The primary emphasis of the course will be focused on
reading a broadly interdisciplinary collection of classic texts--
works of enduring significance that have shaped the
development of Western culture. In this, an age of
anthologies, abridgments, and multiple-choice testing, our
appetites for pre-digested learning are voracious--we are
less inclined to read the great works of our tradition than we
are to read about them. This seminar, however, proceeds
contrawise. In many respects, both the warrant for, and the
intent of, the course were adumbrated by T.S. Eliot in 1919:
Some one said: "The dead writers are remote from us
because we know so much more than they did."
Precisely, and they are that which we know.
Roughly, the objectives of the course are three:
(1) to provide you with a functional understanding of how to
read masterworks; (2) to foster and develop your sense of intellectual history; and
(3) to assist you in the development of you own interdisciplinary criteria for assessing the enduring value of classic texts.
The following books (copies of which will be supplied by the Honors College) are required:
After an introductory overview (following the main arguments advanced in
Pound's ABC of Reading), the texts and our attendant discussions will follow a (roughly) chronological sequence, beginning with Homer
and ending with Joyce; Huxley's Brave New World will serve, finally, as the context for a sort of conceptual
For the most part, each week of the semester will be devoted to a specific work. On Tuesdays we shall
follow a lecture format; on Thursdays, a seminar-discussion format. To prepare for the lectures, you should have
completed your reading of the relevant text for that period. To prepare for the discussions, you should have
completed the relevant entries in your Interrogative Notebook (see
"Written Assignments, below).
Ten percent of the final grade (reported on the plus/minus scale) will reflect class participation. The remaining ninety percent of the final grade will be based on the following division (total possible points = 200):|
(a) The Interrogative Notebook: 50 pts.
|If you have a disability that may require assistance or accommodation, or you have questions related to any accommodations for testing, note takers, readers, etc., please speak with your instructor as soon as possible. Students may also contact the Office of Disabled Students Services (898-2783) with questions about such services.|
|The following markers are designed to index problems in essay work. They are NOT arranged in order of severity. They do NOT necessarily correlate with grade assignments.|
(1) Spelling error here.
(2) Noncritical weakness in sentence structure.
(3) Critical weakness in sentence structure. (meaning lost).
(4) Punctuation not clear.
(5) Term or phrase unclear or unexplained.
(6) Term or phrase ambiguous.
(7) New paragraph warranted here.
(8) Circumlocution here; simpler expression available.
(9) General structure of this argument unclear.
(10) Conclusion does not follow without unstated assumptions.
(11) Relevance of this point to your argument is not clear.
(12) This assertion is questionable and requires further support.
(13) Further consequences of this claim are unmentioned but relevant.
(14) This inference is formally invalid.