be asked to form 4 groups of no more than 6 participants each. Each group will make an in-class presentation lasting ca. 15 minutes interpreting one of the myth cycles. All are encouraged to be creative in researching and presenting their view of a myth cycle. Groups should consult with the instructor to present a project proposal on or before the scheduled date. All participants in a group will receive the same grade for their work on the project. This grade will be determined by peer review. Suggestions for group projects include:

write a short play based on the myth cycle and perform it.
investigate the iconographic tradition (artistic representations) of the myth cycle and present it to the class using visual aids
do a talk show in which characters from the myth cycle confront each other
do an interview show in which different playwrights discuss their "take" on the myth cycle

Short Paper (5-6 pages)

Analyze in depth one major character found in two different dramatic presentations of the Theban Saga and compare and contrast the manner in which he or she is represented in each. How does the manner in which the character is represented reveal each author's interpretation of the saga?

Long Paper (8-10 pages)

Choose a modern dramatic presentation related to the Mycenean Saga from the following list and write a paper analyzing the author's interpretation of the saga. These books will be placed on reserve in the Howard-Tilton Library.

Shakespeare, Hamlet (1601)
Hugo von Hofmannsthal and Richard Strauss, Elektra (1909)
Jean Giraudoux, Electra (1937)
Jack Richardson, The Prodigal (1960)
Sam Shepard, Curse of the Starving Class (1978)

Midterm and Final Exams

Each student will be required to submit to the instructor via email essay questions for both the midterm and the final examinations. The instructor may choose from among these questions to prepare these exams. The examinations will be take-home, open-book tests. The take-home final may be turned in any time before the due date.

General Paper and Exam Guidelines

Your papers and exams should be typed, double-spaced, with a 1.5 inch margin on all sides of the paper. You should quote directly from the plays to support your points. If less than 3 lines, quotations should be incorporated into the body of the paper and the citation given in parentheses at the end, e.g., (Sophocles, Oedipus Tyrannus 700-710). If more than 3 lines, quotations should be single-spaced and centered on the page, with a 1 inch indentation from the left and right margins of the paper (block quotation style), and the citation should be centered under the quotation.