Fall 2025
Class Sessions: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, 11:55 AM–1:10 PM
Instructor: Dr. Sohini Pillai (sohini.pillai@kzoo.edu)
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Course Description:
The term “epic,” from the Greek epos and the Latin epicus, is often used to describe very long narrative poems about heroic warriors and colossal battles such as the Iliad, the Aeneid, the Ramayana, and Beowulf. But today we also see the term epic being applied to television shows, video games, and feature films. What makes something an epic? Its length? Its content? Its format? In this class, we will explore ten different epics: Raya and the Last Dragon, Gilgamesh, the Mahabharata, the Odyssey, the Cilappatikaram, the Sirat al-Amira Dhat al-Himma, the Divine Comedy, Paradise Lost, the Odyssey of Star Wars, and Game of Thrones. Throughout this course, we will engage with the following questions: How have epics changed over time? How have epics traveled across regions? What role does religion play in epics? What can epics tell us about gender, ethnicity, and power now and in the past?
THE MAIN GOALS OF THE FIRST YEAR SEMINAR:
1) Writing Competencies
The First-Year Seminar faculty has established the following goals for fostering writing competencies that will help prepare students for writing in discipline-specific courses in the major and, eventually, for writing the SIP. We hope that every first-year student will develop greater competency in these areas:
Achieving clarity through revision
- stating and developing a thesis
- writing coherent sentences and well-developed paragraphs
- using grammar and mechanics appropriate to individual assignments
- being conscious of overall structure and impact
- becoming proficient at editing and proof reading
- writing frequently to gain fluency
- expressing ideas directly and economically
Constructing an argument using evidence
- understanding the difference between opinion, argument, and evidence, and becoming aware of which of the three serves the writing project at hand
- synthesizing others’ ideas with one’s own
- using sources to support ideas and positions
- using quoted materials effectively and correctly
Gaining experience in research strategies
- understanding why doing research is important
- learning how to do research, beginning with the earliest stages
- putting newly gained knowledge and skills into practice
- working as independent scholars and contributing to scholarly discourse throughout college and beyond
Cultivating an authentic and versatile style of written communication
- discovering one’s own way into material
- making deliberate choices about structure, style, and voice, with a distinct awareness of audience, context and impact
- writing in a natural, straightforward style
- demonstrating or developing authenticity and ownership of the work
2) Beyond Google: College Research Workshop
Our Seminar will participate in a workshop intended to help you develop and improve your research skills that enhance your development as an independent scholar. Your work will be part of a focused class project.
3) First-Year Forums
First-Year Forums are intended to help entering K students continue their academic and personal growth. They are interactive, intentionally developmental, focused on learning, and built on aspects of the K-Plan. The Forums fall into five groups:
- Group 1: Social Justice and Civic Engagement
- Group 2: Intercultural Understanding
- Group 3: Personal Decision-Making and Habits
- Group 4: Career and Professional Development
- Group 5: Academic Success and Independent Scholarship
All first-year students are required to attend one Forum in each group. Many attend more. If students do not attend at least one forum in each group, two percentage points for each Forum missed will be deducted from the final Seminar grade.
Course Materials:
- Raya and the Last Dragon
- Watch on Disney+ ($7.99 for a monthly subscription) or rent the movie (rental options: https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/raya-and-the-last-dragon)
- Gilgamesh: A New Translation of the Ancient Epic, trans. Sophus Helle (Yale University Press, 2021): read for free at https://library.kzoo.edu.
- Mahabharata: A Modern Retelling, Carole Satyamurti (W.W. Norton & Company, 2016).
- The Odyssey, trans. Emily Wilson (W.W. Norton & Company, 2018).
- Inferno, trans. Mary Jo Bang (Graywolf Press, 2013).
- Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
- Watch on Disney+ ($7.99 for a monthly subscription) or rent the movie (rental options: https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/star-wars-episode-iv-a-new-hope)
- The Odyssey of Star Wars: An Epic Poem, Jack Mitchell (Abrams Image, 2021).
- Games of Thrones: Episode 1 of Season 1, Episode 4 of Season 3, and Episode 9 of Season 6.
- Watch on Max ($9.99 for a monthly subscription) or rent the individual episodes on YouTube, Amazon Prime, or Apple TV.
Please also purchase two 11 x 8.5” Green Books
*All of the course books and green books can be purchased at the bookstore or online. All of the course books are also available through Course Reserves. This means you can ask for the book at the circulation desk in the library and check the book out for 2 hours at a time. All other readings will be provided by me via Moodle.
