Course overview
In this course we study the myths and rituals dealing with the process of death and the passage to the afterlife. While reviewing Pharaonic Egypt, Homeric and Classical Greece, Rome and the Christian era, we consider the various approaches to burials (mummification to resurrection), speculations about what happens after we die and consider their cultural and symbolic meanings. We also review popular ideas, stories and philosophical theories about the afterlife and the nature of the underworld, asking what sort of punishments and rewards applied and whether these notions evolved across time. Important works of different genres will illustrate how pervasive afterlife narratives are. An important aim of the course is to explore the universal elements of these beliefs, their evolution and their ongoing relevance. You will be encouraged to make connections between the time periods studied, but also with our own ideas and practices today. To reinforce this notion of continuing relevance, the last written assignment (long essay) invites you to analyse how one ancient mythological theme, "the journey to the underworld" (katabasis) has made a remarkable come-back in modern film.
Course learning outcomes
- Demonstrate a broad knowledge of the origins, nature and evolution of ideas about the afterlife in ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome and early Christianity
- Develop a deeper understanding of the importance of specific themes, in particular descents into the underworld as reflected in modern cinematic treatments
- Develop a critical understanding of the key questions, interpretations and scholarship concerning the literary and historical evidence for the evolution of ancient ideas about the afterlife
- Offer a clear, literate and logical exposition of ideas in independently researched written work, based on suitable primary and secondary sources, reflected in appropriate referencing
- Explore, articulate and debate their views in small-group seminars
- Relate the development of ancient ideas about the afterlife to modern social, cultural and ethical perspectives which express universal notions concerning the human condition