General Studies 145 C Fall Semester
2007
10:00 M; 11:00 WF Maxey Hall 210
Professor Sally Bormann
Office: 209 Boyer House
(34 Boyer Avenue)
Phone:
522-4391 (O); 529-3526 (H), 9-9
HOURS: M 11-11:50, W 1-2, and by appt.
EMAIL:bormans@whitman.edu
Homepage: http://people.whitman.edu/~bormans
145B:http://people.whitman.edu/~bormans/core.htm
Common Course Description and Common
Procedures
Antiquity and Modernity
General Studies 145, 146
A two-semester exploration of the formation and transformation of some western world views (ways of understanding nature, society, the self, and the transcendent). The course will focus on the World of Antiquity and the Modern World. Attention will be given not only to the continuity in the transition of dominant world views, but also to competing and alternative visions. The course will examine some of the important individuals and events which have significantly shaped, reshaped, and challenged these world views. In this process, revolutions in thought and society, encounters between peoples and cultures, and perspectives on "us" and "them" will constitute major objects of study. The study of primary sources, discussion, and writing will be emphasized. The two semesters will be taught as a single year-long course, with the first semester a prerequisite for the second. The P-D- F grade option may not be elected for this course. Three class meetings per week.
Guidelines for Common Procedure in First-Year Core
Writing assignments are to be set by each instructor, but there will be a
minimum of four written assignments and fifteen pages of writing each semester,
as well as a final evaluative exercise at the end of each semester.
Students who wish to change Core section may do so only at the semester break,
prior to the beginning of second semester, by making a request to the
Registrar. Students are not allowed to choose which section they would like to
enter. Those students who seek to change sections will be assigned to other
sections by the Registrar. All assignments must be completed for a student to
receive a passing grade. If a student fails to turn in a paper or to take an
examination, that student must receive an F or an Incomplete for the semester.
The penalties for academic dishonesty are described in the Statement on Academic
Honesty and Plagiarism that all students accept as proper rules for academic
behavior when they arrive on campus. Any substantially plagiarized written
assignment will not be considered a completion of the assignment, and will
result in failing the course. The grading criteria in the various
sections are determined by each instructor. Some sections may place a greater
emphasis upon some aspect of the students’ work (papers, oral reports,
participation in discussion, examinations, etc.) in the determination of a
course grade. This course has a common set of readings, but the process of
evaluation is unique to each section. Attendance, itself, is necessary
but not sufficient. Students must participate in the conversation.
Required Readings (note: not in MLA)
The Epic of Gilgamesh, trans. Foster. 2001. Norton. ISBN: 0-393-97516-9
Herodotus, The Histories. Tr. Aubrey de Sélincourt. Penguin Classics. ISBN: 0-140-44908-6.
Euripides. The Medea, trans. Warner. 1955. In Euripides I, Grene and Lattimore, eds. U. Chicago Press. ISBN: 0-226-30780-8.
Euripides. The Bacchae, trans. Arrowsmith. 1959. In Euripides V, Grene and Lattimore, eds. U. Chicago Press. ISBN: 0-226-30784-0.
Plato, Euthyphro, trans. Grube. 2001. In The Trial and Death of Socrates. Hackett Publishing Co. ISBN: 0-87220-554-1
Plato. Symposium, trans. Nehamas and Woodruff. 1989. Hackett Publishing Co. ISBN: 0-87220-076-0.
Tanakh, the Holy Scriptures. 1985. Jewish Publication Society. ISBN: 0-8276-0366-5
The New Oxford Annotated Bible, 3rd edition. 2001. Oxford U. Press. ISBN: 0-19-528485-2
Apuleius, The Golden Ass, trans. Kenney. 2004. Penguin. ISBN: 0-140-43590-5
Vibia Perpetua, “Perpetua’s Passion,” in What Would You Die For?. Ed. Joseph L. Walsh. Baltimore, MD: Apprentice House, 2006. ISBN: 978-1-934074-02-2.
Augustine, Confessions, trans. Pine-Coffin. 1961. Penguin. ISBN: 0-14-044114-
Diana Hacker, A Pocket Style Manual, 3rd ed., St. Martins, ISBN: 0-312-20488-4
Exams and Requirements
|
Discussion/Small Group Participation |
20% |
|
Presentation |
10% |
|
6 Paragraphs |
10% |
|
Paper #1 Due Oct. 1 |
5% |
|
Paper #2 Due Oct. 12 |
10% |
|
Paper #3 Draft Due Oct. 22 & Revision Due Oct. 29 |
15% |
|
Paper #4 Due Nov. 12th |
15% |
|
CLEo Exercises |
5% |
|
Oral Final: Scheduled individually during finals week. |
10% |
ASSIGNMENTS
All reading assignments are to be completed before the class for which they are required, and students will be held responsible for them. The work(s) to be discussed must be brought to class. The shared list of reading assignments across the sections of General Studies 145, 146 is online at: http://www.whitman.edu/general_studies/Read07.html .
Paragraphs
For six class periods early in the semester you will turn in a paragraph in which you analyze and discuss a short passage of your choosing from the reading for that day. These rarely, and only optionally, relate to the daily question on the schedule, which is a discussion preparation prompt. These paragraphs are due in class, not after class, and not in my mailbox or my office. I will grade only the paragraphs I receive in class. The dates due and works covered are:
8/31 F Gilgamesh, IV-VIII
9/5 W Herodotus, The Histories,
pp. 3-45 (I.1-95)
9/10 M Herodotus, The Histories, pp. 197-210
(III.61-86), 413-439 (VII.1-60)
9/14 F Herodotus, The Histories,
pp. 501-43 (VIII.1-120); 600-603 (IX.114-22)
9/19 W Euripides, Medea
9/24 M Euripides, Bacchae
In your discussion, make points. Do not merely summarize what you have read. Unlike the longer papers which are driven by open-ended questions, these paragraphs develop from close attention to a small passage of text. Show how you read it, why it is significant, or how it relates to major themes in the work. Show that you are getting familiar with how to quote and work from primary source material to make your own points. Do not strand the quotes. Use pithy snippets or bits of text as strong supports, but make the bridge your own. Aim for about 1/2 page in length. The entire document may not be longer than 1 page of double-spaced 12-point type (usually around 250 words).
Since professors often want “more stuff,” to quote Professor Hashimoto, director of the Whitman College Writing Center, you may well find that your later paragraphs are closer to one page in length, in response to feedback. Striving for the shorter length, however, encourages you to do quite a bit in a brief space. As my sample title in the sample header below suggests, professors also often want you to “push back” or read against as well as with the grain of the text. “Hm, wasn’t Gilgamesh famous for ‘raising’ Uruk—the epic begins and ends with this emphasis—so why focus on ‘razing’ rooftops?” That said, we also push you for balance and encourage you to let texts take you into strange and unexpected perspectives. We want you to avoid anachronism, sweeping universalism, reader-absorption and progressive fallacies. In other words, please read also with the grain of the texts in ways which might push against readers’ initial responses and move readers outside their comfort zones, but, again, not to excess.
Give your papers MLA style headers as in the Hacker sample headers on pages 151 and 153. In Word you would use “View” and then “Header and Footer” to automatically add your last name and let the computer do your page number for longer papers:
Your Last Name 1
Your Name
Professor Bormann
General Studies 145 C
3 September 2007
Razing the Rooftops in Gilgamesh XI.136-148
You do not need to give the lines and work in your title, although it might be a useful shorthand to direct your readers to your quote(s). Double-space throughout your paper. At some point in the paragraph, quote from the passage you are working on (do not give the entire passage at the top of your paper). Use parenthetical citations, following the guidelines for MLA documentation from Diana Hacker's A Pocket Style Manual. In the parenthetical citation, give either the page number or book and line numbers, but not both. Be consistent. Demonstrate that you know how to quote lines of verse, use ellipses, brackets, and quotation marks correctly (115-35). At the bottom of your page, type a work(s) cited, also following MLA form (135-48, 152, and 154).
Each paragraph is worth 20 points: 10 points for mechanics, 10 points for analysis. Stop turning in daily paragraphs when you have earned 100 points, or are satisfied with your total. You may not rewrite paragraphs or turn in more than 6 or more than one per class. No more than 100 points total are possible with no extra credit or substitutions. I will take points off for spelling, usage, and punctuation errors; double points off for sentence fragments, run-on sentences, documentation errors, and misspelling the author's name, the title of the work, or characters' names. These are warm-up exercises, designed to get everyone up to speed and to remind us of the expectations as we begin longer writing assignments. While these are "points off" exercises in terms of mechanics, pay particular attention to your analysis grades which are "points earned" and a better guide for grading of the longer papers.
Be ready to share your choice of quote and paraphrase your assertions at the beginning of the period (although we will not get to hear everyone’s ideas each time). This should give you something you are eager to share during discussion that day and remind us all to pay attention to, and return to, the texts, which are our primary source evidence for this course.
Papers
You will write four more traditional college papers. Paper #1 is 1 page long and due on October 1 (see syllabus under October 1 for topic). This first paper asks you to write before we have discussed the text as a group. The rest of the papers will address material already discussed. Paper #2 on an ethical dilemma which faces one of the characters encountered thus far is 3 pages (see syllabus under October 12 for topic). Papers #3 & #4 are 5-6 pages long. Due dates are given above in the grade percentages section and below on the schedule. Your papers should not be merely descriptive, informative or summary. Articulate a negotiable thesis or argument. That is, you should support one or more positions on an issue or point, even if you end with some remaining uncertainty and thoughtful questioning. See the section on paragraphs above also for some suggestions of what I look for in academic close-reading papers based on primary source quotes as evidence. I provide more guidelines on papers, revision questions, and my grading in class handouts and on-line at http://people.whitman.edu/~bormans/F07assign.htm.
Papers must be typewritten, double-spaced, have a title and use MLA parenthetical and works cited citation forms. You will do two required peer edits of a draft of paper #3. Classes often vote to also peer edit paper #4.
Late papers will be marked down. If the paper is turned in anytime within 24 hours of when it was due it will be marked down one grade level (e.g. from B+ to B). After that the grade will be lowered one level for each additional day which the paper is late. Instead of revisions to improve grades, I offer you the option of writing another 5-6 page paper (due by December 3). If you do the optional fifth paper I drop the lowest grade of the three last papers (Papers #3-5, all worth 150 points out of the 1000 points possible in the course). While I will suggest multiple paper topics to choose from for papers #3 and #4 you can e-mail me (or post to CLEo on the days suggested on the syllabus) your own paper topic for approval. We can negotiate topic changes up until 50 hours before the due date but no later. I suggest you consider your own prompts from the CLEo exercises as starting points for new topics. Writing from what interests you will likely generate more lively and unique papers that stand out from the crowd.
Participation
This course will be primarily conducted as a discussion course. Students
must complete all assigned readings by class time and must be prepared to
discuss those readings. Energetic, pithy, and thoughtful participation
in discussion is a vital element of this course and constitutes a significant
portion of your grade. Quality is more important than quantity. Do not dominate
or recede from view. Considerate, active, and interested listening is also
a component of participation. Apt questions and encouragement
of quieter members of class count towards good participation. You can
strongly disagree with one another but you must work to insure no voice is
silenced. In an atmosphere that is intellectually rigorous, full of reading
against and with the grain and brainstorming, there may be moments when there
is an unintentional foul. We do not want to get so caught up in the rules
that we forget to be swept up in the intellectual give and take. Nonetheless,
I suggest the following guidelines:
· Don’t ask, feel free to tell: You may find yourself commenting on—or feeling silenced by—moments in the texts or discussion which impinge on your personal experience regarding religions, cultures, genders, sexual practices, economic classes, social classes, learning or physical impairments, health issues, abuse, ecological perspectives and so on. Please do not ask your classmates if there are any members of a particular group present. If you want to speak out of an affiliation feel free to do so and expect classmates to engage in the discussion with that shared knowledge.
· Don’t spokesperson or ask someone to spokesperson: No one person can authoritatively spokesperson for a whole group and it is exhausting and often nerve wracking to be asked to do so. Speak as yourselves. Or talk in third person instances: “Some would say Perpetua gets better coverage and a larger role than Felicity because she’s the master not the slave.” Or take it right back to the text as we love you do in this course: “Doesn’t the text imply a radically different approach to homo-social bonding than what you just said? It makes Enkidu much more important than the renewal of seasonal fertility by sex with the sanctioned priestess at these lines.”
· Assume a classmate: Although we might not have representatives of all groups present, it is useful to “assume a classmate.” If we assume a classmate with a learning disability or a parent who died of AIDS or who believes in multiple gods, we might find ourselves learning to think in intriguing new ways from multiple perspectives.
Improvement and falling off of participation are considered in the final participation grade for the semester. To receive a good grade you will actively advance the discussion, and always speak to the point with a careful use of evidence from the text and a consciousness of your own proper level of participation. Strive to be articulate, original and insightful. You will give me participation self-evaluations periodically during class and I will give you midterm participation feedback.
As our shared syllabus mandates, “Attendance, itself, is necessary but not sufficient. Students must participate in the conversation.” As a group General Studies 145-146 faculty have high expectations for participation, attendance, being on time and actively engaged. Repeated absences, tardiness and disruptions will result in a drop in the participation grade itself. In addition to the weight given to participation as part of your overall grade, it is possible for absences and being late to lower a student’s overall grade in the course. I will be assigning you 0, ü-, ü, ü+, + daily grades on participation. If you have more than five 0’s for the course it will drop your overall course grade. Excused absences are 0’s unless you do the required make-up exercises (usually the required exercises plus a paragraph response to the daily question on CLEo forum, but check with me to make sure). Make-up work for excused absences must be handed in within a week of the missed class period. You are responsible for signing in on the daily sheet. Consistently being late and not doing preparation work (such as CLEo or at home exercises) can add up to additional 0’s. Students are expected to regularly attend class, to arrive on time, and to respect the professor and their fellow students. That said, a solid student who has good participation credit in the course need not explain or worry unduly about having 2-3 0’s on the book at the end of the term.
CLEo Exercises
To help insure that student interests are central to our discussions,
you will do some prewriting and consideration of texts on CLEo throughout the
semester due by 9 am on the day we discuss the reading. These are not due when
we have paragraphs or papers or interpretive presentations due (and on some
days when I plan on having other exercises). While some of these are already
on our schedule, I will post others in response to the way class discussions
are evolving. So listen up in class and check e-mails to keep up with all CLEo
exercises. CLEo exercises are explained in short headers on CLEo also. You
will often be asked to do one of the following five things:
A) Answer the daily question for the day. In the online discussion format, you will address the daily question, including a relevant quote on your point with parenthetical citation. You can reply and engage with your other small group members on this topic or generate your own separate threads for the discussion. This need not be lengthy and formally constructed, but it should be thoughtful and apt. CLEo prompts simply remind you of the daily question for that day.
B) Direct our attention to a quote from the reading for that day using parenthetical citation and explain why you want us to consider it with you. This is very similar to but less formal and lengthy than your paragraph exercises.
C) What larger Antiquity (and Modernity?) dialogues are raised in this section and what characterizes this way of entering the discussion in this part of the work? Refer back to earlier authors (or later if you are familiar with them) using parenthetical citation as appropriate.
D) Suggest one open-ended advance question you would like to hear us all discuss. Share a quote that relates to your question from the reading for that day, as well, using parenthetical citation. You should have thoughts about how you would answer this but feel there are many possible responses. Do not ask purely information or clarification questions, questions which require knowledge outside the primary reading, and questions that are really comments (such as, "Why is X such a wimp?"). While advanced questions are still provided on the schedule, we may choose as a group to sideline them in favor of student prompts.
E) Write a possible paper topic related to the reading for the day. This might look like D above or the advance questions provided or might be very differently imagined (including creative writing options).
Presentations
In three person groups of your own choosing, you will give an interpretive
oral presentation once during the semester. You can take 30-35 minutes of the
class period (around 10 minutes per student, though half of that done
substantively would be fine). Leave me at least 10 minutes for class business
and transitions, at least five minutes of that time at the end of the class. You
are responsible for demonstrating--and will be graded individually for--your
presentational skills and content. Each participant will hand in a copy of
their informal outline or notes for their part. A group handout for the class
is encouraged, also. Often these might give the major quotes responded to in
your presentation. While you can encourage the rest of the class to take part
in your presentation, you are responsible for showing your own substantive
engagement with the reading.
This is your interpretive response to the primary source. This is not meant to present researched, secondary source or context information. Focus on what is read for that day (not earlier or later in the text). Part One is non-traditional (not like an academic essay). It could involve debates, reviews, court trials, storytelling, demonstrating skills, teaching, responding in singing, painting, dancing, board games, or enactments (some characters or authors from earlier texts could be included). Your group, as individuals, or smaller groups, could do more than one style of interpretation. Part Two ensures that we do not lose sight of the primary source evidence. This can be done individually or as a group, interspersed throughout or in introduction or summation. Include your purposes in choosing your approach. Consider two key issues often addressed in responding to texts from antiquity, anachronism and being "faithful" to a source or "the worldview" of the piece. Also respond to your reasons for and awareness of adaptation, rejection, parody of elements in--or whole--primary readings for that day.
Your group will meet with me outside of class beforehand. Presentations will be on: 1) 9/17 M Medea (Group should meet with me by 9/10), 2) 9/26 W Tragedy Comparison (Group should meet with me by 9/19), 3) 10/5 F Plato (Group should meet with me by 9/28), 4) 11/9 F Apuleius (Group should meet with me by 11/2) and 5) 11/28 Augustine (Group should meet with me by 11/14—unusually early due to Thanksgiving). Other possibilities (if you can get a whole group to switch from one of the above) include 10/19 Job or 10/26 Luke (note a paper is also due that day).
Schedule of Readings
8/29 W
Gilgamesh, I-III. How are Gilgamesh and Enkidu transformed by what
kinds of social ties? I recommend the talk at 7 p.m. in Gaiser Auditorium
(Science Building) on writing for General Studies 145-146 by Professor Margo
Scribner.
8/31 F
Gilgamesh, IV-VIII. What does Gilgamesh lose and gain in these tablets?
What worldview is implied by the dreams, depiction of afterlife and humans’
and gods’ interactions? PARAGRAPH DUE (NOT BASED ON DAILY QUESTIONS
ABOVE).
9/3 M
Gilgamesh, IX-XI. CLEo Exercise due on daily question: What
has Gilgamesh learned on his epic adventure?
9/5 W
Herodotus, The Histories, p. 3-45 (I.1-95). What sort of a text is
Herodotus writing? What interests him and deserves mention and why? PARAGRAPH
DUE.
9/7 F
Herodotus, The Histories, p. 49-61 (I.106-30), 95-98 (II.1-10), 109-119
(II.35-57), 170-89 (III.1-43). To what extent is Herodotus a cultural relativist,
respecting difference and avoiding Greek bias, and to what extent is he creating
and confronting “the other” when writing of Persia and Egypt?
9/10 M Herodotus,
The Histories, p. 197-210 (III.61-86), 413-439 (VII.1-60). Why did
Herodotus chose to put a debate about these forms of government in the mouths
of Persian characters, not Greek ones? Why did he stress the flaws rather
than the benefits? PARAGRAPH DUE.
9/12 W
Herodotus, The Histories, p. 448-51
(VII.101-107), 456-64 (VII.128-45), 477-500 (VII.175-239). Why did Thermopylae
become so powerful a legend so quickly?
9/14
F
Herodotus, The Histories, p. 501-43 (VIII.1-120), 600-603 (IX.114-22).
Why do you think Herodotus reintroduces Cyrus at the very end? How does this
enter into the overall theme of east and west in conflict? PARAGRAPH
DUE.
9/17 M Euripides,
Medea (entire). How has Medea been wronged? SMALL
GROUP INTERPRETIVE PRESENTATION
9/19 W Euripides,
Medea. Consider Medea’s speech at 1021-1080. What forces
are in conflict within Medea? PARAGRAPH DUE.
9/21 F
Euripides, Bacchae (entire). What all is
Dionysius dismembering here and is there any value to doing so according to
the textual evidence? CLEo Exercise due.
9/24 M Euripides,
Bacchae. Explore the dualities in this text relative to those
in Gilgamesh. How do the worldviews in these texts differ on issues
of animal/man, gods/man, nature/culture, sex/friendship, women/men, ruler/subject,
among others? PARAGRAPH DUE.
9/26 W Tragedy Comparison.
SMALL GROUP INTERPRETIVE PRESENTATION
9/28 F
Plato, Euthyphro (entire). Why are definitions
dangerous and necessary? CLEo Exercise due.
10/1
M Plato, Symposium, p. 1-47.
1 PAGE P#1 DUE. For your paper: Pick one of these speeches and
speakers. How and where does his argument breakdown and what are the implications
of this breakdown? Another way of asking this is, “Where or why does the
argument become weak and unconvincing and what does that say about limitations
of the speaker or his cultural perspective?” Strive for a negotiable, focused
thesis. Feel free to restrict yourself to just one of the areas of breakdown
(hint: a less obvious one may make for a more intriguing paper).
10/3 W Plato, Symposium,
p. 48-60. On page 59 Diotima reaches the climax of her explanation. How does
her understanding of love differ from those of the speakers at the symposium?
CLEo Exercise due.
10/5 F Plato,
Symposium, p. 61-77. What is the impact of Alcibiades’
story? How does it affect Socrates’ or Diotima's speech? SMALL GROUP
INTERPRETIVE PRESENTATION
10/8 M
Fall Break
10/10 W The
Tanakh, Genesis 1-11. God creates man at 1:26
and again at 2:7. What are some differences between these two accounts?
10/12 F Genesis 12-22. What does the story
of the sacrifice of Isaac (22) show us about the God of this text? 3
PAGE P#2 DUE. Pick one text in our readings through Plato that has
an ethical dilemma in it of interest to you. To what extent do the characters
and the texts fail or succeed to address this dilemma? Hint: It does not
meet the criteria of “ethical dilemma” if there is a clear cut “right” or
“wrong” answer. What duties are competing here? Consider along the way what
insights into their culture (not ours) are brought out in the work? What criteria
are you using and are you being anachronistic or based in the text? Support
all points with pithy quotes from the primary source (no outside research).
Feel free to pick a small and less obvious character, issue or sub-issue for
this short paper.
10/15 M Exodus 1-15. Describe
God's relationship to Moses and the Jews. To what extent is this Isreal’s
epic? How is the depiction of Egypt in this text in dialogue with Herodotus?
CLEo Exercise due: Respond to possible paper topic or suggest your own for
P#3.
10/17 W Exodus 16-23; 32. Why
does God give all these commandments and rules and what is God concerned about?
CLEo Exercise due.
10/19 F Job 1-27,
29-31. Emphasis on Job’s initial lament (3), the first cycle of debate (4-14),
the second cycle of debate (15-21), and Job’s concluding speech (29-31). 5-6
PAGE P#3 DRAFT DUE IN TWO COPIES FOR PEER EXCHANGE.
10/22 M Job 38-42. Does God answer
Job’s questions? Is Job intimidated into silence? How has Job spoken the
truth and his friends not? SOME TIME FOR PEER EDIT EXCHANGE ON P#3 DRAFT.
10/24 W The
Bible, the Gospel of Luke 1-11. Consider Luke 2: 41-51. How does this story
characterize Jesus and Mary, the divine and the familial, wisdom and learning,
obedience and mastery?
10/26 F Gospel of
Luke 12-21. Why the parable form and what are the main strains of their message?
Why 12:51-3 and 14:26? 5-6 Page P#3 Due.
