Engl. 555/755
Goddess Myths & Literature
Fall Semester 2005
MWF 12:00-12:50, Grubbs 312
Instructor: Dr. Kathleen L. Nichols
Office: Grubbs Hall 450
Office Hours: MWF 11:00-11:50; 1:00-2:00;
TTh 11:00-11:30; 2:00-3:00;or by appt.
E-mail: knichols@pittstate.edu
Syllabus
Course Description:
This course will study the evolving image of the "divine feminine" in the mythologies of Western Europe and the Near East, with some attention to African, Asian, and Native American traditions. We will also examine how ancient and modern literary texts revise traditional goddess images and themes to reflect changing attitudes towards women, writing, and spiritual empowerment.
Textbooks:
- Anne Baring, The Myth of the Goddess: The Evolution of an Image (Penguin).
- Tamara Agha-Jaffar, Women and Goddesses in Myth and Sacred Text: An Anthology (Pearson Education).
- Aeschylus, The Oresteia (Oxford UP).
- Kate Chopin, The Awakening and Selected Stories (Penguin Classics).
- Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God (HarperTrade).
- Susan Griffin, Woman and Nature: The Roaring Inside Her (Sierra Club)
There will also be online and xeroxed short stories and poems, as indicated on the Reading Schedule (online).
Grading:
- 3 exams (20% each)
- 1 paper, 6-10 pp., some documentation (40%). See directions (online).
- Graduate students only: 1 outside novel (or equivalent) plus 6-10 pp. paper with some documentation. See directions (online).
All major assignments must be completed to pass the course.
You may e-mail papers to me at knichols@pittstate.edu, but make sure they are attached as a .doc file.
Late Work Policy:
Late papers will be graded down one letter grade for each day they are late.
Missed exams must be made up just as soon as possible. See me immediately when you return to class.
Absence Policy:
Regular attendance is required. Everyone has four pre-excused absences for those difficult times in life that interfere with class attendance, so you do not need to clear absences with me, but it is a good idea to check with me (or a classmate) to make sure an assignment was not changed while you were gone.
Students who miss more than four classes may be dropped from the roster for "excessive absences."
NOTE: Students who regularly arrive 10-15 minutes late or want to leave class 15-20 minutes early have a very disruptive effect on the rest of the class. See me BEFORE CLASS if you have some special problems, but arriving late/leaving early will usually count as an ABSENCE.
Plagiarism Policy:
I strongly support the policies of the English Department and the University on plagiarism. Undocumented use of someone else's material (including "borrowing" their language or their ideas) will result in an F on the paper or for the course--or worse for the most egregious cases.
See me if you have questions about what is or is not plagiarism. I'm always happy to help students who make a good-faith effort to do things right.
Course Web Pages:
You can quickly access our online syllabus by typing in one of the following addresses:
- Engl 555/755 Course Syllabus: faculty.pittstate.edu/~knichols/goddessintro.html.
- Engl 555/755 Reading Schedule: faculty.pittstate.edu/~knichols/goddesssyl.html.
- Dr. Nichols Home Page: members.cox.net/academia/nichols.html.
You can also access my home page (which links to all my web pages) by going to the PSU home page and then typing "Nichols Home Page" in the "PSU Search" box (top of page).
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