Humanities 201-30848 (World Mythology)Syllabus Spring 2012 page 1
HACC LancasterSpring 2012
Humanities 201 Course Syllabus
Instructor: David Layman, Ph.D.
Contact Information
Office:Laeast 316A
Hours:TR 7:30–8:00am;10:45–11:15am
Cell: (717) 606-5270
Office:(717) 358-2237
Email: ;
Website:
Course Information
Name:World Mythology
No:HUM 201-30848
Time:TH9:30am – 10:45am; Delayed Opening Schedule: 11:00 am – 11:50am
Place:Laeast324
Humanities 201-30848 (World Mythology)Syllabus Spring 2012 page 1
Course Description
Catalog description: A cross-cultural consideration of the great myths of the world, including creation, fertility, and hero myths. The myths will be studied as unique expressions of individual cultures and also as universal ideas. (Core A) (D)
Textbooks: Eva M. Thury and Margaret K. Devinney. Mythology: Contemporary Approaches to Classical and World Myths. Second Edition. Oxford University Press, 2009.
Learning Outcomes:
- Describe the myths from across cultures, including Classical and European, Middle Eastern, Far Eastern, Egyptian, African, Pacific and Native American cultures
- Demonstrate the value and purposes of myth
- Apply the major contemporary theories used to explain and analyze myths such as comparativist, psychological, socio-cultural, structuralist, post-modern, feminist, aesthetic
- Discuss the historical and cultural background of myth, and comprehend the relationships between myth, religion, philosophy, culture and the arts in diverse world cultures
- Describe myth as literature and analyze the structure of myths; Explain how myth informs contemporary global art and culture.
Methods of Evaluation
- Tests: The student will takefourTests. Currently scheduled dates are: February 14,March 13, April 12 and during exam week.
a.The Tests will be some combination of multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank, and short-answer.
b.Each test will be approximately worth 40 points. The student will be allowed 40 minutes to complete the test at the beginning of class.
c.The student’s final grade will be calculated using the three best Tests. Therefore, he or she will notbe allowed to makeup the tests, except for prearranged, excused absences.
- Essays:The student will writethree (3) Essays
a.The student’s final grade will be calculated using the two best essays.
Course Calendar
All readings refer to chapters(and, occasionally, page numbers) in the textbook, Mythology.Several topics are in parentheses (March 22, April 3, April 19). These topics will be deleted if there is insufficient time in the course calendar.
January12Syllabus
17, 19 What is Myth?...... Ch. 1
24Studying Myth...... Ch. 2
26, 31 Greek Creation Stories; Ovid...... Chapters 3 4
Feb’y2, 7 Mesopotamian Creation Stories...... Ch. 6
7, 9 Biblical Creation Stories...... Ch. 5
14Test #1; Norse Creation Stories...... Ch. 7
16Southwestern Amerind Creation Stories...... Ch. 8
21Summary Creation
23Destruction Stories (1) (Middle Eastern).....Ch. 12; and pp. 189-191
28Essay 1 (Creation) Due
Destruction Stories (2) (Roman)...... Ch. 11
March1Destruction Stories (3) (Norse)...... Ch. 13
13Test # 2;Heroes and Tricksters: Introduction
Heracles...... pp. 447-459
15, 20 Epic of Gilgamesh (Middle Eastern)...Ch. 15
Essay 2 (Destruction) Due March 20
22(The Ramayana, India...... Ch. 17)
27, 29 Norse Gods & Heroes...... Chapters 18 & 30
April3(Christian Holy Week and Jewish Pesach...... readings TBA)
10Amerind & African Tricksters...... Chs. 21, 22
12African & African-American Tricksters...... Chs. 22, 23
17Prometheus: The Greek Trickster...... Ch. 24
19Test #3; (Introduction to Ritual: Victor TurnerCh. 26)
24Ritual in Greek Myth: Demeter, Dionysus...... Ch. 27 and pp. 459-464
26Ritual in Egyptian Myth: Isis and Osiris...... Ch. 28
May1Ritual in Norse Myth...... Ch. 30
3Summary and Catch-up
Exam WeekTest # 4;
Essay 3 (Ancient Myths in the Modern World) Due date of exam
Requirements for Essays
- Detailed guides will be provided. The primary topics for each essay are as follows:
a.Compare and contrast three creation myths.
b.Using insights gained from our study of ancient myths of destruction, analyze and explain one or two of contemporary “myths” that 2012 will be a year of catastrophe.
c.How have ancient myths influenced and contributed to our own beliefs. What myths has become part of our own “world-view” (way of seeing reality)?
