Literature Humanities Syllabus 2021 First semester PDF

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Syllabus for Masterpieces of Western Literature and Philosophy...

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LITERATURE HUMANITIES FALL 2021 SYLLABUS Instructor: Jennifer Rhodes, PhD Email: [email protected] Office Hours: Thursdays 11-11:50 (in person) and by appointment (likely on Zoom) Reading Schedule: R

9/9

Homer, Iliad (Books 1-6)

T

9/14

Homer, Iliad (Books 7-12)

R

9/16

Homer, Iliad, (Books 13-18)

M

9/20

[Be sure you’ve met with me on Zoom or in person by today! Upload creation story to Courseworks]

T

9/21

Homer, Iliad (Books 19-24)

R

9/23

Enheduanna, “The Exaltation of Inana” Enuma Elish

T

9/28

Genesis

R

9/30

Genesis

M

10/4

[PROJECT ONE DUE]

T

10/5

Homer, Odyssey (Books 1-8)

R

10/7

Homer, Odyssey (Books 9-16)

T

10/12

Homer, Odyssey (Books 17-24)

R

10/14

Sappho, If not, winter

T

10/19

Selections from Job, New Oxford Annotated Bible with Apocrypha Song of Solomon (Song of Songs), New Oxford Annotated Bible with Apocrypha

R

10/21

Aeschylus, Oresteia (Agamemnon, Libation Bearers)

T

10/26

Aeschylus, Oresteia (Eumenides)

R

10/28

Euripides, Bacchae

T

11/2

NO CLASS: Election Day Holiday

R

11/4

Parks, Father Comes Home from the Wars

F

11/5

[MIDTERM PROJECT DUE]

T

11/9

Plato, Symposium (Introduction through Agathon’s speech)

R

11/11

Plato, Symposium (Socrates’ speech through end) Virgil, Aeneid (Books 1-4)

T

11/16

Virgil, Aeneid (Books 5-8)

R

11/18

Virgil, Aeneid (Books 9-12)

T

11/23

Life of Aesop

R

11/25

NO CLASS: THANKSGIVING BREAK

T

11/30

Gospel of Luke

R

12/2

Gospel of John

T

12/7

The Golden Ass

R

12/9

The Golden Ass

F

12/17

FINAL EXAM 1-4PM [PORTFOLIOS AND FINAL PROJECTS DUE AT EXAM]

The Texts Please let me know if you are having any difficulties finding the following editions! Having the correct editions will ensure you have the exact text for all passage IDs! Texts: Homer, Iliad (Chicago, tr. Lattimore) Enheduanna,“The Exaltation of Inana” (found online in the LH Reader) Enuma Elish (found online in the LH Reader) New Oxford Annotated Bible with Apocrypha* * Recommended: Genesis (W. W. Norton, tr. Robert Alter) Homer, Odyssey (Norton, tr. Emily Wilson) — e-book available through CU libraries Sappho, If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho (Vintage, tr. Carson) Aeschylus, Oresteia (Aeschylus II, Chicago, tr. Lattimore) Euripides, Bacchae (Euripides V, Chicago, tr. Arrowsmith) CONTEMPORARY CORE: Parks, Father Comes Home from the Wars (Theater Communications Group) — e-book available through CU libraries Plato, Symposium (Hackett, trs. Nehamas, Woodruff) Virgil, Aeneid (Bantam, tr. Mandelbaum) Life of Aesop (Lit Hum reader, from Anthology of Ancient Greek Popular literature, tr. Daly) Apuleius, The Golden Ass (Yale, tr. Ruden) — e-book available through CU libraries *All texts can be found in the Lit Hum Reader or the Columbia Bookstore. Additional text, film, image, and music selections will be posted on Courseworks! All dates and assignments may be modified— please be sure to read ALL emails for any adjustments! **On Electronic Devices**

I have run this class with and without electronic devices and for me, there is simply no comparison in the quality of discussion and participation when devices are not present. Please do not bring electronic devices to class. If you require an exception to this policy, please email me or discuss your situation with me during office hours.

