Formatting
The essay must be 5 (full)-8 pages, typed, double-spaced in Times New Roman 12 pt font with 1 inch margins. Instead of a cover page, include your name, the course #, the date, and an original title on the first page, immediately followed by the essay. A mandatory works cited page in MLA format will not count toward the page limit. Submissions due in Word or Rich Text, or PDF format via Blackboard.
Assignment
This assignment requires that you analyze the evolution of a major myth or mythological figure from its Classical (Greek and Roman) beginnings to their re-envisioning in modern Young Adult Literature. The goal is not merely to understand what details were changed and when, but to analyze why those changes might have been implemented, how they reflect historical or cultural shifts, the needs of a new or emerging audience, or theoretical understandings of the role of myth in culture.
The purpose of this project is two-fold: to make an analytical argument about the evolution of a myth or figure across texts, time periods and cultures, and to situate this argument within the context of critical discourse on mythology and/or these specific myths. To fulfill the first requirement, you should work with at least 2 primary texts: one Classical (i.e. Greek or Roman) and one novel written and published for a Young Adult audience since 1900. The genre of these works is open, but must be available in a text form (i.e. not video or primarily graphic). In addition, the novel cannot be a “novelization” of a pre-existing movie. The written form should be the original. Since our textbook provides limited selections from many of the primary texts from Greece and Rome, you may need to use alternate, more complete versions of the texts. (These are widely available at libraries and on-line via Project Gutenberg and other sites.) The goal is to make an argument of your own about why, or how successfully adaptations of the Classical myths were effected; you should not simply summarize the sources. To fulfill the second requirement, you must use our print and electronic library resources to research scholarly discussion of your chosen myth or figure, to support statements about the emergence of and definition of the Young Adult audience, or to establish and support a critical lens through which to examine the adaptations. You will need to incorporate 2-3 scholarly sources into your argument (not including your primary sources). You may respond to these sources, argue with them, cite them as displaying partial agreement with your argument, expand significantly on their argument, or use them to establish the historical or theoretical context for your argument. You should not merely parrot their argument. These sources must be scholarly, but do not need to be limited to literary criticism. Try searching material from other disciplines for other perspectives. You may also use interviews to establish authorial perspective, but these do not count as scholarly sources.