NEW COURSE Prof. John Van Sickle SPRING 2003

Makings of Pastoral Myth

English 50.91 [code #5006 ], Comparative Literature 18.5 [code #5007], Classics 44 [code #4564]

Tuesday & Thursday: FR hour (1:40-2:55 pm) : Boylan 3117 .

Priority for students who reserve place now: E-mail jvsickle@brooklyn.cuny.edu


Pastoral, a powerful mode of mythic imagination , studied in its roots & transforms, typical plots & themes - 


herdsmen imagined 
as lovers, rulers, poets; 
kings 
imagined 
as herdsmen, poets [David]. 
Origins of myth traced to Mediterranean cultures. 
Patterns identified 
still in use today. 
Return & change of basic mythemes to fit new times & worlds.

pastoral scene .

Scene with goats, lovers, musicians [Greco-Roman]

pastoral scene
Primavera ("Spring") Botticelli [Renaissance Italy]

The course will look at the social & geographical matrix where the pastoral gets its start as a special form of work.
Cattle, sheep, goats & their herdsmen removed far from the city 
up in the hills become 
objects of imagination , distinct from the city, hence available as a points of reference & comparison for the analogies & metaphors 
of mythic thought.

We will study early samples of pastoral & learn characteristic themes, so as to recognize new forms in later cultural products: projects will include internet searches on such themes as "pastoral and/or bucolic" to find out how widely these mythic ideas 
still today get used stretched{?!?} today. 
When you register please E-mail Professor VanSickle. Thus he can notify you of course activities & materials.
Syllabus for the course [click here]
Back to main page
Queen on the Green
Queen on the Green 
[Spenser, Shepheardes Calendar: April] 

Justine Kurland Puppy Love

"Puppy Love" 
[Justine Kurland :modern America, found by internet search 
on themes of "painting" +"pastoral"+"bucolic"]


Prerequisite: Core Studies 1 or permission from the instructor.
Course requirements, in addition to assignments to read & discuss, will include two essays on topics arising from reading , discussion, & internet search.

Students acquire powerful analytical & synthetic tools for the work of cultural criticism, enhanced, too, by careful attention to their writing.