english 1 - homer
monday, april 15 (6)
Vocabulary Quiz, Units 15-16; Tennyson’s “Ulysses”
tuesday, april 16 (7)
Today we’ll finish looking at Tennyson’s “Ulysses” before beginning my introductory lecture on Homer’s Odyssey.
Why are we reading this poem? What will our focus be?
I’ll also introduce to you the cosmogonic cycle.
You’re reading Book 1 for our next class. I highly recommend you listen to the Ian McKellen reading of the poem above as you read. You may find it very helpful to stay focused as you read. Follow the links in YouTube to the remaining videos as we continue reading the poem.
thursday, april 18 (1)
Discussion of The Odyssey, Book 1
By our next class you’re reading Book 4.
tuesday, april 23 (2)
Discussion of The Odyssey, Book 4
By our next class you’re reading Book 5.
thursday, april 25 (4)
Discussion of The Odyssey, Book 5
By our next class you’re reading selections of Books 6-8.
monday, april 29 (6)
Discussion of The Odyssey, Books 6-8
By our next class you’re reading Book 9.
tuesday, april 30 (7)
Vocabulary Quiz, Units 17-18
Discussion of The Odyssey, Book 9
By our next class you’re reading Book 10.
thursday, may 2 (1)
Discussion of The Odyssey, Book 10
By our next class you’re reading Book 11.
friday, may 3 (2)
Discussion of The Odyssey, Book 11
By our next class you’re reading Book 12.
tuesday, may 7 (4)
Discussion of The Odyssey, Book 12
By our next class you’re reading Book 13.
thursday, may 9 (6)
Discussion of The Odyssey, Book 13
By our next class you’re reading some of Book 16.
friday, may 10 (7)
Vocabulary Quiz, Units 19-20
Discussion of The Odyssey, Book 16
By our next class you’re reading some of Books 17-18.
tuesday, may 14 (1)
Discussion of The Odyssey, Books 17-18
By our next class you’re reading Book 19.
wednesday, may 15 (2)
Discussion of The Odyssey, Book 19
By our next class you’re reading Book 21.
friday, may 17 (4)
Discussion of The Odyssey, Book 21
By our next class you’re reading Book 22.
tuesday, may 21 (6)
Discussion of The Odyssey, Book 22
By our next class you’re reading Book 23.
wednesday, may 22 (7)
Discussion of The Odyssey, Book 23
By our next class you’re reading Book 24.
friday, may 24 (1)
Discussion of The Odyssey, Book 1
Course wrap-up
what's due?
Thursday, April 11 - Poetry Test
Monday, April 15 - Vocabulary Quiz, Units 15-16
Tuesday, April 30 - Vocabulary Quiz, Units 17-18
Friday, May 10 - Vocabulary Quiz, Units 19-20
Homer’s Odyssey Reading Schedule
current text to bring daily
STUDYING homer
The Hero’s Journey of Joseph Campbell
Some discussion questions for The Odyssey
The beginning of the Kansas State study guide
Layers of Meaning in The Odyssey
What the epic can teach us about encounters with strangers
ongoing extra credit
Required reading can at times feel like drudgery. And while it's important to do the reading I set for the class, I fully recognize that you'd rather have a say in what it is we read. Unfortunately the freshman curriculum has little student choice built in, so your ongoing extra credit gives you the opportunity to read an outside text in your own time at some point during the semester. I'm very happy to reward you with additional course credit if you take it upon yourself to read a text outside of class and meet with me to discuss it. A few things:
(1) This must be a text you've never read before.
(2) It should be imaginative and of recognized literary merit. The text must be approved beforehand.
(3) The amount of credit awarded is variable depending on the chosen text and how our follow up conversation goes.
(4) While you may read as much as you'd like, I will only award extra credit once per semester.
enjoying literature
“In the realm of narrative psychology, a person’s life story is not a Wikipedia biography of the facts and events of a life, but rather the way a person integrates those facts and events internally—picks them apart and weaves them back together to make meaning. This narrative becomes a form of identity, in which the things someone chooses to include in the story, and the way she tells it, can both reflect and shape who she is. A life story doesn’t just say what happened, it says why it was important, what it means for who the person is, for who they’ll become, and for what happens next.”
