Honors Core Seminar on Western Culture After 1400
Combined Syllabus for
PHL 231-GH1: Modern and Contemporary Philosophy &
HUM 121-GH1:
Western Culture and the Arts: Renaissance through the 20th Century
Spring, 2007
For PHL 231-GH1:
Course (Catalog) Description
Course
examines last 350 years of Western philosophy. Topics include works of at least
five major philosophers such as Descartes, Spinoza, Hume, Kant, Hegel, Marx,
Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, James, Sartre, Rawls, Foucault, De Beauvoir, and
Habermas. Content includes philosophical ideas about the nature of reality,
knowledge, morality, and social justice.
Learning Objectives
Students will develop an understanding of at least five
fundamentally different philosophical theories and the problems that these
theories address.
Students will develop their critical thinking skills.
They will examine criticisms of all the philosophical theories they study and
will debate the alternative solutions offered by these theories to enduring
philosophical questions.
They will study the development of Western philosophy
and the ways in which philosophers uncover and critique the hidden assumptions
of their predecessors.
Students will understand the historical contexts within
which these theories arose and will study the relationships of the theories to
these historical contexts. They will examine the roles of philosophers both as
apologists and as critics of their societies.
In the contemporary period, new philosophical movements
such as feminist philosophy and post-colonial theory will be introduced.
Students will learn how these philosophers applied
ethical principles to the enduring questions of human life.
For HUM 121-GH1:
Course (Catalog)
Description:
Course surveys the great
artistic and intellectual accomplishments of Western civilization from the
Renaissance through the 20th Century. Content includes visual arts, literature,
drama, philosophy, architecture, and music studied in historical context.
Learning Objectives:
The student will understand and demonstrate knowledge of the important stylistic
eras covered.
Representative works of art (painting, sculpture, architecture, music, etc.)
will be recognized by the student and critically evaluated. Representative
works of philosophy and theology will also be critically evaluated
The cultural and intellectual works studied will be understood in relation to
the social, political, and economic contexts of their eras.
The student will develop an appreciation for the rich cultural diversity that
underlies Western civilization.
The values expressed in the religious, philosophical, and literary texts of
these eras will be studied, and their current relevance will be discussed.
For both PHL 230-GH1 and HUM 120-GH1:
Academic Integrity
Students and employees at Oakton Community College are required to demonstrate
academic integrity and follow Oakton’s Code of Academic Conduct. This code
prohibits:
· cheating,
· plagiarism (turning in work not written by you, or lacking proper citation),
· falsification and fabrication (lying or distorting the truth),
· helping others to cheat,
· unauthorized changes on official documents,
· pretending to be someone else or having someone else pretend to be you,
· making or accepting bribes, special favors, or threats, and
· any other behavior that violates academic
integrity.
There are serious consequences to violations of the academic integrity policy. Oakton’s policies and procedures provide students a fair hearing if a complaint is made against you. If you are found to have violated the policy, the minimum penalty is failure on the assignment and, a disciplinary record will be established and kept on file in the office of the Vice President for Student Affairs for a period of 3 years.
Details of the Code of Academic Conduct can be found in
the Student Handbook.
Outline of Topics
(Please refer to the schedule of readings for a more
detailed list of readings and dates for the exams)
A. The Renaissance
B. The Reformation
C. The Baroque Era
D. The Enlightenment
E. Revolution and Reaction
F. The Triumph of the Bourgeoisie and the Challenge of the Working Class
G. Early Modernism
H. Modernism
Requirements
A. Attendance
This class will function primarily as a seminar. This
requires that students take an active part in beginning, shaping and developing
the content of the course. Thus, student participation is a significant
component of this class. The main emphasis of this course is to raise and
discuss questions and issues related to the formation and self-understanding of
the “Western World” and to interrogate how these issues continue to influence
our lives today. Discussion and conversation are very important for the learning
and development of philosophy and philosophical reasoning, as well as the
discussion of the arts and culture. Useful discussion requires at least two
things: first, students must be present in class, and second, students must be
conversant with the material. Students are expected to have completed all of the
readings on the day they are due and be ready to discuss the material.
Attendance will be graded in this course in the following manner:
Students will earn one participation point for merely attending class. Coming to class late or leaving early means that the student will only earn half a point for that day. Missing class, obviously, means that no points are awarded for that day. Please note: There are no excused absences for this class. Whatever the reason you miss class; you will not receive credit for attending, since you did not attend. However it is possible to replace missing participation points through extra-credit assignments (see below)
Since there are 32 days in this class, there are a possible 32 participation points to be gained merely by attending all the class sessions.
B. Participation
Students will also be graded on their participation in class. Each class students are expected to come to class having done the reading. They should also bring their texts and notes on the reading. Each student should be able to answer questions, posed by the instructors or other students, about the reading. Those students that do so will receive one participation point for their contributions to discussion.
