Crime and Punisment in Literature
English 1120 / Winter 2024
Professor Timothy H. Wilson
Embedded Files
The Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise (1791)Benjamin WestNational Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Course Details:
Course Details:
Course Syllabus and Assignments
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“Crime and Punishment in Literature” – Concepts of crime and punishment touch on our most fundamental metaphysical and theological perspectives of the nature existence as a whole, the nature of society and the nature of the individual. Literary narrative is an important means by which we shape our understanding of the meaning of crime and punishment. The literary tradition provides various historical attempts to define what is the proper order of the cosmos, of human society and of the individual.
We will explore the different ways works of literature have charted paths for this understanding of the meaning of crime and punishment. We will begin with ancient works of literature wherein crime arises as a violation of a higher, divine order. We will then read works of literature that are representative of the modern experience of crime and punishment, wherein the divine significance of these human transgressions is less accessible.
Lecture and Reading Schedule
Lecture and Reading Schedule
WEEK 1
WEEK 1
Introduction
Introduction
Required Reading:
- None for this class
Lecture Outline:
- Course Syllabus and Assignments
WEEK 2
WEEK 2
Athens and Jerusalem
Athens and Jerusalem
Required Reading:
- None for this class
Lecture Outline:
- Jerusalem and Athens: The Question of Crime and Punishment
An introduction to the two strands of the Western tradition with respect to the question of Law.
WEEK 3
WEEK 3
Sophocles, Oedipus Tyrannus
Sophocles, Oedipus Tyrannus
Required Reading:
- Oedipus Rex (429 BCE)
Lecture Outline:
- Greek Tragedy: An Introduction
- On Sophocles' Oedipus Rex
An introduction to ancient Greek tragedy, including a discussion of the political and cultural context in 5th Century Athens, theories of the origins of tragedy in Dionysian ritual, ancient theatrical staging and Aristotle's theory of tragedy in the Poetics.
An introduction to Sophocles' tragedy of Oedipus.
WEEK 3
WEEK 3
Sophocles, Oedipus Tyrannus
Sophocles, Oedipus Tyrannus
Required Reading:
- Oedipus Rex (429 BCE)
Lecture Outline:
- Greek Tragedy: An Introduction
- On Sophocles' Oedipus Rex
An introduction to ancient Greek tragedy, including a discussion of the political and cultural context in 5th Century Athens, theories of the origins of tragedy in Dionysian ritual, ancient theatrical staging and Aristotle's theory of tragedy in the Poetics.
An introduction to Sophocles' tragedy of Oedipus.
WEEK 4
WEEK 4
Sophocles, Oedipus Tyrannus
Sophocles, Oedipus Tyrannus
Required Reading:
- Oedipus Rex (429 BCE)
Lecture Outline:
- On Sophocles' Oedipus Rex
An introduction to Sophocles' tragedy of Oedipus.
WEEK 5
WEEK 5
Plato, The Apology of Socrates
Plato, The Apology of Socrates
Recommended Reading:
- The Apology of Socrates (399-87 BCE)
Lecture Outline:
- On Plato's The Apology of Socrates
An introduction to Plato's depiction of the trial of Socrates.
WEEK 6
WEEK 6
Machiavelli
Machiavelli
Recommended Reading:
- Leo Strauss, "The Three Waves of Modernity" (1975)
Lecture Outline:
- Machiavelli and the First Wave of Modernity
Presentation slides for a lecture on the "modern revolution" in thinking that occurred ca 1500 CE. A brief overview of the Medieval worldview is presented in order to highlight the order that was overturned by the moderns. Some of the historical factors contributing to the modern revolution are enumerated: linear perspective in painting, the fall of Constantinople, Gutenberg's Bible, the Voyages of Discovery, modern warfare, Luther's 95 Theses, and the Copernican revolution. The notion of "Three Waves of Modernity", as articulated by Leo Strauss, is briefly presented. Finally, the philosophy of Machiavelli is summarized as a way of understanding the modern shift in thinking. For instance, war is no longer judged as the "right" course of action if it is in accordance with a Providential design (the Medieval view); rather, war is judged as the right course of action if it advances the overall "human designs" of the Machiavellian leader.
WEEK 6
WEEK 6
How to Write a Research Essay
How to Write a Research Essay
Required Reading:
- None for this class
Lecture Outline:
- Elements of an Excellent Academic Essay
An overview of how to write a research essay, applicable to most Humanities assignments at the University level. A description of what makes for a good: Thesis, Argumentation, Logical Organization, Style and Mechanics.
WEEK 7
WEEK 7
READING WEEK
READING WEEK
WEEK 8
WEEK 8
Miltonic Epic
Miltonic Epic
Required Reading:
- John Milton, Paradise Lost, Book I (1674)
Lecture Outline:
- On Milton's Paradise Lost: Books I and II
An introduction to Milton's epic.
WEEK 9
WEEK 9
Miltonic Epic
Miltonic Epic
Required Reading:
- John Milton, Paradise Lost, Book IX (1674)
Lecture Outline:
- On Milton's Paradise Lost: Books III to VI
- On Milton's Paradise Lost: Books VII to XII
An introduction to Milton's epic.
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