humanities & religious studies 151— csus world...

Course Syllabus (HRS 151: World Mythology) - 1 of 8

HUMANITIES & RELIGIOUS STUDIES 151— CSUS

WORLD MYTHOLOGY, Section 3 (GE Area C2)

Professor: Dr. Mathias Warnes Fall 2020—Class Number 80828 Email: [email protected] Class Meets Online through Canvas and Zoom Office hour: T/Th 2:00pm-4:00pm by Zoom Course Materials at: mathiaswarnes.com and Canvas Catalog Description: Introduction to the nature and function of myth. The specific literature studied will be exclusive of classical mythology and because of the breadth of subject matter will vary in content. The mythology of at least four cultures will be covered each term. Section Description: In this section we will examine myths from the ancient cultures of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Australia, India, Judeo-Christianity, Mesoamerica, and Ireland. We will cover in detail cosmogonic myths, anthropogony, apocalyptic myths, hero myths, women and goddesses in myth, afterworld myths (eschatology), myths of sacred kingship, as well as the historically unfolding relation of myth to social hierarchy, religion, philosophy, art, festival, shamanism, and the natural environment. Students will also learn to apply various theories of myth ranging from etiological, euhemeristic, and allegorical interpretations through to folkloric, comparative, and structural approaches, as well as symbolic anthropology and Jungian archetypal theories, and finally, more contemporary approaches and mythic retellings.

Learning Objectives: By the completion of the course, students should be able to: 1. Cogently define “mythology,” and compare and contrast various theoretical approaches to the

study of mythology in formal written formats that utilize the language of the discipline of the humanities and religious studies.

2. Compare and contrast mythological narratives cross-culturally, paying attention to issues of ritual, culture, historical interactions, and contemporary forms.

3. Analyze and account for the relationships that obtain between mythology, religion, and philosophy in various systems of mythology, as well as mythology’s expressions in art, literature, and society.

GE AREA C2 LEARNING OUTCOMES Students who complete a GE Area C2 course should be able to: 1. demonstrate knowledge of the conventions and methods of the study of the humanities;


2. investigate, describe, and analyze the roles of effects of human culture and understanding in the development of human societies; 3. compare and analyze various conceptions of humankind; and 4. demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the historical development of cultures and civilizations, including their animating ideas and values.

Required Texts:

1. Thury, Eva M. & Devinney, Margaret K. Introduction to World Mythology: Contemporary Approaches to Classical and World Myths. 4th Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017. ISBN: 9780190262983. 2. The Epic of Gilgamesh. Trans. Stephen Mitchell. New York: Atrium Books, 2006. ISBN: 9780743261692. 3. Armstrong, Karen. A Short History of Myth. New York: Canongate, 2001. ISBN: 978-1841958002. 4. Coursepack available under Course Materials at mathiaswarnes.com and on Canvas.

Grade Breakdown:

Reading Responses 40% Myth Creativity 10%

Midterm Exam 10% Final Exam 10%

Active Participation 20% Presentation 10%

Reading Responses (8 x 5% = 40%): Keep in mind that Reading Responses must cover one assigned reading for the current week, or immediately preceding week. Check Canvas for more specific instructions for each RR. Late RR’s are accepted for half credit. Length requirements are strict. RR’s must be between 2-3 pages, 1.5- or double-spaced typed, 12 pt. font with standard margins. An RR that is on two pages, but is closer to 1.5 of actual text, does not meet the length requirement, and will not be graded. RR’s must contain two solid pages of text minimum. RR’s are due in Canvas by Sunday at 11:59pm the week they are due. Since RR’s are the most formal writing you will do for this course, content and quality requirements are strictly enforced. A Reading Response Rubric is available at mathiaswarnes.com, and on Canvas. RR’s will be graded on a five category system. 5/5 = Exemplary, 4.5/5 = Excellent, 4/5 = Good, 3.5/5 = Satisfactory, and 0/5 = Unsatisfactory. 0/5 may be resubmitted with revisions for up to 4/5. Between reading & writing expect to spend 3-4 hours per Reading Response.