Any student who has not done the reading for that class period can “opt out” of the discussion. By opting out students forego one participation point for the day. We would like to emphasize that we want you to be in class. Please do not fail to attend because you haven't finished the reading or completed an assigned paper.
C. Rules for Class Discussion
What follows are some simple rules that we will use to help foster strong and meaningful discussion in the class. Every student must agree to abide by these rules. So, read them carefully and make sure you understand them fully. This is a discussion-based Great Books class, and your participation in discussion is needed.
Students must bring a copy of the reading to class in order to participate in the discussion.
a. Since discussion is text-based, it is essential that students come with the text.
b. If a student comes to class without their text they will be asked to leave and will not be allowed to return until they have the text.
Students must prepare (read and think carefully about) the reading in order to participate in the discussion.
c. Students who have not prepared adequately will be unable to offer textual support for their ideas and interpretations, and their responses to other students’ ideas and interpretations.
d. Remember that a great deal of this class is about how to read carefully and critically, and how to think about what you have read.
e. The schedule of readings may change over the course of the semester –so you should make sure that you keep abreast of the changes.
Students must be able to support their ideas, interpretations, criticisms, and questions with evidence from the text.
f. It is permissible to make reference to evidence outside of the text –personal experience, contemporary events, etc.—but, only in support of ideas which themselves have originated or respond in some way to the text itself.
g. If you are responding to a comment or idea from another student, again, you must be able to make reference to the text for support.
h. In interacting with one another it is essential to be respectful and considerate. Students who are disrespectful or inconsiderate to others will be asked to leave the classroom, and may not be permitted to return
i. Do not use racial, sexual or ethnic slurs.
j. While there are a number of possible interpretations, some interpretations are stronger or better than others.
k. The idea here is to learn together (and this includes the professors) –you should try not to “wed” yourself to a particular position, but be willing to change your mind if the evidence suggests that your interpretation is not as strong as an alternative interpretation.
l. Those interpretations that are more strongly supported by the text are stronger than other interpretations.
m. Part of our job here is to discover the best interpretation and understanding of the material that is possible.
D. Attending Outside Events
Students must also attend 6 events outside of class that relate to the themes and topics of the course. Each attendance at an outside event is potentially worth three participation points. There are two required events. We want you to make every effort to attend two Oakton events: the Conrad Symposium and Dr. Mardge Cohen’s address on AIDS in Chicago and Africa. For the other events, you may choose. One event should involve art, one should involve theater (Shakespeare is recommended), one should involve music (preferably the CSO). We will make suggestions about appropriate events and will do at least one field trip to the Art Institute. We will ask for proof of attendance and a brief write-up on each event.
E. Grading Attendance & Participation
Attendance (32 days x 1 point)………. 32 pts
Participation (32 days x 1 point) 32 pts
Outside Events (6 x 3 points) 18 pts
Total points possible ……….. 82 pts
F. Writing Assignments
Analysis and Response Papers. These are a series of short (2-3 page) essay papers written in response to specific questions or issues raised by the instructors over the course of the semester. Generally speaking there will be one ARP per week (for a total of 15). Each ARP must be an essay (that is, it should have a developed and defended thesis) and must be text-based (again, must make specific reference to the material under discussion –I am including art and architecture as forms of texts here). Each ARP will be graded on a scale of 0-10. An excellent ARP (a “10” as it were) is one that shows a solid understanding of the material, an ability to think creatively and reflectively about the material, and an ability to articulate that understanding clearly and concisely. While these are short papers, you should not treat them lightly. First, these are excellent preparation for writing the essay exams (see below) and second, these papers will help us track your understanding of the material throughout the course. There are a total of 150 points possible here.
G. Exams
There will be a total of 4 exams given throughout the semester. Each exam will combine both components of the course (philosophy and humanities). Generally, the exams will include a portion that deals specifically with the “humanities” (art identification, etc), and an essay question that asks the students to relate the philosophy portion of the class to the humanities portion of the class. Study guides will be distributed at least one week before each exam.
H. Final exam
There will be a “final exam” given at the end of the semester. This is a comprehensive essay exam that will ask the student to reflect upon the whole content of the semester.
I. Portfolio
Each student is required to maintain a “course
portfolio” in which they preserve all of the work that they do for the course.
The portfolio will be turned in at the end of the semester. It should include
the write-ups and proofs of attendance from the 6 outside events, each ARP
(written assignment) with grade and instructors comments, and each of the exams,
with grade and comments. Any extra credit events should also be included in the
portfolio.
Attendance and Participation 20%
ARPs 30%
Exams 30%
Final Exam 20%
Grading Scale. 91% - 100% = A // 81% - 90% = B // 71% - 80% = C // 61% - 70% = D // below 61 = F
In general, students will receive the same final grades for HUM 121 and PHL 231 since we are fully integrating these two classes. However, if a student should end up with a B+ average, we will assign one A and one B.
You will definitely need to purchase the following:
Western Humanities, Vol 2.
