Honors Seminars Fall 2011

This course will focus on how major literary works from ancient to modern times have used the heroic quest to explore the nature of human experience and what it means to be human. We will explore how different mythologies, cultures, and societies have defined the heroic and the values embodied in the quest. Ideas and images in the literary works will be explored in their historical contexts, their dynamic interrelationships, and their visualization in cultural artifacts and contemporary media like film, video games, and graphic novels. For example, we will study the Old English epic of "Beowulf" in three formats: a modern translation by acclaimed Irish poet Seamus Heaney, a graphic comic book version by Gareth Hinds, and a 1997 film version. We will also compare Lewis Carrol's novel about "Alice in Wonderland" with the recent film version.