The Honors Program – Loyola University ChicagoHonors 102 (The Interdisciplinary Seminar) – Spring 2019

The Western Intellectual Tradition: Modernity

Instructors: Prof. James Harrington (Philosophy); Prof. Claudio Katz (Political Science); Prof. David Posner (Modern Languages and Literatures); Prof. Dianne Rothleder (Philosophy); Prof. Virginia Strain (English); Prof. Kathryn Swanton (Honors); Prof. Christopher Whidden (Hon-ors); Prof. Paula Wisotzki (Fine and Performing Arts).

Lectures: MWF 12:35-1:25p.m., Galvin Auditorium, LSC

Discussion Sections:

Harrington MWF 1:40 – 2:30 Mundelein Center 203 Katz MWF 9:20 - 10:10 Mundelein Center 609 Posner MWF 10:25 – 11:15 Cudahy Library 318 Rothleder MWF 9:20 – 10:10 Mundelein Center 408 Rothleder MWF 10:25 – 11:15 Mundelein Center 408 Strain MWF 1:40 – 2:30 Mundelein Center 408 Swanton MWF 1:40 – 2:30 Campion Hall MPR 032 Swanton MWF 2:45 – 3:35 Campion Hall MPR 032 Whidden MWF 9:20 – 10:25 Campion Hall MPR 032 Whidden MWF 10:25 – 11:15 Campion Hall MPR 032 Wisotzki MWF 9:20 - 10:10 Mundelein Center 708

Office hours and locations will be announced in section and on Sakai.

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Figure 1: Max Beckmann, Departure, 1932-’33. Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY

Course Description

This Honors Program foundational course provides an intensive introduction to some of the fundamental works and ideas of Western culture. By focusing on works that have shaped the self-understanding of the West, the course opens perspectives on texts and works of art whose meaning and significance have extended beyond the eras in which they were produced, and be-yond the boundaries of the usual scholarly disciplines. An interdisciplinary team of faculty ex-amines these works from a variety of disciplinary paradigms. The chronological order of presen-tation is not mere antiquarianism: it is intended to help you see how each work reflects its own period, how works within each period reflect it differently, and how ideas are altered over time as they are appropriated by new generations and cultures. The course is designed to help you teach yourself to hear the questions the works pose to each other and to our own culture: about the nature of human existence and destiny, and the characteristic problems and possibilities of humanity’s struggle for justice, search for truth, and hunger for beauty.

Required Texts

Students should purchase these texts, which have been ordered at the University Bookstore. Having the particular translation and edition assigned will be of importance; texts are listed in their approximate order of use in the course.

BOOK ORDER (performances and attendance at the Art Institute):

1. Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince, Trans. and with an Introduction by Harvey Mansfield. Second Ed. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1998. ISBN: 0-226-50044-6.

2. William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream, ed. Peter Holland. Oxford World's Classics (2008). ISBN-13: 9780199535866.

3. Miguel de Cervantes, Exemplary Novels, trans. Edith Grossman. Yale University Press, 2018. ISBN 13: 9780300230536.

4. René Descartes, Discourse on Method and Meditations on First Philosophy. Trans. Don-ald Cress. Fourth Edition. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, 1998. ISBN: 0-87220-420-0.

5. John Locke, Second Treatise of Government. Ed. C. B. Macpherson. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, 1980. ISBN: 0-915144-86-7.

6. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Faust, Translated by Martin Greenberg.  Yale University Press, 2014. ISBN 978-0300-18969.

7. Jane Austen, Persuasion, ed. James Kinsley and Deidre Shauna Lynch. Oxford World Classics, Oxford University Press (May 15, 2008). ISBN-13: 978-0199535552.

8. Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America. Translated, Edited, and with an Introduc-tion by Harvey C. Mansfield.  The University of Chicago Press.  ISBN: 0-226-80536-0.

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9. Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species. With an Introduction by Sir Julian Huxley. 150th Anniversary Edition. Signet Classics. ISBN: 978-0-451-52906-0.

10. Jorge Luis Borges, Ficciones, trans. A. Kerrigan, Grove, ISBN 0802130305.

11. Chicago Shakespeare Theatre. William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream. At-tendance is required. Students will be asked to make a contribution towards cost of ticket.

12. Chicago Lyric Opera, 20 N. Upper Wacker. Giuseppe Verdi, La Traviata. Attendance is required. Students will be asked to make a contribution towards cost of ticket.

13. Art Institute of Chicago, 111 South Michigan Avenue. Attendance is required. Entrance is free to Loyola University Chicago students. Please be sure to have your school ID.

An assignment – a one- to two-page reflection essay – is based on attendance at the perfor-mances and the visit to the Art Institute.

Total student cost for the two performances is $40.00 per student (the Art Institute is free), due to Lorri Walsh no later than Friday, January 18.

You must purchase the tickets during the first week of classes. Lorri Walsh will be available in the Campion Hall piano lounge (first floor) between 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m., from Monday, January 14, to Friday, January 18.

Required Work

1. Completion of required reading before the class session for which it is assigned, and readiness to discuss the text in a thoughtful and well-considered manner. The readings for this course, while not extensive (especially as it is a double-credit course), are deep and difficult.

2. Regular attendance and informed participation. Poor attendance will adversely affect your final grade for the course. These are very challenging works to comprehend on your own, so your presence in class will be imperative: you will not be able to do well on pa-pers and exams if you do not attend class. The analytical interpretation and discussion of texts in the discussion sections will prepare you to think constructively about these works for yourself.

3. Three short papers (each four [4] pages maximum) that carefully analyze the assigned texts in response to questions set by the instructors and distributed one week prior to the due date (paper due dates are noted in the course schedule below). Papers are always due at the beginning of the lecture session of class (12:35 pm) on the given date. Late papers without excuse will be penalized one full grade for each day they are late. Writing of the highest proficiency makes one’s argument clearer and more persuasive to the reader; in-deed, very fine writing is usually indicative of a superior level of understanding and in-sight in the mind of the writer.

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4. Three reflection papers (one to two pages each, as your section’s instructor stipulates): one on the play, a second on the opera, and a third on one or more of the Art Institute’s paintings required in our “looking assignment” (again, as your instructor stipulates). Due dates are one week following attendance at each event.

5. A mid-semester closed-book, closed-notes in-class exam. This exam will cover the mate-rial of the course to that date. The date of the exam is given in the course schedule below. In case of excused absence (proof required), you have one week maximum in which to take an alternative exam. It is your responsibility to arrange for this make-up at a time convenient to your instructor.

6. A closed-book, closed-notes final exam (two hours) on the date scheduled below. The fi-nal examination will cover the material of the entire course. Please note that make-up fi-nal exams can only be scheduled through the college dean’s office and are only granted in case of emergency.

Assessment & Evaluation

Your final grade for the course will be assessed on the basis of the above, weighted as fol-lows:

Lecture: one-hour, in-class mid-term exam (50 points), two-hour final exam (100 points) = 150 possible points

Papers and Discussion: Paper 1 (40 points), Paper 2 (40 points), Paper 3 (40 points), Three Reflection Papers (20 points), Class participation (10 points) = 150 possible points

Reflection papers on the Opera and Theatre Performances, and Visit to the Art Insti-tute: Students are required to attend Chicago Shakespeare Theatre’s presentation of Shake-speare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the Lyric Opera’s presentation of Verdi’s La Traviata, and to visit the Art Institute. See the class schedule (below) for dates. Students are also required to write three reflection papers (one to two pages each, as your section’s instructor stipulates): one on the play, a second on the opera, and a third on one or more of the Art Institute’s paintings required in our “looking assignment” (again, as your instructor stipulates). The three reflection papers are worth a total of 20 points. Due dates are one week following attendance at each event (or as your instructor stipulates).

