April 24, Syllabus
HOW DOES STORYTELLING CONNECT TO our dreams? Why do we attempt to find meaning in dreams? What is the relationship between our dreams and our lives, between the unconscious and the conscious? If "the Story of Ala-Al-Din" were a dream, what would it mean? This week we wrap up our reading of 1001 Nights by compairing the text with a German "cartoon" version of Aladin.
MONDAY
- We will start watching a 1928 German film rendition of 1001 Nights, "The Adventure of Prince Achmed," recrated from fragments of a lost nitrate edition by the National Film and Television Archive in London. This is essentially a film version of the shadow-puppetry technique we saw in the film Sita Sings the Blues (the narrators in the film were silhouetted paper puppets, animated to comment on the story). For each act of this film, students will compare the
- HW: Read up through and including half of page 175
TUESDAY
- Continuing in our reading of Sindbad, this time reading journey #2. Keep track of the events in these journeys, and we will track these together in class.
- HW: Read through and including page 186.
WEDNESDAY
- Act 3 of the German film. Today we will examine the story through the lens of the African magician's enemy, the Witch of the Mountain.
- HW: Finish "The Story of Ala-al-Din and the Lamp" for class on Friday. We have about 20 pages left--plan your reading accordingly.
THURSDAY
- Act 4. If this is Aladin's dream, what do we think this dream means? Afterwords, we will return to the Jung VSI, chapter five, "Dreams."
- HW: Finishing our reading in 1001 Nights.
FRIDAY
- Bring your child to work day! We are taking a short hiatus to teach some younger scholars about a) the hero journey and b) how to write a hero story.
- HW: Obtain a copy of the novel The Life of Pi. We're starting it next week, after we finish Ala-al-Din. Do watch the end of the German version for class on Monday (linked to our class blog).