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CLA 2-216-2002
Eurydice,
from a production of Monteverdi's Orfeo e Eurydice
The Metamorphoses Project is designed to show the continuing relevance
of myth through time. This project will be a combination of individual
essays and group presentations which will trace the transformations of
specific mythic figures from antiquity through the present. Each group,
comprised of three to four students each, will choose a mythic figure
and each member will be responsible for writing a 5-7 page essay discussing
this figure in a particular piece of literature, art, music, theater,
or film created since the ancient world. Each group will workshop each
other's papers. Finally, each group will then use the individual essays
to create a class presentation on the transformation of their mythic figure
from antiquity to the present. Details of the various components are as
follows:
1. Each group will need to turn in proposal. The cover sheet should list
the mythic figure, members of the group and each person's project (the
specific text, film, painting, opera etc. each person is researching),
and a request for any technical equipment needed for the group presentation
(video/tv, cd player, computer & projector, etc). In addition, each
person in the group should submit a paragraph describing why s/he chose
the particular version. Be sure to include the artist's name, dates, and
nationality, a copy of the work to be analyzed, and where you found this
information (bibliographical reference or website). Proposals will
be due on the second Wednesday.
2. Each person (and group) will need to take advantage of the library
and the WWW to find information about the version of the myth that you
are going to write and report on. After meeting with Michelle Holschuh
Simmons and searching for relevant information about your version of the
myth, you will submit a a list of secondary sources that you plan
to consult on your topic on the third Wednesday. Please submit
these secondary sources in MLA format.
A useful website, How
to analyze a painting, might help those of you dealing with visual
material.
3. Each person will turn in a 5-7 page essay discussing how their group's
mythic figure is represented in a particular piece of literature,
art, music, theater, or film. Questions to consider: How is this author,
painter, director, etc. using or adapting ancient mythic traditions? Which
version or details of the myth does it highlight? Does it differ from
the ancient version? If so, how and why? What values does this retelling
reveal? What attitudes does the artist reveal about gender, history, ethnicity,
religion, etc.? How might this myth be relevant to the culture in which
it was (re)told? In what ways has it been adapted to make it more relevant?
(e.g. How do you take a violent, womanizing warrior like Hercules and
make him appealing to a Disney audience? Why would Disney even want to
create a film about Hercules? What relevance does he have to a 20th century
audience?) Who is the target audience? Is their any sort of cultural capital
to be gained by using such mythic figures? What parallels or contrasts
are being drawn between the culture in which your piece is created and
ancient Greece or Rome? First Draft of individual essays are due on
the fourth Monday.
4. Group presentations: Each group will meet to share their projects with
each other and work together to create a presentation for the class which
shows how their mythic figure has transformed from antiquity to the present.
Presentations should be well integrated and present a coherent argument
based on the individual projects of each member. The mode of presentation/performance
is an important element of this part of the project (i.e. I don't want
a series of individual, unconnected reports. This is an opportunity to
display your creativity and hone your collaboration skills). The final
two days of the course will be reserved for presentations.
5. Each person will turn in a 1-2 page critique of their group's project
including an evaluation of each member's efforts and contributions to
the project (including a self evaluation). This critique will be considered
when grades are calculated. Critiques are due on the last day of the
course.
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