Assignment for Wednesday, 11.20.19

Dear Mythologists,

For Wednesday, November 20, please do the following:

(1) Watch — via streaming service, reserved DVD, or your own copy — The Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), the second film in our superhero team-up series. As you watch, take notes on anything that strikes you as resonating with Greco-Roman myth, especially on the What? Why? and How? spectrum of ideas. Your notes will form the basis for our discussion of the film in class.

(2) Print out and read "Myth," chapter 2 of Blair Davis' Comic Book Movies (2018), which is part of the Rutgers Quick Takes series on films and popular culture. Take notes on interesting comments and insights, and be sure to bring your print-out to class.

(3) The following students must use the blog comments feature to recommend 3–5 minute sequences from Age of Ultron for close review in class: Hoffman, Kelly, Lin, Lising. In your comments, please

• briefly describe the sequence;
• give approximate starting and ending times (hh:mm); and
• explain why reviewing this sequence is worth our time as it pertains to a mythical considerations of the MCU.

First come, first served. If someone has already suggested your sequence, choose another. If you're not signed in under your Google ID, or don't have one, be sure to identify yourself in the comments.

DC

Class on Friday, 11.15.19

Dear Mythologists,

On Friday you'll gather to discuss academic integrity with your Peer Mentor. As before, attendance is mandatory, and the lack of a formal assignment ought to give you time to perfect Annotated Bibliography 2, which is due on Saturday.

See you next Wednesday,

DC

Class on Wednesday, 11.13.19

Dear Mythologists,

On Wednesday, November 13, you'll be in the capable hands of our Peer Mentor, and you'll have a presentation from Skidmore's Career Development Center, or CDC for short, that will introduce you to the services that office provides. Unfortunately, students access these services far too late in their Skidmore careers. I want you to be ahead of the curve. 

While there's no formal assignment, you should be well on your way to completing Annotated Bibliography 2, whether by making edits to the first biblio, adding new sources, or both.

I know you know this, but attendance at tomorrow's class is mandatory. Further instructions from our Peer Mentor have been sent to you, so please follow them to the letter.

DC

Assignment for Friday, 11.08.19

Dear Mythologists,

As we continue our discussion of The Avengers (2012), please read the following in our Assembling the Marvel Cinematic Universe textbook:

• Sweet, Derek R. "America Assemble: The Avengers as Therapeutic Public Memory" (pp. 64–75); and
• Mullen, Antony. "Bodies That Shatter: Violence and Spectacle in The Avengers" (pp. 141–48).

As before please take notes on anything interesting or helpful to your understanding of the MCU in mythical terms.

DC

Assignment for Wednesday, 11.06.19

Dear Mythologists,

For Wednesday, November 6, please do the following:

(1) Watch — via streaming service, reserved DVD, or your own copy — The Avengers (2012), the first film in our superhero team-up series (though hardly the first MCU film). As you watch, take notes on anything that strikes you as resonating with Greco-Roman myth, especially on the What? Why? and How? spectrum of ideas. Your notes will form the basis for our discussion of the film in class.

(2) Read Liam Burke's "'A Bigger Universe': Marvel Studios and Transmedia Storytelling," AKA chapter 2 of our Assembling the Marvel Cinematic Universe textbook (pp. 32–51). Take notes on interesting comments and insights, and be sure to bring the book to class.

(3) The following students must use the blog comments feature to recommend 3–5 minute sequences from The Avengers for close review in class: Cohen, Darby, Fitzhugh, Forte, Franzel. In your comments, please

• briefly describe the sequence;
• give approximate starting and ending times (hh:mm); and
• explain why reviewing this sequence is worth our time as it pertains to a mythical considerations of the MCU.

First come, first served. If someone has already suggested your sequence, choose another. If you're not signed in under your Google ID, or don't have one, be sure to identify yourself in the comments.

DC

Assignment for Friday, 11.01.19

Dear Mythologists,

On Friday, November 1, we'll continue our transition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe by considering, among other things, the origins of so-called comic book movies.

Please do the following:

(1) Read "Genre," chapter 1 of Blair Davis' Comic Book Movies (2018), which is part of the Rutgers Quick Takes series on films and popular culture. It's a breezy introduction to the vast terrain in which comic book movies exist.

Please print out the chapter and bring it to class (no laptops). As you peruse it, note which aspects of Davis' discussion do, and do not, apply to the MCU.

DC

Class on Wednesday, 10.30.19

Dear Mythologists,

On Wednesday, October 30, we'll embark upon the second unit of our seminar, namely: viewing the Marvel Cinematic Universe from the perspective of Greco-Roman myth. We'll discuss the specific goals of upcoming courses, as well as some new formats necessary to see them through.

As such, there's no assignment for this class, but you should devote the time to continuing to work on the next milestone of our project, Annotated Bibliography I.

DC