Templeton Honors College, Eastern University, Pr. Gary W. Jenkins
Honors 161, Heritage of Western Thought and Civilization: Medieval and Renaissance.
Fowler Room 4: 11:30 AM and 1:00 PM.
Office Hours: McInnis 227. Tuesday:10:00 AM - 11:20 AM; 3:30 – 4:20 PM; Thursday: 10:00-11:20. By appointment. Office Ext: 5966. Email: .
THE HERITAGE OF WESTERN THOUGHT & CIVILIZATION: Medieval & Renaissance
This course continues introducing some of the books which made us who we are, so that we may understand ourselves and our world better, and consequently, live in pursuit of virtue and wisdom. As members of the Western Christian tradition, our thoughts have a history which goes back thousands of years. That history is rooted first of all in the Bible, the single most important source of the habits of thought and feeling shared by everyone in the Western world, Christian or not. This course builds on what you investigated in the Ancient section, how this Biblical perspective joined a second great source, the tradition of Greek and Roman thought and literature, to form the Christian culture of late antiquity. Assuming you possess a knowledge of the great questions and ideas of the ancient world, we begin by reading some of the foundational texts of the medieval and Renaissance period (e.g. The Rule of St. Benedict), and from them move to the brink of the modern scientific and skeptical world (e.g. Montaigne), and through all of them join the ongoing conversation about them and their impact on our own world. The outcomes to be achieved in this course are thus 1) for you to enter more fully into the Western intellectual tradition by comprehending, understanding, and familiarizing yourself with some of the formative texts of the tradition; 2) for you to obtain an ability to analyze critically the texts and the ideas they contain, based on knowledge gathered from the first section (i.e., HON 160) and this one, and being able based upon your analysis to enter into a dialogue about the texts; and 3) for you to organize your thoughts and integrate them with those of the authors and the tenets of the Christian Faith into essays, assessing our authors’ thoughts and your own in the light of the Faith and the traditions of the West; and 4) being able to articulate causal connections between key ideas and events of the past with subsequent events and ideas. The methods of assessment, oral presentations and short papers, will show me how you are synthesizing, understanding, and applying the material we cover.
This course fulfills the indicator for knowledge of the Western tradition goals of the Templeton Honors College Curriculum, being situated in the Western Civilization strand of the THC curricula. As this is the case, students will demonstrate an understanding of historical, theological, and cultural contexts and interpret key texts and perspectives of the Western intellectual tradition and to situate themselves within that tradition
I. TEXTS:
Boethius The Consolation of Philosophy Dover Publications, Green trans.
Anonymous The Song of Roland Hackett edition
Dante The Portable Dante (includes the Divine Comedy) Penguin edition
II. CLASSROOM FORMAT
You are entering into a dialogue, one that has gone on for thousands of years, and will go on long after we are dust. Thus in class we all will be discussing the assigned texts and the issues they raise, and all in preparation for writing about them. My role will be 1) to play traffic cop for the discussion, so that everyone gets to talk, 2) to inject new questions or perspectives when the discussion stalls, and 3) to provide context and background information, occasionally offering "mini-lectures" for five or ten minutes to clarify especially difficult or unfamiliar topics.
III. ASSIGNMENTS:
A. Presentations: Every student is required to give at least one oral presentation, and perhaps two. These are not book reports or summaries (so don't try to "cover" the whole text) but a way for us to enter into the text. Hence your book and everyone else's should be open, and you should be frequently pointing out this or that in the text. We are reading this text together, and talking about what it means and what's interesting about it. In these presentations the following are required: 1) presentations be at least five minute long (you are free to go longer but after 5 minutes anyone can interrupt you and ask questions); 2) they identify key issues in the reading; 3) they point to at least one interesting passage in the text (e.g. “this made me pause . . .”); and 4) they conclude with two questions that start our class discussion.
B. Five papers are required based on your readings. Papers will be on topics of your own choosing, and a minimum of 600 words (though if you use only 600 words and do not adequately address your topic, you are in deep trouble), typed with Times New Roman 12 point font, with 1” margins. The aim is to interact sympathetically but critically with some portion of the text, cultivating your own understanding and interaction with the text, and thus developing your own soul. If you complete more than five papers, having them handed in on the day they are due, your lowest grade(s) will be dropped. You cannot skip a paper and then come back and hand it in later. All papers, when handed in, will first also be emailed to . Thus, if I were to lose your paper, you have a record that the fault is with me. If I lose your paper, and you have not emailed it, I have no evidence that you have done it. At least one paper has to be on either Boethius or Dante.
C. Participation in discussion is an opportunity rather than a requirement. Talking about a text is the best way to learn about it, and also preparatory for writing about it. I reserve the right to make everyone speak, regardless of shyness, by asking you questions in class.
E. Final Exam. There are no exams in this class. We will meet on the final exam period to round out the term. If you skip the final exam period to go home early, your final grade will be docked 10 points.
IV. GRADING
A. Presentations will be graded as pass/fail.
B. Regular Papers will be given standard letter grades. Unless otherwise noted, they will always be due in class on the Thursday the week after we finish reading whichever author you're writing on. That gives you the benefit of all our class discussion plus a whole weekend to write the paper. Write a complete draft of the paper over the weekend before you start reading the next author (so that your head is full of Plato, for instance, and has not yet had to start digesting Aristotle). It is a good idea to aim to get a complete draft of the paper done by Tuesday, then revise and polish it to hand in on Thursday. Feel free to hand the paper in on Tuesday if it's done. "Done" means you have already revised it at least once, as well as having proof-read it. Revising is the part of the writing process where you're no longer trying to figure out what to say, as on a rough draft, but instead moved on to the stage where you work on saying it well, so that your reader will understand it easily and, if possible, enjoy reading it. Attach all rough drafts with your final paper. You must hand in at least one rough draft of your work with every final draft.
