"In any way that men love me, in that same way they find my love;
for many are the paths of men, but they all in the end come to me" --The Bhagavad Gita 4:11

Texts :   Leeming, David Adams.   The World of Myth.  Oxford UP:  1990.
                     Coursepack of Supplementary Readings.
                   
                 
Course Objectives:
--To read and interpret mythic metaphors, symbols, and analogies.
--To examine the ways myth and religion function in societies and cultures.
--To recognize, compare, and contrast significant characters, events, themes, symbols, and motifs in world myth.
--To learn the tenets and brief histories of different religious traditions (bi-weekly guest speakers).
--To discover how myths and sacred stories relate to and are still present in our lives and culture.

We will approach myths by asking and attempting to answer some of the basic questions that people from antiquity to the present have asked about the human experience:
--What are myths, and what have they to do with religion?  With the cultural attitudes of the people who produced them? 
--In what ways are myths practical? 
--In what ways are they true or false? 
--How might we find common ground in such a culturally diverse global society? 
--What do myths tell us about ourselves?

Grading and Attendance:
Your final grade will be based on the following criteria:
               Two Tests:  15% each = 30%
               Five Response Papers @ 8% each = 40%
               Final Exam:  30%

You may have four penalty-free absences this semester; please, however, be sure not to miss class on test days, as I do not allow make-up work .  I don't distinguish between "excused" and  "unexcused" absences; you owe me no explanations nor documentation for your absences; all I ask is that you use them wisely.  Additional absences will result in a 5-point deduction in your final semester average per additional absence; excessive absences (6 or more) will result in administrative withdrawal from the class.   In order to discourage chronic lateness, I count each late arrival to class as half an absence.


Response Papers: 40%  
You must complete FIVE during the semester (between Weeks 2 and 16); I do not accept multiple submissions.  

I ask students to briefly  write their analytical responses to class discussions, readings, and guest lectures; these essays should be 1-1/2 to 2 pages (typed, MLA format ).  These important assignments comprise the greatest percentage of your semester grade, and I will assess them according to both quality of content AND the skill (grammar, punctuation, style, etc.) with which you write them.

I do not accept electronic submissions of any out-of-class assignments, or any late submissions of assignments that have a deadline, such as take-home format tests, etc.

Response writings should not try to cover everything from a particular week or text, but should strive to illuminate one or two ideas clearly and convincingly.  In your responses, elaborate on what you find particularly interesting or intriguing about the topic you've selected .  What connections did you find between the texts and discussions?  Pose a question that arises from the material, and include a close textual analysis that posits an answer to that query.  

I will grade your responses on the originality of your thought and the depth of analysis you use in order to support your position.  Summarizing class discussions or providing a synopsis of the reading will not satisfy the requirements of the project .  You should make sure that your essay writing is of college-level quality, that you pay strict attention to MLA formatting, and of course, that your spelling (including authors, titles, and character names) and grammar are correct; if errors in writing obscure the clear communication of your ideas, your grade will reflect this difficulty.  Please print out a copy of the English Department grading criteria by which I will be assessing your response papers .    

I will give an automatic "F" in this course to any student who plagiarizes or excessively collaborates on any assignment (quizzes, out-of-class essays, and journals). . . no exceptions.  In order to be crystal clear on what I, the English Department, and the University expect of you in regard to academic honesty, please review all the links below--I hold each of my students responsible for having read and understood these policies:

As you prepare your papers, I encourage you to make appointments with The Writing Center ; also, please refer to the following University and English Department sources regarding Plagiarism:

  The Faculty Handbook, sections 207 and 208.0401
  http://www.westga.edu/~vpaa/handrev/

  Student Uncatalogue: "Rights and Responsibilities"; Appendix J.
  http://www.westga.edu/handbook/

Tentative Schedule -- subject to change, so check this website at least once a week!  
        NOTE:  Reading assignments are due on the day they're noted on the schedule
       

WEEK 1— WHY STUDY MYTHOLOGY AND RELIGION?
8/16   Th:    Welcome to the class!  Syllabus, course requirements, and usual first day of school stuff.
                       

WEEK 2   First week to submit reading responses
8/21  T:    Joseph Campbell, "The Emergence of Mankind," and Smith, "The Point of Departure" (course packet).
8/23  Th:   Leeming 3-8; The Creation Stories, 17-42.