Course Requirements:
- Attendance and Participation: I allow three absences per quarter. If you are absent a fourth time, your attendance and participation grade in the course will be lowered by 5% (half a letter grade). Each additional absence will lower your attendance and participation grade by another 2.5%. If you are absent, you are responsible for completing all required coursework and for getting information about any missed class sessions from a classmate. Please come to class on time. Students who are 15 or more minutes late will be considered absent.
It is obvious to me when you have not done the readings, and I will take note of that and lower your participation grade. The notes on the readings that you prepare at home will form the basis of our class discussion. If you come to class without your readings and notes, you will not be able to participate meaningfully in class discussion.
Active participation in class discussion is an integral component of this course. In class, you should be ready to raise questions and tackle critical issues, demonstrating a thoughtful approach to unpacking the material. If you find it difficult to be vocal in class, please come meet with me during office hours. This is something we can work on together.
I encourage you to come meet me during office hours any time if you have difficulties with any aspect of this course.
- Green Book Exercises: At the beginning of most class sessions during the quarter, you will spend about 7 minutes writing about the film/show you viewed or what you read for that class in your green books. These exercises will help you organize your thoughts for class discussion and will help me get a sense of how you are analyzing the film/show. These will be graded informally each week on a Check +/Check/Check– scale. Green book exercises missed due to excused or unexcused absences or tardiness cannot be made up.
- Diagnostic Essay (2–3 pages): During Week 1, we will watch the animated film Raya and the Last Dragon. When you are watching this film at home, take detailed, hand-written notes and pay careful attention to the film’s female characters. What do you find most interesting about these women? Most strange? Most revealing?
Once you have completed watching the film, look over your notes. Pick the female character in Raya and the Last Dragon whose story you found most fascinating. Then pick a scene in which that female character plays a major part. This scene will be the subject of your essay.
Your diagnostic essay should be a short analysis of this scene and the female character. Think about the role the female character plays in the overall narrative of Raya and the Last Dragon and the importance of this scene in the narrative. Don’t worry too much at this point about the form of your essay (i.e. introductory paragraph or thesis).
- Comparison Essay (4–5 pages): For your comparison essay, you will compare the characters of Enkidu from Gilgamesh and Karna from the Mahabharata. You will be turning in a first draft and a rewrite of your comparison essay and you will be peer reviewing the first draft of the comparison essay of one of your classmates. More information about this will be distributed in class.
- Beyond Google Project: The Beyond Google project will involve research for your research essay. As part of your Beyond Google project, you will develop a research question, participate in a library workshop, and put together an annotated bibliography for your research essay. More information about the Beyond Google project will be distributed in class.
- Final Essay (6–7 pages): Your final essay will be about an epic that we have not examined in this course. More information about the final essay will be distributed in class.
- Final Presentation: In the final two weeks of the term, you will give a short formal presentation about the epic that is the subject of your final essay in front of the rest of the class. More information about this final presentation will be distributed in class.
- Extra Credit: If you visit the Writing Center (https://writingcenter.kzoo.edu) and meet with a consultant any time during the term, you can receive a Check + on a missed Green Book exercise or an extra Green Book Check +. Make sure to bring a copy of your prompt and any source material you are working with to your appointment, along with any writing you have done. Visit the website to learn about walk-in hours and/or to schedule an appointment.
Grade Breakdown:
- Attendance & Participation (15%)
- Green Book Exercises (15%)
- Diagnostic Essay (5%)
- Comparison Essay First Draft (5%)
- Comparison Essay Peer Review (5%)
- Comparison Essay Rewrite (10%)
- Beyond Google Project (15%)
- Final Essay (20%)
- Final Presentation (10%)
Final Grades:
A = 94–100 | A– = 90–93 | B+ = 87–89 | B = 83–86 | B– = 80–82 | C+ = 77–79 | C = 73–76 | C– = 70–72 | D+ = 67–69 | D = 63–66 | D– = 60–62 | F = 59 and below
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SCHEDULE & DUE DATES:
Orientation Week
THURSDAY, 9/11 (9:00–10:00 AM)
- Course Introduction
Week 1: What is an Epic? + Raya and the Last Dragon
MONDAY, 9/15
- Read: “Epic” (Gregory, Newman, and Myers), pages 439–443.
- Watch: Raya and the Last Dragon up until 00:40:00.
WEDNESDAY, 9/17
- Read: “Genres in Motion” (Owen), pages 1389–1393.
- Watch: Raya and the Last Dragon up until 01:11:22.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 9/19
- Read: “’Raya And The Last Dragon’ Criticized For Lack Of Southeast Asian Actors” (Martin and Bui).
- Read: “With Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon, I feel seen” (Calma).