Presentation (10%): Each student is expected prepare a power-point presentation (8-12 slides). Presentation weeks will be assigned within Canvas, and should be considered as set in stone unless you have a good reason for needing to reschedule. Poor personal planning does not constitute a reason for rescheduling, so choose your presentation week wisely. Students are encouraged to produce live recorded presentations, but this is not required. At a minimum, presenters must upload their PPT or PDF into the designated Student Presentation Forum on Canvas, along with accompanying notes or summaries for each slide. Students must also upload their presentation in the Presentation Upload Link to receive a grade. What can your presentation be on? The list of possible topics and foci you can explore is as huge as the field of world mythology. An ideal default approach is to choose any chapter in our comprehensive


textbook not currently covered in the schedule (exclusive of classical myth). But projects on specific myths and cultures not covered in our textbook are also welcome. To earn a passing grade each presentation, whether from a textbook chapter or independent research project, must not only showcase specific myths from a given world culture (myths themselves being considered “primary sources”), it must also be equally, if not more, focused on engagement with one (preferably two) scholarly approaches, either from the textbook, or from chapters in monographs or edited volumes, which constitute a theoretical approach to your chosen myth(s). These are “secondary sources” (see the Presentation Rubric available on Canvas and at mathiaswarnes.com). How are presentations graded? /10. Fantastic presentations receive a 10/10. Most presentations receive a 7 (satisfactory, fulfills basic requirements), 8 (good, it is effective/informative), or 9 (excellent, contains great insights, is of a high educational value). A 6/10 or lower indicates that you did not fulfill one or several basic requirements. Active Participation (20%): The AP portion of your grade is significant, and designed to keep each student active and responsible for their learning process each week in our virtual environment. Look at it this way: if you complete all RR’s, the Presentation, and Midterm and Final Exam, and get 100% on all of them (unlikely!), you would barely be able to pass the course with a C+ without AP points, and would likely not pass. Another way of looking at the AP requirement is as a way to off-set negative grade impacts that are likely to accrue in the course of completing heavy-weight assignments. Finally, and statistically speaking, students who are aiming for A’s will very likely have to complete most all AP work in addition to scoring in at least the B range or above on major assignments. Students aiming for C’s and B’s will have to complete at least 2/3 of AP work, and score C or above on all major assignments.

There are two components of your overall AP grade: 1. Discussion Forums (10%); Active Participation and Student Presentation Forums (10%).

1. Discussion Forums (10%): There will be 10 Discussion Forums on Canvas in sync with our weekly modules, and worth 1% each. See instructions in each Discussion Forum. In general, a satisfactory DF contribution will include 2 paragraphs of minimum 8 lines each on two assigned materials, as well as one substantive reply to a student peer of minimum 4 lines.

2. Active Participation and Student Presentation Forums (10%): AP Forums will give students the opportunity to comment on and discuss A/V materials included in our Modules, and are worth .5% each (10 x .5%). Each student is also responsible for commenting on 1 student presentation each week that there are presenters (10 X .5%). A satisfactory comment must be at least 4-6 lines of text, and contain one well-formulated question. Presenters are responsible for answering at least one student question before Sunday at 11:59pm the week they present. Myth Creativity Assignment (10%): For this assignment you are asked to get CREATIVE about world mythology. Usually, one myth in a culture you found engaging is enough. Focus on what fires your creative imagination and soul passion most in your chosen myth. What are some examples of creative work you can do for this assignment? A short story, poems, or short play, a short film; art-work in any medium or genre (painting, sculpture, craftiness, dance, music/song, etc.); a therapeutic approach to specific myths in their psychological relevance. If you really feel like you lack the creative juices for this, you may default to a more scholarly myth-in-art or myth-in-film assignment, but don’t expect the highest grade if you go this route. You can get as creative as you want, but if you want a good grade observe the following guidelines: 1. Your creative work must relate directly to (i.e. be grounded in) a WORLD myth


(not classical myth); 2. Your creative work must be accompanied by a 1-2 page write-up explaining your creative process, and specific connections to myths and theories you utilize.

