Prof. Phillip Cary INST 161H, sect. 1
Fowler 305C Spring 2008
341-5928 Eastern University
Templeton Honors College
THE HERITAGE OF WESTERN THOUGHT AND CIVILIZATION, Part II
This course is a study of Modernity, both as a period and as a concept--a problematic concept at the present time, which many people think of as postmodern. We will pay special attention to the interaction between European modernity and the heritage of Christianity.
The course is divided into four parts. After a week spent with Luther, the founding figure of Protestantism (and therefore, by some reckonings, the founding figure of modernity) we will devote part 1 to three Shakespeare plays. Part 2 focuses on three philosophers who will serve to define for us the shape of the central modern intellectual movement known as the Enlightenment (Descartes, Locke, Hume). Then after the Spring Break, we will look at a key literary movement in modernity, Romanticism (Austen, Bronte, and the Appelbaum anthology). Finally, we will take a critical look at the project of modernity from various points of view (Nietzsche, John Paul II, Levi and O’Connor).
Texts:
Luther Martin Luther: Selections
Shakespeare The Arden Shakespeare
Descartes, Rene Discourse on Method and Meditations
Locke, John Essay Concerning Human Understanding
Kant, Immanuel What is Enlightenment? (xerox)
Wesley, John Sermon (xerox)
Zinzendorf, N. Sermon (xerox)
Schleiermacher, F. On Religion: Speeches to Its Cultured Despisers
First Speech*
Austen, Jane Pride and Prejudice
Appelbaum (ed) English Romantic Poetry
Bronte, Emily Wuthering Heights
Nietzsche, F. Genealogy of Morals/Ecce Homo
John Paul II Fides et Ratio: Concerning the Relationship of Faith and Reason
Levi, Primo Survival in Auschwitz
O'Connor, Flannery The Complete Stories
*All texts available at the EU bookstore except xeroxes and Schleiermacher,
available at http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schleiermach/religion.iii.i.html
Assignments:
There are three kinds of assignments in this course:
(1) Presentations (5 minutes or more) introducing the assigned reading for the day, which will open each class.
(2) Reading aloud (Shakespeare and Romantic Poets)
(3) Papers (4 full pages or more) on three out of the four parts of the course.
(1) Each student will do two presentations in the semester. The aim of the presentations is to get us looking at the text and seeing what are the key issues it raises. I will provide historical and cultural background information; you will lead the class into the text itself. To do this you should introduce us to the structure of the text, highlight its key theses or themes (make sure at least once to draw our attention to a particular passage) and conclude by asking two or more questions to begin the discussion.
(2) In the weeks we study Shakespeare, in place of the regular class we will bring the whole freshman Honors College cohort together, joining with the other section of 161H to put on a reading performance. Each week 1/3 of the cohort will read aloud or perform selected passages of the play for that week, as well as comment upon it (addressing questions like: “What is the purpose of this passage in the play? What does it mean?” etc.)
Also, on the week we study Romantic Poetry, you will need to prepare at least one poem to read aloud and comment upon.
(3) Papers are on three of the four parts of the course--you choose which. Papers on the Romanticism section of the course must deal with at least one of the novels (not just the poetry). My advice is not to skip the Shakespeare paper or the paper on the Romantics. Probably the key decision to make is whether you want to do the paper for the second part of the course (“The Idea of Enlightenment”). Its subject matter may be more difficult than the others, but you have all of Spring Break to work on it. And if you do it, then you need not do a final paper. Also, if you wish, you may write all four papers, and then only the three highest grades will count.
Grading:
Papers are due in class on the day assigned (always a Thursday, except for the final paper). My advice, like last semester, is to draft the paper over the weekend before starting to read the next author, then spend a good deal of time some evening during the week revising. (Revising is what makes a paper well-written). However, you're free to write your papers on Wednesday night if you want to help in the fight against grade inflation.
Late papers will not be penalized if you have a written medical excuse or if you contact me in advance (by email or voice mail) and let me know you can't make it to class and why. In that case the paper is due the next class to which you can come (unless you make explicit arrangements with me otherwise). In all other cases, a late paper will be penalized one level (like a check minus) for every class period it is late. For instance, if it is due on a Thursday and is submitted in class the next Tuesday, an A- paper becomes a B+. And it goes down to a B if it does not get in by classtime next Thursday, etc.
Exception: Everybody gets one "free" late paper, which will not be penalized if you get it in by the next class period. When I collect the papers in class, just hand in a sheet with your name, the date, and "freebie" written on it. Plan to use your freebie wisely!
There is no final exam. The final grade is based on the papers, with adjustments for the presentations and readings. Presentations and readings will be graded check-plus, check or check-minus. Most of these grades will be check, which will not affect your final grade. A check plus has the effect of raising the grade on one of your papers one level (e.g. from B+ to A-), while a check minus lowers it accordingly. Check plus is for presentations or readings that lead us deeply into the text (it's a check plus if I feel like I'm seeing the text more clearly as a result of your presentation) and check minus is for presentations that are shoddy or ill-prepared.
Academic Dishonesty: The most common form of academic honesty I have to deal with in my classes is plagiarism. Deliberate plagiarism is a kind of lie that fundamentally undermines the relationship between teacher and student on which the work of education is based. Therefore the standard penalty for deliberate plagiarism in my classes is an F for the course. This may be followed by a letter to the dean urging that the plagiarist be expelled from Eastern University. Please do not make me even think of having to do this.
Student Disability Policy: Students with documented disabilities are encouraged to work with the Center for Counseling and Academic Support (610-341-5837) to submit a written request for accommodations specific to this course. To receive accommodations, the professor/instructor must receive a written request from CCAS in the beginning of each course, or as soon as the disability is diagnosed. A student must update accommodations requests with CCAS prior to each academic session.
SCHEDULE
Week beginning: Tuesday Thursday Paper Due:
1. 1/14 Luther “Freedom of a Christian” “Pagan Servitude,”
pp. 52-76 pp. 271-282, 291-298
Part 1: Shakespeare
2. 1/21 Midsummer Night’s Dream reading/performance
3. 1/28 King Lear reading/performance
4. 2/4 Richard III reading/performance
Part 2: The Idea of Enlightenment
5. 2/11 Descartes Discourse 1-4 Meditations 1-3 Shakespeare
6. 2/18 Locke 1:1, 2:1-8,11-12,23 4:14-16,18
3:1-3,6 4:19 "Enthusiasm" xerox
7. 2/25 Theology Kant, Wesley Schleiermacher,
Zinzendorf (xeroxes) First Speech
3/3 SPRING BREAK
Part 3: Varieties of Romanticism
8. 3/10 Austen v.1&2 (c.1-42) v.3 (c.43-61) Enlightenment
9. 3/17 Romantic Poets (selections)
10. 3/24 Bronte to v.2, c.2 to end
Part 4: On the Meaning of Modernity
11. 3/31 Nietzsche Genealogy of Essay 3, Romanticism
Morals, Essays 1&2 sections 11-27
12. 4/7 John Paul II pp. 1-65 pp. 83-131
13. 4/14 Levi pp. 1-100 pp. 101-173
14. 4/21 O’Connor “Everything that Rises” “Parker’s Back”
“Artificial Nigger” “Revelation”
15. 4/28 Finals Week Modernity