The Odyssey Project:

Cultural Values in Stories

Throughout this unit we have discussed how the actions of the characters in The Odyssey reflect the values of Ancient Greece where Homer was writing. For your project you are going to choose a modern day culture and a story from the culture. You will read the story or myth and consider how the actions of the characters in the story reflect the values of the culture. If you or your family is from a country other than the United States, this would a great opportunity to use your cultural knowledge about that country!

Follow the steps below for a successful project:

Research Part 1:

  1. Choose a country from today that you are interested in researching: ______
  2. Google the words “(your country) cultural values” or try “(your country) values”.

For example if I was researching South Africa I would type in “South African cultural values” or “South African values”

  1. Look through the results and find a source that looks reliable (NOT Wikipedia) that describes the values in the country that you chose
  2. Print out one of the sites describing the values (make sure to write down the source)
  3. Read the cultural values source and highlight or underline any word that is a value of that country
  4. Turn in the highlighted research paper with your name, the country, and the source written on it by the end of class

Research Part 2:

  1. Google the words “(your country) folk tale”
  2. Look through the results and find a story that is one to two pages long (remember if it is too short you may not see multiple values from that country)
  3. Print out the story (make sure to write down the source!)
  4. Read the story and highlight or take notes in the margin on any section that shows a value of that country