Total points possible for the course (Lecture + Discussion) = 300 points

The papers will be assigned one week before their due dates from topic lists compiled by the instructors. Details of content, composition, and criteria of evaluation of each paper will be given by instructors in discussion section. All evaluation for this component of the course will be done by the individual instructor for her or his section members.

Examinations are intended to evaluate your memory, comprehension, and mastery of the works studied, and your ability to develop interesting, insightful, and well-argued points of view on them. A number of types of questions may be used for this purpose, from short passages or images for identification and analysis to longer essays. Exams will be graded on a shared basis by the instructors (each professor will grade a portion of his or her own section, as well as a por-tion of the other sections).

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Important note on grading: The following interpretations of grades will be in effect for all evaluated work in this course:

A/A- Excellent. Indicates the highest level of achievement in the course and an outstand-ing level of intellectual initiative.

B+ Very good. Indicates a very good level of achievement and an intelligent fulfill-ment of course requirements in a manner that approaches the quality of the highest grade.

B/B- Good. Indicates a good level of achievement, intelligent understanding and applica-tion of subject matter.

C+ Above satisfactory. Indicates a level of achievement and fulfillment of course re-quirements in a manner that exceeds the average requirements.

C/C- Satisfactory. Indicates academic work of an acceptable quality and an understand-ing of the subject matter.

D+ Unsatisfactory. Indicates work done was less than satisfactory.D Poor. Minimum credit. Indicates the lowest passing grade, unsatisfactory work and

only the minimum understanding of the subject matter.F Failure. Indicates a lack of even the minimum understanding and/or application.

Grade Scale: A  (261-300); A-  (241-260); B+  (221-240); B  (201-220); B-  (181-200); C+  (161-180); C  (141-160); C-  (121-140); D+  (101-120); D  (81-100); D-  (61-80); F  (0-60)

Academic Integrity: Academic integrity is an essential part of the University's commitment to a life of the mind. Please consult the College’s policy on academic honesty for a definition of its principles and a statement of the penalties that apply for violating them: see http://www.luc.edu/cas/pdfs/CAS_Academic_Integrity_Statement_December_07.pdf.

These guidelines are in effect for this course. Personal honesty is the foundation for all scholar-ship. If we as an academic community cannot trust one another then we soon come to believe that one another’s ideas are not the honest results of the difficult search for truth but merely men-dacious bids for unmerited advancement. In such conditions, ideas themselves become indistin-guishable from lies, academic work becomes pretense, and real learning vanishes. Truth and the struggle to seek it are at the center of all genuine education.

What, exactly, constitutes plagiarism? According to the “Academic Integrity” policy of Loy-ola University Chicago,

Plagiarism is the appropriation for gain of ideas, language, or work of another without sufficient public acknowledgement and appropriate citation that the mate-rial is not one’s own. … [It] involves the deliberate taking and use of specific words and ideas of others without proper acknowledgement of the sources. … The critical issue is to give proper recognition to other sources. To do so is both an act of personal, professional courtesy and of intellectual honesty.

Loyola’s policy lists, as examples of such conduct, submitting as one’s own:

Material copied from a published source: print, internet, CD-ROM, au-dio, video, etc.

Another person’s unpublished work or examination material.

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Allowing another or paying another to write or research a paper for one’s own benefit.

Purchasing, acquiring, and using for course credit a pre-written paper. (http://luc.edu/academics/catalog/un-dergrad/reg_academicintegri-ty.shtml)

Plagiarism for this course includes but is not lim-ited to the unacknowledged use in any way of any mate-rial derived from the Internet, or from the research of other students, or from my own work in other courses. [Emphasis added.]

The penalty for any form of plagiarism is, at a minimum, an “F” for the assignment. How-ever, faculty reserve the right to assign students a more severe penalty, including a double “F” for the course (academic transcripts will show an “F” for the lecture and another “F” for the dis-cussion section) for particularly egregious cases of plagiarism or for cases where a student who has been reprimanded for plagiarism is caught plagiarizing again.

