What Can We Learn from Odysseus’ Adventures
Odyssey Seminar
Each student must contribute at least once to receive credit for the seminar (which is worth 50 points). Your contribution will be rated as satisfactory (B), excellent (A), unsatisfactory (C/D), or none (F), and you will receive additional credit for each contribution you make above your first comment. Any student who interrupts, belittles, or otherwise disrespects a classmate during the seminar (including talking on the side) will be docked part or all of a letter grade.
A satisfactory contribution will do all of the following
➢ Present a clear interpretation related to the seminar question under discussion.
➢ Provide evidence for that interpretation by quoting and analyzing at least one example from the text(s).
➢ Acknowledge the connection between your comment and comments made before you.
➢ Add something new to the discussion.
An “excellent” response will do these things with an extra level of insight, clarity, and originality.
Preparation Notes: Your total grade for the seminar will be the average of your participation grade (see above) and the grade you earn for your preparation notes. Take about two pages of notes (typed, single spaced) about at least THREE of the following four seminar topics. Include ideas, connections, and quotes (remember to include book/line citations!).
Topic #1: Challenges and Temptations
The stories in The Odyssey take place on another continent, in another time, and in another culture. Yet they have much to say that matters in our contemporary world. We will begin our seminar with a discussion about how Odysseus’s adventures so far might relate to us and to our world and experiences.
Please choose TWO of the stories below to focus on:
Cicones
Lotus Eaters
Cyclops
Aeolian Winds
Circe
Cattle of the Sun
Calypso
Answer the following questions for each of your two chosen stories:
1. What, literally, are the challenges or temptations that Odysseus and/or his men face in this adventure?
2. Choose one word or phrase to summarize the danger presented in the adventure. (drowning, being eaten, not reaching home, etc). Why this word?
3. Choose one word or phrase to summarize the weakness/fault/temptation exposed in this adventure (e.g. pride, forgetfulness, doubt, etc). Why this word?
4. Do you see these weaknesses/faults/temptations in the world around you (school/home/film/books/news etc)? Where? What do they look like?
5. Do they create problems, as they do for Odysseus’s and his men? Or not? Explain.
Topic #2: Women in the Odyssey
Consider some of the female characters we have met in The Odyssey. How do they compare with one another? What activities do they tend to engage in? What kinds of epithets or descriptive passages does the poet use to characterize them? Are there recognizable “types” of women in the Odyssey? How do they compare with their male counterparts? You might consider doing research on “the Fates” and the major Greek goddesses (Athena, Hera, Aphrodite, Persephone, Demeter, and Artemis especially). Consider the various women in The Odyssey, including:
Penelope
Eurykleia
Helen of Troy
Calypso
Nausicaa
Circe
the Sirens
Topic #3: Coming of Age
Consider Telemachus’s character. How does his journey into adulthood compare with Odysseus’s journey home? What does The Odyssey say about growing up, about transitioning from childhood to adulthood, about relating to parents, and about finding our own identity?
Topic #4: Lasting Impressions
What will you remember from The Odyssey years from now? What do you think you have learned—about people in general, about the world, about literature, about life, or about yourself—from reading this epic? (Even though this question asks you to make a personal connection, remember to find a piece of text that expresses, illustrates, or otherwise connects to your thoughts on this question to help ground your ideas in the text.)
Our Seminar will be on_____________________________
Be ready! Contributions will be scored and notes will be collected.
Also: this is a great time for you to ask any questions that you might have on your topic, or any questions that you simply want to hear your classmates talk about. So if you have any, feel free to ask!
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