Course Outline for Humanities 68
World Mythology

Effective: Fall 2024
SLO Rev:

Catalog Description:

HUMN 68 - World Mythology

3.00 Units

Introduction to mythic themes recurring in global literature, Key theories and a variety of myths from around the world will be read, analyzed, and discussed.  Course will focus on broad themes and theories, which will include at least five of the following: classic approaches to mythology, including cosmogonic origins, historical events, and natural explanation; archetypes, both character and plot; ritual; religion; forms of narrative, folklore, chronology, cosmogony; sacred space; symbol and language; and cultural appropriation. (Formerly HUMN 28)
CB03: TOP Code 1599.00 - Other Humanities
CIP Code 24.0199 - Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities, Other.
Course Grading: Letter Grade Only
Type Units Inside of Class Hours Outside of Class Hours Total Student Learning Hours
Lecture 3.00 54.00 108.00 162.00
Total 3.00 54.00 108.00 162.00

Measurable Objectives:

Upon completion of this course, the student should be able to:
  1. Discuss and identify classic approaches to why mythology arises;
  2. Discuss and identify archetypes, including character; symbol; and plot;
  3. Discuss ritual theory and identify examples in narratives;
  4. Discuss and identify aspects of religion within a narrative;
  5. Discuss and identify various forms of narrative;
  6. Discuss and identify sacred spaces within narratives;
  7. Discuss and identify aspects of symbol and language;
  8. Discuss and identify aspects of cultural appropriation, both positive and negative.

Course Content:

Key theories and a variety of myths from around the world will be read, analyzed, and discussed.  Course content will center on broad themes and theories, which should draw on a minimum of five of the following. 

  1. Classic approaches to why mythology arises, which might include:
    1. explain and/or document cosmogonic origins;
    2. document historical events;
    3. explain natural phenomena;
    4. document or explain social, cultural, or other information or practices;
    5. source of religious belief and practice, and/or ritual; and
    6. document or explain theophanies or other unique experiences.
  2. Archetypes, which might include:
    1. character; 
    2. symbol; and
    3. plot.
  3. Ritual theories, which might include:
    1. rites of passage or cycles, possibly including, affliction, birth and death, calendar/seasonal, sacrifice and celebration, and fertility and sex;
    2. functionalism;
    3. structuralism;
    4. social control and rebellion, community building; and 
    5. drama.
  4. Religion, which might include:
    1. origins; 
    2. beliefs;
    3. practices;
    4. hierarchies; and
    5. structures
  5.  Forms of narrative, which might include:
    1. folklore, including fairy tales, parables, proverbs, poems, songs, tall tales, morality tales, legends, and trickster accounts; 
    2. historical accounts;
    3. cosmogony, creation and establishing the framework of the culture that tells the story; 
    4. destruction stories, eschatological and apocalyptic; and
    5. epics.
  6. Sacred space, which might include:
    1. altars;
    2. ancient sites of cultural, historic, or religious meaning; 
    3. ancestral grounds; 
    4. historical event locales;
    5. pilgrimage;
    6. burial grounds;
    7. temples, shrines, mosques, churches, gudwaras, other places of worship; and
    8. unique natural locales.
  7. Symbol and language; which might include:
    1. Understanding of basic symbol (archetype, see above); 
    2. Icons, index, and symbol;
    3. Tropes, themes, motifs, and metaphor; and
    4. Language/narrative as reflective or shape of cultural outlook/framing.
  8. Cultural appropriation
    1. positive, respectful, based on an understanding of the cultural depicted; and
    2. negative, disrespectful, biased or stereotyped, based on fragmentary knowledge or assumptions.

 

 

Methods of Instruction:

  1. Lecture/Discussion
  2. Group Activities
  3. Presentation
  4. Oral and Written Analysis
  5. Distance Education
  6. Lectures
  7. Textbook reading assignments
  8. Class and group discussions
  9. Presentation of audio-visual materials
  10. Online Assignments
  11. Written assignments
  12. Lecture/Discussion

Assignments and Methods of Evaluating Student Progress:

1. Typical Assignments
  1. Complete a four-five page paper in which you choose a narrative (film, poem, play, song, work of art) that is a contemporary exemplar of mythology. In your paper, explain and apply three theories covered in the course to your exemplar to show that classic mythic elements appear in contemporary exemplars.
  2. Write a two-page paper in which you use any three of the stories from the course content in which you explain various types of mythic narratives, using for example, Malinowski or Dundes.
  3. Working in small groups, analyze and annotate a story for evidence of a theory.
2. Methods of Evaluating Student Progress
  1. Papers
  2. Quizzes
  3. Research Projects
  4. Projects
  5. Final Examination
  6. Evaluation of classroom preparation assignments
3. Student Learning Outcomes
Upon the completion of this course, the student should be able to:
  1. Demonstrate the ability to apply at least three classical theories of mythology, drawing from the following: archetypes (plot or character), language, location/space, religion, ritual, cosmogony, and symbol.
  2. Describe and define Joseph Campbell's monomythic theory of the hero's journey
  3. Describe the value of mythology subjectively and objectively.

Textbooks (Typical):

  1. Jayme B Novara, Christina Grant (2018). An Introduction to World Mythology Kendall Hunt.
  2. Morford, Lenardon, and Sham (2023). Classical Mythology (Eleventh). Oxford University Press.
  3. Jennifer Taylor (2019). An Introduction to Comparative Mythology (First). Kendall Hunt.
  4. David Leeming (2009). Oxford Companion to World Mythology (First). Oxford Press.
  5. Thury and Devinney (2016). Introduction to Mythology: Contemporary Approaches to Classical and World Myth (Fourth). Oxford University Press.

Abbreviated Class Schedule Description:

Introduction to mythic themes recurring in global literature. Key theories and a variety of myths from around the world will be read, analyzed, and discussed.  Course content will center on broad themes and theories, (Formerly HUMN 28)

Discipline:
Humanities*