Yurie Hong
Studies have shown that students learn best when they connect course material to personal experience and prior knowledge and contexts. Given the focus of mythology courses on story-telling, cultural values, and social norms, there is ample opportunity, as well as pedagogical justification, to consider the relevance of ancient narrative and its study to students' personal lives and the broader world in which they live. This talk will feature examples of assignments and course themes that enable instructors to incorporate discussions of marginalized identities and contemporary topics, such as immigration, slavery, and sexual/gender violence, into a large introductory course on mythology.