- Cover Page
a.The essay will have a separate cover page, to include the following information:
- Name
- Course Number and Section (“HUM 201-30848”)
- “Essay # …” (correct number)
b.You may, at your discretion, include a title and/or date.
c.Do not place the essay in a folder or holder.
- Essays: Formatting
a.One inch margins on all sides;
b.Double–spaced (not 1-1/2 space); with the first line of the paragraph indented;
c.Use a 12–pt. size font, preferably a standard “serif” font such as Times New Roman or Cambria;
- If you use any version of Courier (this is Courier: it is a ”mono-spaced” font), the position paper must be a minimum of 5 full pages long.
- I strongly prefer that you do not use a “sans–serif” font (e.g., Arial or Calibri);
- Absolutely do not use a display font, except, if you desire, on the cover page.
d.Do not use fully justified margins.
e.In the header, place your last name and the page number, separated by a tab.
- Required Documentation for Essays
a.Some sources are direct quotes. The student is advised against relying on extensive quotation. An important task in any paper or essay is knowing how to restate one’s sources.
b.Since the student is not an expert on mythology, he or she is expected to have a minimum of four citations in the body of the essay.
c.When you restate your sources, you are paraphrasing. Paraphrased sources must be documented just as much as direct quotes.
d.The student is free to choose his or her preferred version of documentation. The key thing: be consistent.
e.If the student has no preference, quotations or paraphrases of a source are noted in the following form: “…togeratomentoexamina (Thury, 111).”
f.If a single paragraph is paraphrased from a range of pages of some source(s), the student can summarize the sources at the end of the paragraph in the following manner: …togeratomentoexamina (Thury, 111-114, 120; Fisher, 212).
- “Works Cited” Page
a.A “Works Cited”Page is only required if a source other than the textbook is used.
b.The form for the bibliography is: Novak, Philip, ed. The World’s Wisdom. HarperSanFrancisco, 1994.
Final Grade Determination
- The standard hacc grading scale (90% and above is “A,” etc.) is used for the final grading scale.
- The assignments shall be weighted as follows:
a.Tests18% each54% subtotal
b.Essays23% each46% subtotal
- At any time, the student can calculate his or her grade using the following formula:
a.The percentage of a Test is calculated by dividing the points received by points possible, and multiplying by 100. For example, if a student gets 35 out of a possible 40 points, the percentage is 35/40*100=85.
b.Essay grades are already given in percentages. “80” means 80 points out of a possible 100.
c.Let “T” represent a Test percentage and “E” an essay percentage. The “grade” for one Test and one Essay is: ((T*18)+(E*23))/(18+23). Each time you add another assignment in the numerator (the “top” of the fraction), you add the weighting for that assignment in the denominator (the “bottom” of the fraction). E.g.: Test grade of 75 and Essay grade of 82 = ((75*18)+(82*23))/(18+23)=79.
- If the student needs to send essays or reports to the professor via email, he must attach the document, using one of the following document formats, in order of preference:
a.Microsoft Office 2007 (suffix of “.docx”)
b.Microsoft Office (“.doc”)
c.Rich Text Format (“.rtf”)
d.Pages (part of the Apple iWork Suite), on Mac OS X (“Apple Macintosh Computers”).
e.Do not use “.wps”. The professor cannot read such documents, and will not accept them.
- Please wait for a return receipt. If the professor does not send you one within 6 hours, or within 3 hours the next morning if you sent it after 9 pm, assume he did not receive the document.
- The student is responsible for ensuring that the professor receives the document. The professor is not responsible for failure to attach a document, incorrect email addressing, or any technical errors in the internet delivery system.
- The professor is only on campus Tuesday and Thursday, and only looks at his “hacc.edu” email those days. If the student needs to send some material after Thursday morning, during a Break, or after Thursday morning during exam week, he or she must use . If the student fails to do this, the professor is not responsible for non-receipt of the email or any attached material.
