Using the Myth-Folklore Un-Textbook
Here's the big picture: I've divided the semester into six two-week modules, and those modules cover these broad areas of mythology and folklore:
Within those modules, you have reading units to choose from. LOTS of reading units to choose from. There are 100 units spread evenly throughout those different modules. All the reading units are about the same length (appx. 15,000 words), and you will choose one reading unit each week, so that means you will be choosing a total of 12 units by the end of the semester; there's also an extra reading option, so you can explore even more reading units if you want.
New Unit Every Week. The first thing you will do each week is to choose a reading unit and, during the first half of the semester, you actually have a double choice because of the way the modules are set up. For example, in Weeks 2 and 3, you have the Classical-Biblical module, which means you might want to read 1 Classical unit and 1 Biblical unit OR you might want to do 2 Classical units (if you know that is a big interest of yours) OR you might want to do 2 Biblical units (again, based on your own interests and curiosity). So, the first choice you need to make is your two-week strategy (Classical OR Biblical OR one of each), and then you need to choose the reading unit for the week.
How to Choose. As you can see, there is a tab at the UnTextbook with a special table-of-contents listing for the different two-week modules:
On each of those table-of-contents pages, you will see different listings of the content to help you choose your reading unit. Here is what you will find:
- links by type: There are links to the Diigo catalog which allows you to sort the units by different types. When you click on one of those links, you will see the Diigo listing of the reading units that belong to that type. You can then click on the title of the unit in Diigo to go to the unit itself and learn more.
- list of units: Below the Diigo links, there is a list of the units by title with a very short blurb for each one; you can click on the title link to go to the unit and learn more.
- Crystal Ball: Finally, there is a Crystal Ball which displays the units at random. If you aren't sure what to choose, you can let the Crystal Ball choose for you! Each time you reload the page, the Crystal Ball will work its random magic.
Test Drive. Here is the most important thing you need to do: take a look at the unit, browse around, and make sure it really does grab you. Read the overview, take a look at the table of contents, and then click on one or two stories and read the first few paragraphs: you can see what you think! It could be that the topic is one that interests you, but the writing style or selection of stories might not be what you are looking for after all. Since you will be working with these reading materials all week long, it really is worth taking a few minutes to make sure of your choice, especially because there are always so many other options you could choose instead.
Most of all: ENJOY! The one hundred reading units you see here represent my own years of enjoying the world of mythology and folklore (and, if I had had time, I would have added a hundred more units...). Given all the pleasure I have had from these books, I really hope you will have an enjoyable experience of your own this semester too... and perhaps you will find books you want to read and share even beyond the end of the class. Remember: all these books are free! Not just for people in this class, but for anyone anywhere. So if you like what you are reading, share the books you are reading with others — the public domain belongs to us all, and these public domain books are just waiting to be read ... and, even better, to be shared!
(class announcements blog)
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