COURSE DESCRIPTION:  “A noted scholar once observed: The hero has not disappeared but is reborn phoenix-like.” This six-session seminar will trace how patterns established in classical literature, particularly Homer’s Odyssey, have been revived and modified by a wide range of modern writers. Seminar topics include The Modern Hero, World War One Antiheroic Poetry, The American Hero and Heroine, and The Contemporary Hero. Course readings will include works or selections from Joseph Campbell, Homer, Willa Cather, and J. K. Rowling. Two films will also be examined in terms of how they envision traditional and modern forms of heroism.

The seminar will be conducted as a series of open discussions and mini-lectures providing necessary background. There will be no exams or papers!

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