Midterm & Final Exam (10%/10%): Exams are summative assessments designed to test knowledge of core curricula. Midterm & Final will consist of 8 of 15 short answer questions (80%), and 1 short essay (20%). The key factor for success is using assigned course materials and your own words to answer questions and craft your responses, never google.com! Good luck! TURNITIN ORIGINALITY VERIFICATION: Consistent with Sacramento State’s efforts to enhance student learning, foster honesty, and maintain integrity in our academic processes, this course uses a tool called Turnitin to compare a student’s work with an extensive database of prior publications and papers, providing links to possible matches and a ‘similarity score’. Reading Responses, Presentation, Midterm & Final will be checked using this tool. Originality scores from Turnitin are definitive of a student’s compliance with Academic Honesty requirements.

HRS 151 – World Mythology: Course Schedule

Week One Aug 31-Sep 4

Introductions Why Study World Mythology?

1. “What is a Myth?” & “Paleolithic Period” in A Short History of Myth, p. 1-40 2. “Introduction” from Women and Goddesses in Myth and Sacred Text, Coursepack, p. 2-5 3. Introduction to Mythology, Ch. 1-2 (“What is Myth?” & “Ways of Understanding Myth”)

Week Two Sep 7-11

Mesopotamian Myth 1: Enuma Elish & The Epic of Gilgamesh

1. “Tiamat: The Babylonian Creation” from Women and Goddesses in Myth and Sacred Text, Coursepack, p. 6-8 2. Introduction to Mythology, Ch. 6 (“Mesopotamia: Enuma Elish”) 3. The Epic of Gilgamesh, Books I-III

Week Three Sep 14-18

Mesopotamian Myth 2: Human Beings as Workers of Gods

1. “Atrahasis” from Myths from Mesopotamia, Coursepack p. 9-47 2. Patočka’s “Reflections on Prehistory” in Heretical Essays in the Philosophy of History, Coursepack p. 48-74 3. The Epic of Gilgamesh, Books IV-VI 4. Introduction to Mythology, Ch. 16 (“Mesopotamia: The Epic of Gilgamesh”)

Week Four Sep 21-25 (Sep 28 is Census Day)


Mesopotamian Myth 3: Inanna, Queen of Heaven, Earth, and Beyond?

1. “Inanna” from Women and Goddesses in Myth and Sacred Text, Coursepack p. 75-86 2. “The Huluppu Tree” and “Inanna and the God of Wisdom” from Inanna: Queen of Heaven and Earth, Coursepack p. 87-99: 3. The Epic of Gilgamesh, Books XII-XI

Week Five Sep 28-Oct 1

Egyptian Myth 1: Myth of Isis & Osiris in Plutarch

1. “The Neolithic Period” in A Short History of Myth, p. 41-58 2. “Isis” from Women and Goddess in Myth and Sacred Text, Coursepack, p. 100-104 3. Introduction to Mythology, Ch. 30 (“Egypt: Isis and Osiris”)

Week Six Oct 5-9

Egyptian Myth 2: Historical Contexts, Afrocentrism, & the Secret Name of Ra

1. “Early Civilizations” in A Short History of Myth, p. 58-78 2. “Introduction” and “The Myth of Egypt: Imagined Egypts” from Egyptian Myth: A Very Short Introduction, Coursepack, p. 106-120 3. “Preface” and “The African Mind” from Asante’s The Egyptian Philosophers: Ancient African Voices for These Times”, Coursepack, p. 121-145 4. “The Secret Name of Ra” (Two Versions), Coursepack, p. 146-150

Week Seven Oct 12-16

Egyptian Myth 3, Gondwana/Laurasia, & Australian Aboriginal Myth

1. Akhenaten’s “Hymn to the Sun” and “The Harper’s Song” from World Poetry: An Anthology; Asante on Akhenaten and Maat; & Book of the Dead, “Weighing of the Heart Against the Feather of Truth,” Coursepack, p. 151-167 2. Witzel’s Origins of the World’s Mythologies, Coursepack p. 168-193 3. Voigt/Drury’s “Creation, the Eternal Dreamtime, and The Rainbow Serpent” from Wisdom from the Earth, and Bardon’s “The Gift that Time Gave…” from Mythscapes: Aboriginal Art of the Desert, Coursepack, p. 194-214

