SYLLABUS FOR E240 WORLD LITERATURE TO 400 CE
CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY, FALL 2004
*2023 Note. Most hyperlinks and information have been removed from this archival version of the course, leaving mainly the reading schedule.
COURSE INFORMATION. English 240. MWF 9:00 – 9:50 a.m. Beckman 209. Instructor: Alfred J. Drake, Ph.D. Office hours: Tu. 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. in Cyber Café. Email: e240_at_ajdrake.com. Course satisfies General Education Requirements, first in a series (240, 242, 244). Catalog: “World masterpieces from the beginning to the fall of Rome, 476 A.D.” Units (3).
REQUIRED TEXTS AT CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY BOOKSTORE
Apuleius. The Golden Ass. Trans. Robert Graves. Noonday Press, 1998. ISBN 0374505322.
Bhagavad-Gita. Trans. Stephen Mitchell. New York: Three Rivers, 2000. ISBN 0609810340.
Boethius. The Consolation of Philosophy. Trans. Victor Watts. New York: Penguin, 2000. ISBN 0140447806.
Confucius. The Analects. Trans. D. C. Lau. New York: Penguin, 1998. ISBN 0140443487.
Homer. The Iliad. Trans. Robert Fagles. New York: Penguin, 1990. ISBN 0140275363.
Livy. The Early History of Rome. Trans. Aubrey de Selincourt. New York: Penguin, 2002. ISBN 0140448098.
Longus. Daphnis and Chloe. Trans. Paul Turner. New York: Penguin, 1989. ISBN 0140440593.
Ovid. The Love Poems. Trans. A. D. Melville. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1998. ISBN 0192836331.
Plato. Gorgias. Trans. Robin Waterfield. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1998. ISBN 0192836307.
Plautus. Four Comedies. Trans. Erich Segal. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1998. ISBN 0192838962.
Sappho. Poems. Trans. Mary Barnard. UC Press, 1999. ISBN 0520223128.
Sophocles. Three Theban Plays. Trans. Robert Fagles. New York: Penguin, 1984. ISBN 0140444254.
Tibetan Book of the Dead. Trans. Robert Thurman. New York: Bantam, 1993. ISBN 0553370901.
OPTIONAL RESOURCES
Guides: Sappho Lyric | Nietzsche’s Greeks | Mucius Scaevola | Lucretia
Classics Sites: Didaskalia | Perseus | Diotima | Forum | Homeric Singing | Didaskalia Greek Stagecraft
QUESTIONS FOR JOURNALS AND PRESENTATIONS
*2023 Note. Visitors may download the following questions in PDF format: WORLD ANCIENT LITERATURE.
Confucius | Gita | Tibetan | Homer | Sappho | Sophocles | Plato | Plautus | Livy | Ovid | Longus | Apuleius | Boethius
SCHEDULE: WORKS DISCUSSED ON DATES INDICATED
WEEK 1
M. 08/30. Course Introduction.
W. 09/01. Confucius. The Analects, Books 1-6.
F. 09/03. Confucius. The Analects, Books 7-12.
WEEK 2
M. 09/06. Labor Day Holiday.
W. 09/08. Bhagavad-Gita.
F. 09/10. Bhagavad-Gita.
WEEK 3
M. 09/13. Bhagavad-Gita.
W. 09/15. Tibetan Book of the Dead.
F. 09/17. Tibetan Book of the Dead.
WEEK 4
M. 09/20. Homer. The Iliad, Books 1-2. [Journal Set 1 due.]
W. 09/22. Homer. The Iliad, Book 3-6.
F. 09/24. Homer. The Iliad. [Film TBD]
WEEK 5
M. 09/27. Homer. The Iliad, Books 7-12.
W. 09/29. Homer. The Iliad, Books 13-16.
F. 10/01. Homer. The Iliad. [Film TBD]
WEEK 6
M. 10/04. Homer. The Iliad, Books 17-24.
W. 10/06. Sappho. Poems.
F. 10/08. Sappho. Poems.
WEEK 7
M. 10/11. Sophocles. Antigone. [Film, Tzavellas 1962, 86 mins.]
W. 10/13. Sophocles. Antigone. [Film, Tzavellas 1962, 86 mins.]
F. 10/15. Sophocles. Antigone. [Discussion.] [Paper 1]
WEEK 8
M. 10/18. Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. [Film, Guthrie 1957, 88 mins.] [Journals]
W. 10/20. Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. [Film, Guthrie 1957, 88 mins.]
F. 10/22. [No class today.]
WEEK 9
M. 10/25. Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. [Discussion.]
W. 10/27. Plato. Gorgias.
F. 10/29. Plato. Gorgias. [Journal Set 2 due.]
WEEK 10
M. 11/01. Plautus. The Braggart Soldier.
W. 11/03. Plautus. The Braggart Soldier.
F. 11/05. Film: I, Claudius (Episode: “What Shall We Do About Claudius?”) [BBC]
WEEK 11
M. 11/08. Livy. The Early History of Rome, Book 1.
W. 11/10. Livy. The Early History of Rome, Book 1.
F. 11/12. Livy. The Early History of Rome, Book 2 (to pg. 126 only).
WEEK 12
M. 11/15. Film: I, Claudius (Episode: “Zeus, By Jove”) [BBC]. [Journals]
W. 11/17. Ovid. The Art of Love.
F. 11/19. Ovid. The Art of Love. [Journal Set 3 due.]
WEEK 13
M. 11/22. Longus. Daphnis and Chloe.
W. 11/24. Longus. Daphnis and Chloe.
F. 11/26. Thanksgiving holiday.
WEEK 14
M. 11/29. Apuleius. The Golden Ass. (First third.)
W. 12/01. Apuleius. The Golden Ass. (Second third.)
F. 12/03. Apuleius. The Golden Ass. (Final third.)
WEEK 15
M. 12/06. Boethius. The Consolation of Philosophy. (First third.)
W. 12/08. Boethius. The Consolation of Philosophy. (Second third.)
F. 12/10. Boethius. The Consolation of Philosophy. (Final third.)
FINALS WEEK
W. 12/15. 9:00 – 10:30 a.m. Last journal set and paper due along with exam.