HUM 399: Writing the Epic Character Spring 2009
Mondays, 1 - 3:30 p.m.
Taught by: Michelle Lisi-D'Alauro
What do Odysseus, Don Quixote, Luke Skywalker, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer have in common? How do we define the epic figure in classic literature and popular culture? In this thematic course on serial narrative, students will read, watch, listen to and creatively examine what motivates us in following a character, episode by episode, story by story. Drawing from Campbell?s Hero With A Thousand Faces and elements of Dungeons and Dragon?s character design, we will write character-driven epics, experimenting with prose, poetry, script, and visual media to create several arcs for an original epic figure.
Books for course include:
- The Hero with a Thousand Faces (Joseph Campbell)
- The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces, One Volume, Expanded
Edition (Maynard Mack, Editor)
Class will view:
- Lord of the Rings Triology
- Star Wars (Episodes IV-VI)
- Escaflone
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer
- Smallville
- The Sword in the Stone
For more information please contact the instructor: Michelle Lisi-D'Alauro
