Comparative Mythology - HUM 256 at Southwest Virginia Community College
https://courses.vccs.edu./colleges/swcc/courses/HUM256-ComparativeMythology
Effective: 2022-03-31
Course Description
Studies the cultural expressions of mythology. Considers selected mythologies representing diverse global culture, with emphasis on parallels and divergences in structure, purpose, and representation in literature and the arts. The assignments in this course require college-level reading, analysis of scholarly studies, and coherent communication through properly cited and formatted written reports. This is a Passport and UCGS transfer course.
Lecture 3 hours. Total 3 hours per week.
3 credits
The course outline below was developed as part of a statewide standardization process.
General Course Purpose
HUM 256 provides a contextual perspective of mythology based on the representation of culture and the origin and subsequent influence on human ideas and community.
Course Objectives
- Critical Thinking
- Analyze, discuss, and research the ideological content and interpretive changes of mythology as expressed through art and literature.
- Communication
- Through written, visual, and/or oral presentations, describe and explicate mythologies of the world, emphasizing their influence on human thought and expression.
- Heroic structure
- Demonstrate familiarity with the major concepts in the genre of heroic myth
- Expression of cultural values through myth
- Explain how mythological tales express cultural beliefs and values
- Mythological themes across varying cultures
- Compare and contrast mythological representations of archetypes, creation and destruction, perspectives on the afterlife, rituals, and folk stories.
- Cultural influence and appropriation of myth
- Examine points of interaction and interdependence within mythological representation in art and literature from different cultures and perspectives.
- Modern Myth
- Explore the development and purpose of myth, both reflective and forward-looking, in the modern world through a variety of mediums such as film, television, comic books, manga, anime, etc.
Major Topics to be Included
- Heroic structure
- Expression of cultural values through myth
- Mythological themes across varying cultures
- Cultural influences and appropriation of myth
- Modern Myth