Homer or Homer?

Do your children know more about The Simpsons, or Homer's Iliad and Odyssey? You don't even need to answer that question: cartoon characters have taken the place of the heroes of yesterday's epics.

But that doesn't mean the heroes have disappeared. The proud warrior Ulysses can even be found under the yellow skin and prominent eyes of Homer Simpson...

In Labo des Clionautes, a history teacher and a French teacher suggest ways of using The Simpsons series in the classroom. " Pronouncing Homer's name in sixth grade when studying Greek civilization and its myths instantly triggers the same reaction in students: "Oh, it's Homer!" "Msieur! Are we going to study Homer Simpson?" ". Chiche," replies the teacher.

Because it turns out that Matt Groening, creator of the series which now has 21 seasons, is not as uneducated as his favourite characters - quite the contrary. He makes numerous references to the classics of world literature throughout the episodes. This is an excellent way to introduce children to the classics.

The Simpsons and history

History teacher Bertrand Quennoy has analyzed the episode "To Bart or not to Bart" (season 13, episode 14). He offers students a cross-reading of the episode and the adventures of Ulysses recounted by Homer, as the former contains six key episodes from the Odyssey.

The Simpsons and civics

In France, history and geography teachers are also in charge of civic education classes, which provide an opportunity to address issues of responsible Internet use. Here again, there's an episode of The Simpsons that makes an excellent teaching aid. It's the one in which Homer creates his own website and, disappointed by the lack of audience, spices it up a bit by including horrors about his neighbors... Here's a good question for tackling themes such as "Can you say everything on the Internet?" and "Can you copy everything from the Internet?".

The Simpsons and geography

The geography of the United States and certain socio-economic aspects of this country are part of the curriculum for third-graders (Secondary 4). The Simpsons family offers excellent opportunities for study: their town, their friends, their occupations... are archetypal of American lifestyles.

The Simpsons and French

Aside from the ancient texts mentioned above, Matt Groening has drawn extensively on literary and cinematic works, exploiting them through the literary registers that are on the syllabus of French high school classes. Comedy, parody, burlesque, fantasy, satire... these are the literary registers most appreciated by the creator of The Simpsons, and no doubt students will approach these elements with enthusiasm if they are introduced to them through the misadventures of Homer and his little family!

The two teachers also provide some valuable practical tips for exploiting the various episodes of the series. In particular, they suggest that their colleagues edit the extracts to be used in class. If the teacher were to play an entire episode to his or her pupils, there would be a great risk of forgetting what the lesson was about...

Read the article from Labo des Clionautes n° 9 on Calameo

photo credit: jjackowski via photopin cc