Humanities History and AP Literature Mr. Radow S and Mr. Laughary Syllabus 2013-14

Humanities History and AP Literature Mr. Radow’s and Mr. Laughary Syllabus 2013-14

Radow Phone: 275-5023 E-mail: [email protected] Web site http://www.mercerislandschools.org//Domain/658 Office: 204C Prep periods 4 and 5

Laughary Phone 275-5021 Email. [email protected] Web site http://www.mercerislandschools.org//Domain/644 Office 204C Prep periods 3,4,5,7

Rationale: The goal of the course is essentially self-knowledge. In the Humanities we will aim to develop a deeper understanding of self and society through the study of creative revelations of great writers, thinkers, artists, and musicians. We will join the conversation in which these people have played a part, adding our own ideas. We will widen our perspective on what it means to be human, strengthen our powers of reason and imagination, and cultivate moral intelligence. Over the course of the year we will try on new points of view and ideas, and in the process, continue the hard, worthwhile work of building a self. You are off soon to careers and great things. For some of you this may be the last chance to stop and examine your self and the world around you. This search enlivens, enlightens, and enriches us all.

The Humanities include the study of History, Philosophy, Literature and the Arts. Each discipline offers a unique approach and response to eternal human questions. This course presents a survey of the main areas of human concern from Classical times to the present in Western as well as Eastern cultures.

Class procedures: Please come to class equipped with pens/pencils, paper, and appropriate books and handouts and a composition book for recording written response to readings. Perhaps even more than in other blocks, students encouraged to find relationships between the philosophical, literary, and historical texts they read. Further, we hope students will increase their ability to articulate how these themes help illuminate contemporary issues and events which shape our world today.

As an Honors class, we expect students to strive to attain an HONORS STANDARD by demonstrating the following skills and dispositions. accept challenges willingly maintain a positive attitude. accept personal responsibility for failures complete all assigned work on time miss school rarely and come to class on time seek to live up to his/her potential show a desire to improve evaluate your own work and revise, review, rethink as necessary consider a variety of ways to solving problems independently

For written work the Honors Standard demonstrates: an honest and personal thesis appropriate for the topic, appropriate evidence and correct citations, a logically sound and valid discussion of the primary sources, an engaging style, with imaginative and appropriate vocabulary, varied sentence structure and smooth transitions, and virtually no mechanical errors.

Tutorials: The heart of the course lies in the tutorial process. Greatest learning takes place when students prepare and defend their thoughtful, rational answers to open-ended questions. Students will be divided into small tutorial groups. Each student will write roughly every four to six weeks, for a total of six to eight major tutorials during the year. Tutorial questions will be given out at least a week before the due date. On that due date, students read completed drafts aloud for discussion and comment. The rest of the class listens, prepares notes, and participates in the ensuing discussion. Failure to appear at a tutorial session with a draft to read aloud will result in an automatic 15% penalty.

Re-writes: Students must re-write and re-submit every essay. The emphasis on re-writes reinforces the idea of the ongoing conversation. When re-writing, respond to the teacher’s comments by adding or subtracting from your essay, but also by making comments of your own in response. The purpose of re-writes is not solely about improving one’s grade— though that may happen with substantive changes and added marginal comments—but it is about continuing to engage in the conversation. The teachers will return re-writes with a grade based on an evaluation of the conversation to that point. Re-writes are due no later than one week after the essay is returned. Unless otherwise noted, for every re-write, resubmit the original, with teacher comments, and clearly indicate omissions and re-written content. In-class writing: In addition to tutorials, you will be expected to write some shorter, on-demand, in-class essays addressing narrower, more specific aspects of our readings and discussions. In some cases, these will be assessed using an AP writing rubric. Credo: At the culmination of this course, the students will compose and deliver their personal credos to the entire class. In them, students will share their responses to the enduring questions and problems of human existence. Each credo must reflect our year-long conversations with the great minds of the past and with each other. The student must draw upon several texts from the class; additionally, students are expected to respond to questions from the audience.

