Wednesday: Gilgamesh and Sumerian View of Death

Today we discussed your thoughts on the questions from page 47, and had an extended chat about how Sumerians viewed death.

Assignment: Read page 52-58 four times: Gist, Sound, Language, and “So what?”

Assignment: Page 59, questions # 2, 4, and 7

Friday: Quiz and Group Infographic Project

We took a short 2 question quiz today, and then split into groups to work on the following project related to one of the following readings:

• Creation and the Fall (page 65-9)
• Noah and the Flood (page 70-3)
• The Book of Ruth (page 93-6)
• The Prodigal Son (98-9)

You need to create a 10-15 minute VISUAL PRESENTATION (not electronic) that covers the following information:

• Where is the story from? What is the cultural/historical context?
• Who are the characters in the story? Please give the name as well as a short description of their role in the story.
• Plot-
  • What happens?
  • Where does it happen?
  • What causes the conflict?
• Theme-
  • What is the lesson learned?
  • Why  has the story survived until today? (hint: the lesson must be important)
• Relate the story to “Gilgamesh” and the ancient Egyptian readings and the ancient native stories we have read in class.

Where is this going?  We will be working to address the following questions next week:

• What effect does a polytheistic world view have on an individual?
• What effect does a monotheistic world view have on an individual?
• What/how does each system reveal about the culture from which it comes?

Assignment: Decide in your groups how you will arrive to class on Tuesday ready to display your infographic on the bulletin board in the classroom and present it to the class.