Great Stories

Course Description

The purpose of this class is to help us all gain a better understanding of the human condition—what it means to be a person. We continue to read (and allude to) these ancient great stories because they have tapped into something that tells us what it means to be human. To this end, we will work (through discussion and writing) to find connections between these works and modern ones, how to decode a symbol or metaphor, and how to unlock the meaning of a difficult story or poem using other works.

Reading List

• Ovid's Metamorphoses (Rolfe Humphries or Charles Martin trans.)
  • Icarus and Daedalus
  • Perseus
  • Pyramus and Thisbe
  • The Story of Tiresias
  • Echo and Narcissus
• Hebrew Bible
  • Job
• Christian Bible
  • Sermon on the Mount