Peter Girguis (Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology)
First-Year Seminar 50V | 4 Credits (Fall 2024) | CANVAS SITE
Wednesday, 12:45 PM–02:45 PM
There have always been tales of sea monsters. For as long as we humans have ventured into the ocean, our imaginations have conjured images of serpents, krakens, leviathans, and other creatures, all of whom seem bent on the destruction of those who dare set foot into the sea. Human kinds conviction that sea monsters are real is so powerful that even today rumors abound of sea monsters lurking in the depths. Indeed, every major religionEastern and Western features sea monsters. Are these declarations true? Do giants roam the deep sea? Did the explorers of centuries ago see creatures from their small wooden boats that we do not see today? During this seminar we will explore sea monsters through a social, spiritual, literary, and scientific lens. We will study the sea monsters that flourish on ancient maps to understand the minds of 16th-century scholars. We will examine the bodies of real sea monsters, and consider the world in which such grotesque creatures might evolve. We will busy ourselves with tales of creatures from classic and contemporary literature. Most importantly, we will develop a better understanding of how humans perceive the world, and how our consciousness can simultaneously embrace our wildest dreams and cower from our greatest fears. Sea monsters, both real and imagined, tell us much about life in the deep sea, and even more about humankind.