Policies and Required Statements
- Withdrawal and Refunds: The last day to receive a full (100%) refund is June 20, 2012. The last day to receive a half (50%) refund is June 27, 2012. The last day to drop a class without instructor approval or grade is June 27, 2012.
- Instructor’s note: He never assigns W without the personal and prior request of the student.
- Attendance: The policy of the CASS Division, Philosophy, et. al., states in part:
a.“In accordance with College Regulation 661, instructors may reduce course grades after the student has missed four unexcused class hours. The instructor may assign a grade of F or W to a student with six class hours of unexcused hours. …“… The instructor will determine in each case what work, if any, the student may make up in the case of an unexcused absence.” Note also: “An excess number of excused absences may also be cause for assigning a student a grade of W or F, if, in the judgment of the instructor, the student has missed so much of the course and coursework as to preclude the possibility of passing the course and would violate professional ethics and constitute fraud on the part of the College.”
b.“An unexcused absence is any absence which occurs without the instructor’s prior or subsequent approval.” Instructor’s note: typically, excused absences are restricted to sickness, family related situations (death in immediate family, sickness of children), and work-related problems. Trips andvacations, are not excused.
c.Being on time is an essential discipline in life and in the academic community. The professor takes attendance at the beginning of most classes (with the exception of test dates). The professor does not have a formal grading standard for attendance. However, students who attend most or all classes will receive the benefit of the doubt in grading; those who do not, will not.
- Academic Honesty: (from the Student Handbook) “Academic honesty is one of the fundamental principles upon which the College was founded and upon which it must operate to continue to perform its most important function. Students are expected to be honest in all of their academic endeavors. The College views academic dishonesty as a serious breach of conduct. Depending upon the nature and severity of the dishonest act, the faculty and the College may discipline a student for verifiable acts of dishonesty occurring in or out of the classroom. Specific procedures for handling incidents of academic dishonesty are contained in Regulation 594.”
a.Based on that regulation, this instructor can impose one of the following penalties for dishonesty: (1) lower a student’s grade on an assignment, (2) grade that assignment as “0”; (3) fail the student.
b.If the instructor determines that a student has plagiarized an essay off of an internet site (e.g., “Cheathouse.com”), that student will fail the course.
- Incompletes: Incompletes will be given only when a student cannot complete the requirements because of a serious medical or family emergency. Those requirements must completed within 45 days of the formal end of the semester.The student is strongly discouraged from taking an incomplete, since most students do not complete the work required, and fail the course.
- Delayed Opening Schedule: Delayed Opening and School Cancellations are announced on the usual channels ( E2 campus alerts, TV and radio stations).
- PHRC Statement
The Pennsylvania Human Relations Act (“PHRAct’) prohibits discrimination against prospective and current students because of race, color, sex, religious creed, ancestry, national origin, handicap or disability, record of a handicap or disability, perceived handicap or disability, relationship or association with an individual with a handicap or disability, use of a guide or support animal, and/or handling or training of support or guide animals.
The Pennsylvania Fair Educational Opportunities Act (“PFEOAct”) prohibits discrimination against prospective and current students because of race, religion, color, ancestry, national origin, sex, handicap or disability, record of a handicap or disability, perceived handicap or disability, and a relationship or association with an individual with a handicap or disability.
Information about these laws may be obtained by visiting the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission website at
If an accommodation is needed, please contact:
Lancaster Campus
Victoria Van Hise
Lancaster Main 212E
(717) 358-2972
- EEOC Statement
It is the policy of Harrisburg Area Community College, in full accordance with the law, not to discriminate in employment, student admissions, and student services on the basis of race, color, religion, age, political affiliation or belief, gender, national origin, ancestry, disability, place of birth, General Education Development Certification (GED), marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status, or any legally protected classification. HACC recognizes its responsibility to promote the principles of equal opportunity for employment, student admissions, and student services taking active steps to recruit minorities and women. Inquiries should be directed to the Assistant to the President, One HACC Drive, Harrisburg, PA 17110, Telephone (717) 780-2657.