Sp12-IHUM-3-04 : Epic Journeys, Modern Quests. 2012 Spring

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Abstract/Contents

Course Description: Second of a two quarter sequence. Through the metaphor of the journey, epic poems externalize the human quest for identity and self-definition: as the epic hero crosses the physical world and descends into the underworld, to visit the dead and seek counsel from them, he gradually comes closer to himself. The different goals of such journeys and the evolution of the epic hero as he struggles to reach his destination, with attention to how exile and alienation, the encounter with ancestors, the female voice, and divine guidance define the trajectories traced by the various epics in question.The diminished importance of the dead and the increased emphasis on the power of the living in various literary genres. How concepts of humanity and society are defined by the sense of rupture with the past, including a heightened importance given to innovation, the present, the living, and the everyday that contrasts with the formative power of the afterlife, tradition, and the dead.

Sponsor	Stanford University. Introduction to the Humanities
Teacher	Hui, Andrew

Subject	Stanford University
Subject	Teaching > Outlines, syllabi, etc
Genre	Syllabi

Finding Aid	Title Stanford University Syllabi (SC1454)
Course ID	Sp12-IHUM-3-04
Location	https://purl.stanford.edu/dr240qv8020
Location	SC1454
Repository	Stanford University. Libraries. Department of Special Collections and University Archives

Use and reproduction: The materials are open for research use and may be used freely for non-commercial purposes with an attribution. For commercial permission requests, please contact the Stanford University Archives (universityarchives@stanford.edu).

Stanford University Syllabi

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