DUE: INITIAL POST – Friday, 10/30 by 2:00 pm EST

DUE: REFLECTION POST – Sunday, 11/1 by 2:00 pm EST

INTRODUCTION: What is a hero? For this discussion, you will explore both Western and Eastern hero archetypes, draw connections between them, find differences between them, and explore examples.

GRADING: See the Module Activity Grading Criteria for detailed information regarding the minimum requirements for Discussions. Before composing either your Initial Post or Reflection Post, know the minimum expectations, including word count, appearance, research, etc. Also, review the descriptions for the expectations for each grade level possible for this assignment.

MATERIALS: Use Chapter 3 in your textbook. You will also be required to do your own research for this discussion. Remember, reliable sources are essential for this discussion. Several links are also provided to assist you with the first part of the instructions below.

INSTRUCTIONS: Before composing your Initial Post, you will need to choose a Western or Eastern archetypal hero from a linked list and do some research.

VERY IMPORTANT: The login instructions on the following links are in the process of getting updated by the SPC library. The username is still your Student Number, but your PIN is now the month and year of your birth instead of the last four digits of your SSN. If you have any login issues, you need to contact the student help desk.

• If the first letter of your last name is A-K, you will choose a Western Archetypal Hero
• If the first letter of your last name is L-Z, you will choose an Eastern Archetypal Hero

Only choose a hero from the linked list.

In your Initial Post, it is expected that you do some research on your own and complete the following:

1. Identify the hero that you selected from the list based on the first letter of your last name (see above).
2. Summarize the events of the archetypal hero’s story, the main story progression, and the outcome of the story for the hero. Include citations for the sources from which you got the information. (Remember: At least two citations are required for all Initial Posts, so be sure that you choose reliable sources. The Internet can be an overloaded environment, so if your source doesn’t have an author associated with it, or doesn’t appear to be from a reputable site, don’t use it and continue to do more research. These stories are written for a variety of audiences, so you might even be able to find a short version designed for kids or young adults that may be a very short read.)
3. Explain whether or not you can relate to the archetypal hero that you selected, and why or why not. Include supportive evidence from your own experience and from the sources where you got the information about the hero.
4. Explain how your chosen archetypal hero and his/her story teach us something useful as human beings. Include supportive evidence from the sources where you got the information about the hero, from the textbook, and from your own experience.

In your Reflection Post, you will compare your chosen hero with a classmate’s hero. Here’s the fun part: if you had to choose a Western hero, then you will find a classmate who had to choose an Eastern hero and complete your Reflection Post with a comparison between the two. Conversely, if you had to choose an Eastern hero, then you will find a classmate who had to choose a Western hero. Remember, choosing heroes was based on the first letter of everyone’s last name, so filter the discussion forum by last name if you’d like to make things easier. However, I would suggest that you verify that your classmate chose from the correct list before completing the following:

1. Identify the hero that you selected earlier.
2. Identify the main similarities between your classmate’s hero and your hero.
3. Identify the main differences between your classmate’s hero and your hero.
4. Explain the difference between the ideal Western Hero and ideal Eastern Hero as expressed by the two examples.
5. Compare your classmate’s explanation of what these stories can teach us about being human and provide either one similarity or one difference between your ideas and your classmate’s.