SYLLABUS
HON 171 and 172
“The Human Event”
(Syllabus covers both semesters)
Dr. William C. Weidemaier
University Honors College
Office: Irish Hall, ASU Main,Second Floor
Office Hours: 9:3- - 10:30 ASU Main
Hour before class: East
Phone:965-5894 (office)
480-460-7144 (home)
Email:
Office visits at times other than those
listed above can be easily arranged
by contacting the instructor.
NOTE: It is essential that you study this syllabus carefully. It is part of the instructional material. Failure to follow its detailed instructions will lower your grade. Pay particular attention to the sections dealing with the essay assignments. If you have questions about the instructions, contact the instructor early. If you misplace the syllabus, ask for another copy. While no syllabus changes are anticipated, the instructor reserves the right to make changes during the semester if it proves necessary.
OVERVIEW. This is a two-semester interdisciplinary honors course designed to introduce students to honors studies at ASU. Admission to the University Honors College is a prerequisite. You are also expected to have a command of the basic skills taught in ENG 101-102 (Freshman English). The course focuses on some of the principal controversies concerning human existence as expressed in great writings throughout world history. Required readings are all primary sources from philosophy, religion, literature, political theory, psychology and the sciences. The first semester covers to about 1600 A.D., the second semester to the present. While the assigned works discuss many things, our main concern will be with what they say about the origin and nature of human values and about the implications these values have for individual, social and political conduct. This is not primarily a memorization course. You are expected to be able to recall the authors, titles and principal ideas that you have read; however, we are more concerned that you learn to apply critical methods of analysis to your reading and thinking and that you learn to express effectively the conclusions of that analysis both orally and in writing. You will be graded more on your ability to develop these skills of critical analysis and communication than on your recall of specific facts. (Do not misinterpret this: careful and complete reading is still essential.) Classes follow a seminar rather than a lecture format. You must come to class thoroughly prepared to contribute to a critical evaluation of that day’s assigned reading. Always bring the assigned reading with you. Active student participation in class debate is required.
The objectives of the course can be briefly summarized as follows:
1. To broaden the student’s cultural background and historical awareness through a multi-cultural history of ideas.
2. To improve the student’s skill in the critical analysis of written material.
3. To improve the student’s ability to express ideas and to construct well
reasoned arguments both orally and in writing.
4. To encourage students to think seriously and critically about the nature of human existence and to formulate their own views on issues of ethics, philosophy, religion, politics, etc.
5. To instill intellectual breadth and a multi-disciplinary perspective in students at the outset of their university careers.
6. To prepare students for the instructional methods and critical inquiry used in
more advanced honors courses.
GRADING:
Three out-of-class essays...... 60%
Quizzes on assigned reading...... 20%
Class participation...... 20%
(In all forms of grading listed above, special attention is given to how well you use textual and other evidence and to your development of sound critical reasoning skills.)
PREPARING ASSIGNMENTS FOR CLASS. There is a reading assignment due for each class period. (See assignment sheet for due dates.) It is essential that you read all assignments prior to class. Unannounced reading quizzes will be given periodically. Read carefully and critically, striving for a clear understanding. Determine the author’s main points, interpret the meaning of crucial terms, and evaluate the arguments and evidence used to support the author’s position. Do not skim or speed-read. You should read, in addition to the text, all prefaces, commentaries, and footnotes provided by editors and translators. Please be sure to bring the assigned text to class each day.
REQUIRED READING. Please use the assigned edition. If you cannot find a work, contact the instructor immediately.
HON 171: FALL SEMESTER
Gochberg (ed.), Classics of Western Thought, Vol. 1, The Ancient World. 4th ed. Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich.
Thompson (ed.), Classics of Western Thought: Middle Ages, Renaissance, Reformation, Reformation. 4th ed. Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich.
Sophocles, Theban Plays. Penguin.
Plato, The Republic. Penguin.
Lao Tsu, Tao Te Ching. Penguin.
Dante, Hell. Penguin.
Shakespeare, Hamlet. Penguin.
(Other readings may be put on reserve or handed out.)
HON 172: SPRING SEMESTER
Knoebel (ed.), Classics of Western Thought. Vol. III, The Modern World.
4th ed. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich
Voltaire, Candide. Penguin books
Goethe, Sorrows of Young Werther. Random.
Ibsen, Four Great Plays. Bantam.
John Stuart Mill, On Liberty. Penguin.
Huxley, Brave New World. Harper/Perennial
Charters (ed.), The Story and Its Writer. St. Martins Press
QUIZZES. Assigned readings are subject to unannounced quizzes held at the beginning of class. Approximately 8-10 quizzes can be expected per semester. Quizzes are written and should demonstrate the same literacy and critical thinking skills demanded in the major essays. When writing a quiz please use complete sentences and correct grammar. Quizzes cannot be made up if missed. Students who are late to class will not be allowed to take or make up the quiz if it is already underway. Each student’s lowest quiz score will be dropped before computing final grades.
CLASS DISCUSSIONS. Except for historical background presented by the instructor, class time is devoted to discussion of the assigned reading. Students must come to class thoroughly prepared to take a position on the author’s views. Do not try to make your views conform to those of the instructor; the goal in these discussions is the development of independent thought based on a critical analysis of the arguments and the available evidence. The instructor’s role is largely that of a devil’s advocate; you should anticipate that he/she will often challenge you no matter what view you take. Since classes in the Honors College are small you should find adequate opportunity to speak. Your class participation will be evaluated not on the correctness of your interpretation but on whether or not your comments reflect a detailed study of the work and a serious effort to evaluate it. The quality of your comments counts for more than the quantity. You need not be a major participant in every debate; however, students who make little or no effort to participate throughout the semester will receive a “D” or “E” for the class participation part of their grade. Since discussions between students sometimes become rather lively or even heated, it is important, if we are to maintain fairness and some degree of order, that students voluntarily respect the right of others to speak. It is especially important not to interrupt a speaker, but to give each person a chance to express his or her view fully before you challenge it. One firm rule: do not hold private conversations during class discussions (a sure way to lower your class participation grade).
ATTENDANCE. Required. Roll is taken. More than one week of unexcused absences will lower your course grade. If a serious problem will keep you from class for a period of time you must notify the instructor as soon as possible or an excused absence will not be granted. Please make every effort to arrive on time; late arrivals interrupt discussions and quizzes. In the unlikely event the instructor is absent, wait 15 minutes before leaving. In such a case, continue to follow the printed reading schedule rather than trying to adjust the schedule for the missed class.
REQUIRED ESSAYS.
Please create a check sheet to ensure that the following instructions are carried out exactly. Note that all written work in this course assumes mastery of the basic skills taught in freshman English (ENG 101-102.
General. Three major out-of-class essays are required (the third of which will be used as a take-home final exam). These are to be critical, evaluative essays. In each you will be asked to support or refute a major doctrine presented by one of your authors. Exact assignments will be handed out in class at least two weeks before the essay is due. Your essay must have a clear thesis supporting or refuting the author’s view. The paper should be a coherent whole in which each paragraph has a clear and relevant role in support of your thesis. Note that this is not a research assignment; it is an exercise in writing and critical thinking. You are not to consult outside works in preparing the essay. (If you wish to do library study on the topic, please wait until after finishing the essay. The instructor will be happy to recommend additional reading.) In proving your thesis you should rely on reasoned argument and available evidence to show why the author’s position seems well supported or not. Please be careful not to turn your essay into a mere summary of the author’s views; this will not fulfill the assignment. Whether you decide to support the author or not is your own decision, derived from your own critical evaluation of the work in question. You will be graded not on the correctness of your thesis but on the quality of your writing, the clarity and rationality of your arguments, the use and evaluation of evidence, and the coherence, originality, and independent-mindedness of your essay as a whole. If you have any questions about the nature of this assignment or have trouble getting started with it, please see the instructor at the earliest opportunity. An office visit during the early stages of preparing your essay is strongly recommended.
Essay Outline. All essays must be written according to the following outline. The outline is a purely pedagogical contrivance and somewhat artificial. No doubt a mature essayist would find it too confining. Nonetheless, for undergraduates developing writing and critical thinking skills this outline enforces a useful discipline and gives a clear picture of just what it is that one is trying to do in writing a critical essay.
Paragraph 1. Exposition. Introduce the author and work and give an objective overview of the author’s position on the issue in question. Include any
assigned quote from the author. Also include the author’s main reasons for supporting his or her position. Remain neutral in judgment in this paragraph and as fair to the author as possible. (Do not create a straw man.) Be faithful to the context. Include all essential points, but do not let this paragraph exceed approximately one page in length. Keep all of this material within a single paragraph. Conciseness is a virtue here. This is the only paragraph in the essay devoted exclusively to describing the author’s view. Avoid lengthy biographical data or detailed historical facts about the period. The author’s argument is the issue and the only thing to focus on here.
Paragraph 2. Thesis Paragraph. The topic sentence of this brief paragraph must be a strong, clear thesis statement, i.e., tell whether you are supporting the author or not. In beginning this paragraph make certain to show the transition from the author’s views in the first paragraph to your views in the second. The paragraph should also give the reader a clear idea of the approach you will use to prove your thesis. What specific aspects of the problem do you think it crucial to look at? Keep this paragraph brief. The reader should leave it knowing clearly where you stand on the issue and having some idea of how you are going to go about proving your case. But do not say too much here. Do not summarize your arguments in advance. Leave the reader with some curiosity, perhaps even a trace of skepticism, about your claim. Above all do not try to develop in this paragraph specific and detailed arguments in defense of your thesis. That is the task of later paragraphs.
The Body of the Essay. Remaining Paragraphs (except for last paragraph): Arguments in Defense of Your Thesis. Each paragraph in the body of the essay must be a logically distinct argument (or part of an argument) in defense of your thesis. The number of these paragraphs and their organization will depend on the type of case you are developing and may vary greatly with each student. However, the principle of paragraph organization here is always to be an
argument, never a description of what the author said. When you finish each paragraph, ask yourself: Is it clear how this paragraph is an argument in sup-
port of my thesis statement from paragraph two? These paragraphs in the body
of the paper are the truly creative part of the essay and the key test of your
ability to think critically. (Incidentally, “critical thinking” does not imply hostility
toward a work or idea; it means careful and objective analysis and evaluation of a claim, withholding judgment until valid arguments or verifiable evidence can be found to support or refute that claim.) It is permissible in these paragraphs briefly to restate relevant parts of the author’s view for purposes of continuity. This is often necessary, but should be kept as succinct as possible. Always remember that the principal goal of these paragraphs is not to discuss what the author said but to prove why your thesis about the author is correct.
Some paragraphs in the body of the essay must be proleptic or anticipatory arguments. In these you bring up potential objections to your own thesis that an imaginary critic might raise against a point you just made. Then you refute these objections by showing why they are not sound. The purpose is to show the reader that you have anticipated these objections to your position and have solid reasons for rejecting them. Proleptic arguments are especially needed when you are supporting an author. In such a case you need to anticipate the many arguments that might be used against the author’s view and show why these arguments are invalid. Never try to make this counterpoint merely by repeating the author’s own arguments. This approach is a circular form of reasoning.
Last Paragraph. Conclusion. A good conclusion should not merely summarize your paper’s position, but should add something not yet said, something which follows logically from the preceding paragraphs. What this will generally involve, given the structure of the present outline, is a refinement of your original thesis statement in Paragraph 2. You should now be able to reaffirm it, but with greater qualification and new insights that would have been premature had they been stated in Paragraph 2.
Other Essay Requirements. All essays must be typed (word processors are encouraged). Use one-inch margins on the sides. You should have 27-28 double-spaced lines per page. Number each page except the title page. Double space between paragraphs just as you have between lines within a paragraph. Do not use larger than double spacing. (Larger spacing indicates a division larger than a paragraph.) Do not use chapter headings, subheadings, Roman numerals or other subdivisions in so short an essay. (Such devices are usually poor substitutions for good transitionary passages linking paragraphs.) You must correct all grammatical,
spelling, and typographical errors. Careful proofreading is essential. Put the title of your essay, your name, the name of the course and the instructor on a title page. Use a title that clearly indicates the essay’s subject. No table of contents or preface should be used. All quotations must be cited (use endnotes rather than footnotes). Endnotes should go on a separate “Works Cited” sheet. Make sure quotations are exact and from the assigned edition. (All quotations will be checked for accuracy). If you use any information or arguments from outside sources, these also must be cited. (Remember, though, this is not a research assignment.) Keep quotations to a minimum; paraphrase unless exact quotation is necessary. However, if you are accusing an author of a contradiction or are trying to prove a point that hinges on a specific interpretation of a passage in the text, you will need to quote more extensively.
Required Essay Length. Essays should be in the 6-7 page range, and must exceed 1500 words of text. It is expected that the essays will grow in length and quality throughout the term. Papers of fewer than 1500 words of text will receive a significantly reduced grade. The title page and endnote page do not count as text. If you have trouble meeting the required length (a common problem on first papers), see the instructor well before the due date.
Essay Due Dates. Essays are due at approximately five-week intervals. See assignment sheet for exact due dates. Begin your essay no later than one week before it is due, earlier if possible. Allow time for writing and fully revising a first draft. (You must have a first draft and it must be kept.) An outline is strongly recommended (but is not turned in with your essay). The outline is also useful in discussing your essay preparation with the instructor and should be brought to such conferences. NOTE: late papers lose 5 points per day.