FRS 002 — Sec. 005 — (2 units) — CRN 73049 — W 2:10-4:00pm — 211 Wellman
The Hero and the Heroic From the Middle Ages to the Present

Instructor: Winder McConnell, Department of German and Russian, College of Letters and Science

Description: The intent of this seminar is to introduce the student to two Jungian archetypes: the hero and heroic behavior. We will examine various manifestations of the concepts in both the aesthetic realm (literature, film, art, sculpture) and real-life situations from the Middle Ages through to the present to determine what, in fact, constitutes heroic behavior. We shall also attempt to determine to what extent the concept of the heroic is, or is not, predicated upon ethical considerations.

Format: During each class session a previously read or viewed text, film, or work of art will be discussed from the perspective of the role of the hero. There will be constant reference throughout the discussions to the similarities/differences between art and actual human behavior. Do idealistic portrayals of the heroic in the aesthetic realm provide the model for actual heroic bearing, or is it the other way around? The format of instruction will be discussion with short oral reports on pre-set topics provided by the participants. The texts will include the medieval German Nibelungenlied (A. T. Hatto translation in the Penguin Series) and excerpts from Old Norse Scandinavia songs and sagas, provided by the instructor. In addition, the idea of the hero/heroic as manifested in diverse films, ranging from the 1959 German film, The Bridge, to Sam Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch and The Iron Cross, will be considered. Grading: Students will be graded on an oral report (40%), and a written paper (60%).

About the Instructor: Professor McConnell was born in Belfast, Ireland. His alma mater is McGill University, Montreal, where he took joint honors in History and German. He received his M.A. and Ph.D. in Medieval German Literature from the University of Kansas. He taught at a Gymnasium in German, Stanford University, and the Johns Hopkins University before coming to UC Davis in 1978. He has published extensively in the area of Germanic heroic epic and courtly romance, and is particularly interested in the application of Jungian psychology to literary analysis. Professor McConnell is a recipient of the Medal of Honor from the Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf.