Class Procedures and Reminders
Class Directory. Now that the blogs are up and running, I've updated the Class Directory. Please check to see if I've listed you properly and linked to the right blog. And remember: it's fine if you want to just use your initials or to use a pseudonym in this class (pseudonyms can be fun!). If you want me to adjust your Directory listing, let me know.
Please ask questions! You should feel free to contact me with questions at any time (email is fine, Canvas messaging, whichever you prefer). If I happen to be online, I will write you back right away. If not, I will get back to you when I am next online, usually the next morning. Asking questions is how you learn... and it helps me know what things I need to explain more clearly about the class. So, if you have a question, just ask!
Week 2 Commenting. For the Week 2 blog comments, you will be leaving comments on each other's Introduction posts, and some people are already working ahead and have started the Week 2 commenting. Meanwhile, I am continuing to read and reply to the Favorite Places posts (I hope to finish those this week), and then I will start commenting on Introduction posts too.
The following items are for fun and exploration:
Blog stream. Cheyenne shared a beautiful photo that she took on campus in her blog post: All About Me. Zarrow Hall is the home of the School of Social Work!
Some of you may know Jeff Provine at OU (he is the leader of the Campus Ghost Tours!)... and I am a fan of his "very short stories" at Twitter, like this one:
I'm always finding beautiful art from India at Twitter, and here's a lovely depiction of Hanuman, the divine monkey, accompanying the sun-god Surya, who was Hanuman's guru. Those of you in Indian Epics will be meeting up with Hanuman in the Ramayana soon!
And here's an ancient Roman mosaic showing the wolf who raised Romulus and Remus: not highly sophisticated art, but very fun; she's smiling!
Plus some thoughts on books and Umberto Eco's idea of the antilibrary. Short version: you can't have too many books! Umberto Eco’s Antilibrary.
January 28: William Butler Yeats. Today, January 28, marks the anniversary of the death of the great Irish poet, William Butler Yeats, who died on this day in the year 1939. You can read more about Yeats' life and career in this Wikipedia article. The image below shows Yeats' gravestone in a cemetery in Drumcliff, County Sligo, Ireland; the simple inscription — "Cast a cold Eye / On Life, on Death. / Horsemen pass by!" — was what Yeats himself asked to have carved on the stone.
Here is a reading of one of his most famous poems: The Second Coming.
And this program explores Yeats and Celtic mysticism (very relevant for the Myth-Folklore class).
