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Tel:315-445-4489 (campus
voice mail) |
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Office
hours through zoom |
Email:kagan@lemoyne.edu
You should receive a reply within a day or so (not including weekends). |
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Prof.
Michael Kagan |
Le
Moyne College website: http://web.lemoyne.edu/~kagan/index.html |
In his 1907 address to the Alumnae Association
at Radcliffe College, William James suggested that the aim of a successful
college education is that those who have it will be able to recognize a good
person when they are fortunate enough to encounter one. This course
shares that aim. It will involve varied readings from world literature,
augmented by some extra readings from philosophy and psychology in search of
responses to the question, "What makes a person great?" Of central
concern will be the issue of the nature of the heroic; we will also be
concerned with some other philosophical problems which arise in connection with
this question (such as: the problem of evil; personal identity; determinism,
free will and fatalism; death; the mind-body problem and the problem of other
minds; philosophical anthropology and philosophical psychology as well as some
philosophy of psychology; philosophical analysis of religious
experience). Students will be encouraged and expected to bring their own
learning from other disciplines to this quest.
Student learning goals and objectives:
The main purpose of this course is to provide
students with an opportunity to bring their disciplinary training and life
experience 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.
Students in COR 400G are expected to develop
their own approaches to the goals of this course, encounter new ways of
approaching texts and problems, and to bring their own backgrounds and
disciplinary training to bear on specific questions raised in the readings.
Students are expected to develop, present, and demonstrate:
Students will also demonstrate critical
speaking, listening, reading and writing skills as they present
interdisciplinary reflections and arguments.
SHORT WRITING ASSIGNMENTS: You are to select and complete three or four
(the top 3 scores count for grading purposes) 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
2 minutes of videotaped material for your presentation. In the event of
a technical glitch, power failure, or delivery problem, make sure you can
present without the computer/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
by leading their own and participating in other students' presentations on the
various readings. Student presentations on readings begin after 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 the posted office hours do not work with your schedule,
please email me at kagan@lemoyne.edu. Although you can always leave a
voice mail message at 314-445-4489, I tend to check email more often.
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. Students are encouraged and
expected to bring their own learning from other disciplines. I expect the
length of most written projects to be about 5-7 typed pages. If you’re
interested in doing a project that will be significantly longer, please let me
know in advance.
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 top three short writing assignments (the grade will be the average of the
best three out of four).
25% is
determined by the project and its presentation (this can be done as a
presentation, a paper, or both).
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.
Walter Mosley, Always Outnumbered, Always
Outgunned.
Stephen King, Different Seasons (also published as Shawshank
Redemption and as Apt Pupil).
Ayn Rand, Anthem.
Ernest Becker, Denial of Death.
Octavia E. Butler, Bloodchild and Other Stories, 2nd edition.
Orson Scott Card, Maps in a Mirror
Plato, Symposium.
In coordination with the Academic
Support Center (ASC) and Disability
Support Services, reasonable accommodations are provided for qualified
students with disabilities. Please register for disability verification
and determination of reasonable accommodations. After receiving your
accommodation form, 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.
If you
miss class for Mass of the Holy Spirit 2020 on Wednesday, Sept. 2 at 10:45am
(or for any religious observance throughout the semester),
please let me know (so it gets recorded as an excused absence).
NO CLASSES OR OFFICE HOURS ON MONDAY,
SEPTEMBER 28, YOM KIPPUR.
NOVEMBER 25 - 27: THANKSGIVING BREAK. THANKSGIVING DAY IS 11/26.
LAST DAY
OF CLASSES – TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24.
LAST DAY OF CLASS – NOV. 19 (THURS.).
PROJECT PROPOSALS DUE THURS., OCT. 15.
OPTIONAL (for those who present their projects), WRITTEN PROJECTS DUE THURS,
NOV. 12, and
STUDENT PROJECT PRESENTATIONS ALSO BEGIN THURS, NOV. 12
CLOSINGS/CANCELLATIONS AND ONLINE VERSIONS OF
THIS COURSE
This semester (Fall 2020) the plan is to start
meeting synchronously using Zoom. Please
check your email and Canvas for information and the links to the Zoom
sessions. I will attempt to record the
lectures for student use.
When campus/dorms are closed due to flu or
other circumstances, my intent is that the course continue. Assignments continue to be due electronically
(if Canvas is down, email to kagan@lemoyne.edu
may still work). Presentations will be replaced by papers, virtual
presentations, or extended descriptions of presentations. In addition to
notes and group work already available there on-line, I
will post updates, lecture notes, etc., to Canvas and to my Le Moyne College
website at http://web.lemoyne.edu/~kagan/index.html
As at other times, if your situation results in
your needing an extension, please let me know. Also, if internet service
is down or there are other infrastructure problems, please complete the
assignments and turn them in when services are restored.
#1 (Thurs., Sept. 3) Introduce course, choose
groups and schedule presentations on readings. In-class writing on childhood
heroes.
#2
(Thurs., Sept. 10) Discussion of heroic scripting. Read Orson Scott
Card’s “Middle Woman” (from Maps in a Mirror). Group work on “Middle
Woman.”
*#3 (Thurs., Sept. 17) Students present on
Walter Mosley's "Crimson Shadow" (in Always Outnumbered, Always
Outgunned). SHORT WRITING ASSIGNMENT: What do two of the
characters’ actions in this story reveal about their prior experiences?
How do their experiences affect their lives? What can we learn from this?
Self-deception and bad faith. Read Card's "The Best Day" (from Maps
in a Mirror). The temptation to deny the best and the worst. Group work on self-deception.
*#4 (Thurs., Sept. 24). SHORT WRITING ASSIGNMENT DUE: Students
present on Stephen King's "The Body" (in Different Seasons).
What do two of the characters’ actions in this story reveal about their prior
experiences? How do their experiences affect their lives? What can
we learn from this? Instructor presents on Rand's philosophy.
No classes or office hours on Monday, September 28, Yom Kippur
*#5 (Thurs., Oct. 1) Students
present on Anthem. SHORT WRITING ASSIGNMENT DUE: In the world
Rand describes, people's careers are chosen by others at an early age - how do
two of the book's characters respond to this choice? Is our society like
the one in Anthem? Why or why not? Lecture on problem of
personal identity.
*#6 (Thurs., Oct. 8) Students present on
Octavia Butler’s” The Evening and the Morning,
and the Night" (in the Bloodchild anthology). SHORT WRITING
ASSIGNMENT DUE: Compare someone in this story to someone you have
encountered (in life or literature). What can we learn from this
comparison? Lecture on "Becker, Childhood, and Scary Stories."
Read Denial of Death, Introduction & Part I (Chapters 1-6).
#7 (Thurs., Oct. 15) SHORT
WRITING ASSIGNMENT: How might you relate Becker's views to the
experiences of two characters we have read about so far? Instructor
presents one way of reading King (and others). Read Orson Scott Card's
"Mortal Gods" (from Maps in a Mirror). Group work on
"Mortal Gods."
PROJECT PROPOSALS (for
presentation and/or optional project paper) DUE Thurs., OCT. 15.
*#8(Thurs., Oct. 22) Students
present on Stephen King's "The Breathing Method" (in Different
Seasons). SHORT WRITING ASSIGNMENT DUE: Compare someone in this
story to someone you have encountered (in life or literature). What can
we learn from this comparison?
Instructor presents on Heroic Myths (Campbell and Raffa) and the twice
born.
*#9 (Thurs., Oct. 29) Students present on "Last
Rites" in Walter Mosley’s Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned.
SHORT WRITING ASSIGNMENT DUE: What do two of the characters’
actions in this story reveal about their prior experiences? How do their
experiences affect their lives? What can we learn from this? Bring Bloodchild
to class. Read Butler's "Positive Obsession" and
"Furor Scribendi." Group work.
*#10 (Thurs., Nov. 5) 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 how one or two
characters presented in the Symposium share beliefs about love that
contradict or affirm the way they live 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 "Time and Chance & Sex
and Gender."
SCHEDULE PROJECT PRESENTATIONS. These
presentations are to be about 10 minutes in length per student, depending on
the size of the class, and the number of students presenting. A solo
presenter will have 10 minutes; a group of 2-3 students will have 15 minutes;
groups of 3-5 students will have 20 minutes). Presentations will continue
until the end of semester. Students who are unable to do their individual
presentations at the scheduled time will need to schedule a make-up
presentation. If re-scheduling is not possible, the student will need to
turn in a written version of their presentation if they have not yet done so.
#11 (Thurs., Nov. 12). 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. Lecture on "Possibilities and Practice: Heroic Tasks and
Self Education." Student presentations on projects begin.
Optional (for those who present their projects) WRITTEN PROJECTS DUE.
*#12 (Thurs., Nov. 19) LAST DAY
OF CLASS. Read Card's "Bicicleta" (from Maps
in a Mirror). Group work on "Bicicleta." SHORT
WRITING ASSIGNMENT DUE: Compare someone in this story to someone
you have encountered (in life or literature). What can we learn from this
comparison? Student presentations on
projects continue. Make-up presentations and final evaluations (if not
done, and depending on the implementation of the new evaluation system). LAST
DAY OF CLASS.
NOVEMBER 25 - 27: THANKSGIVING BREAK.
THANKSGIVING DAY IS 11/26.
November 30 - December 1: Study
Days.
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 http://www.edgework.info/buy-books-on-martial-arts.html.
Alexie, Sherman. The Absolutely True Diary of a
Part-Time Indian, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven.
(The movie "Smoke Signals" is based on this.)
Arnold, Matthew, Freddie Wong, Will Campos, and
Brian Firenzi. Video Game High School (VGHS). 2012-2015.
Becker, Ernest. The Birth and Death of Meaning,
The Denial of Death, and other works.
Belenky, et al. Women's Ways of Knowing.
Benford, Gregory. Timescape.
Berne, Eric. Games People Play, 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.
Chesterton, Gilbert K. The Innocence of
Father Brown, other Father Brown Mysteries, etc.
Cline, Ernest. Ready Player One.
Cohn, Rachel, and David Levithan. Nick and
Norah’s Infinite Playlist.
