General intent and focus of the course

This course will emphasize the relation of social life and affairs to narratives and other public representations. The word "myth" in this course covers a broad range of notions: narratives that societies tell themselves about themselves and their wider social "worlds", and also other symbolic forms -- emblems, the built environment -- that suggest such narratives. We are interested in the relation of narratives and other representations to ongoing social life.
The course will examine such topics as the following:
Myth as narrative; myth and the human psyche; notions of sublimity and virtue enshrined in myth; narratives and representations that inform private experience and public affairs; myth as the objectification of human experience; myth in political culture; myths as the embodiment of assumptions about origins and the trajectory of history; mythical representations generated in modern society; narratives and the public expression of interest and identity; narratives that express or imply hegemonic claims [that is, cultural forms of domination] and also the devices of resistance to domination; myth and deceit; myth in social movements; myth and charisma; social thought and theory as myth.

General Requirements

Reading

Specific assignments will usually be given weekly, sometimes daily, in preparation for discussions in class. Some of the assignments will come from the textbooks but others will come from handouts. If the size of the class requires it, there may be a small charge for the copying costs of the handouts.

Class participation

You will be expected to attend every class and to participate in discussions of the required material. There will be a number of lectures, but the success of the course will depend heavily on your participation. You may be asked to initiate a discussion by summarizing a particular reading. Class attendance and participation will definitely help in the writing assignments and examinations; there is virtually no chance of surviving without consistent exposure to what happens in class. For that reason a record of attendance will be kept. If you expect to miss a class, please notify me first, or as soon afterwards as possible. A student that misses more than 3 classes [unless excused] should not expect to earn an A or A-; a student who misses more than 6 unexcused classes should see me about whether to continue in the course.

Examinations

You will have to write two in-class essays plus the final essay. These essays will be "open book"; no memorization will be necessary. The essay question(s) will be given to you in advance and discussed in class; you will be expected to come to class on the assigned day prepared to write a well-organized response to the question(s) assigned in advance. My hope is to induce you to organize and consolidate your own ideas about the assigned material in advance. You should regard every class meeting as a preparatory crib session for these essay examinations. The mid-term examination essays will be on 10/7/96 and 11/4/96.

Organization of the course and specific kinds of requirements

Class meetings will be of three kinds. One kind of activity will be our discussions about assigned readings. There will normally be a reading assignment for every class period; the general schedule of readings to be given to you early in the course will give a general idea of the course schedule, but there will be some short notice reading assignments. Come to class prepared to discuss the readings. A second kind of class activity will be the lectures. You will be expected to keep notes; material from the lectures will directly bear upon the examination questions. Because I am best informed on Central, South and West Asia, the lectures will be biased to that part of the world; however, the relevance of the principles discussed to other parts of the world will, I hope, be evident. A third activity may be, if there is time, films. These will be shown several times in the semester, always on a Monday; attendance will be taken and questions about the films could appear on the examinations.