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Heroes and Legends: Then and Now (The Great Courses Series)
LIT-918
3 Credits
Online
LIT-918
3 Credits
Online
Thor, Robin Hood, Queen Guinevere, Harry Potter - these are just a sample of the iconic characters that we will encounter in this course, heroes and heroines that have shaped literature, inspired debate, and moved society.
In this course designed for teachers of middle and high school students, we will investigate 24 essential hero stories, their origins, and their impacts. We will see how heroes emerge from different sets of values and how they can be reconceptualized across media and time.
Then we will take the next step: presenting our investigations in a way that engages students. One major goal of this course is to create materials that you can take directly to your students so that they can continue the discussion. Join other teachers from diverse backgrounds as we discover new ways to bring literature to the classroom.
In this course designed for teachers of middle and high school students, we will investigate 24 essential hero stories, their origins, and their impacts. We will see how heroes emerge from different sets of values and how they can be reconceptualized across media and time.
Then we will take the next step: presenting our investigations in a way that engages students. One major goal of this course is to create materials that you can take directly to your students so that they can continue the discussion. Join other teachers from diverse backgrounds as we discover new ways to bring literature to the classroom.
Fran Friesen
Instructor
Fran Martins Friesen is an experienced educator and scholar with more than 20 years of teaching writing and literature. She is passionate about engaging young people in reading and helping students develop confidence in expressing their ideas. Fran believes that life-shaping literature can broaden students’ perspectives and expand their understanding of the world. She holds a B.A. in English and History from Goshen College in Goshen, Indiana, and an M.A. in English with an emphasis in the Teaching of Writing from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Her professional experience includes teaching junior high at Parkside School in Boston, serving as an English Language Instructor at Luzhou Medical College in China, and teaching English at Fresno Pacific University for 19 years. Drawing on her experiences living in Honduras, China, and Vietnam and her studies in comparative literature, Fran brings a rich multicultural perspective to her teaching. She enjoys sharing strategies and insights with fellow educators to strengthen writing and literature instruction.