Course Description
ISSI402 Classical Mythology and Religion
This course fulfills the senior-level Issues and Ideas component of the Monmouth College General Education requirement for graduation. It is a liberal arts course without prerequisites, designed for all students, whatever their majors may be. The Monmouth College catalogue gives the following description of Issues and Ideas courses:
[These courses] address issues and ideas that any responsible citizen must confront. These are courses which draw upon the maturity and intellectual flexibility of students in their senior year. They engage the student with problems and ideas that directly address the conditions and well-being of life.
These courses include, but are not limited to, issues and ideas such as the continuing presence of war; what we understand a just society to be; the question of personal identity and the self; or responsible relationships with the natural world.
These courses incorporate the perspectives of various viewpoints since they deal with
questions that transcend immediate professional and intellectual vantages. They elicit a
recognition of and a critical response to shared and continuing human concerns.
Classical Mythology and Religion starts from the premise that one people's
religion is another people's myths and considers the relationship between religion and
mythology. The issues and ideas addressed in this course include the following:
What is religious truth?
What is the role of deity in human life?
What is place of a human being in the world?
Course readings, class discussions and lectures will provide background on the relationship between religion and mythology in the ancient world, especially among the Greeks and Romans. Students will be expected to use this material in order to reflect upon their own religious beliefs and world views.
This material has been published on the web by Prof. Tom Sienkewicz for his students at Monmouth College. If you have any questions, you can contact him at toms@monm.edu.