Mythology, Fantasy, and Fiction

If you like to write and you want to improve your skills this is the class for you! Students will learn about the parts of a short story, character development, story outlining, scene creation, the use of scenes and sequels and so much more.

The course focuses on the detective story as a form of literature. The class will begin by examining the writings of Edgar Allen Poe who has been credited with inventing the genre. This will be followed by selected works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and Agatha Christie. Students will examine the early rules for detective writing and will consider how each of the authors brought their own contributions to the field. In addition to quizzes on the material covered the students will conclude the course by writing their own detective story.

This semester long class will offer a survey of the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien, focusing specifically on his landmark fantasy works, The Hobbit, and the Lord of the Rings.  The course will approach these works from the argument that Tolkien intended to use these writings as a method for creating an Anglo-Saxon mythology for his native England.  The course will begin with an examination of Tolkien’s essay “On Faerie Stories,” before proceeding to examine the themes of the Middle Earth works.  Other works referenced will be Tolkien’s Letters, The Silmarillion, and the works of Tolkien biographer Thomas Shippey.

This is a semester long Flex Class that will explore the world of Ancient Greek and Norse Mythology.  Students will study the Greek Pantheon, Greek Heroes and Monsters, The Trojan War, and the voyage of Odyessus, along with the Norse pantheon, Heroes and Monsters, and the final battle of Ragnarok. The course will involve lecture, readings, class dicussion, multimedia, and student presentations. In this Flex Class, the assignments will be completed on your own time. Each week the information will be presented with a narrated powerpoint presentation with additional class notes for specific topics.  There may also be recorded class lectures and links to additional sources.  Each week there will be a quiz on the material covered for that week.  A midterm and final exam will also be given to assess overall comprehension of the material. Feedback on all assignments will be given.  There are no live meetings with this course; however, students are able to contact the tutor through our Canvas course management system with any questions they may have about the material