Asian Languages & Civilization 273 - Epic and History

(Offered as HIST 273 and ASLC 273 [SA]) Are epic and history related? Can literature be a source for history? What happens to stories when they travel through space and time? Do myths migrate with people? We address these questions through the Ramayana, one of the most famous stories in the world. It is a fascinating tale of love, violence, exile, loss, and redemption known and loved by people in South and Southeast Asia and across the world. The course begins with the oldest Ramayana story written two thousand years ago by Valmiki in Sanskrit. It then explores Ramayanas across time in different forms and languages including Old Javanese, Hindi, and Tamil and as comic books, plays, films, and TV shows. We ultimately learn how stories animated the distant past and continue to enchant the present. Meets twice weekly.

Fall semester. Professor Gomes.

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Students who enroll in this course will likely encounter and be expected to engage in the following intellectual skills, modes of learning, and assessment: Close analysis of historical evidence, including written documents, images, films, images, and performances from the historical period under study. Exploration of scholarly, methodological, and theoretical debates about questions of translation, circulation, and reception of cultures and languages. Extensive reading, varying forms of written work, and intensive in-class discussions.