Interesting website to check out:   BeliefNet.com  Try their quiz (just for fun): "Belief-O-Matic."

WEEK 3—COSMIC MYTHS
8/28  T:     Mircea Eliade, "The Structure of Myth" (Course Pack)
8/30  Th:   The Flood, 42-60.


WEEK 4— Read ahead for Week 5.
9/04  T:     Daoism--Print out, read, and bring to class sections 1-20 of the Dao De Ching
9/06  Th:   Hinduism--print out and bring  handout to class.

 
WEEK 5
9/11  T:    Guest Speaker:   Madhavi Sethna (Hinduism).    Print out and bring this handout of Hindu Sanskrit Slokas to class.
9/13  Th:  The Afterlife/Apocalypse, 65-89. Test #1 prep.


WEEK 6
9/18    T:    Test #1.
See our class's Test #1 results
9/20   Th:   Guest Speaker:   Dr. Beheruz Sethna (Zoroastrianism)

WEEK 7—MYTHS OF THE GODS
9/25  T:     The Pantheons:  95-121; Dr. Sethna's follow-up to the question about Zarathustra's bull-headed staff  
9/27  Th:    Print out and read:    Transcript of the April 2002 Baha'i Letter to All Religious Leaders .     
                Guest Speaker:   Jason Ighani (Baha’i)--(CONFIRMED--so make sure you read and bring the Baha'i Letter).  
   

WEEK 8--No class meeting this week

LOOKING AHEAD to Weeks 10 and 11:  
Even though we're not meeting this week, I nevertheless expect that you'll be working to meet the following objectives/deadlines:
 ** Find an online article or website relevant to our discussion on Tuesday, 10/16, and send me the links via e-mail no later than Wednesday, 10/10 at 5:00 p.m.
** Read Leeming pp 123-174--this assignment will be on your Test #2

WEEK 9
10/09   T:    12:30--Lunch with Rick Halpern:  "Jewish Perspectives on Good and Evil"--location TBA
                   Guest Speaker:  Rick Halpern (Judaism) .  
10/11   Th:    Fall Break; no classes today.  Yay!!  


WEEK 10
10/16   T:     Religion in current events/popular culture discussion rescheduled for 10/23.  Semester speaker review, and looking ahead.
10/18   Th:   Guest Speakers:  Amir Ahmed and Huma Faruqi, Islamic Speakers Bureau



WEEK 11  
10/23    T:   Discussion:  Religious issues in contemporary culture, rescheduled-- see link above for reading assignment.
10/25   Th:   10/23 discussion, concluded; Secular Humanism.   Bring your articles from 10/23; also, print out, read, and bring these four articles to class:  

 http://www.secularhumanism.org/index.php?section=columns&page=framers

 http://www.secularhumanism.org/index.php?section=columns&page=pascal

 http://www.stephenjaygould.org/ctrl/buckner_tripoli.html

http://richarddawkins.net/article,1700,Logical-Path-from-Religious-Beliefs-to-Evil-Deeds,Richard-Dawkins

 WEEK 12
10/30    T:   Guest Speaker:   Ed Buckner, Secular Humanist/Atlanta Freethought Society  Please bring this handout to class with you.
11/01    Th:  Film:  The Tibetan Book of the Dead.  Journey Quest of the Hero:  Leeming 221-295.

WEEK 13
11/06   T:    Guest Speaker:     Dr. Alan Pope (Tibetan Buddhism). 
11/08   Th:   Films, concluded; Buddhism concluded.   Leeming readings--discussion (bring your text).
              
   
WEEK 14
An article from Mrs. Sethna about the Hindu festival of Light, Diwali
11/13   T:     Christian history--read this handout and bring to class.  Leeming:  Rebirth, Return, and Apotheosis of the Hero, concluded:  295-310.  
11/15   Th:   Leeming:  Stories of Place and Objects
                   Test #2 due at the beginning of class.

                 
LINK to "Governor Perdue's Prayer Meeting  Protest FAQ's"--Ed Buckner e-mailed these to us over the weekend.            
WEEK 15
11/20   T:     Guest Speaker:  Fr. Aelred Dean, BSG (Christianity).
                    ** Read this article about The Brotherhood of St Gregory before class***
11/22   Th:   Thanksgiving Break!  Yay!  
                    
