Taught by

Must quotidian always be associated with humdrum? Rather, it is perhaps the quotidian—the everyday, the banal—that, in the long run, heroically ensures the survival of the individual and the group as a whole.
-Michel Maffesoli, Walking in the Margins

This program interrogates how the essence of the epic enters the everyday and how the quotidian gives meaning to the epic.

An epic is generally defined as a poem or narrative of considerable length, which explores grand themes such as a hero’s journey, or an origin myth. As an adjective, epic refers to something that is larger than life and often extra-ordinary. By contrast, the everyday is defined as ordinary and is often seen as boring, trivial, and lacking in grandeur. Yet, the everyday has a rich creative history and garners remarkable attention in contemporary art, spiritual practices, and other areas of study and praxis. Our lives are made up of both the epic and the everyday; both are integral components of the human experience. The tension between the two is rich territory for insight and imagination.

We will juxtapose the exploration of the epic as a literary form with the exploration of the everyday as a creative practice that engages experiments in text, sound, and image. We will conduct these explorations through readings, film screenings, analyses, lectures, workshops, seminars, and by developing discovery strategies rooted in the creative practices of writing and multimedia projects.

Students will read ancient Greek epic poetry, myth, and tragedy. These works tap deeply into the human condition, and they explore our most persistent and universal questions, such as the concepts of destiny, power, morality, mortality, and the (in-)evitability of fate. As we analyze the grand questions raised by epic texts we will also consider if or how we encounter such themes in everyday life, and how everyday life may intersect with epic-scale experiences and insights.

Students will also develop a daily writing practice and craft a variety of essays based on our readings. Key assignments will include a variety of experimental audio or multimedia productions as well as writing exercises exploring the themes of the program. The program will include rigorous individual projects that encompass a research paper and a collaborative or individual audio or multimedia production.

This is a full-time program emphasizing classical Greek literature and media arts, creative and critical practice, collaborative learning, and individual accountability. Expect assignments to be process-driven, highly structured, and challenging. Students are expected to work about 40 hours per week including class time. If you are eager to blend the study of ancient Greek literature with experiments in media arts, then this program is for you.

Quarters

Winter Open Spring Closed

Location and Schedule

Campus Location

Olympia

Time Offered

Day