- Watch: Rest of Raya and the Last Dragon.
Week 2: Gilgamesh
SUNDAY, 9/21: Diagnostic Essay due by 11:59 PM (Moodle)
MONDAY, 9/22
- Watch: TED-ed episode, “The epic of Gilgamesh, the king who tried to conquer death.”
- Read: Gilgamesh, Tablet 1, pages 3–14.
WEDNESDAY, 9/24
- Read: Gilgamesh, Tablets 2 and 4, pages 15–26 and 35–42.
FRIDAY, 9/26
- Read: Gilgamesh, Tablets 7 and 8, pages 61–79.
Week 3: The Mahabharata
MONDAY, 9/29
- Read: Karna (Amar Chitra Katha comic book).
- Read: Mahabharata, Chapter 5, pages 60–69.
WEDNESDAY, 10/1
- Read: Mahabharata, Chapters 6 and 30, pages 70–80 and 375–383.
FRIDAY, 10/3
- Read: Mahabharata, Chapter 43, pages 575–588.
Week 4: The Odyssey
MONDAY, 10/6
- Watch: Wishbone, episode 5, “Homer, Sweet Homer.”
- Read: Odyssey, Book 5, pages 180–196.
WEDNESDAY, 10/8: First Draft of Comparison Essay due by 11:55 AM (Moodle)
- Read: Odyssey, Book 21, pages 460–475.
FRIDAY, 10/10
- Read: Odyssey, Book 22, pages 476–493.
- Peer Review of Comparison Essay in class
Week 5: The Cilappatikaram
MONDAY, 10/13
- Read: Kannagi (Amar Chitra Katha comic book).
- Read: Cilappatikaram, Cantos 1–2, pages 25–33.
WEDNESDAY, 10/15: Rewrite of Comparison Essay due by 11:55 AM (Moodle)
- Read: Cilappatikaram, Cantos 20–23, pages 186–207.
FRIDAY, 10/17: NO CLASS (Fall Break)
Week 6: The Sirat al-Amira Dhat al-Himma
MONDAY, 10/20
- Read: “Dhat al-Himma: Woman of High Resolve” (Porath), pages 210–213.
- Read: Sirat al-Amira Dhat al-Himma, “Fatima Uprooted,” pages 25–40.
WEDNESDAY, 10/22: NO CLASS (Dr. Pillai at a conference)
THURSDAY, 10/23: Beyond Google Library Assignment due by 11:59 PM (link on Moodle)
FRIDAY, 10/24: ONLINE CLASS (Dr. Pillai at a conference)
- Read: Sirat al-Amira Dhat al-Himma, “Trials of Motherhood,” pages 75–102.
Week 7: The Divine Comedy (Inferno)
MONDAY, 10/27
- Beyond Google Workshop in class
WEDNESDAY, 10/29
- Watch: TED-ed episode, “Why should you read Dante’s Divine Comedy?”
- Read: Inferno, Cantos 1–2, 4–5, and 8–9, pages 15–31, 41–50, 53–60, and 79–93 .
FRIDAY, 10/31
- Read: Inferno, Cantos 26, 28, and 34, pages 247–254, 267–275, and 324–333.
Week 8: Paradise Lost
MONDAY, 11/3
- Listen: Writ Large Podcast, Episode 70.
- Read: Paradise Lost, Book 1.
WEDNESDAY, 11/5
- Read: Genesis Chapter 3 (King James Bible).
- Read: Paradise Lost, Book 9.
THURSDAY, 11/6: Beyond Google Annotated Bibliography due by 11:59 PM (Moodle)
FRIDAY, 11/7
- Read: Paradise Lost, Book 12
Week 9: The Odyssey of Star Wars
MONDAY, 11/10
- Watch: Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (watch the whole film)
- Read: The Odyssey of Star Wars, Book 1, pages 1–28.
WEDNESDAY, 11/12
- Read: The Odyssey of Star Wars, Book 2, pages 29–46.
FRIDAY, 11/14
- Read: The Odyssey of Star Wars, Book 3, pages 47–68.
- Final presentations in class
Week 10: Game of Thrones
MONDAY, 11/17
- Watch: Game of Thrones, Episode 1 of Season 1, “Winter is Coming.”
- Final presentations in class
WEDNESDAY, 11/19
- Watch: Game of Thrones, Episode 4 of Season 3, “And Now His Watch is Ended.”
- Final presentations in class
FRIDAY, 11/21: Final Essay due by 11:59 PM (Moodle)
- Watch: Game of Thrones, Episode 9 of Season 6, “Battle of the Bastards.”
- Final presentations in class
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