Week 4 Syllabus: April 27 forward
SO WHAT ARE WE TO MAKE OF THIS HERO, Odysseus? On one hand, he presents traditional heroic values in that he is brave, takes action to save others, is creative in defending himself and escapes peril time and time again. In this way, Odysseus = hero. Seen another way, Odysseus unnecessarily complicates his return home by lying (to Penelope and his father, stubbornly refuses to give way to the Gods (boasts of blinding Poseidon’s son, refuses to peacefully accept Athena’s command to forgive), and to our modern eyes, is in the least complicit in marital infidelity (with respect to not staying “true” to his wife, when she has successfully resisted the suitors advances. What is Odysseus, then? Is he flawed? Or is he merely faceted? This week, we end our study of Homer’s Odyssey.
MONDAY: GREY DAY/OFFICE HOURS
Today is a grey day, and you can meet with me during Zoom office hours 12:50 and 1:50 pm. Check Canvas for the link to Zoom.
TUESDAY: BLUE DAY
Starting with a Zoom meeting. Check the syllabus on Canvas for a link. First period begins at 10:10, and second period at 11:20.
We will review the paragraphs written about Odysseus and Penelope’s bed, discussing some of the stylistic problems I’m seeing.
HW: Watch part one of the film version of Homer’s Odyssey. Note that this version ignores the poem’s timeline, disposing of en media res. You may have to download the video to watch it. Please delete the file when done viewing. The link is here.
WEDNESDAY: GREEN DAY
No class today.
THURSDAY: BLUE DAY
Starting with a Zoom meeting. Check the syllabus on Canvas for a link. First period begins at 10:10, and second period at 11:20.
We will continue to discuss some of the writing conventions and stylistic issues I’m seeing in “The Tree” paragraphs. Once done, students will begin revising these, in the least minimizing vague words, to be verbs, and rhetorical language. We may use break-out Zoom rooms to identify these and review body paragraph structure.
HW: Watching the second and last part of the film version of Homer’s Odyssey. That link is here. Note: the captioning is slightly off at the start of the video. There’s nothing I could do to correct that, but within a minute or two it resolves itself.
FRIDAY: GREEN DAY
Begin exploring some of the Romeo & Juliet resources I’ve posted so far, especially the Folger Library site which has both the audio and the text for Shakespeare’s tragic play.