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Page history last edited by Laura Gibbs 7 years, 2 months ago

 

Indian Epics Course Reading Options

 

For this assignment, I'd like you to introduce you to the idea of "reading as a writer." Then, I'd like to introduce you to the two epics you will be reading this semester: the Ramayana and the Mahabharata along with other Indian storytelling traditions that you might want to explore. After you've had a chance to browse around in the course materials, you'll write up a blog post about what most interests you. So, the assignment has four parts, and it will take 30 minutes to an hour to complete, depending on how much time you want to spend browsing and exploring:

Part 1. Learn about reading-to-write.

Part 2. Explore the epics and other Indian storytelling traditions.

Part 3. Choose your Ramayana version for Week 2.

Part 4. Write up a blog post with your thoughts.

 

PART ONE. Reading-to-write.

 

In a lot of the classes you take in college, you are reading in order to learn the content and to then take a test about it later on. That is not how this class works. Instead, in this class you will be doing reading in order to find raw materials to use in the stories that you tell, and you will also be learning about different ways to tell stories. So, as you read, the idea is to look for stories you want to tell and also to look for writing you want to imitate. I really hope that as the semester goes on, you will find yourself looking at stories in new ways, appreciating the twists and turns of every plot (and thinking about the way you want your plots to twist and turn), paying attention to the way that characters are brought into the story (so that you can find good ways to weave characters into your stories), and also zooming in on the details of the writing itself: the sentences, the dialogue, the vocabulary, all those little details that will help you to write your own stories.

 

Each week when you do the reading for class, you will be taking notes in your blog, and what I want to emphasize now is that these are notes you will use when you are writing. There are no quizzes or tests, so don't take notes the way you would for a quiz or for a test. Instead, you need to learn to read like a writer, looking and listening for the "stuff" you can use when you are writing stories. You'll learn more about that when you do the first Reading Notes assignment this week, but I wanted to emphasize right from the start that you should think about those notes as something like a "writer's notebook," not like a study guide for some future exam. Take a look at the Reading Notes posts this student's blog last semester, and you'll get an idea of how that can work; each person will do the posts in their own way, but looking at this one example will hopefully get you to start thinking about how you can start creating your own writer's notebook.

 

PART TWO. Overview of the epics and other reading.

 

Please read through this information about the two epics that are the focus of this class, along with the information about the many different reading options and course resources. It would be great if you could spend 30 minutes or so just exploring the possibilities, jotting down notes about what grabs your attention, along with any questions you have. Bookmark the items that you find as you go along!

 

PART THREE. Your Ramayana choice.

 

During Week 2 and Week 3, you will be reading your first version of the Ramayana, and there are two very different versions to choose from. Take a look at this information about your two options: Narayan's Ramayana or Public Domain Ramayana. I hope that page will give you the information you need to make your choice, but if you have any questions you want to ask me about that, just let me know.

 

PART FOUR: Write the blog post.

 

To finish up this assignment, I'd like you to write a blog post about your reading interests for the class:

* Ramayana choice. First, let me know which Ramayana version you are planning to read in Week 2, and what factor(s) most influenced your decision.

* Other interests. Next, let me know what topics in this class are most intriguing to you at this point, any images that get your attention, etc. based on the browsing and exploring you did for this assignment. The more I can learn about your interests, the more I can try to help you find good reading materials for later in the semester.

 

Here are some questions that might help you as you write the post:

 

  • Have you taken a class about epic literature before (in college, high school)...? Do you like epic movies and/or television shows like Game of Thrones, etc.?
  • Have you taken any classes about mythology before? What stories first come to mind when you think about the words "mythology" and "epic"?
  • Have you taken any classes about religion before? Have you ever studied Hinduism or Buddhism in particular? What about Islam? Have you ever meditated? Have you ever read the sacred text(s) of any religion?
  • Have you studied Indian history or culture in school? Are there any people or episodes from India's history, ancient or modern, that you are familiar with?
  • Do you listen to Indian music? Do you watch Indian films? Are you into Indian dance?
  • Have you ever been to India? Do you see any connections between this class and places you visited either in India or anywhere in South Asia?
  • Do you have any Indian or south Asian heritage in your family? Have you heard some of these stories before as part of your upbringing? Do you speak any Indian language?
  • As you browse through the images at the Indian Epics Images site, are there characters you recognize in the images? Please pick out at least one image to include in your post and explain why you chose that image.

 

Those are just some suggestions; feel free to write about anything that piques your curiosity as this class begins!

 

Here are some more guidelines for the post:

 

  • TITLE: include the phrase "Reading Options" in the title of your post
  • LABELS: use "Week 1" to label your post
  • IMAGE: choose an image to illustrate your post, along with image information

 

After you have published your post, you are ready to do the Declaration, and then to move on to the next assignment: planning your study time for this class.

 

PLEASE READ CAREFULLY:

I have published a blog post about my reading choice for Week 2 and my other interests.

TITLE: The phrase "Reading Options" appears in the blog post title.
LABEL: I used "Week 1" as the blog post label.

IMAGE: I have included at least one image with Image Information.

 

 

 

 

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