HUAS80110 - Delivered from Destruction: The Bible’s Exodus and Virgil’s Aeneid

Course Description

Origin or foundation epics are common to many cultures. In this course we will examine two such epics side-by-side: the Exodus epic (Exodus–Joshua) from the Bible, in which the Israelites are transformed from slaves in Egypt into masters in Canaan, and Virgil’s Aeneid, in which the vanquished at Troy are transformed into the victors at (what will become) Rome. Through a careful consideration of both stories we will seek to better understand each epic in its own right as well as what the two stories have in common and what makes each story unique. Students may wish to review Adler and Van Doren’s How to Read a Book prior to, or concurrent with, this course. There is no official homework for Week 1 but a review of a review of the Book of Genesis and of Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey will be helpful.

Course Outline

Course Syllabus

Notes

Online registration closes Friday, March 15 at 5 pm CT.

You will receive an invitation to join the Canvas site for the course a week before the class begins. The Zoom link for the course will be in Canvas. For more information about Canvas, please see our Remote Learning Resources page.