IDS 1055 LITERATURE OF TRANSFORMATION
This course will begin by examining some well-known myths, legends and fairy tales in the light of their symbolic significance as paradigms of human transformation. The power to transform oneself or others can be used for good or for evil, as punishment or as reward; but no matter the form or purpose, there is always a lesson to be learned about our deepest impulses and desires. Modern literature also deals with the cycle of wrongdoing, innocence, suffering and redemption, minus the element of magic; yet the ancient patterns and the same mystery persist on a psychological and spiritual level. Works to be read include selection from Ovid's Metamorphoses, The Golden Ass, by Apuleius, Shakespeare's King Lear, Silas Marner, by George Eliot, some short stories and poems, and the film Wild Strawberries.