Plagiarism nearly always occurs at times of high stress and time pressure. The temptation to yield then is very great. But that is just when you must be most watchful and vigilant. In every paper topic handout we say, “You are not allowed to use any sources other than the texts them-selves, ancillary materials in the assigned books (i.e., introductions, notes, and critical essays), class discussions of the works, and your native wits.” In a world of PC-based cut-and-paste com-position, it is all too easy for a snippet of someone else’s text, or another’s metaphor or idea, to find its way into your work. Vet your work carefully, not just for the usual errors of grammar, spelling, and composition, but for the unacknowledged contributions of others as well. Do a “plagiarism audit”: ask yourself, “Am I sure that everything here is my own original thinking and writing, with the sole exception of properly attributed quotations?” If you can truthfully answer “Yes,” you should be all right.

If you are in any doubt about whether what you are writing may be used without attribution, do not just rely on your gut instincts, the counsel of friends, or the advice of on-line correspon-dents. Please talk to one of us.

Course Schedule in Brief

(Detailed page numbers for reading assignments are announced in class and posted on the course’s Sakai website. Always read the texts carefully prior to the class for which they are as-

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Figure 4: Paul Cezanne, Mont Sainte-Victoire Seen from the Bibemus Quarry, 1897. Baltimore

Museum of Art

signed. Modifications in the schedule may be made during the semester; any changes will always be announced in class and on Sakai.)

Date Topic & Lecturer TasksMo 1/14 Machiavelli, The Prince (Katz), Dedicatory Letter, chapters

15-19Read before first lecture.

We 1/16 Machiavelli, The Prince (Katz), entire text.Fri 1/18 Machiavelli, The Prince (Katz) January 18: Chicago

Shakespeare Theatre, Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream, 7:30 p.m. Attendance required.

Mo 1/21 Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day–No ClassesWe 1/23 Shakespeare, Midsummer Night’s Dream (Strain), entire

text.January 23, 4:00-5:00: Actors’ visit. Mullady Theatre, Centen-nial ForumRefreshments provided. Attendance recommended.

Fr 1/25 Shakespeare, Midsummer Night’s Dream (Strain) January 25: Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream, 7:30 p.m. Attendance required.

Mo 1/28 Shakespeare, Midsummer Night’s Dream (Strain)We 1/30 Shakespeare, Midsummer Night’s Dream (Strain)Fr 2/1 Cervantes, Exemplary Novels (Swanton), “The Novel of

the English Spanishwoman,” pp. 139 – 171. Mo 2/4 Cervantes, Exemplary Novels (Swanton), “The Novel of

the Jealous Extremaduran,” pp. 213 – 242.We 2/6 Cervantes, Exemplary Novels (Swanton), “The Novel of

the Power of Blood,” pp. 197 – 212.Fr 2/8 Descartes, Discourse & Meditations (Rothleder), Medita-

tions, Letter of Dedication, Preface, Synopsis, Meditation One and Meditation Two (pp. 47-69).

First essay due

Mo 2/11 Descartes, Discourse & Meditations (Rothleder), Medita-tions, Meditation Three and Meditation Four (pp. 69-87).

We 2/13 Descartes, Discourse & Meditations (Rothleder), Medita-tions, Meditation Five and Meditation Six (pp. 87-103).

Fri 2/15 Locke, Second Treatise of Government (Katz), Chapters I – V.

Mo 2/18 Locke, Second Treatise of Government (Katz), Chapters VI – VIII

We 2/20 Locke, Second Treatise of Government (Katz), Chapters IX - XIX

Fri 2/22 Versailles (Wisotzki)Mo 2/25 Versailles (Wisotzki)We 2/27 Versailles (Wisotzki)Fr 3/1 Mid-term examMo 3/4 – Fr 3/8

Spring Break—No classes

Mo 3/11 Austen, Persuasion (Strain), pp. 8-78.

