SUMMER COURSES 2008 Return to Summer Courses - Regina Coeli Academy Home Page NORSE MYTHOLOGY AND THE TOLKIEN CONNECTION Instructor: Mrs. Randi Lou Doan Dates: June 16th - August 4th Grade Level: 6th - 9th Day: Wednesday Time: 1:00 - 2:15 PM Eastern Technology: audio and text conferencing Course Fee: $220 Course Materials Cost: Books The "Norse Myths" summer course is an eight week long glimpse of Nordic mythology. The class will meet weekly online for about an hour and fifteen minutes with some reading preparation during the week. We will be using materials from Myths and Their Meaning by Max Herzberg. This is a textbook that will be used for referral, but students need not purchase a copy. We will also be using The Age of Fableby Thomas Bulfinch (no need to purchase). Your students will need a copy of Nordic Gods and Heroes by Padraic Colum. You will probably be able to find a copy of this book at your local library. I will also be referring often to a book by David Day, to bring out Tolkien's substantial connection to the Norse myths in The Lord of The Rings. Students will be required to post their thoughts in response to the things we discuss in class to the forum once a week. This is a very important part of the class. As a quote shared by one of my former students indicates: "Readers usually grossly underestimate their own importance. If a reader cannot create a book along with the writer, then the book never comes to life. Creative involvement; that is the difference between reading a book and watching TV. In watching TV we are passive sponges; we do nothing. In reading, we must become creators, imagining the setting of the story, seeing the facial expressions, hearing the inflection of the voices. The author and the reader "know" each other, they meet on the bridge of words." This is especially true, I think, of mythology. A couple of times during the summer class, participants will be asked to write myths of their own, using the knowledge they have gained about the essence of myth. This is wonderful fun for most of my students. I have been amazed over the years at their creativity and the understanding of mythology that they demonstrate through their own writing. At least once they will do a small research essay. By the end of the course the students should have an introductory understanding of Norse mythology; what it is, its significance, and why we need to study it. It can also serve as an introduction to the full two-semester course "Meaning of Myths" offered by Agnus Dei Junior Program during the school year. Norse Mythology was birthed out of a cold, dreary, harsh life style. Edith Hamilton tells us in her Mythology, "This is stern stuff for humanity to live by, as stern in its totally different way as the Sermon on the Mount, but the easy way has never in the long run commanded the allegiance of mankind. Like the early Christians, the Norsemen measured their life by heroic standards. The Christian, however, looked forward to a heaven of eternal joy. The Norseman did not. But it would appear that for unknown centuries, until the Christian missionaries came, heroism was enough." Heroism was the light in the darkness of these tragic tales, pure in their desire for a better existence. This class is a terrific lead into Meaning of Myths, as well as a stand alone. Discount Price $220 Regular Price $230

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