Kinds of passages. Part of your participation in discussion will be to suggest passages to discuss. For each of the first three classes on the Odyssey, I will emphasize this by asking you to submit one of the passages you have identified. Your three passages should be of the following three sorts.
• Important. This is a passage that seems to be especially significant for the reading and to be something we might talk about for that reason.
• Puzzling. I use “puzzling” as a simple label for a passage that raises a question either about itself or about the work as a whole. The point of discussing the passage is to consider possible answers to this question.
• Interesting. This is a passage that you find personally interesting. The point of discussing it is for you to call people’s attention to something they might not have noticed and for you to find out how others react to it.
These categories will often overlap—a passage might well seem important, be puzzling, and interest you for that reason—so don’t worry too much about whether you’ve chosen the right category for it. Just assign it to a category that seems to you appropriate. In discussion, you’ll indicate the category by what you say about the passage—that is, (i) by saying what seems important about it, (ii) by asking a question about it, or (iii) by saying why it interests you.
Your assignment. The table below indicates which sort of passage you should submit for each of the three classes (to prepare for discussion, you should always identify several passages of each sort). Send the passage by e-mail before class or turn in on paper at the beginning of class. (I will not grade your choice of passages but your completion of this exercise contributes towards your participation grade.)
| (i) important | (ii) puzzling | (iii) interesting | |
| Wed 9/3 | Bustamante, Dent, Forrester, Hayes, Kawak | Lempa, Manker, Moore, Poole | Scheitlin, Steagall, Vas, Young |
| Fri 9/5 | Scheitlin, Steagall, Vas, Young | Bustamante, Dent, Forrester, Hayes, Kawak | Lempa, Manker, Moore, Poole |
| Mon 9/8 | Lempa, Manker, Moore, Poole | Scheitlin, Steagall, Vas, Young | Bustamante, Dent, Forrester, Hayes, Kawak |
Referring to passages. When you indicate passages—either for the purposes of this exercise or as a suggestion for class discussion, identify them using book numbers and the line numbers. (You’ll find every 10th line numbered in the right hand margin of the Fagles translation.)