| Philosophy 403-21 | Office Hours in RH-436 (445-4489) |
| Heroism and the Human Spirit | M 10:30 a.m. - 11:20 a.m. |
| Philosophy Seminar, Summer, 2004 | and by appointment. |
| Prof. Michael Kagan | Email: kagan@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
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. Failure to do so BEFORE
the
presentation will result in a 30% deduction from the relevant
presenter's
presentation grade. If the outline and printouts are not turned
in
by the next class, there will be an additional 30% deduction. 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 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 videotaped
material.
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 about 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, you are welcome to call me at home before 8:00 PM. YOU
CAN
ALWAYS LEAVE A VOICE MAIL MESSAGE AT 445-4489.
THE 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.
GRADING
Required Reading List: (in approximate reading order)
Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye.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:
PROJECT Proposals due Thurs., Jul 22. Final presentations (Tues., Aug 3 &
Thurs., Aug. 5)
. Optional WRITTEN
PROJECTS DUE: Tuesday, Aug. 3
LAST DAY
OF CLASS - Tues., Aug. 5.
#1 (Tues., July 6)
Introduce course, choose groups and schedule presentations
on readings. In-class writing on childhood heroes.
#2 (Thurs., July 8) Discussion of heroic scripting.
Instructor presents on "The Porcelain
Salamander." Group work on "The Porcelain Salamander."
*#3 (Tues., July. 13) Students present on Toni Morrison's The
Bluest Eye.
SHORT WRITING ASSIGNMENT: What do you like most (or least)
about The
Bluest Eye" Why? Lecture on self-deception and bad
faith. Instructor presents on Card's "The Best
Day." The temptation to deny the best and the worst.
*#4 (Thurs., July 15) Students present on Night.
SHORT WRITING
ASSIGNMENT DUE: What, by the end of Night seems
to be the
most important? Why? (Note: You may write about one or more
people.) Instructor presents
on anthropodicy and theodicy; Le Guin's "Those who walk away from
Omelas."
*#5 (Tues., July. 20). SHORT WRITING ASSIGNMENT DUE: In the world King describes, one's career is chosen by others at
an early
age - Which characters in the book resist this choice? How?
Students present on
Stephen King's "The Body" (in Different
Seasons). Students
present on Octavia Butler's "The Evening and the Morning, and the
Night" (in the Bloodchild anthology) . SHORT WRITING
ASSIGNMENT DUE:
Who in your experience, is like the people in this story? Have
they
chosen to do what they do best? Why or why not?
Please
explain, using examples from the story. Instructor presents on
* #6 (Thurs., July 22) Students present on Anthem. SHORT
WRITING
ASSIGNMENT DUE: In
the world Rand describes, one's
career is chosen by others at an early
age - Which characters in the book resist this choice? How? Does our society also
put some in a position that will keep them from hurting the status quo?
If so,
how so? If not, why not? Lecture on problem of personal identity.
Lecture on "Becker,
Childhood, and Scary
Stories" Instructor
presents on Heroic Myths (Campbell and Raffa)
and the twice born. PROJECT PROPOSALS DUE. SCHEDULE PROJECT PRESENTATIONS.
* #7 (Tues., July. 27)Students present on Stephen King's "The
Breathing
Method" (in Different Seasons). SHORT WRITING ASSIGNMENT
DUE: What, if anything, is frightening about this story?
Why? Instructor
presents on one way of reading King (and other authors). SHORT WRITING ASSIGNMENT DUE: In the
world Claude
Brown describes, one's future seems decided at an early age - How do
different
people in the book respond to this? What can we learn from this?
Students
present on Manchild in the Promised Land. Group work on Manchild in the Promised
Land/ Lecture
on racism and deception.
* #8 (Thurs., July 29) TWO PART SHORT WRITING ASSIGNMENT DUE:
Write a brief description of a
friend or a brief story in which the sex of at least one major
character is
neither stated nor implied. THEN explain which of the people
described in
the Symposium has a theory about that love you think
makes sense
of their own life. Explain why. Note: You are welcome
to do
this within one page if you can, but, for this assignment, the page
limit is 3
TYPED pages. Students present on Symposium. Lecture on "Sex and Gender. Lecture on "Possibilities and Practice: The
Heroic
Task and Self Education." Buber's
hasidut and Rebbe Nachman's "The Turkey Prince" (includes group work
on Rebbe Nachman's story). In-class writing exercise on future
autobiography.
*#9 & #10 (Tues., Aug 3 &
Thurs., Aug. 5)
Student
presentations
on final projects (these are to be between 20 and 50 minutes in
length, depending
on the size of the class, and the number of students presenting). Bring Bloodchild to class. We will
work with Butler's "Positive
Obsession" & Furor
Scribendi,"
as time permits.