This course seeks to foster in its participants a sense of appreciation for, and familiarization with, the truth that humans are storytellers—and uniquely so. The particular medium through which storytelling will be engaged in this course is the written narrative; however, though the texts we shall read are written, the designation “Great” will be appropriately defended through the incorporation of ancillary works (visual, cinematic, etc.) that point to the proliferation of the works in terms of their cultural significance. What is more, we shall read all of these works not only as individual narratives, but also as particular strands of thread that are woven together over time to form the greater tapestry of the human story—thus, themes such as faith, hope, love, longing, loss, courage, sacrifice, folly, fame, and hubris (to name a few) will be traced through each in order to draw ourselves closer (however, imperfectly) toward an understanding of what it means to be human and, in turn, how and why we tell stories. This semester, we shall be accomplish such goals through a reading of Homer’s Odyssey, Beowulf, Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, Shakespeare’s King Lear, Milton’s Paradise Lost, Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, and Rowling’s Harry Potter. In the end, this course strives to help students intelligently address the overarching question, “What makes a narrative work great?”
Feel free to download a PDF version of our Syllabus below.