English 225 online  distance learning course

        Ancient, dark and post-dark ages

INSTRUCTOR
Welcome to World Literature Part 1, English 225. Right (always) is the instructor, Dr. Gutchess. Chances are that's ancient Greek Goëtes (plural of Goës, meaning "sorcerer" or one who raises the dead and fixes haunted houses), Italian Gucci or Gotti (meaning different things), Swiss Goetchy, Dutch Goetchius, resulting horrible American misspelling Gutchess. The Indo-European root is Go, meaning "light." Not light weight! The light that shines! So let's Go!

SUBJECT MATTER   

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  Emperor of this web site, Dr. G holds a PhD in English from the University of Notre Dame, as well as JD and BA degrees.

We study impacts of the world on literature, and vice versa, from the beginnings of recorded literacy after the Bronze Age (cir. 1200 BCE) to early modern globalization (cir.1600 CE).

"Literature" (from Old French lettre, from Latin littera, ultimately from Greek diphtherā, hide, leather, writing surface) includes all things made of letters. So our reads broadly include not only fiction, drama and song, but also history, philosophy, religion, law and humanities in general. All texts are presented in modern translation.

From this course, students should acquire stronger reading and writing skills as well as greater understanding of literature, language, culture, history, and the dangers faced by all earthlings!

In the schedule below, volume ABC's and page numbers refer to the following three-volume textbook:

Damrosch, David, et al., eds. The Longman Anthology of World Literature, Part One Package (Books A, B, C). New York: Pearson Education, 2nd edition 2008. Longman has posted a companion web site for this book.

Left: Grandfather Goës in 3rd century BCE Greece uses book magic to raise a prophet from the dead. What better way to tell the future? From Zwierlein-Diehl (1969), Tafeln 63.345

Origins and ends of the world

Aug 28. Page 1: Clay and Skins. "The Ancient World" (in Damrosch A1-A10); "Enuma Elish” (online at englishare) and “Hesiod's Generation of the Gods” (also at englishare).  Quiz, Journal

Aug 31. Page 2: Before the Flood. “Gilgamesh” (in Damrosch A56-A97).  Quiz, Journal

Sep 04. Page 3: Acts of God. Hebrew scriptures: Book of Jeremiah (online at englishare). Quiz, Journal

Sep 07. Page 4: Powers of Literature. Genesis and "Ancient Near East" (Damrosch A11-A41).  Quiz, Journal

Sep 11. Page 5: The Voyage of Odysseus. Homer's Odyssey Book 8.527 through Book 13.18 (Damrosch A354-A411). Quiz, Journal

Sep 14. Page 6: Men like Animals. Homer's Iliad selection: the Anger of Achilles Book 1-2, 18-19 (online at englishare).  Quiz, Journal

Sep 18. Page 7: Socrates' Last Days. "Tyranny and Democracy" (Damrosch A694-A726). Quiz, Journal

Sep 21. Page 8: Homer in Hades. Plutarch's Life of Alexander (englishare). Quiz, Journal

Sep 25. Page 9: Eternal city. "Rome and the Roman Empire," "Virgil," and Aeneid I-IV (Damrosch A1093-1166). Quiz, Journal

Sep 28. Page 10: Paul's End Times. "The Culture of Rome and the Beginnings of Christianity" (Damrosch A1244-A1296).  Quiz, Journal

Oct 02. Page 11: Krishna Destroys the First People. "Hymns from the Rig Veda" (englishare), "Early South Asia" and Vyasa, Mahabharata (Damrosch A799-A853). Quiz, Journal

Oct 05. Page 12: Monkey in the middle. Inscriptions of Ashoka (A857-A860) and Valmiki, Ramayana (A860-A915).  Quiz, Journal

Oct 16. Page 13: The ring of recollection. Kalidasa, Sakuntala (A944-A1008). Quiz, Journal

Oct 19.  Page 14: Countercults of the Buddha. Buddhist scriptures (at englishare): Dhammapada and Asvaghosha's Buddhakarita.. Quiz, Journal

Oct 23. Page 15: The Cult of China. "China: The Classical Tradition," "The Book of Songs," "Confucius" and "Analects" (A1017-A1061). Quiz, Journal

Oct 26. Page 16: The counterculture of China. "Daoism and its Ways" (A1061-A1091). Quiz, Journal

World Recovery

Oct 30. Page 17: Power of the Qur'an.  Qur'an and resonances (Volume B341-373). “Sympathy the Learned” (B446-456).  Quiz, Journal

Nov 02. Halloween special: Page 18: The Gothic Dark Age. Beowulf (selections from Damrosch B587-B611 and B634-B652). Quiz, Journal

Nov 06.  Page 19: Genji and the Survival of Old China. Bo Juyi's "The Song of Everlasting Sorrow" (B97-B101), "The Heian Period" (B127-134), "Murasaki Shikibu" (B146-B148), and three selections from The Tale of Genji: young Genji episodes (B149-B171), the defense of fiction (B190-B192), and old Genji episodes (B192-B221). Quiz, Journal

Nov 09.  Page 20: The basics of survival. Chretien de Troyes, The Knight of the Cart (selections at englishare). Quiz, Journal

The post-dark age

Nov 13.  Page 21: Dante and the medieval invention of the self.  “Dante Alighieri” (B893-896) Inferno cantos 1-10 (B903-B939). Quiz, Journal

Nov 16.   Page 22: Dante goes deeper than you think. Dante, Inferno cantos 11-23 (B939-B985). Quiz, Journal

Nov 20.  Page 23: Dante hits bottom. Dante, Inferno cantos 24-34  (B985-B1025). Quiz, Journal

Nov 23. Page 24: Comic counterculture. "Geoffrey Chaucer" (B1087-1089); "The Miller's Prologue" and "The Miller's Tale" (B1109-1125); "The Wife of Bath's Prologue" and "The Wife of Bath's Tale" (B1125- 1153). Quiz, Journal

Nov 30.  Page 25: Novel as counterculture. Wu Cheng’en, Journey to the West  (C30-C107).  Quiz, Journal

Dec 04. Page 26: Old cultures in a new world. "The Conquest and its Aftermath" (C811-C874). Quiz Journal

Dec 07.  Page 27: Indians!  Luis de Camoes, Lusiads (C287-C324): . Quiz, Journal

Dec 11. Page 28: Way too much reading. "Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra" and Don Quixote (C360-C447).

Dec 14. Reflective summary essay

Dec 18. Final exam.
Dec 20. Grades reported before noon.

Address questions and comments to Dr. Gutchess: gutchess@englishare.net

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Copyright notice and terms of use
                © 2008-2010 by Gary Homer Gutchess, PhD

Individuals may use World Literature, Part One, or any of its content, freely for private study purposes. Individual classroom use is allowable provided that full acknowledgement of the source is given to all users.

ALL OTHER RIGHTS ARE RESERVED. IN PARTICULAR, COMMERCIAL USE OF THIS WEB SITE, OR ANY OF ITS CONTENT, WITHOUT THE PRIOR, WRITTEN PERMISSION OF DR. GUTCHESS OR HIS LEGAL REPRESENTATIVES IS PROHIBITED.  The linking of this site by means of frames or frame windows is also prohibited. Contact gutchess@englisare.net