Starting Assumptions
Please write a good solid paragraph where you comment on any
of the following topics, raise any questions that come to mind: what do you
know about this week's topic already? what interests you about this topic? what
more would you like to learn about it? When you are done, post your comments
in the "Starting Assumptions" section of this week's Blackboard
Discussion Board. Please make sure that you do this by
Tuesday midnight; it is up to you whether you want to do this before
or after the Background assignment (either way is fine).
Note: you do not have to answer all these questions; just
pick the ones that are the most relevant to what's on your mind.
Magic
and Monsters:
- have you ever heard or read anything about the magic practices of ancient
Greece and Rome? have you ever read anything about the use of divination and
the different ways that the Greeks and the Romans tried to communicate with
their gods and other supernatural beings?
- why do you think people are so interested in reading about strange childbirths
and bizarre physical deformities? (a typical article from the Weekly
World News: the baby without bones)
- when you were little, did you like to read things like the Guinness
Book of World Records or Ripley's Believe It or Not? why do
you think these kinds of books are so popular? why are we so interested in
the most extreme examples of human existence?
Symbols and Allegories
- are you someone who tends to like symbolic interpretations of stories or
poems? do you like to read stories or poems where there seems to be a secret
meaning, some kind of hidden message?
- are you interested in symbolic systems like astrology? Feng Shui? palm-reading?
dream interpretation? Tarot cards? I Ching? crystals? aroma therapy? talismans
and lucky charms? lucky numbers? reading tea leaves?
- at the bottom of the page you will find some images from
this week's unit; if any of these images make a big impression on you, you
can share your thoughts about the image and what it suggests to you
Modern Languages 4970 / MRS 4903: Medieval Latin. Spring
2003 Online Course at the University of Oklahoma. Visit http://www.ou.edu/online/
for more info.
Laura Gibbs, University of Oklahoma - Information Technology © 2003.
laura-gibbs@ou.edu. Last updated:
December 29, 2002 7:12 PM