Grading: Grades are meant to reflect the degree to which a student has mastered the content goals of the course, and the skills and dispositions outlined in the Honors Standard above. Students’ grades will be based on total points accrued from tutorial essays and discussions, journal entries, occasional reading quizzes, class participation and “responsibility”. This last component addresses one’s contribution to making Humanities a productive, positive learning community. It includes attentiveness, respect for self and others, and regular attendance. Late work on projects and essays will be marked down unless one has prearranged for an extension. One day late results in a 20% penalty. Two days late, a 40% penalty. There is no penalty for late homework unless I announce in class that an assignment must be completed on time in order to participate in the subsequent activity. No make-up work will be accepted the last two weeks of the semester. Missing Work: All missing work goes in as a 0 until completed. Remember, we change asterisks (*) on Skyward into zeros if the work isn’t completed when there are two weeks left. Make up work in a timely fashion. For excused absences, you have two days for every day you were absent to make up work (school policy). Retakes: Students may retake tests one time. The time of the retake will be announced several days in advance. I will take the higher score and apply it to your grade.

There will be no extra credit.

The following grading scale will be used throughout this course:

A 93-100% B+ 87-89.9% B- 80-82.9% C 73-77.9% D 60-69.9% A- 90-92.9% B 83-86.9% C+ 77-79.9% C- 70-72.9% F 0-59.9%

Readings: The following list of readings is not exhaustive; additional readings will be assigned throughout the year to complement our main readings, or to add relevance to contemporary issues or the evolving needs of the students themselves. While the library has sufficient books for all students, many students prefer to purchase the works we read. Having a “clean” copy, which you can mark with your own comments greatly enhances your encounter with the classics, since you can take the books with you and chart your own growth and change with each re-reading. I suggest you read ahead as much as possible and be prepared for seminar discussions. DO NOT FALL BEHIND.

Honors Reading and Viewing List Homer, the Iliad, selections from the Odyssey Victor Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning Kitto, The Greeks Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War (excerpts) Aeschylus, The Oresteia Euripides The Trojan Women Aristophanes, Lysistrata or The Clouds Plato, “The Apology of Socrates”; “Phaedo;” Symposium and The Republic Lawrence Kohlberg “On Moral development” ” Lucretius, On the Nature of Things Aristotle, selections from Nicomachean Ethics Albert Camus, “The Myth of Sisyphus” Thich Nhat Hanh, Being Peace Epictetus, The Art of Living Seneca, Moral Letters (selected); “Consolation to Helvia;” “On the Shortness of Life” Selections from The Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Job, and Ecclesiastes Selections from The New Testament: John, Matthew Selections from The Koran, poetry selections from Rumi and Hafiz Tristan and Iseult, retold by Joseph Bedier the Bhagavad Gita Masterpiece Theatre: God on Trial William Shakespeare, Hamlet, sonnets Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince Michel de Montaigne, “On Cannibals” Jonathan Swift, “A Modest Proposal” Alexander Pope, Rape of the Lock Gottfried Leibniz, “Theodicy” Ebenstein, ed. Great Political Thinkers, selections from Hobbes, John Locke, Karl Marx Kant, Hume selections Kierkegaard Fear and Trembling Emily Bronte, Wuthering Heights Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Grand Inquisitor Friedrich Nietzsche, selected writings James Spence, “What Nietzsche Could Teach You: Eternal Return in Groundhog Day” Sigmund Freud and Albert Einstein, “Why War?” Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness Michael Walzer, Just and Unjust Wars: A Moral Argument with Historical Illustrations (excerpted) Romantic poetry: Wordsworth, Blake, Coleridge, Montagu Mohandas Gandhi, “Passive Resistance” Samuel Beckett, Waiting for Godot John Rawls, On Justice Thomas Pynchon, The Crying of Lot 49 Errol Morris, The Fog of War

Communication E-mail is the best way to contact us out of class. Weekly syllabi will be posted on our websites. ------Please complete and return the portion below by Friday September 25, 2013 My signature below shows that I have read and understand the contents and expectations of the Humanities syllabus. Home phone #______

Student signature______e-mail______

Parent signature______parent e-mail______Humanities Film Viewing Permission Student name: ______has my permission to watch “R” rated films that have been chosen for viewing in Humanities this year. I understand the MIHS policy that parent/guardian approval is required for the viewing of films that exceed a PG-13 rating.

Signed ______(Parent or Guardian) Please contact Mr. Radow at 206-275-5023 if you have questions about films we may be showing.