Unit information: Approaches to Myth in 2016/17

Unit name	Approaches to Myth
Unit code	CLAS22362
Credit points	20
Level of study	I/5
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
Unit director	Dr. Zajko
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	None
School/department	Department of Classics & Ancient History
Faculty	Faculty of Arts

Description including Unit Aims

The aim of this unit will be to explore a number of aspects of Greek and Roman mythology, using texts from a variety of genres and periods. We will explore the significance of the way that the term myth-ology combines both 'muthos' and 'logos' and so can be seen to encode the struggle for mastery between a story and its interpretation. Myth has generally been negatively defined against other forms of discourse, against e.g. history, philosophy, or theology, and it has been claimed that it was the Greeks themselves who invented this kind of taxonomy. In the modern world this kind of negative definition of myth can be seen to structure on-going debates about e.g. the relation of myth to feminism or to science. We shall explore both ancient and modern debates in relation to particular stories and their numerous and various interpretations.

Aims:

The aim of this unit will be to explore a number of approaches to Greek and Roman mythology, using a variety of texts and images as source material. Myths will be shown to respond to a range of different interpretative strategies.

Intended Learning Outcomes

On successful completion ofthis unit, students should

• have become familiar with a number of modem strategies for approaching myths

• have read and analysed several key literary texts in which myths are retold

• have become familiar with some Greek and Roman iconographical representations of myths

• have had the opportunity to develop their skills in oral communication

(through discussion and questions) and in written communication (through essay work, informal tests and examinations). The different expectations of work for first-year and second-year students are spelled out in detail in the two respective.

Teaching Information

Lectures (but with use of small-group work, question-sessions, informal presentations by students).

Assessment Information

Reading and References

R. Buxton, Imaginary Greece (Cambridge, 1994)

E. Csapo, Theories of Mythology (Malden, 2005)

W. Doty, Mythography. The Study of Myths and Rituals (Tuscaloosa 2000)

L. Edmunds, Approaches to Greek Myth (Baltimore, 1990)

D. Feeney, Literature and Religion at Rome (Cambridge 1998)

R. Woodward, The Cambridge Companion to Greek Myth (Cambridge 2008)

Set Texts: