1 Attachment 10.4 Sample Syllabi
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Attachment 10.4 Sample Syllabi BA in Liberal Arts Program Western Classics I Fall 2014 Instructor: Jessica Samuels In this course we will be reading texts focusing on the themes of Western philosophy and literature. I encourage you to be prepared at each class meeting to engage with the texts that are assigned for that week as well as to engage with each other. We will be doing a lot of reading each week as well as a lot of writing in this course. This is a great opportunity for you to familiarize yourself with a variety of interesting texts, to really think about them, and to hone your writing skills. Meeting Days and Times: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 2:00–3:30 p.m. Instructor Contact Information Email: [email protected] Office location: TBA Office hours: Thursdays 12–2 p.m. and by appointment (these may change by announcement) Program Learning Outcomes 1. Demonstrate critical thinking skills. 2. Appreciate and defend different systems of thought as conveyed within the primary texts in the areas of human nature, the workings of causality, and the complex interconnections between the personal, the social, and the natural world. 3. Practice thoughtful and probing dialogue combined with close listening to assess the context and the character of the audience. Course Outcomes Students will be required to: 1. Analyze and critique the primary text. 2. Articulate the significance and relevance of great works in the Western tradition, both for their original time and for our modern day. 3. Engage in class discussions using evidence from text. Course Requirements • Attendance at all class meetings and all conferences. Two absences of any kind (class meetings, conferences, or any other course requirement) will affect your grade, and more than two unexcused absences is grounds for failure. Being on time to class is an important part of your attendance. Please be sure to arrive on time. • Submission of all writing assignments: in-class assignments, reading responses, and all papers. • Preparation of all reading assignments and reading responses prior to course meetings (see syllabus schedule). 1 • Participation at all class meetings. This is a time for you to engage with each other in expressing ideas and to work together to deepen your understanding of the exciting and sometimes difficult texts we are reading. In my experience, discussions are most fruitful and enjoyable when everyone in the group is actively engaged in the discussion, either talking or listening. Our goal is to cultivate a respectful and supportive intellectual community together. Final Portfolio You will be writing a lot in this course. You will be working on versions of your papers in writing groups, in class, and on your own. The key to developing strong writing skills is revision. You will need to keep all of the versions of all of your papers in a folder. This will be due toward the end of the semester. Assessment Your work in this course will be assessed holistically. That is, how much effort you put in to each component of the course and how much improvement your work demonstrates over the course of the semester will affect your final grade. Final Grade Criteria • Class participation: 20% (discussion, presentations, small group projects) • Course papers and weekly writing assignments (all typed): 75% • Final Portfolio: 5% Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism You are responsible for submitting your own, original work. The first time you use someone else’s words or ideas without proper citations, you fail the course. Plagiarism includes copying passages from someone else’s work, using someone else’s insights without acknowledgment, or paraphrasing another’s original phrases without acknowledgment. Academic Accommodations If you need disability-related accommodations in this class, if you have emergency medical information you wish to share with me, or if you need special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please inform me immediately either privately after class or in my office. Weekly Schedule (subject to change) Week Topic Readings 1 Introduction The Epic of Gilgamesh, Ancient Greek Literature 2 Mythology Achilles, Atreus, Pandora, Prometheus, Sisyphus, Theseus/Phaedra 3-4 Homer Iliad, Odyssey 5 Aeschylus Agamemnon 6-7 Sophocles Oedipus, Antigone 8 Hebrew Bible Genesis 9 Ancient Greek Philosophy The Pre-Socratics, Heraclitus, Parmenides 10-11 Plato Republic 12-15 Plato’s Dialogues Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Meno, Symposium 2 3 BA in Liberal Arts Program Indian Classics I Fall 2014 Instructor: Snjezana Akpinar “When you keep thinking about sense objects, attachment comes. Attachment breeds desire, the lust of possession that burns to anger. Anger clouds the judgment; you can no longer learn from past mistakes. Lost is the power to choose between what is wise and what is unwise, and your life is utter waste. But when you move amidst the world of sense, free from attachment and aversion alike, there comes the peace in which all sorrows end, and you live in the wisdom of the Self.” —Bhagavad Gītā Meeting Days and Times: Mondays and Wednesdays, 9:00-10:30 a.m. Office Hours: Mondays and Wednesdays, 2:00-3:30 p.m. Course Description “The non-existent did not exist, nor did the existent exist at that time. There existed neither the midspace nor the heaven beyond. What stirred? From where and in whose protection?” 