Accounting for Achilles: Teaching Literature to Non-Majors

Authors

  • Anastassiya Andrianova The City University of New York and Fordham University

Keywords:

Mythology, teaching literature, Homer, student engagement

Abstract

This paper draws on the author’s experience with teaching mythology in undergraduate surveys of literature (the so-called “Great Books” courses) dominated by non-majors.  It addresses, more specifically, the three criteria cited by the author’s students when they were asked whether myths should be taught in introductory courses: verifiability, relevance, and student demand.  Although the author focuses on teaching Homer to aspiring accountants, the strategies for engaging students outlined herein are meant to have broader appeal and should prove useful to teachers of any national mythology or literature. The paper has a prominent empirical component but also references relevant scholarship.

Author Biography

Anastassiya Andrianova, The City University of New York and Fordham University

A native of Ukraine, Anastassiya Andrianova received her Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. She has published several poems, book and theater reviews; her article on Vitalism, which is the focus of her dissertation, recently came out in the journal UpStage. Anastassiya teaches literature and composition at the City University of New York and Fordham University.

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Published

2012-12-19

Issue

Section

Articles