Class Procedures and Reminders
Orientation Week. This week is a "getting started" orientation so that you can see what this class is about and get used to the resources and tools you will be using. You can get started by clicking this link: ORIENTATION WEEK. If you have any questions not answered there, let me know: laura-gibbs@ou.edu.
Myth-Folklore and Indian Epics. I teach two sections of Myth-Folklore and one section of Indian Epics, but the Orientation Week is the same for both classes. There is also just one set of Announcements: the announcements you are reading now are for both Myth-Folklore AND for Indian Epics.
Email and Canvas Messaging. If you want to contact me you can use email or send me a message in Canvas. Either way is fine! Especially if it's in the evening or over the weekend, though, email is the better option: I am more likely to see an email message during the evening or weekend, and if it's something urgent, I will be able to reply more quickly if you have contacted me by email.
The Announcements. There will be new announcements here every day, and you will see these same Announcements in the Canvas homepage for the course. At the top of the Announcements each day you will find information about class assignments, and then you will see there are some items just for fun too. Today I picked items related to sun mythology, including the sun god of ancient India, Surya.
Your Events. If you are participating in and/or organizing an event on campus, let me know! Just send me an email with the details, and ideally with some kind of graphic or poster. I include at least one campus event every day, and it is even better when that event is connected with an actual student in the class!
The following items are for fun and exploration.
Eclipse Mythology. In honor of the solar eclipse today, I thought you might enjoy reading about the sun-eating eclipse demon of Indian mythology: Rahu, The Eclipse Demon.
Storybook Archive. Each day I'll feature a Storybook from the past. This one is from the Indian Epics class, and it is about the sun-god Surya: Here Comes Surya: A View from Above. The sun-god Surya has a television show... along with a tumultuous family life of his own too!
Story of the Day. I'll also feature a story each day, either an Aesop's fable or a story from India. Today's story is an Aesop's fable: The Sun and the Frogs. The Sun is getting married, but the Frogs are not rejoicing: the sun already threatens to dry up their pond; how much worse it will be, they fear, when he has sun-children who add to the heat!
Video: The video for today is an Indian chant; listen and you will hear the name of the sun god, Surya: Sarva Mangalam. Learn more this ancient chant here: Sarva Mangalam, where you will find the lyrics and a more traditional recording by Ravi Shankar. This recording is by Prem Joshua:
Event on Campus: OU Libraries and OU IT are having an Eclipse party with Moon Pies on the South Oval from 1PM - 2PM (details). Find out more about this and other events at the Campus Calendar online.
Check out the Twitter stream for information and fun stuff during the day, or click here for past announcements.