1 For thousands of years Indian seers and storytellers have looked deeply into the perennial questions of human existence: How did one become many? Who am I? For what should I aim in life? How should I act? Freshman year, you will encounter Indian thinkers’ timeless approach to answering these and other questions. Through reading primary texts, you will explore ancient Indian views of time, human nature, and the interconnections between the personal, social, and the natural world. By means of close reading and in class discussions guided by you, your classmates, and the professor, you will form an intimate, but critical understanding of classical Indian literature. This fall, you will read selections from the Vedas , Brāhmaṇas , and Upaniṣads , followed by different schools of Vedic exegesis, namely Mīmāṃsā and Vedānta . Next, you will read Jaina, Sā ṃkhya, and Yoga philosophies, in addition to the epic Mahābhārata and its Bhagavad Gītā . Program Learning Outcomes 1. Exercise sensibility and discernment in ethical reasoning. 2. Cultivate a flexibility of mind to adapt to evolving conditions. 3. Appreciate and defend different systems of thought as conveyed within the primary texts in the areas of human nature, the workings of causality, and the complex interconnections between the personal, the social, and the natural world. Course Outcomes 1 Ṛgveda 10.129 trans. Joel P. Brereton, “Edifying Puzzlement: Ṛgveda 10.129 and the Uses of Enigma. Journal of the American Oriental Society , Vol. 119, no. 2 (Apr.-Jun. 1999, pp. 248–260), 250. 4 Students will: 1. Explain Indian perspectives of morality and ethics. 2. Articulate and engage in dialogue about issues in human society from an Indian perspective. 3. Compare and contrast Indian views of human nature and causality with contemporary views. In addition, you will develop fundamental skills in: • oral communication • inquiry • analytical writing • close reading and listening These skills will be valuable throughout the four-year program. Format and Procedures • You are expected to read closely the primary texts assigned for class and to prepare for each class discussion by recording your observations and questions on paper prior to the start of class. Class time will consist of seminar discussions in which the professor asks probing or guiding questions to generate student discussion. You will be expected to bring your reading notes to class, to ask and answer questions, and to encourage your classmates to participate in the colloquy. • A one-page reflection on the readings will be due each week. An 8- to 10-page paper is due at the end of the semester. • You are expected to arrive on time to class and to submit assignments on time. Please inform the instructor in advance of any required absences and arrange to submit the work on time. There is no final exam for this class. Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism You are responsible for submitting your own, original work. The first time you use someone else’s words or ideas without proper citations, you fail the course. Plagiarism includes copying passages from someone else’s work, using someone else’s insights without acknowledgement, or paraphrasing another’s original phrases without acknowledgement. Academic Accommodations If you need disability-related accommodations in this class, if you have emergency medical information you wish to share with me, or if you need special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please inform me immediately either privately after class or in my office. Course Requirements Course Readings 5 The Rig Veda: An Anthology . Trans. Wendy Doniger O’Flaherty . New York: Penguin Books, 1981. Yajurveda Samhitā: Sanskrit Text with English Translation of R.T.H. Griffiths . Ed. and Revised by Ravi Prakash Arya. Delhi: Parimal Publications, 1997. Rigveda Brāhmaṇas: The Aitreya and Kauṣītaki Brāhmaṇas of the Rig-Veda . Harvard Oriental Series no. 25. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1920. Taitirīya Brāhmaṇa, TBA. Kāṇvaśatapathabrāhmaṇam . Vol 1-5. Ed. and Transl. by Swaminathan, C.R. Delhi: Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts and Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, Pvt. Ltd., 1994. Upaniṣads . Trans. Patrick Olivelle. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996. The Mīmāṃsā Sūtras of Jaimini. Trans. Mohan Lal Sandal. New York, AMS Press, 1974. Taber, John. A Hindu Critique of Buddhist Epistemology: Kumārila on perception. The “Determination of Perception” chapter of Kumārila Bhaṭṭa’s Ślokavārttika. Translation and Commentary . New York: RoutledgeCurzon, 2005. Śaṅkara’s Upadeśasāhasrī . Vol. II (Introduction and English Translation). Trans. Sengaku Mayeda. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, Pvt.