Philosophy 403 | Office Hours in RH-436 (445-4489) |
Heroism and the Human Spirit | MWF: 10:30 AM -11:20 AM |
Philosophy Seminar | and by appointment |
Fall, 2001 | Phone: 445-4489 |
Prof. Michael Kagan | Email: kagan@mail.lemoyne.edu |
Goal: The main purpose of this course is to provide students with an opportunity to develop their own answers to the question, "What makes a person great?" It is hoped that giving students a chance to address this problem while seeing its inter-connections with fundamental philosophical issues will help them integrate their heroic visions into their own philosophies of human existence and/or philosophic religious faith.
Requirements and Grading
ABOUT THE SHORT WRITING ASSIGNMENTS: You are to select and complete five of the eight short writing assignments. A reading question is given along with each assignment. Unless otherwise indicated, please answer the reading question in less than one TYPED page (all assignments, except in-class writings, are to be typed). Make sure you are working with the current version of this syllabus [for Fall 2001].
Required Reading List: (in approximate reading order)
Morrison, Toni. The Bluest
Eye.
Wiesel, Elie. Night.
New York:
King, Stephen. Different
Seasons (also published as Shawshank Redemption).
Rand, Ayn. Anthem.
Butler, Octavia E. Bloodchild
and Other Stories.
Haley, Alex, and Malcolm
X. The Autobiography of Malcolm X.
Plato, Symposium.
SPECIAL NEEDS
In coordination with the
Academic Support Center (ASC), reasonable accommodations are provided
for qualified students with disabilities. Please register with the ASC
Office for disability verification and determination of reasonable accommodations.
After receiving your accommodation form from the ASC, you will need to
make an appointment with me to review the form and discuss your needs.
Please make every attempt to meet with me within the first week of class
so your accommodations can be provided in a timely manner. You can either
stop by the ASC, Library, 1st floor, or call (445-4118-voice or 445-4104-TDD)
to make an appointment.
IMPORTANT DATES
No classes on the following
dates: Sep. 3 (Labor Day), Sep. 5 (Mass of the Holy Spirit preempts
classes from 10:20 - 1:30)), Oct. 8 - Oct. 9 (Long Weekend),
and Nov. 21-24 (Thanksgiving Break).
PROJECT PROPOSALS DUE
Monday, OCT. 15. WRITTEN PROJECTS DUE: MON., NOV. 19.
LAST DAY OF CLASS - December
10.
ABOUT STUDENT PRESENTATIONS ON READINGS:
All students are expected
to do all readings and to share their understanding with one another in
class discussions and by leading their own and participating in other students'
presentations on the various readings. Student presentations on readings
begin the second week of class, and will be scheduled during the first
week. The subtopics will be divided up into student groups whose size will
be determined by the class size.
Remember: You have
less than an hour to present. Focus on the aspects your group finds most
interesting and important. Do not try to cover everything. Your presentation
will be improved if you make it easier for others to participate. (Please
try to help others' presentations by participating!) Please feel free to
meet with me to discuss your presentations. If you don't find me on campus,
feel free to call me at home before 8:00 PM. YOU CAN ALWAYS LEAVE
A VOICE MAIL MESSAGE AT 445-4489.
REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL STUDENT
PRESENTATIONS: For every presentation, you will be required to turn
in an outline or abstract of your presentation,
complete with a list
of all works used. Also, if you use any web pages, not only should
these be listed on the outline with the rest of your bibliography, but
you are also required to turn in a printout of all web pages used in preparing
the presentation. If your group divides the work into separate parts,
each member of the group will need to provide his or her own outline/abstract
and printouts. Outlines/abstracts, and printouts are to be
given to me BEFORE the presentation.
You may use up
to but not more than 5 minutes of videotaped material for your presentation.
If
the class is meeting in a room with a built-in VCR, make sure you know
how to use it. If you need to bring in a VCR or a computer for the
presentation, you may order one from AV by calling 445-4380 or on the web
at http://www.lemoyne.edu/information_systems/audio_visual/class.html
In the event of a technical
glitch or delivery problem make sure you can present without the computer
(e.g., PowerPoint) or videotaped material.
THE FINAL PROJECT might involve further investigating the issue of human greatness and heroism, a philosophical essay concerning some related issue of philosophical interest in a work of literature, a creative literary work of the student's own [e.g., a short story, 1st chapter of a novel, & c.], or a philosophical analysis of some related issue present in one of the works we studied, detailing the position[s] set forth in the work, and developing and defending one's own philosophical response. At the end of this syllabus you can find a list of some suggested works for final projects.
TENTATIVE COURSE SCHEDULE AND SCHEDULE OF ASSIGNMENTS ['*' MARKS WEEKS IN WHICH STUDENTS PRESENT ON READINGS.]
Albom, Mitch. Tuesdays
with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and the Last Great Lesson.
Amdur, Ellis. Dueling
with O-Sensei: Grappling with the Myth of the Warrior Sage. Available
from
www.ellisamdur.com.
Alexie, Sherman. The
Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven. (The movie "Smoke
Signals" is based on this.)
Becker, Ernest. The Birth
and Death of Meaning,
The Denial of Death, and other works.
Belenky, et al. Women's
Ways of Knowing.
Berne, Eric. What
Do You Say After You Say Hello? - The Psychology of Human Destiny,
and other works.
