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Greece Study Tour Theme: Classical Mythology Course Description and
Syllabus || Description | Requirements | Theme | Materials | Costs | Application ||
St. Mary's College's Greece Study Tour offers participants an opportunity to gain knowledge of the layerings of history in this part of the world the influence of which so greatly outstrips its modest size. Greece is about the size of Alabama. But Greece is not Alabama. The study tour is divided into two halves:
The Greeks pride themselves on having taken very seriously for 3000 years the duties of being a good host. Those not interested in honoring this by being good guests are encouraged to find alternative plans for the summer. This is a credit-bearing academic course. Those interested in four weeks of Greek beaches, punctuated only by gift shopping and evenings in the cafe, are likewise advised that this study tour is not for them. This having been said, a study tour is not simply an off-campus course. Not only do we get to see sites, structures, and landscapes that directly relate to our readings, like the palace at which Agamemnon unsuspiciously walked on the blood-red carpet into the waiting, vengeful arms of his wife Clytemnestra and like the prison cell in which Socrates drank the hemlock, but we learn that our image of Greece must extend beyond silent, weather-worn limestone foundations and pages in literally inanimate books. Greece has lived and died many times, and now can be caught very much alive. Greece, like the rest of southern Europe, gets its summer wind prevailing from the south. This means from the Sahara. It is hot, with summer temperatures in the 90's, and in a heat spell, the 100's. Summer rains are rare, and summer humidity a mere story (myth?) Greeks have heard about. Accordingly, Greeks take seriously the siesta time, which extends from about 1:00 to about 5:00 every afternoon. (The fact that precision is not possible here is part of the charm, and sometimes the frustration, of the land.) Hence, they start their days early, and extend them late. The Greeks consider anything eaten before 9:00 p.m. to be a pre-dinner appetizer! Napping, however, is but one option for siesta. It is also good time for swimming at an area beach, for catching up on some reading or writing, for strolling to one of the occasional shops or cafe that does not close for siesta. So a typical day might look like this, even though there may turn out to be no one such typical day:
As for coursework, your first requirement will be to provide us with reading material for the plane flight from the U.S., by submitting to us, prior to the first beverage service on the plane, a several-page take-home exam consisting of your identifications of a previously circulated list of about 100 terms to know. These will range across the archaeological (stylobate), cultural (marriage in Classical times), historical (the Areopagus), literary (satyr plays), philosophical (elenchus), political (Greek agora), and religious (Artemis). We will return these to you for you to refer to throughout the study tour. We hold a seminar about every second or third evening, and there will often be short handwritten homework assignments, keyed to the reading for the next seminar. Also, each student selects from a circulated list, and researches prior to departure, two sites that we will be at (one at Ancient Korinth and one on the circuit tour) on which the student will give a 10-minute oral site report when we are at that site. Finally, by August 15th, each student submits a 8-10 page paper on an appropriate topic of the student's choice. Students should discuss preliminary ideas with us prior to departure. The evening seminars at Ancient Korinthwill begin with an introduction to the region and culture, including the what-you-shouldn't-do list that every sensitive traveler needs to know for any destination. Subsequent seminars will focus on the readings much as any college seminar does--except that these will be held in a café and will relate to the sites visited . Ancient Korinth is a small village where American scholars have been working for one hundred years. Accommodations there will be in the family-run hotel Rooms Marinos. || Top ||
The paper can have an archaeological, cultural, historical, literary, philosophical, political, or religious focus, but must be discussed with the instructors prior to writing. || Top || Theme for 2008: "Classical Mythology" A rich variety of classical myths from the times of the Ancient Greeks and Romans has been passed down in ancient forms, and are accessible to the non-specialist. So one can read stories of Homer or Ovid without dedicating one's life to a graduate program on them. That we have so many stories, and that people for ages have found them so compelling (which no doubt explains why so many of the stories have survived), suffice to recommend the opportunity to take a few weeks for focusing one's study on them. Further, taking a walk through any art museum, going to many opera houses or even multiplexes serves to reinforce the need for attaining some cultural literacy, even if not complete fluency, in the major myths of the Greeks and Romans. There are many traditional topics falling under such a study (similarities among stories of an abandoned child; the influence of Anatolian and Egyptian mythology on Greek and Roman stories), as well as many non-traditional topics (gender roles in myths; the recurring topic of ambiguous sexuality in myths; the role of natural environments as sacred rivers and groves). The Peloponnesos and the island of Crete are particularly abundant in mythological significance, and we will spend three weeks between the two of them. The very name "Peloponnesos" stems from the myth of Pelops, and houses many sites of mythic labors, healing, and murder. Crete is home to the Palace of Knossos, site of Theseus' visit to Ariadne, who helped him to outwit the Minotaur in the labyrinth. It is the aim of this course to deepen the familiarity we all - perhaps
unknowingly - have with the classical myths themselves, as well as to
explore some of the various functions which myths have served, and still
serve for us today. || Top ||
Given limited time on the tour for an initial reading of these books, before departure students should (£\) SKIM the above books in order to familiarize themselves with how to use them, (£]) READ the historical introductions of the above books, in order to familiarize themselves with the sweep of Greece's many histories, and (£^) READ, and bring on the study tour, the following (please use these editions, thereby facilitating our discussions):
|| Top || Students pay $4800 to SMCM's Greece Study Tour account, to the cashier in the Business Office, in three installments of $1600, due February 7, and March 7, and April 7. Meals at the beginning of the trip are all together, and are included in the above cost. As people develop their confidence, students can control their costs by arranging meals in smaller groups, and we recommend $400 for these meals (18 lunches, 14 dinners). When you register in April for this summer course, 4 credit-hours of tuition are due to SMCM ($640). Note that non-SMCM students must pay a non-refundable $150 processing fee (to defray the administrative work that SMCM employees must execute for the study tour), due on the day of, and in addition to, their first payment. Costs include:
|| Top || ApplicationTo apply to the program, download the application form (PDF, 78KB or MS WORD, 27KB), complete the required information, and send it to: Linda Hall, Kent Hall 204, phone: x4434 (240-895-4434) Michael Taber,
Anne Arundel 110f, phone: x4900 (240-895-4900)
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