Sadleir House Academy
Sadleir House is proud to offer Werewolves as Symbols of Human Experience as an academic general interest course. It will be be taught by Derek Newman-Stille, M.A. (Ph.D. Candidate) and adapted from a course that he taught at Trent University. It is open to anyone who is interested in engaging with a variety of literature from a multi-disciplinary perspective, and enjoying academic enrichment in a comfortable, relaxed setting. The entire series will cost $50 and students will receive a certificate upon completion to add to their Curriculum Vitae, although, this course will not be considered to be equivalent to a credit at academic institutions. This course will be held on Wednesday evenings at 7pm and it will run for six weeks
About the Course:
Werewolves as Symbols of Human Experience
The werewolf first appeared in one of the earliest pieces of preserved literature, The Epic of Gilgamesh from ancient Mesopotamia, and has continued as a literary theme up to the modern age. It has appeared in a variety of cultural contexts over time, and has been used by these authors to explore ideas of selfhood, the nature of the human soul, politics, romance, and the role of humanity in relation to the natural world. It has served as a symbol of the outsider, the criminal, fear, sacrilege, but also as a symbol for empowerment, innovation and change. But, what is it that has made the werewolf so interesting to authors of the past? Why has the werewolf continually appeared as a symbol for exploring what it is to be human?
This course will examine the role of the werewolf in literature from the Ancient Classical world, the Middle Ages, Renaissance, and the modern world looking at each narrative within its historical and socio-political context. We will explore the werewolf within the wider context of the monstrous and investigate why societies of the past and present create monsters. We will also look at the relationship between the werewolf and religions of the past, and explore the question of why human societies of the past created this particular monster and what philosophical ideas can be explored in texts dealing with the werewolf.
About the Professor:
Derek Newman-Stille has taught Werewolves as Symbols of the Human Experience at Trent University for the past two years.
Derek is one of the founding members of MEARCSTAPA, an organisation dedicated to the study of monstrosity in literature, art, and other media.
Derek has presented on monstrosity at the International Medieval Congress at Leeds, the International Congress on Medieval Studies at Kalamazoo, the Academic Conference on Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy, and at the Canadian Archaeological Association.
He is currently a Ph.D. student in the Canadian Studies program at Trent University.
Schedule:
Wednesdays from 7-9pm
- July 20
- July 27
- August 3
- August 10
- August 17
- August 24
Course Readings:
Course readings will be available on Reserve in the Sadleir House Library, or can be provided for a nominal resources fee.
Throughout the Course:
Kelley Armstrong Bitten
Week 2 - Classical:
Chapter 1, and 2 Leslie Sconduto Metamorphoses of the Werewolf
Excerpts from Daniel Ogden’s Magic, Witchcraft, and Ghosts in the Greek and Roman Worlds
Week 3 – Monster Theory:
Jeffrey Jerome Cohen Monster Culture Seven Theses from Monster Theory: Reading Culture
Week 4 – Late Antiquity and Medieval:
Chapter 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 Leslie Sconduto Metamorphoses of the Werewolf
Marie De France Le Lai De Bisclavret
Week 5 – Early Modern and Renaissance:
Leslie Sconduto Metamorphoses of the Werewolf Chapter 8
Week 6 – Modern:
Suzie McKee Charnas Boobs
Finishing Kelley Armstrong’s Bitten
Optional Readings
Week 2 - Classical:
Excerpts from Plato’s Republic
Excerpts from Ken Dowden The Uses of Greek Mythology
Excerpts from The Epic of Gilgamesh
Excerpts from Herodotus The Histories
Excerpts from Petronius The Satyricon
Excerpts from Ovid Metamorphoses
Week 3 – Monster Theory: none
Week 4 – Late Antiquity and Medieval:
Excerpts from M.S. Bodley MS 764
Excerpts from Gerald of Wales The History and Topography of Ireland (Topographia Hibernica) Guillaume de Palerne trans. Leslie Sconduto
Week 5 – Early Modern and Renaissance:
Kathryn Edwards Werewolves, Witches, and Wandering Spirits (not available on reserve)
Week 6 – Modern:
Ginger Snaps {movie} (not available on reserve)
Carrie Vaughn Kitty and the Midnight Hour (not available on reserve)
Registration:
The course will cost a total of $50 for the entire six weeks series. Registration for the course may be confirmed in person at the Sadleir House office, and fees are payable in cash or cheque. Additional inquiries about course registration, scheduling,room location, or future courses may be made to the Steward of Sadleir House. Additional information regarding the course content and reading requirements may be obtained by contacting the course instructor.
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The P. R. Community & Student Association (Sadleir House Facility) gratefully acknowledges the support of:
