Philosophy
403-21
Office
Hours in RH-436 (445-4489)
Heroism and the Human Spirit
Tues.
10:30 a.m. - 11:20 a.m.
Philosophy Seminar, Summer, 2005
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
- Participation, in-class
writings, optional
writings and extra credit assignments
- Your five short writing
assignments
- Your presentation on one
of
the assigned readings
(you may sign up for 2; if so, the highest grade will count)
- Your final
project to be agreed
upon in advance. This is to be presented and/or written (if you
do both, the higher grade counts).
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.
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/DVD player, make sure you know how to use it. If you need to
bring in a
VCR/DVD player 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
- 25% of the grade is
based on
participation,
in-class writings, and the optional journal and other optional writing
assignments. Since you are not participating when you don't
attend
class, you will need to make up any absences with extra-credit
assignments
and journaling.
- 25% of the grade is
based on
the presentation
on the readings.
- 25% for the five
short
writing assignments
(the grade will be the average of the best four out of five).
- 25% is determined by a
written project and/or its presentation.
Grades
are based on a 10 point
scale as follows:
90-100
- 'A' range
(97-100 = A+; 94-96=A; 90-93=A-).
80-89
- 'B' range (87-89 =
B+; 84-86=B; 80-83=B-).
70-79
- 'C' range (77-79 =
C+; 74-76=C; 70-73=C-).
60-69
- 'D' range (67-69 =
D+; 64-66=D; 60-63=D-).
Below
60 - 'F'.
Failure
to complete any of
(1)-(4) can result
in a failing grade. Plagiarism will result in a failing grade.
Required
Reading
List: (in approximate
reading order)
Vonnegut, Jr., Kurt. Welcome
to the Monkey House.
Morrison,
Toni. The Bluest
Eye.
Wiesel,
Elie. Night.
King,
Stephen. Different
Seasons
(also published as Shawshank
Redemption).
Rand,
Ayn. Anthem.
Butler,
Octavia E. Bloodchild
and Other
Stories.
Brown,
Claude. Manchild in
the
Promised Land.
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:
PROJECT Proposals due Thurs., Jul 21. Final presentations (Tues., Aug 9 & Thurs., Aug. 11)
. Optional WRITTEN
PROJECTS DUE: Thursday, Aug. 4
LAST DAY
OF CLASS - Thursday,
Aug. 11.
TENTATIVE COURSE SCHEDULE AND SCHEDULE
OF ASSIGNMENTS ['*' MARKS WEEKS IN WHICH STUDENTS PRESENT ON READINGS.]
#1 (Tues., July 12)
Introduce course, choose groups and schedule presentations
on readings. In-class writing on childhood heroes.
#2 (Thurs., July 14) Discussion of heroic scripting.
Instructor presents on "The Porcelain
Salamander." Group work on "The Porcelain Salamander."
*#3 (Tues., July. 19) Students present on Toni Morrison's The
Bluest Eye.
SHORT WRITING ASSIGNMENT: Who values the truth most in 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.
Self-deception and bad faith. Instructor presents on Kurt
Vonnegut's "More Stately Mansions" (please bring Welcome to the
Monkey House) and/or Card's "The Best Day." The temptation
to deny the best and the worst.
*#4 (Thurs., July 21) Students present on Night.
SHORT WRITING
ASSIGNMENT DUE: What, by the end of Night seems
to know the
most? 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. 26). 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 Rand's
philosophy.
* #6 (Thurs., July 28) 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., Aug.2) Students
present on Stephen King's "The
Breathing
Method" (in Different Seasons). SHORT WRITING ASSIGNMENT
DUE: What in this story is most realistic? What can we learn from
this? 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., Aug. 4)
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 beliefs about love that are consistent with
their own life/lives. 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 9 &
Thurs., Aug. 11)
Student
presentations
on final projects (these are to be between 15 and 45 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. Also, please bring Welcome to the Monkey House
to class.
SOME
SUGGESTED
WORKS FOR
FINAL PROJECTS
Ajami,
Fouad. The
Dream Palace of the Arabs.
(Pantheon Books, 1998).
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, Old School: Essays on Japanese Martial Traditions.
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.
Chesbro, George. Shadow of a
Broken Man.
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.
Eugenides, Jeffrey. Middlesex.
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.
Goldstein, Lisa. Dream Years, The Red Magician, Travellers
in Magic and other works..
Haley, Alex, and Malcolm X. The Autobiography of Malcolm X.
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.
Howie, Noelle. Dress
Codes: Of Three Girlhoods--My Mother's, My Father's, and
Mine.
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.
Jewell, Lisa. One-Hit
Wonder.
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.
Kiyosaki, Robert T., and Sharon Lechter.
Rich
Dad, Poor Dad.
Kress, Nancy. Beggars in Spain, Maximum Light.
Leonard, George. Mastery (New
York: Penguin/Plume, 1992).
Lowry, Dave. Autumn Lightning, Persimmon Wind.
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.
Parker,
Robert B. Mortal Stakes,
and
other works.
Plato. The Republic, and other
works.
Pohl,
Frederik. Gateway.
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.
Tremayne, Peter.
The Spider's Web: A Celtic
Mystery.
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
and its sequels
(including The
Animatrix). .
Wiesel, Elie. Dawn, The Accident,
and other works.
Willis, Connie. Passages, Doomsday Book,
Bellwether,
and other
works..
Yoshikawa. Musashi.
Zettel, Sarah. Fool's War.
Some of this page's links:
- PHL 403,
Heroism and the Human Spirit Summer 2005 syllabus:
http://webserver.lemoyne.edu/~kagan/403sum05.html
- Other
materials for PHL 403:
http://webserver.lemoyne.edu/~kagan/403index.html
- Back to
Kagan's Homepage: http://webserver.lemoyne.edu/~kagan/index.html
- Academic
Support Center:
http://www.lemoyne.edu/academic_support_center/spneed.html