10/29
M Gospel of Luke 22-24. To what
extent is Jesus epic hero, everyman, philosopher, and divinity in ways (in)comparable
to earlier figures in our course? Is this worldview regarding grief, mortality,
foundations, role reversals, and self-transformation in dialogue with earlier
texts?
10/31 W
The Bible, Paul, Romans 1-8. What are his audience, purpose
and main message?
11/2 F
Paul, Romans 9-end. How does Paul enter and rework our shared text dialogues
about intentions and deeds? How are personal agency and the interaction with
the transcendent different here than in earlier texts? CLEo Exercise due:
Respond to possible paper topic or suggest your own for P#4.
11/5
M Apuleius, The Golden Ass I-III. Why such complexity, flowery language, shifting and
unreliable stories and storytellers? Why tales for the curious reader about
dangerous curiosity? *NOTE MANDATORY LECTURE THIS EVENING*
11/5 M
Kimball Lecture, Maxey Auditorium, 7 P.M. Professor Keith Bradley of
Notre Dame will speak on Apuleius. Attendance
is MANDATORY.
11/7 W Apuleius, The Golden Ass IV-VI. How does the Cupid and
Psyche (Love and the Soul?) story relate to Lucius and his plight and to other
core dialogues on love, for example Diotima’s ladder? (Optional exchange
of drafts of P#4 for peer editing, depending on class vote).
11/9
F Apuleius,
The Golden Ass VII-IX. Does Apuleius try to
exhaust us with these tales of adultery? Why might he want to? Alternatively,
how do these add entertainment or instruction? SMALL GROUP INTERPRETIVE
PRESENTATION
11/12 M Apuleius, The Golden Ass X-XI. Is the ending a surprise?
Is Lucius’ conversion sincere or does he remain gullible? How do our readings
of the whole text depend upon our answers? 5-6 Page P#4 Due.
11/14
W Vibia
Perpetua, Perpetua’s Passion
(What Would You Die For?), p. 61-95. What is the genre of this tale compared
to say the epics, the letters, the tales of the supernatural, the tragedies,
and the history or inquiries we have read?
11/16
F Vibia
Perpetua. What choices based
on competing worldviews did Perpetua face? What role reversals, self-transformations
and heroism or tragedy did she emphasize in her own narrative?
11/19-23 Thanksgiving Break
EAT WELL, ENJOY COMPANY, RUMINATE
11/26 M Augustine, Confessions 1-3. Why does Augustine say babies
are wicked? What is important about the theft of the pears? What world is
depicted in the details of his life? CLEo Exercise due.
11/28 W Augustine, Confessions 4-6. Why does Augustine write at
length about his friend and friendship? What is important about sex in these
books? SMALL GROUP INTERPRETIVE PRESENTATION
11/30 F Augustine, Confessions 7. What imagery does Augustine use
to explain his new conception of God? According to Augustine, what does Platonism
lack? CLEo Exercise due.
12/3 M Augustine, Confessions 8-9. What ideas from the pagan
world have been important for Augustine and what ideas from the Hebrew and
Christian world have been similarly important? CLEo Exercise due. (Optional
5-6 Page P#5 Due so lowest %15 paper grade could be dropped).
12/5 W Augustine, Confessions 10. Why did Augustine publish the
Confessions?
12/7 F
Last Day.
INDIVIDUAL ORAL FINAL EXAMS ARE SCHEDULED THROUGHOUT FINALS WEEK. WHILE THE FORMAT OF THE FINAL MAY CHANGE SOMEWHAT IN RESPONSE TO CURRENT STUDENTS’ INTERESTS, SEE http://people.whitman.edu/~bormans/assign.htm#final FOR THE USUAL FORMAT. TIME AND PLACE OF MY ORAL FINAL:
_________________________________
Oral finals are usually held in my office, Boyer House 209, towards downtown, across from the Bratton tennis center before you get to the dance studio.
DAY MY GROUP PRESENTS:___________________________________________ Note other group members and that a photo roster with contact information is available on CLEo.
ARE MY CLEo EXERCISES COMPLETE? DID I NEED TO DO ANY MAKE-UP PARAGRAPHS ON THE DAILY ADVANCE QUESTION?