Learning & Inquiry 2: Discoveries

Course Description
Discoveries builds on the foundation of analysis and writing introduced in L&I 1: Explorations. Each course investigates a subject of faculty choosing from beyond a single disciplinary approach. Each section will emphasize learning how to develop a research question; conduct research; use library resources; and make, develop, and support a claim in writing.

Student Learning Outcomes
Upon successfully completing the course, students will be able to:

Section Descriptions

Brown, Jarrod:

The Hero's Journey: Values, Ontology, and Excellence

This class is designed for students seeking to understand the deep structural and philosophical consistency underlying human storytelling.  The course utilizes Joseph Campbell's monomyth (The Hero with a Thousand Faces) as a foundational structural narrative as a framework for rigorous comparative analysis across ancient mythology, global folklore, and contemporary media.  

We will engage with core questions of human experience by examining how these narratives encode distinct worldviews (ontologies), ethical systems (values), and ideals of human excellence, and serve as sources of moral knowledge for their respective cultures. Students will analyze the moral logic that dictates a hero's success or failure, focusing on concepts like sacrifice, destiny, and virtue.  

The curriculum necessitates a critical comparison of classical definitions of excellence (e.g., Arete) with the defining traits of modern archetypes found in cinema, literature, and digital culture. The course culminates in a sophisticated, research-based analysis of a text, defining the ethics and ontology of a heroic narrative that matters to the author.