I've challenged myself to read more. Looks like this class is going to help me do just that. I feel like I'm standing in a library as I peruse through the different reading units available. Do I want something familiar or do I want something new? I ask myself this before settling on one particular unit -- Adam and Eve. I was raised up in church, so I know the classic story of human beginnings. It had something I'm acquainted with. But this unit also offers something more than just the basic story. It expands into what is, for me, unknown territory. What else is there to this story? Looks like I'm going to find out.
Furthering my look, I came across Panchatantra, noted for its nested stories. I like this one because of the depth added into the stories. It's a bit like world-building; the nested stories add to an already established world, further fleshing it out. It reminds me a bit of the movie Inception, so I think it might be one definitely checking out.
The third story I looked into was the Philippines' Folktales. My closest friend is Filipino, and he has lived a part of his life in the Philippines. I've rarely heard any folktales or stories outside of the US based ones, so these two facts coupled together piqued my interest in learning more of foreign stories. They're stories I could ask him about and get authentic information about, as well as get his stories on his experiences with the folktales.
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Image Information: George Peabody Library, Wikimedia
This sounds great, Todd! And YES, if I can get people excited about reading in this class, I would consider that "missing accomplished."
ReplyDeleteAbout the Panchatantra: it is a personal obsession of mine! The nested storytelling style came from India and then exerted a huge influence on Arabic and Turkish and Persian storytelling also. I actually used to teach a course that was all about "frametale" collections like the Panchatantra and the 1001 Nights and also Canterbury Tales and the Decameron which are the most famous European examples. And yes, a movie like Inception is a great example of what happens when you take that idea and translate it into a modern fiction/science-fiction context which opens up even more possibilities.
Another fun frametale item to check out in the UnTextbook: Twenty-Two Goblins. It doesn't have multiple nesting, just the frame and the stories that are told inside the frame, but the frametale is so inventive and the stories are really wild. And if you like the Twilight Zone, I think you'd appreciate the Twilight-Zone-like features of this Sanskrit classic! :-)