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We 3/13 Austen, Persuasion (Strain), pp. 78-140. Fri 3/15 Verdi, La Traviata (Posner) Saturday, March 16:

Verdi, La Traviata. Chicago Lyric Opera, 7:30 p.m. Attendance Required.

Mo 3/18 Austen, Persuasion (Strain), pp. 140-203We 3/20 Tocqueville, Democracy in America (Whidden), pp. 3-

15; 27-32; 39-58; 61-65; 165; 172-178; 180-186; 227-229.Second essay due

Fri 3/22 Tocqueville, Democracy in America (Whidden),pp. 239-245; 248-249; 275-295; 326-348, 395-396.

Friday, March 22: Verdi, La Traviata. Chicago Lyric Opera, 7:30 p.m. Attendance Required.

Mo 3/25 Tocqueville, Democracy in America (Whidden), pp. 426-439; 469-472; 479-492; 500-503; 506-508; 511-514; 558-567; 573-576; 661-665.

We 3/27 Goethe, Faust (Posner), Part I, pp. 1-92. Fri 3/29 Goethe, Faust (Posner), Part I, pp. 93-167.Mo 4/1 Goethe, Faust (Posner), Part II, pp. 308-373, 415-442. We 4/3 Darwin, Origin of Species (Harrington), Introduction (pp.

3-7) and Chapter XV, pp. 478-507.Fri 4/5 Darwin, Origin of Species (Harrington), Chapters I - III,

pp. 9-75.Mo 4/8 Darwin, Origin of Species (Harrington), Chapter IV, pp

76-159.We 4/10 Impressionism (Wisotzki) April 10 – 15: Visit to the

Chicago Art Institute. Attendance required.

Fri 4/12 Impressionism (Wisotzki)Mo 4/15 Impressionism (Wisotzki)

We 4/17 Borges, Ficciones (Posner), “Pierre Menard, Author of Don Quixote”; “The Babylon Lottery”

Third essay due

Fri 4/19 Good Friday (no class) Mo 4/22 Easter Monday (no class)We 4/24 Borges, Ficciones (Posner), “The Library of Babel”; “The

Garden of Forking Paths”Fri 4/26 Borges, Ficciones (Posner), “Funes the Memorious”; “The

South” Fri 5/3 Final Exam 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

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Sakai

The syllabus (in full color, available for downloading & printing), course schedule, lecture reading details, instructor info, Powerpoints, other multimedia material, discussion boards, group e-mail, and general course announcements will be found on our course Sakai shell. You’ll be au-tomatically enrolled by the start of lectures. Be sure to log in and consult it regularly.

Lecture Recording Policy

The Honors Seminar prohibits the use of any audio or video recording devices to record class lectures unless the student who wishes to do so first obtains the written consent of the lecturer. Permission to record the lecture applies only to the student who has made the request, and only for the lecture requested. The recording may not be played or utilized by any other individual than that student. The recording may not be copied without the express written permission of the instructor. Sale of recordings is a violation of intellectual property and is prohibited. At the end of term, all recordings are to be deleted. Students wishing to record lectures on an ongoing basis due to a disability must apply through the office of Services for Students With Disabilities (SSWD), at http://www.luc.edu/sswd/ .

Class Laptop Use

Laptop or other computer use is not permitted during lecture. Likewise, cell phone use of any kind is not permitted during class time. This includes sending and reading of text messages. All cellphones brought into the class room must be set to silent and put away. In the case of a personal emergency, students should quietly leave the classroom.

Image credits:

Page Source1 http://www.artchive.com/artchive/b/beckmann/thumb/departure.jpg2 http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/cas/fnart/fa267/sullivan.html3 http://www.nga.gov/feature/artnation/degas/images/milliner.jpg4 http://www.artchive.com/ftp_site.htm6 left http://college.hmco.com/history/west/mosaic/chapter7/image99.html6 center http://www.watson.org/~leigh/shakespeare.html6 right http://www.philosophie.uni-mainz.de/gerlach/Nietzsche.jpg

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