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COURSE  SYLLABUS  Revised  (10.07.2015)    Term:  Fall  2015  

Course:    HUMS  110G,  The  Foundations  of  Western  Culture    

Instructor  Information:  Instructor  Name   Erik  Larsen  Office  Number:   Room  268  Email:   alarsen1@ccsj.edu  Hours  Available:   Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10:00-11:30 AM (by appointment) Instructor  Background:  I  am  completing  a  PhD  in  the  humanities,  and  hold  masters  and  bachelors  degrees  in  humanistic  disciplines.  I  am  broadly  interested  in  the  relationship  between  literature,  philosophy,  and  science  in  modern  western  culture,  and  focus  my  studies  on  nineteenth-­‐century  American  literature.      

Course  Information:  

Course  Time:   T/TH  12:00-­‐1:30  Classroom:   268  Prerequisites:       None  Required  Books  and  Materials:    

Buczinsky,  Cassello,  Pennanen,  Robinson,  and  Rodriguez,  The  Foundations  of  Western  Culture  Additional  readings  on  Blackboard  or  distributed  in  class  

Learning  Outcomes/  Competencies:  -­‐Know  the  periods  in  the  history  of  Western  Civilization  and  the  names  and  works  of  representative  writers,  artists,  philosophers,  and  religious  teachers.    -­‐Recognize  the  key  intellectual,  philosophical,  artistic,  and  religious  movements  and  concepts  that  have  defined  the  humanities  throughout  the  history  of  Western  culture.    -­‐Recognize  the  role  of  the  humanities  in  creating  the  self,  understanding  society,  and  defining  the  Good  Life.    -­‐Practice  reading  philosophy,  religious  texts,  literature,  and  history;  looking  at  great  works  of  art  and  architecture;  and  listening  to  music  with  greater  sensitivity  and  insight.  Course  Description:  This  course  introduces  students  to  the  intellectual  foundations  of  Western  Civilization  and  the  study  of  the  humanities.  It  surveys  the  major  ideas  that  dominate  Western  Civilization  from  the  ancient  to  the  modern  world,  providing  students  with  an  outline  of  major  historical  movements  of  thought  and  an  encounter  with  some  of  the  principal  works  of  philosophy,  religion,  literature,  art,  and  history  that  form  the  Western  intellectual  tradition.  It  provides  students  with  the  concepts  needed  to  succeed  in  the  courses  that  make  up  the  humanities  portion  of  general  education  core  curriculum.    

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Learning  Strategies:    This  course  will  utilize  the  following  methods:    -­‐Short  lectures  will  provide  introductions,  contexts,  and  clarification  of  basic  concepts,  movements,  and  art  forms.    -­‐Class  discussions  will  provide  opportunities  to  share  ideas  and  understanding  about  the  readings  or  topics  under  investigation.    -­‐Writing  assignments  will  allow  you  to  develop  your  ideas  about  major  works  of  art,  history,  philosophy,  and  literature  while  improving  your  analytical  and  communication  skills.          -­‐Projects  provide  an  opportunity  to  explore  the  topics  under  discussion  in  a  creative  fashion  and  to  apply  them  to  your  experience.    Experiential  Learning  Opportunities:    This  course  will  employ  project-­‐based  learning  opportunities.             Assessments:  

Major  Assignments:  

5  Quizzes,  50  points  3  Short  Essays,  75  points  2  Projects,  50  points    Final  Exam  175  points  Final  Paper  Proposal  25  points  Final  Paper  175  points  

250  points,  25%  of  grade  225  points,  22.5%  of  grade  100  points,  10%  of  grade  175  points,  17.5%  of  grade      25  points,  2.5%  of  grade  175  points,  17.5%  of  grade  

Class  Participation   50  points                                                                                                            

50  points,  5%  of  grade    Total:  1,000  points  

Signature  Assignments    

This General Education class will help you prepare for CCSJ's Signature Assignments, a common written and oral project that students complete in Social Justice as freshmen, Religious Studies as sophomores, and Philosophy as juniors. Signature Assignments are assessed for written communications, oral communications, and critical thinking. You must meet required scores in Religious Studies to move ahead to Philosophy, and in Philosophy to complete your General Education program.

