Week 2: Reading Overview

Snippet from "How the Dragon was Tricked"
After looking through many stories this past weekend, I found a few that caught my attention. 

CLASSICAL and/or BIBLICAL units
Week 3: (Women Saints) Golden Legend: Saint Juliana
Week 4: (Women Saints) Golden Legend: Saint Martha

MIDDLE EASTERN and/or INDIAN units
Week 5: Georgian Folk Tales: The Serpent and the Peasant
Week 6: Georgian Folk Tales: Fate

ASIAN and/or AFRICAN units [Week 8 is review week.]
Week 7: Japanese Mythology: The Miraculous Mirror
Week 9: Ozaki: The Adventures of Kintaro

NATIVE AMERICAN units
Week 10: Tejas Legends: The Maiden Who Loved a Star
Week 11: Tejas Legends: When the Rainbow was Torn

BRITISH and/or CELTIC units
Week 12: English Fairy Tales: The Stars in the Sky
Week 13: Welsh Fairy Tales: Hu Gadarn

EUROPEAN units
Week 14: Lang 1: How the Dragon was Tricked
Week 15: Literary Works: The Little Mermaid

I’m very excited to read the stories on this list, especially the Japanese mythologies, since I’ve been introduced to a few of them after studying abroad in Kyoto. I also chose a lot of stories involving dragons (or serpents of some sort) because I’m interested in 1) how diverse they are based on the time period and region, and 2) understanding why they are treated as the antagonist in almost every story. I think dragons are an interesting subject to analyze in mythology and folklore, though that’s just an idea of mine. Surprisingly, I thought there might be more stories included, but it’s probably best that there are a select number of readings for each section—it might be overwhelming to choose from a wide variety. Still, that’s why I have the extra reading to look forward to! 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Artist and Aspiring Writer: An Introduction

Image
The artist herself Hello and welcome! My name is Natalie, and I’m a senior majoring in art at the University of Oklahoma. If you read my previous post, then you’ll know that I was born and raised in Texas, hailing from the great city of Dallas. I like good art, good food, and good people. My goals include becoming a professional illustrator, a comic artist (the kind that draws, not the kind that does standup), and maintaining a stable income to support my current/future dogs and cats. A crane spotted at the Kyoto Gyoen National Garden You’re probably wondering why I’m taking this class. In short, I’m a nerd. Outside of art, I like reading, particularly fantasy, sci-fi, and good-humored romance. I also like reading up on things, including non-fiction books, biographies, autobiographies, and endless Wikipedia articles. And when I’m not reading, I’m usually playing video games. Airplane view while heading back to the U.S. from Japan But I am an artist. I like to try
Read more

Week 7 Story: The Legend of Princess Tamatori

Image
"The Legend of Princess Tamatori," illustrated by Natalie Homsher “You lost the jewel?” The Empress spoke, dangerously low. The head council did his best not to flinch, but failed. His skin crawled in fear. He began to speak. “Your majesty, I-“ “Go.” She didn’t have time for his apologies. They were in the middle of a war, and without the power of the jewel to destroy their enemy, their chances of winning would be slim to none. “And don’t come back without the jewel.” She turned her back on him, and the councilman knew that he was dismissed indefinitely. — Takeuchi looked over the steep cliff side and into the ocean, staring into the emerald depths below. He peered through the waters in search in the gem, to no avail. The Jewel of Heart’s Desire, the one thing that could save the country of turmoil, was lost. Worse, he had disappointed his love, Empress Jingū. He stared at the jagged rocks below in despair. Nearby, the pearl divers had returned from work and swum up to sh
Read more