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.
Effinger, George Alec. When Gravity Fails,
Budayeen Nights, 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.
Fuller, Brian, and Todd Holland. Wonderfalls.
(2004)
Gaiman, Neil. Graveyard Book, Coraline,
and other works.
Gardner, John. The Art of Fiction: Notes on
Craft for Young Writers, On Becoming a Novelist.
Gibson, William. Neuromancer.
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.
Goodkind, Terry. Sword of Truth series,
which begins with Wizard's First Rule.
Griffith, Nicola. The Blue Place.
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, Stranger
in a Strange Land, Citizen of the Galaxy, Double Star and
other works.
Henderson, Zenna. Ingathering: The
Complete People Stories (NESFA Press, 1995).
Hesse, Hermann. Siddhartha, The Journey
to the East, The Glass Bead Game, Steppenwolf, and other
works.
Hitchens, Christopher. Letters to a Young
Contrarian.
Hoeg, Peter. Smilla's Sense of Snow, Borderliners.
Hong Kingston, Maxine. The Woman Warrior:
Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts.
Howie, Noelle. Dress Codes: Of Three Girlhoods--My Mother's, My Father's, and Mine.
Howatch, Susan. Glamorous Powers, and other
works.
Hunt, Lynda Mullaly. Fish in a Tree (2015).
Irving, John. In One Person (2012), A
Prayer for Owen Meany, The World According to Garp.
Jarmusch, Jim. Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai.
Jewell, Lisa. One-Hit Wonder.
Junger, Sebastian. War.
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.
Martinez, Guillermo. The Oxford Murders
(New York: Penguin Books, 2006).
Monroe, Kristen Renwick. The Heart of
Altruism, The Hand of Compassion: Portraits of Moral Choice during the
Holocaust, and other works (recommended by
Lowell A. Dunlap, Ph.D.).
Maktub (2017, directed by Oded Raz).
Morrison, Toni. Song of Solomon, and
other works.
Morrow, James. Towing Jehovah, Blameless
in Abaddon, and other works.
Mosley, Walter. 47, Always
Outnumbered, Always Outgunned, Devil in a Blue
Dress, Fearless Jones, 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.
Peters, Ellis (Edith Mary Pargeter). A
Morbid Taste for Bones, One Corpse too Many, other Brother
Cadfael mysteries, and other works.
Piercy, Marge,
Gone to Soldiers, 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.
Remen, Rachel Naomi. Kitchen Table Wisdom,
My Grandfather’s Blessings, and other works.
Rollin, B. First, You Cry.
Rosenbaum, Lisa Pearl. A Day of Small Beginnings.
Rothfuss, Patrick. The Name of the Wind
(DAW Books, 2007), and other works.
Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's
Stone.
Rubin, Henry Alex, and Dana Adam Shapiro
(directors). Murderball.
Russell, Mary Doria. Dreamers of the Day, Doc,
The Sparrow, and Children of God.
Sacks, Oliver. Musicophila: Tales of Music
and the Brain.
Salmonson, Jessica Amanda. A Silver Thread of
Madness, and other works.
Sanderson, Brandon. The Way of Kings
(Tor Books, 2010), and other works.
Sapphire. Push: A Novel.
Sawyer, Robert J. Quantum Night
(Penguin/ACE, 2016).
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.)
Silverberg, Robert. Lord Valentine's Castle.
Smith, Dominic. The Beautiful Miscellaneous (New
York: Atria Books, 2007).
Stead, Rebecca. When you Reach Me.
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.
Stephenson, Neal. Cryptonomicon, Diamond
Age, Snow Crash, and other works.
Stout, Martha. The Myth of Sanity: Divided
Consciousness and the Promise of Awareness.
Taleb, Nassim Nicholas. Antifragile:
Things that Gain from Disorder (2012), The Black Swan:
The Impact of the Highly Improbable (2007), Fooled by Randomness:
The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets (2001), and
other works.
Tan, Amy. The Joy Luck Club, The Hundred
Secret Senses.
Tremayne, Peter (Peter Berresford Ellis). The
Spider's Web: A Celtic Mystery, The Chalice of Blood, other
Sister Fidelma mysteries, and other works.
Tolstoy, Leo. The Death of Ivan Ilyich, and
other works.
Their Finest (2017, directed by Lone Scherfig).
Ushpizin (2004, directed by Giddi Dar).
Vinge, Vernor. Rainbows End, and
other works.
Vonnegut, Jr., Kurt. Mother Night, Slaughterhouse
Five, and other works.
Wachowski, Lana and Lilly. The Matrix and its
sequels (including The Animatrix).
Walker, Alice. The Color Purple.
Walton, Jo. Among Others.
Wiesel, Elie. Dawn, The Accident, and
other works.
Willis, Connie. Blackout/All Clear, Passages,
Doomsday Book, Bellwether, and other works.
Yoshikawa. Musashi.
Zettel, Sarah. Fool's War.
Zuzak, Markus. The Book Thief.
Other materials for COR
400G, Heroism and the Human Spirit
Back to Kagan's
Homepage: http://web.lemoyne.edu/~kagan/index.html