Course unit title Level of course unit Course unit code Type of course unit Semester of course unit Local credit ECTS credit Syllabus
LITERATURE, MYTH AND FOLKLORE Third cycle ELIT611 1 7.00 7.00 Print
   
Description of course unit
Prerequisites and course requisities Previous knowledge of mythology and English literature
Language of instruction English
Coordinator Assoc. Prof. Dr. Cristina Nicolaescu
Lecturer(s) Assoc. Prof. Dr. Cristina Nicolaescu
Teaching assitant(s) no
Mode of delivery group discussions; face to face
Course objective The main objective of this course is for students to become familiar with the essentials of English mytholgy and English folklore and to get them aware of how those relate to literature.
Course description This course is a study of major myths and folklore of British cultures. It is designed to give students an exposure to different myths and folklore and their contributions to the literary heritage of a cultural area and literature.

Course contents
1 Presentation of the syllabus; Introduction to the course
2 Folklore and Mythology – an overview (theoretical background)
3 The nature of folklore (social, historical); folklore and literature; folklore and ethnography (terminology will be provided and discussed)
4 Folklore, mythology and reality (versus monsters, beasts etc.)
5 The principles of classifying folklore (genre, sub-genres): folktales, legends, myths
6 Revision for midterm assessment (major points)
7 PowerPoint presentation of the draft projects
8 Roundtable talk on the presented draft projects, feedback
9 Reworkings on the draft projects based on the suggestions and feedback received
10 Reflections on Beowulf (excerpts will be provided for analysis)
11 Reflections on legends The Arthurian cycle (excerpts will be provided for analysis)
12 Myths, archetypes and motifs in English literature (excerpts will be provided for analysis)
13 Proverbs - (excerpts will be provided for analysis)
14 Final considerations on the analyzed pieces of literature; Revision for final exaination
15 Final assessment
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Learning outcomes of the course unit
1 To describe and discuss the cultures that produced the myths - To improve analytical, conceptual, connective writing skills. - To discover what these stories have to do with our lives today - To read and interpret myths and some of the ways they function in societies and cultures
2 To read and interpret mythic metaphors symbols, and analogies
3 To compare and contrast significant characters, events, symbols, and actions (called motifs) in one story with similar events in another story
4 The course will sharpen students'' analytic skills in oral and written presentations
5 To read and interpret myths that left significant marks in the respective cultures they belong
6 To formulate logical conclusions about culture from the selected literary pieces read.
7 To appreciate similarities, differences in the beliefs, ideas, attitudes and values of people from the oral and written literary pieces taken
8 To express relevant and sound opinions about literary pieces in relation to myths, archetypes, motifs, fantastic elements etc.
9 To be able to write a research paper at the end of the course
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*Contribution level of the course unit to the key learning outcomes
1 To evaluate and compose all kind of data (poisonings, pollution, drug use etc.) in the area of pharmacology and toxicology
2 To have a deep knowledge about pharmacology and toxicology and related disciplines. To be able to solve problems in the area of pharmacology and toxicology.
3 To conceptualize cases in the area of pharmacology and toxicology, analyze scientific methods, interpret results, construct analyse or methods for problems, and present solutions based on the provided data.
4 To supervise activities of commissions which are interested in defining and solving of problems about drug use for public and animal health, residues in food stuffs, and environmental toxicology using acquired knowledge in the area of pharmacology and toxicology.
5 To be able to follow, use and change updated knowledge (scientific knowledge, regulations etc.) in the area of pharmacology and toxicology.
6 To read and understand the literature in foreign language (English)
7 To communicate with domestic and foreign scientists
8 To be able to write papers related to pharmacology and toxicology and gain skill to publish in national and international journals
9 To make presentation the subjects in pharmacology and toxicology
10 To know the analytical methods used in pharmacology and toxicology
11 To be aware that knowledge provided from investigations is the most important acquisition and to intend lifelong learning.
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Number of stars refer to level of contribution from 1 (the least) to 5 (the most)