Readings in Western Humanities, Vol 2.
Coursepack
We will be using a number of other books for the class,
and you may purchase them from the bookstore. All of these works are classics
in philosophy and literature that we believe you will consult many times during
your life. We have tried to order inexpensive editions. We do want to point
out that these texts are also available on the Web. These primary sources are:
Discourse on Method and Meditations on First Philosophy by Rene Descartes
Paradise Lost by John Milton
Second Treatise on Government by John Locke
Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion by David
Hume
Perpetual Peace and Other Essays by Immanual Kant
Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844 by Karl Marx
On Liberty and Other Essays by John Stuart Mill
Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche
The Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
The Ethics of Ambiguity by Simone de Beauvoir
Some material may be either handed out to the students
by the instructors or found on line. Remember; under all circumstances make sure
you bring the reading material to class
A. General Writing Guidelines for the Course
All writing work for this class, unless it is done in class, must be typed. No writing assignments that are not typed will be accepted.
You cannot email us your writing assignments without prior approval. Any emailed assignments without prior approval will not be credited.
The following points are required for any written work
you turn in to us:
i. All writing should be college level. (Use spell-check, use the
grammar-check. Watch out for run-on sentences. Each paragraph should have a
point or thesis. If you don’t know this stuff, go to the Writing Center or talk
to me.)
ii. All writing should be double-spaced with one-inch margins. Your name
should appear on the first page with the course name, date, and ARP number.
iii. The essay should begin with a thesis statement—and the body of the
essay should establish or work out the thesis.
iv. Avoid flowery language and filler. Don’t start anything you write for
me with something like: “Descartes was an important philosopher.” These kinds
of sentences merely take up space. They do nothing to advance your ideas or your
thesis. Remember your primary audience.
v. All quotes and paraphrases should be properly cited. DO NOT PLAGIARIZE!
Our department does not tolerate plagiarism.
B. Late Assignments
1. It is important to remember that there are no excused absences from this class. You can compensate for missing class by doing more outside events.
2. Writing Assignments may not be turned in late. However, some make up writing assignments will be offered as extra-credit over the course of the semester. Please note: as extra-credit assignments these writing assignments may require more effort and work from the student. They will be longer, and will ask the student to go beyond the material of the course to some extent.
3. Exams can be taken late—if they are taken before we return the exams (one week). Please note: it is the student’s responsibility to make sure that there is an exam in the testing center for you to take if you miss the exam during regular class time. You must contact one of the instructors and ask them to place a make-up exam in the testing center.
C. The Realities of Life
Any student suffering from a prolonged medical emergency
or military service or other major event that hinders their ability to complete
the course should speak with us as soon as possible so that arrangements can be
made for them to complete the course. We will do what we can to work alternative
ways for the student to fulfill course requirements.
If necessary, we will give students incomplete grades. We simply ask that you
stay in communication with us; please do not simply disappear.
D. Basic Classroom Deportment
Our actions effect others. Thus, please refrain from the following behavior:
· Do not talk with your neighbors when either the professor or another student is talking;
· Turn off your cell-phone before you come to class (if you must leave it on for emergency reasons, just let us know);
· Make every effort to be on time, and do not leave during the middle of class—particularly when someone else is in the middle of saying something (this is very rude);
· It is not a problem to eat or drink in class, but if you are getting food during the break, return on time.
· Do not show disdain for another student’s ideas—and certainly not the professors’! You may, of course, disagree. Just do so respectfully;
· Do not, under any circumstances, come to class and do course work for another class;
· Do not, under any circumstances, come to class and sleep. Go home and take a nap.
The instructors (Holly and Tom), and the other students, appreciate your presence in class and your contribution to class discussion—and your willingness to behave reasonably. Please note that failure to follow these simple requests may result in your being asked to leave the class.
E. A Brief note on Grading
You can expect that we will return your work to you within at most one-week of your turning it in to us. If it takes longer than that, we will let you know before hand. Further, we will be as clear as possible about why you received the grade you did for any assignment (including your participation and discussion grade). If at any time you are unsure of why you received the grade you did, please do not hesitate to consult with us.
F. Disabilities
If you have a documented learning, psychological, or physical disability you may be entitled to reasonable academic accommodations or services. To request accommodations or services, contact the ASSIST office in the Learning Center. All students are expected to fulfill essential course requirements. The College will not waive any essential skill or requirement of a course or degree program.
G. Discrimination
The Oakton Community College Catalog states:
Oakton Community College does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, disability, age, sex, sexual orientation, or marital status in admission to and participation in its educational programs, activities and services, or employment practices. The College does not tolerate sexual harassment or sexual assault by or of its students or employees.
In keeping with this policy of tolerance and non-discrimination, in this class all of us (myself included) should strive to listen and give careful consideration to all ideas expressed in class, especially those that are different from our own, without attacking or demeaning the people who have those views. We should also strive to avoid using insulting terms or telling offensive jokes when talking to or about individuals or groups.