CLAS 010 SC - Epic Heroes and Form in Popular Culture

Starting with cinematic superheroes (e.g., Black Panther, Superman) and stretching back to Homer’s Achilles and the Sumerian Gilgamesh, traditional epic heroism has been an important site for education, the sublime, and entertainment. Yet anti-epic and anti-heroes often critique the values woven into traditional epic form. This course surveys the role of epic heroes/heroines across ancient, medieval, and modern times in order to better understand the changing conceptions of heroes: what kinds of knowledge do epic heroes produce and how does this knowledge relate to our lives? Along with screening films, we read epic poems (e.g., Near Eastern, Greek, Roman, English, German), novels, and critical theory.

Course Credit: 1.0
Offered: Every two years

Please refer to the course schedule on the Scripps Portal for current course offerings and details.