Description
The goal of this course is to introduce students to major works in poetry, drama, philosophy, religion, and literature that serve as the foundation to modern civilization. We will explore questions related to the nature of love, the meaning of life, the relationship between religion and morality, how the existence of evil is compatible with the existence of God, and whether we have reason to act morally. Students will gain familiarly with key texts that challenge them to evaluate some of their most fundamental beliefs. Grappling with the ideas presented in this course will help provide a foundation for the development of the intellectual independence of each student in the course.
Texts
There are nine required texts for this course:
Temple University Intellectual Heritage 51, 4th edition. (IH51)
Sophocles, Thebian Plays, trans. Peter Meineck and Paul Woodruff (Hackett, 2003).
Plato, The Trial and Death of Socrates, trans. G. M. A. Grube (Hackett, 2000).
Plato, Republic, trans. C. D. C. Reeve (Hackett, 2004).
Holy Bible (New Revised Standard Version).
The Koran, trans. N. J. Dawood (Penguin, 2003).
The Bhagavad-Gita, trans. Barbara Stoler Miller (Bantam, 2004).
William Shakespeare, Othello (Washington Square Press, 1993).
Machiavelli, Selected Political Writings, trans. David Wootton (Hackett, 1994).
Coursework
There will be three forms of coursework: 20 quizzes, two papers, and two examinations. I will give a short quiz at the beginning of each class that will require one or two sentence answers. There will be two papers of 4-5 pages on assigned topics. There will also be a mid-term and a final examination.
Quizzes (10%) + Paper 1 (20%) + Paper 2 (25%) + midterm (20%) + final (25%).
Academic Honesty
Plagiarism--claiming someone else’s ideas or written work as your own--will not be tolerated. Anyone caught cheating will be given a failing grade. I will also write a letter will to the dean requesting that you be expelled from the the university.
Schedule
Topic I (The Ancient World)
Week 1
t (8/28): Introduction
r (8/10): Sappho (IH51 pp. 1-10)
Week 2
t (9/4): Sophocles, Oedipus Tyrannus, Beginning up to 3rd chorus (pp. 62-97)
r (9/6): Sophocles, Oedipus Tyrannus, 3rd chorus to end (pp. 97-124)
Week 3
t (9/11): Sophocles, Antigone: Beginning to second stasimon (pp. 1-28)
r (9/13): Sophocles, Antigone (pp. 28-60)
Week 4
t (9/18): Thucydides, Funeral Speech of Pericles (IH51 pp. 27-32)
r (9/20): Plato, Euthyphro
Week 5
t (9/25): Plato, Apology
r (9/27): Plato, Crito and Phaedo
Week 6
t (10/2): Plato, Republic, book 2 (sec 357a-367e; pp.36-45)
r (10/4): Aristotle, Nichomachean Ethics (IH51 39-65) | Paper I Due
Topic II (Religious Traditions)
Week 7
t (10/9): Holy Bible, Old Testament, Genesis, Ch. 1-23
r (10/11): Holy Bible, Old Testament, Exodus, Ch. 1-35; Leviticus, ch. 11,15,18,20,24,25
Week 8
t (10/16): Midterm Exam
r (10/18): Holy Bible, New Testament, Matthew and Corinthians I
Week 9
t (10/23): Saint Augustine, Confessions, Book VII (IH pp. 67-87)
r (10/25): Koran (surahs 1, 2 and 77-114)
Week 10
t (10/30): Bhagavad-Gita, 1st-9th Teaching (pp. 23-90)
r (11/1) : Bhagavad-Gita, 10th-18th Teaching (pp. 91-146)
Topic II (The Renaissance)
Week 11
t (11/6): Shakespeare, Othello, Act I (pp. 1-55)
r (11/8): Shakespeare, Othello, Act II (pp. 57-107)
Week 12
t (11/13): Shakespeare, Othello, Acts III (pp. 109-167)
r (11/15): Shakespeare, Othello, Act IV and V (pp. 169-265)
Week 13
t (11/20): Galileo, Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina (online) | Paper II due
r (11/22): (NO CLASS: Thanksgiving 11/22)
Week 14
t (11/27): Machiavelli, The Prince, ch. 1-9
r (11/29): Machiavelli, The Prince, ch 10-19
Week 15
t (12/04): Machiavelli, The Prince, ch. 20-26
r (12/06): (NO CLASS: Last day of classes W 12/5)
End of Classes
Week 16 12/10-14 (Final exam week)