Planned learning activities, teaching methods and ECTS work load
  Quantity Time (hour) Quantity*Time (hour)
Lectures (face to face teaching) 14 3 42
Study hours out of classroom (study before and after the class) 13 2 26
Homework 4 2 8
Presentation / seminar 2 1 2
Quiz 1 1 1
Preparation for midterm exams 3 1 3
Midterm exams 1 2 2
Project (term paper) 1 1 1
Laboratuar 0 0 0
Field study 0 0 0
Preparation for final exam 8 1 8
Final exam 1 1 1
Research 14 4 56
Total work load     150
ECTS     6.00

Assessment methods and criteria
Evaluation during semester Quantity Percentage
Midterm exam 1 25
Quiz 0 0
Homework 1 15
Semester total   40
Contribution ratio of evaluation during semester to success   40
Contribution ratio of final exam to success   60
General total   100

Recommended and required reading
Textbook Archetypes and Motifs in Folklore and Literature. A handbook.Editors Jane Garry and Hasan El-Shamy.M.E.Sharpe, Armonk, New York and London. 2005; M.I. Ebbutt. M.A. Hero-Myths and Legends of the British Race.George G. Harrap and Comp. Ltd. London, Calcutta, Sidney, 1990
Additional references Out of the Ordinary.Folklore and the Supernatural. Editor Barbara Walker. Utah State, University Press, Logan, Utah, 1995. Wolfgang Mieder. Proverbs.A handbook.Greenwood Press.Westport, |USA, 2004. Boria Sax. The Mythical Zoo.An Encyclopedia of Animals in World Myth, Legend and Literature. ABC-Clio, Inc. USA, 2001. J. A. Coleman. The Dictionary of Mythology.An A-Z of Themes, Legends and Heroes. Arcturus Publishing Limited, UK, London, 2007. Jason Marc Harris. Folklore and the Fantastic in Nineteenth-Century British Fiction.Ashgate, USA, 2008. Linda S. Watts. Encyclopedia of American Folklore.Facts on File, Infobase Publishing, USA, 2007. Martha C. Sims, Martine Stephens. Living Folklore. An Introduction to the Study of People and Their Traditions. Utah State University Press, Logan, Utah, 2005. Patricia Monaghan. The Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore.Facts on File, Infobase Publishing, USA, 2004. S.K. Robisch. Wolves and the Wolf Myth in American Literature. University of Nevada Press, USA. 2009. Theodore Ziolkowski. Minos and the Moderns.Cretan Myth in Twentieth-Century Literature and Art.Oxford University Press, 2008. Vladimir Propp. Theory and History of Literature, volume 5. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, 1997. Welsh Mythology and Folklore in Popular Culture.Essays on Adaptations in Literature, Film, Television and Digital Media. Editors Audrey L. Becker and Kristin Noone.McFarland and Comp. Inc. Publishers, North Carolina and London, 2011. Charles Harold Herford. Norse Myth in English Poetry.Kessinger Publishing, LLC 2009. Charles Squire. The Mythology and Ancient Britain and Ireland.London, Constable and |Comp. Ltd. 1909. Diane E. Golastein, Sylvia Ann Grider, Jeannie Banks Thomas. Haunting Experiences.Ghosts in Contemporary Folklore.Utah State University Press, Logan, Utah, 2007. Jean Shinoda Bolen, M.D. Goddesses in Everywoman.Powerful Archetypes in Women’s Lives. Harper-Collins Publishers Ltd., Canada, 2008. Isobel. E. Williams. Scottish Folklore. W R Chambers Ltd., Edinburgh, 1991. Jacqueline |Simpson, Steve Roud. A Dictionary of English Folklore. Oxford University Press, 2000. Beowulf and Other Stories.A New Introduction to Old English, Old Icelandic and Anglo-Norman Literatures. Editors Richard North and Joe Allard. Routledge, London and New York.2012. John Storey. Inventing Popular Culture.From Folklore to Globalization.Blackwell Publishing, 2003. Marion Gibson. Witchcraft Myths in American Culture.Routledge, London and New York.2007. Folklore. An Encyclopedia of Beliefs, Customs, Tales, Music and Art.Editor Thomas A. Green.ABC-Clio, Inc. USA, 1997. American Mythologies.Essays on Contemporary Literature. Editors William Blazek and Michael K. Glenday, Liverpool University Press, 2005.

Files related to the course unit