 

 Course  Schedule:  

 Class  Date   Topic/Activity     Assignments/Readings  Week  1:    09.01  Tuesday  

Syllabus,  Introductions,    Discussion:  Living  the  Good  Life      

Write  one  paragraph  description  of  the  good  life    Read  and  annotate  pages  1-­‐9  of  Foundations  of  Western  Culture    

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09.03  Thursday   Introduction  to  classical  Greek  culture,  art,  and  architecture  Description  of  Odyssey  and  Iliad  

Read  The  Odyssey,  Book  11;  and  The  Iliad,  Book  9  (lines  388-­‐420),  and  Book  18  (lines  478-­‐608).  (Blackboard)  Bring  description  of  good  life  

Week  2:    09.08  Tuesday  

Discuss  The  Iliad  and  The  Odyssey    Introduction  to  Plato  and  Greek  rationalism    

Read  Plato’s  “Allegory  of  the  Cave”;  and  selections  from  Phaedo  (Blackboard)    

09.10  Thursday   Discuss  “Allegory  of  the  Cave”  and  Phaedo  Quiz  Introduction  to  Roman  Culture  

Read  and  annotate  pages  10-­‐14  Foundations;  Epicitus’  Art  of  Living  (Blackboard)  

Week  3:    09.15  Tuesday  

Discuss  Roman  Stoicism  and  contrast  with  Greek  sensibilities    

Read  and  annotate  pages  15-­‐20  Foundations;  Genesis  1-­‐3,  22,  and  Exodus  20  (Blackboard)  

09.17  Thursday   Discuss  Old  Testament:  God,  the  law,  and  the  chosen  people  

Short  essay  1  due    Read  Mark  12,  Luke  10,  John  20  (Blackboard)  

Week  4:    09.22  Tuesday  

Discussion  of  Jesus  and  the  new  covenant      

Read  Acts  9  and  1  Corinthians  13    (Blackboard)  Read  and  annotate  20-­‐23  Foundations    

09.24  Thursday    

Discuss  Christian  notion  of  conversion  Introduction  to  Christian  Middle  Ages,  art,  and  architecture  

 

Week  5:    09.29  Tuesday  

   

10.01  Thursday    

Introduction  to  the  Renaissance  Discussion  of  Montaigne  

Read  Chaucer’s  “Wife  of  Bath”  and  Lais  of  Marie  de  France  (Blackboard)    

Week  6  10.06    Tuesday  

Discuss  Chaucer,  Marie  de  France  chivalric  romance,  and  Anglo  Saxon  England  Quiz  

Read  excerpt  from  Don  Quixote  (Blackboard)    Read  and  annotate  24-­‐27  Foundations    

10.08  Thursday   Discuss  Quixote,  Montaigne  and  the  beginning  of  the  modern  age      

Read  and  annotate  28-­‐32  Foundations  Montaigne’s  Essays  (Blackboard)    

Week  7    10.13  Tuesday  

Montaigne  Introduction  to  the  Reformation  and  the  Scientific  Revolution      

Kant’s  “What  is  Enlightenment”  Project  1  due:  Write  your  own  Canterbury  or  Calumet  Tale    Read  and  annotate  33-­‐37  Foundations;  and  Descartes’  Meditations      

10.15  Thursday   Kant  Introduction  to  the  Enlightenment  Discussion  of  Cartesian  skepticism      

Read  Coleridge’s  Rhyme  of  the  Ancient  Mariner  (Blackboard)    

Week  8   Introduction  to  Romanticism     Short  essay  2  due  

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Final  exam  period:  December  7-­‐12  (check  to  see  time  and  location  for  final  exam)  I  reserve  the  right  to  change  this  schedule  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  class.    

