HON 172
spring 2004 Irish-A 212; 965-8970
office hours:
Mon 8:15-9:15
Tue 1:30-2:30
or by appointment
This course surveys some modern responses to cardinal problems of human existence through critical engagement with enduring ideas from primary sources in literature, philosophy, science and social criticism. The objectives of the course are that you continue to develop frameworks for self-directed learning and working in a pluralist world, and that you continue to improve skills in oral and written interpretation and argumentation.
Requirements
· Three 1500-word argumentative essays, each 20% of grade. There will be a choice of topics for each essay. Due on Thursdays at noon in Irish-A 212: Feb.19, Mar.25, May 6. Unexcused late work (i.e., without medical excuse or family emergency) will be penalized 5% immediately, and another 5% after two days. Please read “Class Standards” linked to my page on the BHC website. Also, at various times I may require that you make use of “The Human Event Writing Center”; see http://jmlynch.myftp.org/hewc/.
· Comprehensive Exam, 4/26, 20% of grade, short explanatory essays on primary topics.
· Participation, 20% of grade. My evaluation of your participation will weigh quality more than quantity. However, if you only rarely contribute, then you cannot expect better than a “C” for participation. Good participation is predicated on preparation. Excellent preparation includes not only having carefully read each selection prior to discussion, it also entails taking notes on the reading that help you to contribute to our discussions. (Use of highlighter is no substitute for notes. Careful reading does include making marks and marginal notes in a text.) Missing more than two classes without prior arrangement at least two weeks in advance, or for good reason, will result in a significant reduction of your participation score. Good reasons for missing class include serious illness or family emergency, but do not include more convenient travel plans.
· Plagiarism is using another’s ideas or words as if they were one’s own, that is, without citation. Plagiarists in my classes may receive “XE” for the course. Do the cost/benefit calculation.
· Letter grades will be assigned as follows: 100-90% = A, 89-80% = B, etc.
· Please read the “Student Academic Grievance Procedures” form on the BHC website.
Required Texts (use only these editions; note ISBN, especially Frankenstein)
· Leviathan, Thomas Hobbes (Norton 1997; 0-393-96798-0)
· “What Is Enlightenment?” http://www.english.upenn.edu/~mgamer/Etexts/kant.html, “Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics,” http://eserver.org/philosophy/kant-prolegomena.txt, Immanual Kant (please print out both texts, but only the first 10 pages of the Prolegomena, that is, “Introduction” through section 3 of “Preamble”)
· Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus (the 1818 text), Mary Shelley (Oxford University Press 1998; 0-19-283366-9)
· Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Frederick Douglass (Norton 1997; 0-393-96966-5)
· The Portable Chekhov, Anton Chekhov (Viking Penguin 1991; 0-14-015035-8)
· All Men Are Brothers, Mahatma Gandhi (Continuum 1982; 0-8264-0003-5)
· Civilization and Its Discontents, Sigmund Freud (Norton 1961; 0-393-30158-3)
· The Ethics of Ambiguity, Simone deBeauvoir (Citadel Press 1996; 0-8065-0160-X)
· Labyrinths: Selected Stories and Other Writings, Jorge Luis Borges (Norton 1998; 0811200124)
· The Theory of Everything, Stephen Hawking (New Millennium Press 2003; 1-893224-79-1)
Reading Schedule
Jan. 26: Hobbes [recommended: 311-320, 334-38, 359-66] 9-47, 60-79
Jan. 28: 93-122
Feb. 2: 169-92, 200-205, 232-252
Feb. 4: Kant “Prolegomena”
Feb. 9: “Enlightenment?”
Feb. 11: Shelley 3-51
Feb. 16: 51-155
Feb. 18: 155-191
Feb. 23: Douglass [recommended 146-183] 3-38
Feb. 25: 39-80
Mar. 1: Chekhov 251-268,
624-627, 371-395
Mar. 3: 296-311, 440-460, 532-552
Mar. 8: 552-594
Mar. 10: Freud [recommended ix-xxiii] 10-52
Mar. 15, 17 spring break
Mar. 22: Freud 53-74
Mar. 24: 75-112
Mar. 29: Gandhi 181-84, 3-97
Mar. 31: 107-164
Apr. 5: deBeauvoir 7-34
Apr. 7: 35-115
Apr. 12: 115-159 [NB theme of violence: 44, 55, 97, 99, 107f, 110, 126, 132, 138, 142, 150]
Apr. 14: Hawking 3-42
Apr. 19: 45-126
Apr. 21: 147-167
Apr. 26: EXAM
Apr. 28: Borges [entire pieces that begin on these pages] 186, 202, 209, 237, 240, 242, 244, 246
May 3: 30, 51, 72, 88, 95, 127, 169