Schedule

Introduction to the Course
Monday, Jan. 4

 

GREECE: THE MYTH OF LAW


Background reading: Traditions & Encounters, pp. 230-257

What is Myth?
Wednesday, Jan. 6

1. Course Reader, pp. 1-9

Death and its Discontents
Friday, Jan. 8

1. Classical Tragedy, pp. 253-295

Athens and Sparta
Monday, Jan. 11

1. Class Reader, pp. 10-23

Reason in the Public Sphere
Wednesday, Jan. 13

1. Trial and Death of Socrates, pp. 1-41

2, The prompt for Paper #1 will be handed out today in section. For this paper you are required to read the article entitled, “Female Control of Funeral Rites in Greek Tragedy,” in the Class Reader, pages 227-241.

Sex and its Discontents
Friday, Jan. 15

1. Classical Tragedy , pp. 367-431

Divinity and its Discontents
Wednesday, Jan. 20

1. Classical Tragedy , pp. 367-431

THE HEBREWS: THE MYTH OF COMMUNITY


Background reading: Traditions & Encounters, pp. 30-57

Myth Revisited: The Babylonian “Enuma Elish” and the Biblical “Creation”
Friday, Jan. 22

1. Course Reader, pp. 24-36

2. Hebrew Bible: Genesis 1-9

King Josiah’s God & the Ideology of Covenant in the Formation of Biblical History
Monday, Jan. 25

1. Hebrew Bible: 2 Kings 22-23; Deuteronomy 28; Genesis 10-25

Human Partnership with God and the Idea of a Holy People
Wednesday, Jan. 27

1. Hebrew Bible: Exodus 1-24; Leviticus 11, 17-26

Who Were the Israelites? Archaeological Hypotheses and Biblical Myths
Friday, Jan. 29

1. Course Reader, pp. 37-49

2. Hebrew Bible: Joshua 1-7; Judges 2, 6-8, Genesis 12:7-8, Exodus 24, Deuteronomy 9

The Monarchy: Prophets and Kings
Monday, Feb. 1

1. Hebrew Bible: 1 Samuel 7-31; 2 Samuel 5:1-5:5, 7; 1 Kings 11-13; Psalm 89

Exile and Return: The Formation of Judaism
Wednesday, Feb. 3

1. Hebrew Bible: Jeremiah 1-3, 7-8, 20, 26, 33, 40-45, 52; Psalms 137; Ezra 1, 7:11-7:28; Nehemiah 8; Haggai; Zechariah 12-14; Daniel 7 (This looks like a lot, but it is actually only 27 pages)

MIDTERM EXAM
Friday, Feb. 5

Click here for a description of the test.

CHINA: THE MYTH OF ORDER


Background reading: Traditions & Encounters, pp. 108-131, 180-204

The Earliest Traditions: Shang Settlements, Zhou States, and the Search for Order
Monday, Feb. 8

1. Course Reader, pp. 50-59

Morality, Hierarchy, and Social Order
Wednesday, Feb. 10

1. Course Reader, pp. 60-69

Order is Disorder, Except for When Disorder is Order, Or Maybe Not: The Taoists
Friday, Feb. 12

1. Course Reader, pp. 70-86

Authority as Order in the Qin
Wednesday, Feb. 17

1. Course Reader, pp. 87-97

INDIA, part 1: THE MYTH OF POWER


Background reading: Traditions & Encounters, pp. 86-106, 206-229

Nature and Civilization at the Beginning of Indian History
Friday, Feb. 19

1. Course Reader, pp. 98-105

Playing with Agni’s Fire: The Brahmins’ Ritual Cosmogony
Monday, Feb. 22

1. Course Reader, pp. 106-128

Playing with Inner Fire: The Sages’ Inner Reality
Wednesday, Feb. 24

1. Course Reader, pp. 129-149

Dharma and Its Discontents
Friday, Feb. 26

1. Bhagavad Gita, pp. 21-81

You Better Watch Out, You Better Not Cry, You Better Not Shout, I’m Telling You Why: Krisha Loves You
Monday, March 1

1. Bhagavad Gita, pp. 83-113, 127-154

INDIA, part 2: THE MYTH OF FREEDOM

Life of the Buddha
Wednesday, March 3

1. Course Reader, pp. 150-171

Early Wisdom: Desire and its Discontents
Friday, March 5

1. Course Reader, pp. 172-180

Giving Fruit, Fruitful Giving
Monday, March 8

1. Course Reader, pp. 182-205

Mahayana Wisdom: Reality and its Discontents
Wednesday, March 10

1. Course Reader, pp. 206-212

Law, Order, Community, Freedom, Power: The Myth of “Great Classical Traditions”
Friday, March 12

 

FINAL EXAM
MONDAY, MARCH 15, 11:30am – 2:30 pm

Click here for a description of the test.

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