Week Eight Oct 19-23

Hindu Myth: The Ramayana, Vedic Religious Imagination, & Shaktism

1. Introduction to Mythology, Ch. 18 (“India: The Ramayana”) 2. Mahony’s The Artful Universe: An Introduction to the Vedic Religious Imagination, Coursepack, p. 215-224 3. “Introduction” from Vanamali’s Shakti: Realm of the Divine Mother, Coursepack, p. 225-231


Week Nine Oct 26-30

The Axial Age, Genesis, Key Women in the Bible, & Gnostic “Thunder”

1. “The Axial Age” in A Short History of Myth, p. 79-103 2. Introduction to Mythology, Ch. 5 (“The Bible: Genesis”) 3. Introduction to Mythology, Ch. 13 (“The Bible: Flood”) 4. “Lilith,” “Eve,” and “Mary” from Women and Goddess in Myth and Sacred Text, Coursepack p. 232-247 5. “Thunder” from The Gnostic Bible, Coursepack, p. 248-257

Week Ten Nov 2-6

The Post-Axial Period and Mesoamerican Myth: Popul Vuh & Prechtel

1. “The Post-Axial Period” in A Short History of Myth, p. 104-118 2. Introduction to Mythology, Ch. 11 (Mesoamerica: “The Popul Vuh”) 3. Prechtel’s “New Words…” from Unlikely Peace at Cuchumaquic, “A Tadpole’s Tale: Initiation vs. Tribalism”, & “The Hopeful Voice of the Red-Eyed Desert Frog” from Long Life, Honey in the Heart, Coursepack, p. 258-273

Week Eleven Nov 9-13

Liminality, Initiation, and Shamanistic Myth in Anzaldúa and Victor Turner

1. Introduction to Mythology, Ch. 28 (“The Forest of Symbols: Victor Turner”) 2. Selections from Anzaldúa’s Borderlands, Coursepack, p. 274-298 3. Anzaldúa’s “Flights of the Imagination” from Light in the Dark: Rewriting Identity, Spirituality, Reality, Coursepack, p. 299-312

Week Twelve Nov 16-20

Celtic Myth 1: Unholy to Holy Ireland and Sacred Kingship

1. “Unholy Ireland,” “The First Missionary,” and “Holy Ireland” from Thomas Cahill’s How the Irish Saved Civilization: The Untold Story of Ireland’s Heroic Role from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of Medieval Europe, Coursepack p. 313-376 2. “Sacred Kingship in Early Ireland” from Killop’s Myths and Legends of the Celts, Coursepack, p. 377-386

Week Thirteen Nov 23-27

Celtic Myth 2: Queens, Feasts, & Otherworlds

1. “Goddesses, Warrior Queens and Saints,” “Calendar Feasts,” and “Otherwords” from Myths and Legends of the Celts, Coursepack, p. 387-416 2. “The Great Western Transformation” in A Short History of Myth, p. 119-149

Week Fourteen Nov 31-Dec 4


Jungian Analysis and Jung’s Travels as Myth

1. Introduction to Mythology, Ch. 34-35 (“Man and His Symbols” and “How to Perform a Jungian Analysis”) 2. Jung’s “Travels” in Memories, Dreams, Reflections, Coursepack, p. 417-468

Week Fifteen Dec 7-11

1. Pinchbeck’s “Mythology” from How soon is Now: From Personal Initiation to Global Transformation, Coursepack, p. 469-484