Course requirements: 20% 10% 10% 10% 20% 10% 20% Discussion Posts:

Discussion posts Project one Host presentation (including flyer) Midterm project Final exam and project Portfolio and reflection Class participation, attendance, other short assignments Our class’ weekly discussion threads offer a forum for thinking through our texts in community using a wide range of experimental approaches. Each week, you will submit your posts in two parts: 1) One original composition of at least 100-150 words. This composition must include a citation from the text selections for that week (it can be incorporated into your response or it can stand alone—it doesn’t count toward the total word count of your submission). Your original composition is due each Friday by 11:59pm EDT. 2) Two responses to your classmates’ compositions (there’s no minimum word count, but you should include at least two to three sentences per response). Your responses are due each Monday by 11:59pm EDT. It can be helpful to set reminders for these submissions until they become automatic. You can have two “drop” weeks per semester on your original compositions (though I encourage you to still write responses in those weeks!). Discussion posts are graded on a completion basis—you are free from grade pressure here, so this is the place for experimentation! A large selection of general creative prompts will be posted on Courseworks and on our class tumblr, and I will also post at least one specific creative prompt per text. I encourage you to create your own prompts and to take inspiration from your classmates!

Portfolio:

At the end of the semester, you’ll assemble a selection of your Courseworks posts into a portfolio and write a 2-3 page reflection on the trajectory of your reading and writing across the semester. I encourage you to keep a physical notebook for the class as a whole and to consider incorporating scanned elements from it into the discussion posts or portfolio! This notebook might also form the basis of your final project. It isn’t a requirement to keep a physical notebook, but it might be extremely rewarding to craft an analog record of your reading in this particular moment, when so much of our lives are spent interacting with keyboards and screens.

Participation: Vibrant discussions are the heart and soul of Lit Hum (and, I’d argue, the heart and soul of Columbia!). Aim to participate at least once or twice in each day’s discussion. The class is better and richer the more everyone is involved. Please take care of outside business outside of class rather than taking breaks in the middle of class to handle it—it is distracting and disruptive to have a lot of motion in and out of the classroom. Of course, if you have extenuating circumstances, just let me know. Finally, be mindful of your role in the class community—add your voice to the conversation, but also make space for others to participate.

Attendance:

Because Lit Hum is based on discussion, attendance is mandatory, as it is for all Core courses. That said, we are in extraordinary times, and life happens. Please let me know of any challenges you are facing, and we will work together (in collaboration with your advisor, as needed) to find a solution. Beyond this, two unexcused absences will lower your grade, and with four unexcused absences, you will fail the course. Absences due to religious observance are excused (just let me know ahead of time). If you miss a class, please contact a classmate to discuss the material covered that day—I’m always happy to address questions, but it is unlikely I’ll be able to cover everything during office hours. I’ll take attendance each day via a question of the day in a notebook ten minutes after class begins. If you join class late, please find the notebook at the end of class so you can add your name!

Email:

I cannot stress this enough! You are responsible for all of the information contained in class emails—please read them thoroughly (I arrange them with the most vital details first). I organize this class to be as flexible as possible, and that means there will almost certainly be some adjustments to our work during the course of the semester. I will communicate these both in class and via email. The challenges of the past 18 months have meant that work has consistently encroached on all spaces of our lives. I strongly recommend carving out space for yourself that does not include work! I have three young children at home, so I answer emails between 9am-6pm on weekdays. Due to the volume of email I receive, it may take me a full business day to respond to you. If you need to contact me urgently, particularly outside of those times, please feel free to include “URGENT” in the subject line, and I’ll try to respond as quickly as possible. In emergency situations, please feel free to loop your advisor in, as well, as they can communicate with all of your professors at once.

Hosting:

You will sign up to co-host one class session per semester. Hosting involves three required components: 1) Choose one piece of text, art, music, or video that relates to our reading. You will present this work in the first five minutes of class to open the discussion. The options for this presentation are virtually unlimited: it could be a poem, a short prose excerpt, a music or video clip, a work of art, a letter, an equation, or theorem — anything that, in your estimation, enters into a productive dialogue with elements you find interesting in the text. Choose a piece you can introduce in roughly three to five minutes (in the interest of time, I’ll stop you at five minutes). After you have presented your work, you will have an additional five minutes to lead an open discussion on any elements of interest in the work you’ve presented. Think of your selection as an invocation—it will set the stage for the day’s discussion. NB: Ten minutes seems like a long time, but it goes quickly! These conversations are often the highlight of the class—the ideal is to set us up with material and ideas that will carry into the class, but don’t feel like you need to cover everything yourself! 2) Create a one-page flyer that presents your selection. Post it on Courseworks under the “Host” thread for your section by 9am on the day of your presentation. In the case of music or video selections, you can include dialogue/lyrics and/or a still and citation information—whatever best represents your piece. Please present a maximum of two discussion questions on your flyer! You are free to introduce any other questions later in our class period! 3) Choose a short work you’d like to add to our fall syllabus and create a one-page flyer that presents it to the class. This does not need to be a text—it could be a film, an album, or another work (let your imagination run wild!). Post your flyer on Courseworks under the “Class Choice” thread for your section. On the day you host the class discussion, we will close the class with your pitch for the new work. “Short” = Thirty pages or fewer for a text, thirty minutes or fewer for audio/visual media.

