- CC 300 FX - Studies in Classical Epic
- 3 Credits
MWF 11:50am-12:40pm - Professor Taraskiewicz
(Cross-listed with CLC 411X - fulfills Fine Arts/Literature requirement - partially fulfills Humanities requirement)
The epic poems of Homer, Lucretius, Virgil, and Ovid tell of struggles: the wrath of Achilles and the homecoming of Odysseus, the nature of the material world, the foundation of Rome, the necessity and difficulty of change. Each poem, in ways appropriate to its own tradition and cultural contexts, offers answers to questions about the human condition: What is a hero or a heroine? What does mortality mean to humans? What is the relation between human beings and gods? In answering these questions, each poem mints the world anew, rendering its conflicts, meanings, and heroism in a new form. At the same time each poem stands in conversation with those which preceded it. To read ancient epic is to study a evolving narrative palimpsest, rich in allusion, argument, and intertextuality.
In this course we will try to gain an understanding of the scope and development of a genre which has its roots in the oral tradition, exhibits the genius of the artist, and the self-reflexivity of the written text. Coursework will include weekly short writing assignments, oral presentations and a final paper based on the individual student’s interests.
Required Texts:
- Homer, The Iliad. Trans. Robert Fagles. New York: Penguin USA, 1998.
- Homer, The Odyssey. Trans. Robert Fagles. New York: Penguin USA, 1999.
- Lucretius, The Nature of the Things. Trans. A.E. Stallings. New York: Penguin USA, 2007.
- Virgil, The Aeneid. Trans. Robert Fagles. New York: Viking, 2006.
- Ovid, The Metamorphoses. Trans. Charles Martin. New York: Norton, 2004.