Final Closing Date for Everything (Except Final Exam): Dec 13th, 11:59pm

Finals Week Dec 14-18

Final Exam Due on Canvas

Administrative Matters Grading Policy: A student’s grade for this course must be based upon mastery of course content. A student’s grade cannot be based upon mere attendance, extraneous extra-credit, scholarship, financial aid needs, or other special pleading. It is important that students examine the syllabus and plan appropriately to achieve the grade they desire. I will be happy to meet with you over Zoom to discuss how best to achieve your target grade. This class uses standard grading. Please be aware of the significance of the grades. Grading Scale:A= 100%-93%, A-=92-90% B+= 89%=87% B= 86%-83% B-= 82%-80% C+= 79%-77% C= 76%-73%C-= 72%-70%D= 69%-60%F= 59% or less. “A” designates exemplary work, an example of what all students should do. “B” designates good work. Some students seem to believe that “B” means bad work. This is not the case. “B” signifies that the student has done good work. “C” means that the student has done average or mediocre work. “D” signifies poor work. “F” signifies that the student has not worked enough to receive course credit. Virtual Environment Behavior: All students are expected to maintain professional and courteous conduct in the virtual environment at all times. I expect an atmosphere of solicitous attention and respect for the instructor and for other students’ expressions and opinions in all forums, and a consistently objective and empathetic response to the material we study together. Observing these guidelines will ensure a better learning experience.

Plagiarism and Honesty in Academic Work: You are responsible for familiarizing yourselves with the CSUS policy regarding academic honesty. This link is very helpful: https://www.csus.edu/umanual/student/stu-0100.htm. It is crucial to know that plagiarism and cheating are serious ethical violations and have serious consequences. For starters, all suspected incidents of academic dishonesty require a private Zoom meeting to be scheduled with your instructor, and if the instructor considers academic dishonesty to be evidenced, must be reported to the Office of Student Conduct. Academic Dishonesty reports may be submitted with a request by the faculty for no further discipline. That request will [only] be


followed if the student has no other reports. Violations of standards of academic honesty include but are not limited to the following: 1. Receiving or providing assistance on an examination or assignment unless the instructor authorizes such assistance; 2. Using materials other than those permitted by the instructor during an examination; 3. Plagiarizing: failure to indicate the source of borrowed words and ideas. Plagiarism defined: Simply stated, plagiarism is “the taking of others’ words or thoughts without due acknowledgment.”1 This definition applies to both printed, online, & unpublished material. That is, students must acknowledge, through the appropriate forms of citations, any borrowed ideas or phrases, and all direct quotations if more than three or four words. They also must not submit work that has been written, revised, or edited, in part or in whole, by another. Finally, work submitted for class credit in more than one course is considered plagiarized. I return all plagiarized work ungraded (a “0”); you may or may not, after a meeting with me be allowed to resubmit the assignment. Students with Disabilities: If you have a verified need for an academic accommodation or materials in alternate media (i.e.: Braille, large print, electronic text, etc.) per the Americans with Disabilities Act or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, please contact me as soon as possible to arrange accommodations. It is your responsibility to provide documentation of disability to SSWD and meet with a SSWD counselor to request special accommodation before classes start. SSWD is located in Lassen Hall 1008 and can be contacted by phone at (916) 278-6955 (Voice); (916) 278-7239 (TDD only); or via email at [email protected]. https://www.csus.edu/student-affairs/centers-programs/services-students-disabilities/ Free Help: For free help with writing please contact the University Reading and Writing Center in Calaveras 128. The Writing Center can help you at any stage of your reading/writing process: coming up with a topic, developing, or organizing a draft, understanding texts, or developing strategies to become a better editor. To make an appointment visit the Reading and Writing Center in CLV 128. For Writing Center hours and more information, visit the website at: https://www.csus.edu/undergraduate-studies/writing-program/reading-writing-center.html Basic Needs Support: If you are experiencing challenges in the area of food and/or stable housing, help is just a click, email or phone call away! Sacramento State offers basic needs support for students who are experiencing challenges in these areas Please visit the CARES website to learn more about your options and resources available: https://www.csus.edu/student-affairs/crisis-assistance-resource-education-support/

1 Frederick Crewes, The Random House Handbook, 3rd ed. New York: Random House, 1980 (p. 405).

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