Office Hours: Everyone is required to meet with me once before September 20. I will post sign-ups for times both in person and on Zoom. We will also have periodic small group office hours that are required throughout the semester. Please email me for an alternative appointment if you have a conflict with the scheduled hours. Core Lab:

Alongside classes, I hold a weekly experimental arts laboratory using historical and contemporary materials and practices. It is completely optional and designed to explore storytelling practices across time, space, and medium. It’s free, open to everyone, and there are no requirements or restrictions—you can come and go as you please, and you can use the time and materials to work on projects purely for your own interests or for any other purpose. Drop by any time you like. In the fall semester, this will likely be on Thursdays from 4-6pm—I’ll send out more information as we begin!

Special Events: The class will have the opportunity to attend a tour at the Metropolitan Museum, as well as other events in the city, as announced. Attendance is warmly encouraged, and there are often project opportunities included in our visits. Honor Code: Columbia takes plagiarism extremely seriously, and any act of plagiarism will result in disciplinary proceedings through the Deans. Do not plagiarize. You will be asked to sign your name on all assignments, papers, and other assessments to affirm that you uphold the following Honor Code: I affirm that I will not plagiarize, use unauthorized materials, or give or receive illegitimate help on assignments, papers, and examinations. I will also uphold equity and honesty in the evaluation of my work and the work of others. I do so to sustain a community built around this Code of Honor. Writing:

If you need assistance with writing, please take advantage of Columbia’s free Writing Center services. For information and to make appointments, visit: http://uwp.columbia.edu/writing-center/.

Core Scholars: The Core Scholars program offers excellent opportunities for creative applications of the texts we’ll encounter: http://www.college.columbia.edu/core/scholars I am always happy to consider creative projects as components of project assignments! There have been some spectacular creations in the past years. Website:

Many useful materials are available on the Lit Hum website: http://www.college.columbia.edu/core/lithum Use them for discussion post, hosting, and project inspiration!

Important Student Resources Academic Success Programs http://www.studentaffairs.columbia.edu/asp 212-854-3514 [email protected] ASP provides a network of comprehensive programs and services that assist students in enhancing and maximizing their academic potential through academic advising, academic skill-building, career seminars, personal counseling, and mentoring opportunities. ASP also provides individual and group tutorials and skills-based workshops to students who desire additional academic support services. Counseling and Psychological Services https://health.columbia.edu/counseling-and-psychologicalservices Columbia: 212-854 2284 Barnard: (212) 854-2092 Emergency: 212-854-2878 Counseling and Psychological Services supports the psychological and emotional well-being of the campus community by providing counseling, consultation and crisis intervention — all of which adhere to strict standards of confidentiality. CPS offers free psychological counseling - short-term individual counseling, couples counseling for students and their partners, student life support groups, medication consultation, training and emergency consultation - to all undergraduate and graduate students who have paid the Health Service Fee. Urgent medical or mental health concerns are prioritized by the medical and counseling services of Columbia Health: 212-854-2878 Disability Services https://health.columbia.edu/disability-services 212-854 2388 [email protected] The Office of Disability Services (ODS) empowers students with disabilities to realize their academic and personal potential by facilitating equal access and coordinating reasonable accommodations and support services for eligible students. This approach is consistent with the spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act and emphasizes student ability and independence. (Students seeking accommodations or support services from ODS are required to register with the office.) Student Services for Gender-Based and Sexual Misconduct http://sexualrespect.columbia.edu/ (212) 854-1717 [email protected] Student Services for Gender-Based and Sexual Misconduct manages the disciplinary procedure for reports of gender-based and sexual misconduct where students are alleged to have engaged in behavior. The Assistant Director is a neutral administrator in the disciplinary process. This person is responsible for coordinating the disciplinary process and for working with all involved parties. The Assistant Director does not determine whether a policy violation occurred. This individual also serves as the Deputy Title IX Coordinator focusing on reports of gender-based misconduct involving situations in which a student is the respondent. Rape Crisis/Anti-Violence Support Center Peer Advocacy: (212) 854-HELP (4357) Main Line: (212) 854-4366 Barnard College: 3009 Broadway, 105 Hewitt Hall Columbia University: 2920 Broadway, 700 Alfred Lerner Hall Peer Advocates assist survivors by accompanying them to the hospital, health services, the police, public safety, court, campus disciplinary proceedings and other resources. They also help survivors make informed decisions about reporting and disciplinary options....