Ovid’s Metamorphoses – Two millennia of constant change

On the two-thousandth anniversary of the death of Roman poet Publius Ovidius Naso, the legacies of his astonishing, witty, sexy, violent, funny, beautiful epic poem, The Metamorphoses continue to shape culture throughout the globe. This course is devoted to a leisurely reading and discussion of the full text of The Metamorphoses, with reference to the ways in which key myths from the poem have taken on independent lives in disciplines from psychoanalysis, philosophy and literature through mathematics, engineering, sports, business and marketing. Emphasis is on reading and discussion in this class—this is one course in which it’s going to be imperative that students are willing and ready to read (and engage with the reading). Students will also be asked to prepare substantial, researched multimedia blogs about the legacies of Ovid in culture. If you are unfamiliar with blogging, don’t worry! We will provide training and support. The course will be taught in English, and I will be referring to the Charles Martin and the Allen Mandelbaum English translations, but students may read the work in the language of their choice (as long as the version used is prepared in verse, not prose).

Satisfies General Education Requirements:

• Group-Satisfying: Arts and Letters
• Multicultural Courses: International Cultures (IC)