Responsibilities      

10.20  Tuesday   Discuss  Coleridge’s  Rhyme  Quiz  

Read  38-­‐42  Foundations;  Davis’  “Life  in  the  Iron  Mills”;  Marx’s  “Communist  Manifesto”  (Blackboard)  

10.22  Thursday   Introduction  to  Victorianism,  Industrialism,  and  the  age  of  bourgeois  capitalism    Discuss  Marx  and  Davis  

Read  Margaret  Fuller’s  “The  Great  Lawsuit”  (Blackboard)    

Week  9  10.27  Tuesday  

Discuss  emergence  of  feminism,  women  as  artists,  and  women’s  changing  experience  in  the  nineteenth  century    

Read  43-­‐47  Foundations  Read  excerpts  from  Nietzsche,  Beyond  Good  and  Evil;  Freud,  Civilization  and  its  Discontents;  and  Darwin’s  Descent  of  Man  (Blackboard)  

10.29  Thursday   Introduction  to  Modernism  and  the  twentieth  century  Discuss  Freud,  Nietzsche,  and  Darwin  

Read  Yeat’s  “The  Second  Coming”  and  Eliot’s  “The  Waste  Land”  (Blackboard)  

Week  10  11.03  Tuesday  

Discuss  modernist  aesthetic  experimentation    Quiz  

Read  Barowski,  “This  Way  to  the  Gas  Ladies  and  Gentlemen”    

11.05  Thursday   Discuss  the  great  wars,  the  holocaust,    and  their  effects  on  European  culture    Introduction  to  film    

Short  essay  3  due  Read  excerpts  from  Arendt’s  Eichmann  in  Jerusalem;  excerpts  from  Frankel’s  Man’s  Search  for  Meaning  

Week  11  11.10  Tuesday  

Discuss  existentialism  and  the  crisis  of  modern  culture  Continue  discussion  of  film,  popular  culture,  and  film  as  art    

Project  2  due:  Describe  or  draw  Achilles’  Shield  for  a  modern  period    Read  pages  48-­‐51  Foundations  

11.12  Thursday   Introduction  to  Postmodernism     Read  excerpts  from  Borges  (Blackboard)    

Week  12  11.17  Tuesday  

Discuss  Borges  and  turn  away  from  master  narratives  Quiz  

Final  paper  proposal  due    

11.19  Thursday   No  Class    

No  Class  

Week  13  11.24  Tuesday  

Discussion  of  television  and  contemporary  pop  culture    

Come  prepared  to  discuss  your  favorite  television  show  

11.26  Thursday   Final  paper  workshops     Bring  final  paper  drafts  (or  portions  of  drafts)    

Week  14  12.01  Tuesday  

No  Class—Thanksgiving   Prepare  any  questions  you  may  have  for  the  review  class  

12.03  Thursday   Class  review  and  exam  preparation  Review  and  discussion  of  good  life  Last  day  of  class  

Final  paper  due  

     

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Attending  Class    

You  cannot  succeed  in  this  class  if  you  do  not  attend.  We  believe  that  intellectual  growth  and  success  in  higher  education  occur  through  interaction  in  the  classroom  and  laboratories.  However,  we  do  not  want  to  penalize  students  for  participating  in  college-­‐sponsored  events.  When  you  miss  class  because  of  a  college  event,  you  must  give  notice  of  your  absence  in  advance,  and  you  are  responsible  for  all  missed  work.  Being  absent  doesn’t  excuse  you  from  doing  class  work;  you  have  more  responsibilities  to  keep  up  and  meet  the  objectives  of  this  course.      Please  provide  notice  for  an  absence  as  far  in  advance  as  possible,  either  by  speaking  with  me  in  class  or  by  emailing  me.  If  you  miss  class  for  an  excusable  reason  other  than  for  a  college-­‐sponsored  event  (for  illness,  for  example),  please  notify  me  through  email.      If  you  miss  nine  class  hours  total,  regardless  of  the  reason  (sports,  illness,  injury,  etc.),  you  will  fail  the  class.  This  means  that  if  you  miss  six  classes  you  will  fail.    