C. 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 cannot 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 (e.g.. from A- to B+) 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 class time next Thursday, etc. All papers are due at the beginning of class on the day they are due. Do not spend your class period writing your paper and then show up at the end of the period handing the paper in. If you are presenting on the day a paper is due, you can hand it in the next class period.
D. Attendance: If you want to write good papers, attend and participate in class. You have three absences, Hell or high water. Save these for emergencies. Do not use them and come to me at the end of term with an emergency. Penalties for more than three absences are the same as with late papers: your final grade will be penalized one grade level. Attendance will be taken at the beginning of class. Being late for class twice equals one absence. Thus you are allowed one late.
E. Final Grade will be based on the regular papers, all of which count equally, with adjustments made for check-pluses or check-minuses and late papers, as indicated above.
F. Grading Standards: papers will be grammatical and orthographically correct.
A = A paper that demonstrates a thorough understanding of the text, and with a well-maintained theme - - one that throttles the argument and purpose of the paper throughout - - integrates an essential argument of our text(s) with the Christian Faith and the Western tradition, and whose conclusion is a logical, necessary result of the paper’s argument. The grade of “A” is for exceptional papers, ones that leave the reader (your professor) knowing that you could lead a discussion of this text, that you have mastered it.
B = A paper whose theme and argument, present throughout, demonstrate familiarity with the text, and whose conclusion provides a reasonable summary of the paper’s purpose. A grade of “B” means that you have done more than acceptable work, indeed, work that is what is expected of you. Such a paper discusses the issues with understanding, but does not go beyond what has already been said in the texts or in class.
C = A paper whose theme shows a comprehension of the paper’s topic, and whose conclusion follows the paper’s premises. A grade of “C” is given for work that is merely acceptable. There are some serious problems with this writer's understanding of the issues, or else unclear writing.
D = There is minimal evidence that the student has understood the text, or is writing at a college level.
F = A disaster.
V. POLICIES
Necessities of Syllabus: 1. School closings: if the school is closed, I won’t be here. The school number in case of weather is Delaware Co. 496. You can access the school’s status at http://www2.kyw1060.com. In case of disaster or unforeseen cancellations of school (e.g. snow) this class will either meet at an alternate hour, via online class room (Wimba in Blackboard or by podcast), at an alternate location, or via some form of proxy arrangement agreed upon by the class.
2. Student Disability Policy: If you have any documented special educational needs, please advise the professor at the beginning of the semester so that appropriate accommodations can be made. Any students who have special needs with regard to assignments must contact me.
3. All college policies pertaining to academic dishonesty, drop/add procedures, and grade appeal should be followed by students enrolled in this class. Consult the undergraduate college catalogue or ask me if you have questions about any college policy.
Academic Dishonesty The only form of academic honesty I have to deal with in my classes is plagiarism. I regard this as a violation of trust which makes any productive educational relationship between teacher and student impossible. 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.
LibreOffice Requirement: All students who do not have MSWord or Corel Word Perfect on their computers are required to download and use LibreOffice. It is an excellent program, and an excellent office suite. What’s more, it is free. http://www.libreoffice.org/download/libreoffice-fresh/
Classroom decorum: Classrooms are for education, and not personal forums for self expression, emergency phone calls, listening to music, checking your email, surfing the web, text messaging, or speaking with your mates. You are in class generally but 15 hours a week, so no other things need to be demanding your time. All cell phones are to be turned off before you come to class, and you are not to walk into class with your ipod out. If your cell phone rings during class you will receive one warning; after that your final grade will be docked half a letter. I don’t come to class with my phone or music; you are not to either. Further, if you have a question, raise your hand. Again, the classroom is not your personal forum for self-expression or practice for your debut at the Improv. Laptops and tablets are strictly forbidden in this class. I will provide you with paper copies of all handouts.
SCHEDULE (ever and always tentative). Assigned pages will be forthcoming.
12 Jan Introductions: Lewis and Tolkien
14 Jan Boethius Bk I
19 Jan Boethius Bk II
21 Jan Boethius Bk III
26 Jan Boethius Bk IV
28 Jan Boethius Bk V
2 Feb Boethius summation (return to poetry of Bk I)
4 Feb Song of Roland 1-52
9 Feb Song of Roland 53-92
11 Feb Song of Roland 92-175
16 Feb Song of Roland 176-182, 271-291
18 Feb Dante Inf 1-13
23 Feb Dante Inf 14-27
25 Feb Dante Inf 28- Pur 8
8 March Dante Pur 9 -24
10 March Dante Pur 25- Par 4
15 March Dante Par 6 - 19
17 March Dante Par 20- 33
22 March H.O. Petrarch 1 “Ascent of Mt. Ventoux”
24 March H.O. Petrarch 1 “Ascent of Mt. Ventoux”
29 March H.O. Petrarch “Letter to Girardo, On Poetry”
31 March H.O. Petrarch “Parthenias”
5 April H.O. Erasmus, The Antibarbarians
7 April H.O. Erasmus, Praise of Folly
12 April H.O. Erasmus, Praise of Folly
14 April H.O. Erasmus, Enchiridion of the Militant Christian
19 April H.O. Luther, The Freedom of the Christian (I)
21 April H.O. Luther, The Freedom of the Christian (II)
Final Exam Period Finishing Luther