Myths, Ancient and Modern

As people of the modern world, it is easy for us to think about mythology as nothing more than the fantastical attempts by ancient people who lacked science to describe the world, or as stories exaggerating the adventures and deeds of their ancestors. But viewing mythology with this modern, critical lens overlooks the most important part of myths: they are stories, created to entertain, or to teach. Myths and legends are the ancestors of our novels, movies, TV shows, comic books, and even video games.

In this course, we will explore ancient mythology, and analyze it like we would any other piece of literature or media we encounter in our everyday lives. Students will learn how to engage with stories, ancient and modern, through their narrative elements, and build skills to analyze stories from different eras through archetypes and tropes. The ultimate goal will be for each student to find a modern “myth” to analyze and relate to the ancient myths we will read during the course.