Reading Options

For the week 2 reading, the first unit that jumped out at me was Aesop's Fables (Jacobs). Mainly because I had seen several of them when I was searching for a good piece to base my story on this week and I liked several of them but couldn't think of a good story right off of the top of my head to write, so I passed over them. Before this week, I hadn't heard of these stories but I enjoyed reading them and would like to read more. The stories don't particularly interest me because of any connections to art that I enjoy. I think with most of these stories, my attraction is to the animal aspects involved in them. As previously stated, I'm a very big animal lover and I tend to connect with animals on a spiritual level a lot more than I do with human companions!

I had a slightly harder time choosing a second unit of interest for week two, because I don't care much for biblical stories and I wanted to find something that was different for my second unit (I didn't want to choose both Aesop's Fables, for instance). I decided to use the "Types of Units" section to help me figure out what second unit I'd like to explore. I thought the idea of a continuous story might be fun, because it's more like reading a slightly longer book, instead of many short tales. I think I may have an easier time remembering things about a longer story than remembering any details about several short stories. I found Apuleius's Cupid and Psyche interesting, so I think that will be the unit I use for my week 3 reading. I have never seen this material before but it is similar to many books I've enjoyed in the past and movies I like to watch. The stories seem to have some mystery mixed in as well as romance. I think this will be fitting for me as a romance and fantasy fan.

(Psyche revived by Cupid's kiss; online source, musee)

For week 9 and 10, I picked Eskimo Folk Tales. I think I'll find this unit challenging but I also believe I'll enjoy it. I chose it, because the stories within this unit seem like something different than anything else I'm familiar with. I've learned a lot about Christian tales and a fair amount of Native American tales in the past but I haven't really heard any for Inuit peoples. The writing styles seem similar to those I've seen in Native American stories but also different in a way I can't quite explain. In doing research for other classes, I have learned much about Native tribes and their beliefs and traditions. I'm fascinated by some of the shaman stories I've read most of all and I'd like to see what comparisons can be made between those I know and these unexplored ritual accounts.

(Tupilak; web source, sacred-texts)

Also from week 9 and 10, I decided that Native American Marriage Tales would be of interest to me. As I said above, I've read much about Native American traditions and I really enjoyed learning about a very different culture than my own. Most of what I've learned however, was spiritually based. One tradition that I've been intrigued by ever since I read about it is that of the beardache in certain tribes. From what I recall, these are men that are spiritually guided to act the part of women; cooking, making jewelry, etc. I have not on the other hand, read much about marriage traditions so I think it will be interesting to read these stories. 

(Stairway of dreams; Web source, josephinewall)