                 
WEEK 16— Last week to submit response papers
11/27   T:    Leeming:  Stories of Place and Objects, 316-347; take-home portion of final exam assigned (due 12/04 at the beginning of class)
11/29  Th:   Postmodern Spirituality


WEEK 17
12/04  T:  FINAL EXAM  (30% of semester grade); take-home portion of exam (reflective essay) due at the the beginning of class.

Guide to the symbols on the Interfaith Universal Worship banner (top of  webpage):
Upper row :
1. Great Goddess --From the ancient Middle Eastern tradition, this Goddess image and many like it were the earliest known religious symbols and represent the fertile Mother from which life springs.
2. African Goddess --The Aku Aba is a Goddess symbol used for good luck in many parts of Africa, and is especially worn by women and children as a charm to lend protection, fertility and good fortune. It is from the Ashanti tribe in Nigeria.
3. Mayan --The Hunab Ku symbol represents the center of the Galaxy. The complex and highly developed Mayan system of astrology is based on our relationship with this center at our birth. The Mayan tradition is an ancient Native path from Central America.     
4. Native American Medicine Wheel --The four directions of the east, south, west and north are honored in the wheel of life, hung with sacred eagle feathers. These primal directions represent the stages of energy cycles such as the cycles of time: spring, summer, fall, winter.
5.  Hindu Om --The OM is the sound of the universal vibration, the primal source from which all creation manifests. It is the mantra mantrika, or "Mother of all sounds" the first of all creative spells spoken by the Goddess. The original meaning was "womb."
6. Buddhist Prayer Wheel --The Buddha taught the eightfold path to enlightenment, represented here by a prayer wheel. The paths are right conduct, right contemplation, right effort, right faith, right occupation, right resolve, right self awareness, and right speech.   
7. Jain --Jainism contains many elements similar to Hinduism and Buddhism. The world's almost 4 million Jains are almost entirely located in India. They practice Ahimsa: non violence.
8. Taoist Yin Yang --The interplay between primal opposites is an eternal dance, such as (light/dark, male /female, day/night, life/death) and within the heart of the light is a core of dark, and within the core of darkness lies light.
9. Confucian --The social ethics and moral teachings of Confucius are an ethical system to which rituals at important times during one's lifetime have been added. They deal primarily with individual morality and ethics. This symbol is a Chinese image meaning "Joy together." There is no official symbol for the tradition.

Lower row : 
10. Shinto --An ancient Japanese religion with no written scriptures. Ancestors are deeply revered and worshipped. All human life and human nature is sacred. Tradition and the family are very important.
11. Wiccan Pentacle --Symbolic of life and health in ancient times in Wicca, a shamanic nature religion from Europe, the five points of the pentacle represents the way energy flows through stages of life, and corresponds both to the five points of the sacred human body, and to the five elements:  earth, fire, air, water, and, at the top of the pentacle, spirit.
12.  Zoroastrian Flame --The sacred fire burns on an altar, representing the light which gives all life. Following the prophet Zoroaster, this tradition emphasizes purity and Divine light.     
13.  Jewish Star of David --The traditional interweaving of the upward pointing and downward pointing triangles, representing the unity of earthly and heavenly energies. It represents the union of God and the Shekina, the male and female energies in harmony.
14.   Christian Cross --The traditional cross reminds us not only of Jesus the Christ's death and resurrection, but of the older symbolism as an intersection of two energy flows, one flowing between earth and heaven, and the other spreading out from side to side, representing the 4 directions.
15.  Winged Sufi Heart --The awakened heart, which contains the star of perfected light and the receptiveness of the moon, becomes capable of soaring to the heights of Spirit. Sufism is a mystical path from the Middle East.     
16.  Islamic Moon and Star --The star of perfected light, which can be seen as the perfected human, and the receptiveness of the moon which allows the light of the Divine to fill it. Islam is a tradition from the Middle East, emphasizing devotion and community.
17.   Sikh symbol --The circle of unity contains the double edged sword representing the power of truth, and is surrounded by two curved daggers, representing the act of willingness to defend the faith.
18.   Baha'i 9-Pointed Star --The Baha'i religion is one of the newest of the religions of the prophets, and encourages world peace by teaching tolerance and honoring all paths to God.