Brown, Claude. Manchild
in the Promised Land.
Brown, Christy. My
Left Foot.
Bujold, Lois McMaster. Cordelia's
Honor, and other works.
Butler, Octavia E. Parable
of the Sower, and other works.
Campbell, Joseph. The
Hero with a Thousand Faces. Second ed.
Card, Orson Maps in a
Mirror: The Short Fiction of Orson Scott Card, Ender's Game,
and other works.
Chandler, Raymond. The
Simple Art of Murder, and other works.
Cross, Amanda. Death
in a Tenured Position, and other works.
Davies, Robertson. The
Deptford Trilogy : Fifth Business/the Manticore/World of Wonders, and
other works.
DeWitt, Helen. The
Last Samurai.
Dostoevsky, Fyodor. Brothers
Karamazov,
The Idiot,
Notes from the Underground, "The
Crocodile," and other works.
Elgin, Suzette Haden. Native
Tongue,
The Judas Rose,
The Gentle Art of Verbal Self Defense
and other works.
Ellison, Ralph. Invisible
Man.
Frankl, Viktor. Man's
Search for Meaning. Pocket Books Washington Square Press printing,
1985.
Friedman, C.S. This
Alien Shore, and other works..
Gardner, John. The Art
of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers.
Gilligan, Carol. In a
Different Voice: Psychological Theory and Women's Development.
Gilman, Dorothy The Amazing
Mrs. Pollifax,
Tightrope Walker, Incident at Badamya,
and other works.
Goldman, William. The
Princess Bride.
Hammett, Dashiel. The
Maltese Falcon (the book and the movie). You should look at
his other novels as well.
Hargrove, Anne C. Getting
Better: Conversations with myself and other friends while healing from
breast cancer.
Heinlein, R. The Moon
is a Harsh Mistress,
Citizen of the Galaxy, Double Star
and other works.
Hesse, Hermann. Siddhartha,
The
Journey to the East,
The Glass Bead Game, Steppenwolf,
and other works.
Hoeg, Peter. Smilla's
Sense of Snow,
Borderliners.
Howatch, Susan. Glamorous
Powers, and other works.
Irving, John. A Prayer
for Owen Meany,
The World According to Garp.
Jarmusch, Jim. Ghost
Dog: The Way of the Samurai.
Kafka, Franz. "Penal Colony,"
"Hunger Artist," The Trial,
The Castle, and other works.
Kagan, Michael . Educating
Heroes (Durango, Colorado: Hollowbrook, 1994.
Kamenetz, Rodger. The
Jew in the Lotus : A Poet's Rediscovery of Jewish Identity in Buddhist
India, and Stalking Elijah: Adventures with Today's Jewish
Mystical Masters.
Kaye, Ronnie. Spinning
Straw into Gold.
King, Stephen. The
Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon,
Hearts in Atlantis, Bag of Bones,
and other works.
Kress, Nancy. Beggars
in Spain,
Maximum Light.
Leonard, George. Mastery
(New York: Penguin/Plume, 1992).
Lowry, Dave. Autumn Lightning.
Le Guin, Ursula K. The
Telling,
Left Hand of Darkness,
The Lathe of Heaven,
The
Dispossessed, and other works.
Levine, Gail Carson. Ella
Enchanted.
Morrison, Toni. Song
of Solomon, and other works.
Morrow, James. Towing
Jehovah,
Blameless in Abaddon, and other works.
Noddings, Nel. Caring.
McBride, James. The Color
of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother.
Oates, J. C. On Boxing.
Plato. The Republic,
and other works.
Polster, Miriam F. Eve's
Daughters : The Forbidden Heroism of Women.
Pullman, Philip. The
Golden Compass (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1996).
Raffa, Jean Benedict. The
Bridge to Wholeness: A Feminine Alternative to the Hero Myth.
Rand, Ayn. The Fountainhead,
Atlas
Shrugged,
The Virtue of Selfishness.
Rollin, B. First, You
Cry.
Rowling, J. K. Harry
Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.
Russell, Mary Doria. The
Sparrow, and Children of God.
Salmonson, Jessica Amanda.
A
Silver Thread of Madness, and other works.
Sapphire. Push:
A Novel.
Silverberg, Robert. Lord
Valentine's Castle.
Steiner, Claude M. Scripts
People Live: Transactional Analysis of Life Scripts.
Suzuki, D.T. Zen and
Japanese Culture.
Sturgeon, Theodore. More
than Human, and other works.
Scriptures, religious tales
and teachings of interest to the student, from a variety of traditions
(including, but not limited to, African, Buddhist, Christian, Islamic,
Jewish, Native American, Taoist, Vedic.)
Stout, Martha. The
Myth of Sanity: Divided Consciousness and the Promise of Awareness.
Tan, Amy. The Joy
Luck Club, The Hundred Secret Senses.
Tolstoy, Leo. The Death
of Ivan Ilyich, and other works.
Vonnegut, Jr., Kurt. Mother
Night, Slaughterhouse Five, and other works.
Walker, Alice. The
Color Purple.
Wachowski, Andy and Larry.
The
Matrix.
Wiesel, Elie. Dawn,
The
Accident, and other works.
Willis, Connie. Passages,Doomsday
Book,
Bellwether, and other works..
Yoshikawa. Musashi.
Zettel, Sarah. Fool's
War.