The Purpose of the Discussions

Each week students will be asked to engage in discussions of the Course Content and readings in Mythology: Reading Myth by the River. These discussions are designed to

Help students understand what they are reading,
Engage students in myths from around the world,
Engage students in the course materials and resources in order to develop their understanding of the significance, importance, relevance, and value of myth, both historically and for our current culture,
Provide students opportunities to learn from each other,
Enable students to share their understanding and expertise with their classmates,
Create a sense of community among students, and
Enable the instructor to evaluate students' understanding of key course concepts and correct misunderstandings.

For these reasons, students should spend time and thought on their discussions postings. Student comments on another student's post like "I agree with you" or "That was well said" are valuable for building community but do not help extend the discussion.

For instance, here is a sample student posting from a female student in response to a discussion thread on similarities in myth:

The psychological approach appeals to me the most. When asked if I believe in God, I say yes without hesitation. When asked why, I say that I just do. I recently read an article about women's intuition. In the article, the author said that intuition is a feeling one gets based on things that the subconscious picks up on that we can't comprehend quickly enough. It went on to say that we should follow what our intuition tells us because that sinking feeling in our stomachs or that sudden wave of happiness or comfort is based on actual facts that we've stored in our brains. For example, if someone is being dishonest, our minds pick up on facial expressions and small gestures that can last for only a fraction of a second, giving us the "feeling" that they are being dishonest. The reason I bring this article up is because following our own intuition is just a matter of faith. It's faith despite what our own eyes and reasoning are telling us. If intuition is something we can rely on to keep us safe, can't it be why we believe in God? Maybe the reason there are so many similarities between different myths is because, at the end of the day, we all know the basic truths. Do we all believe? No. But a lot of people trust reason over intuition. And the less we rely upon and use our intuition, the less we get those little "feelings." So, yes, I believe that our subconscious is where these truths come from and where the basis for our beliefs can be found.

Students responding to this post might point out similarities between this student's view and other concepts explained in the Course Content or textbook.

Another student might question whether this approach doesn't cause more problems, arguing, "But intuition is still based on some data from the world around us, just not data we are conscious of, like a firefighter in a burning building, who suddenly feels the urgency to evacuate the building, and does so, just before it explodes. The firefighter's intuition of danger was probably based on clues from the environment that the firefighter noticed without being conscious of them. But you are suggesting that intuition is like faith based on nothing at all. Am I misunderstanding you, or can you explain further?"

Still another student might reply, "Faith is important to me, too, but so is logic. I want to understand why these similarities occur. The most likely explanation to me seems to be Doniger's suggestion of "borrowing." In the Course Content page on "The Problem of Similarities," it states that Doniger suggests that [borrowing] occurred "as stories made their way across the planet as invaders, merchants, missionaries, and proselytizers sailed the oceans . . . between the continents." This seems to me to be a more likely explanation for the similarities.

The goal is for students to interact with the text, the course, and with each other so that everyone benefits. The most interesting part of this course is the myths and stories from around the world contained in the textbook, and the discussion forum is the place for students to respond and react to those stories, and share their insights with each other.

Students are expected to read all of the discussion postings, to post their own response each week to the discussion thread, and to reply to the postings of at least two of their fellow students each week.

It is crucial that students post early to the discussions in order to give other students time to read and respond. At the same time, it is useless for students to post responses to the discussion thread when they have not read the Course Content or the assigned textbook readings. It becomes very embarrassing to students when other students point out statements a student has made that clearly show the student has not read the material and is trying to "bluff" his or her way through the discussion. It is also useless for the purposes of discussion when a student posts for the first time the last hours of the discussion. I once had a student who posted to the discussion one minute before the discussion closed. While the student had interesting things to say, it was useless for the purposes of discussion because there was no time left for other students to read and respond.

Work Ethic Credit: To be eligible for the Work Ethic Credit, students must complete the required discussion assignment by Thursday of the week of the discussion. Postings after Thursday will still earn discussion points but will not earn Work Ethic points.

The instructor will not post individual feedback to discussions posted on Friday afternoon/evening or Saturday.