Turning  In  Your  Work    

You  cannot  succeed  in  this  class  if  you  do  not  turn  in  all  your  work  on  the  day  it  is  due.  Please  submit  all  work  completed  outside  of  class  at  the  beginning  of  the  class  period  during  which  it  is  due.  Assignments  should  be  submitted  as  hardcopies  (printed  on  paper).  I  will  accept  electronic  versions,  emailed  to  me,  in  case  of  emergency  or  for  excused  absences.  

Late  work  will  be  accepted  in  this  class,  but  with  increasing  deductions  to  possible  points  for  the  assignment.  For  each  day  the  assignment  is  late,  I  will  subtract  10%  from  the  total.    

Using  Electronic  Devices  

You  will  not  be  allowed  to  use  Electronic  devices  (laptops,  tablets,  ipads,  cellphones,  etc.)  in  class.  These  devices  cannot  be  kept  out  on  desks  or  tables,  and  must  be  stowed  in  bags.  If  you  use  one  of  these  devices  you  will  lose  your  participation  points  for  the  day.  If  you  must  use  your  phone  for  an  emergency,  please  go  out  of  the  classroom  to  do  so.    

Participating  in  Class   Frequent  and  informed  class  participation  is  extremely  important  in  this  class.  Please  come  to  class  having  completed  all  assigned  readings  and  assignments,  and  with  questions,  comments,  and  concerns  ready  for  our  discussion.  Your  participation  grade  is  based  not  simply  on  attending  class,  but  on  regular  contributions  to  it.  The  quality  of  your  notes  and  annotations,  which  I  will  check  every  class,  will  effect  your  participation  grade.    

Doing  Your  Own  Work      

If  you  turn  in  work  that  is  not  your  own,  you  are  subject  to  judicial  review,  and  these  procedures  can  be  found  in  the  College  Catalog  and  the  Student  Planner.  The  maximum  penalty  for  any  form  of  academic  dishonesty  is  dismissal  from  the  College.    Using  standard  citation  guidelines,  such  as  MLA  or  APA  format,  to  document  sources  avoids  plagiarism.  The  Library  has  reference  copies  of  each  of  these  manuals,  and  there  are  brief  checklists  in  your  Student  Handbook  and  Planner.      PLEASE  NOTE:  All  papers  may  be  electronically  checked  for  plagiarism.    

Withdrawing  from   After  the  last  day  established  for  class  changes  has  passed  (see  the  

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Class    

College  calendar),  you  may  withdraw  from  a  course  by  following  the  policy  outlined  in  the  CCSJ  Course  Catalog.  

     

Resources  Student  Success  Center:    

The  Student  Success  Center  provides  faculty  tutors  at  all  levels  to  help  you  master  specific  subjects  and  develop  effective  learning  skills.  It  is  open  to  all  students  at  no  charge.  You  can  contact  the  Student  Success  Center  at  219  473-­‐7770  or  stop  by  the  Library.  

Disability  Services:    

Disability  Services  strives  to  meet  the  needs  of  all  students  by  providing  academic  services  in  accordance  with  Americans  with  Disabilities  Act  (ADA)  guidelines.  If  you  believe  that  you  need  a  “reasonable  accommodation”  because  of  a  disability,  contact  the  Disability  Services  Coordinator  at  219-­‐473-­‐4349.  

   CCSJ  Alerts:    

Calumet  College  of  St.  Joseph’s  emergency  communications  system  will  tell  you  about  emergencies,  weather-­‐related  closings,  or  other  incidents  via  text,  email,  or  voice  messages.  Please  sign  up  for  this  important  service  annually  on  the  College’s  website  at:  http://www.ccsj.edu/alerts/index.html.    In  addition,  you  can  check  other  media  for  important  information,  such  as  school  closings:      Internet:      http://www.ccsj.edu  Radio:  WAKE  –  1500  AM,  WGN  –  720  AM,  WIJE  –  105.5  FM,  WLS  –  890  AM,  WZVN  –  107.1  FM,  WBBM  NEWS  RADIO  78  TV  Channels:    2,  5,  7,  9,  32