Dionysus Synergates: Critical Thought and Interdisciplinary Learning

Position in issue's running order (enter any integer): 
1
Book Author or Editor(s) Name: 
Mills, Sophie and Lanou, Amy Joy
Abstract of Article: 

This paper discusses the authors’ “Festival of Dionysus in the Mountain South” of 2014 and the possibilities and benefits for improved student critical thinking and interdisciplinary learning that emerged from it. The festival comprised multiple elements: a performance of Sophocles’ Philoctetes, translated by upper-division Classics majors; a communal feast conceived of and created by students in an experimental class entitled “Foodways of Blue Zones”; and student research on ancient and Appalachian traditions of music, science, and the role of medicinal plants. This paper focuses particularly on the translation and the feast, and discusses the data drawn from surveys of student perceptions of their experiences with creating and participating in the festival.