Dear
Mythographers and other Friends,
You might like to
know about my F2016 courses:
“Reception
of Classical Myth in the Arts in the Modern Era” Clscs 490R/Clscs 690R.
MW 1:00 – 2:15 p.m. and "Studies in Themes and Types: The Eurydice Theme" CmpSt 640R M 8:00 — 10:45.
The courses are intended to explore theoretical and practical issues
pertaining to the reception and adaptation of classical myth in the arts —
literature, cinema, opera, painting, sculpture, landscape,
orchestral, graphic
novel, television, video game, whatever. In particular, we will look closely at
reception of two mythological figures especially: Electra and Pygmalion in the one, Eurydice in the other.
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| ad for 2012 Perth Opera's Elektra (Strauss) |
In our exploration, we will deliberate on what constitutes
usage of a classical myth, a sometimes challenging enterprise.
We will read classical mythological
treatments, such as are found in Sophocles, Euripides, and Ovid, and then
proceed to standard treatments of Electra and Pygmalion in representations such
as Strauss’ Elektra, O’Neill’s Mourning Becomes Electra, Bernard Shaw’s
Pygmalion, Lerner & Loewe’s My Fair Lady, Hitchcock’s Vertigo, and so forth. Student
contributions in this seminar will drive collective success; thus, I am loathe
to dictate up front what the
parameters of our study will be. Once we establish the
groundrules for the course, the direction will be subject to interesting twists
and turns. Hundreds of usages of these myths are available for consideration.
 |
| Jean-Leon Gérôme's Pygmalion |
Please contact me with any questions you
might have.
Imaged here: Strauss’ Elektra, Gerôme’s Pygmalion
and Galatea,
Miller’s (actually Bendis/Austen's) Elektra: Assassin, Lerner/Loewe’s My Fair Lady
Miller’s (actually Bendis/Austen's) Elektra: Assassin, Lerner/Loewe’s My Fair Lady
Both these courses will allow me to explore matters pertaining to reception of classical myth with the students.
The CmpSt 640R should have a broader base of theoretical readings, because the course should be pertinent to individuals from every walk of our program’s life. There ought to be more interdisciplinarity in that course.
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| Frank Miller developed Elektra, but others have adapted the character. |
Further, Clscs 690R will be taught in a room that is largely populated by undergraduates (I hope!) who are enrolled in the 4xx-level course.
In both I will be expanding my core articles for the eventual OGCMA-online project. The 690R course will involve the creation of two articles, while the CmpSt 640R will be more focused and result in the creation of only one article. See below.
Differences will be readily apparent in the topics approached. Beyond the theoretical groundwork, the Clscs course will explore the reception of both the Electra myth and the Pygmalion myth, while the CmpSt course will dig as deeply as we can into the Eurydice myth.
In the Eurydice course (CmpSt 690R) I hope to sideline Orpheus as much as possible and look for interesting psychological developments of Eurydice in myth and the arts. She deserves her own scholarship, and artists have been exploring Eurydice for a long long time. Geoffrey Miles stated (erroneously, I believe) that Edward Dowden’s 1876 “Eurydice” is “perhaps the first serious attempt to give Eurydice a voice and to see the Orpheus-Eurydice relationship from her point of view.” (Miles, 126) Dowden post-dates the Orfeo by Gluck (libretto by Calzabigi, 1762), whose Euridice expresses her plaintive rather pathetically and takes matters into her own hands, by over a century. (Gluck Orfeo premiered 1762.) But Gluck/Calzabigi may not be the first in this regard.
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| Poster for My Fair Lady. |
Let me know if I can clarify anything.
