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                    English 3

 

 

 

The Heroic Ideal to the Humanist

Renaissance

or

"Who's there?": Mapping the Self

from Homer to Donne

　

Text: The Norton Anthology of Western Literature.

9th Edition. Puchner (ed.)

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All the following readings are due in class, not afterwards please.  Surprise pop quizzes may be given at any point!  Unless otherwise stated, please make sure that you always read the author introductions, as well as the three periods introductions as well as the literature itself.  So for every author there is also an introduction: make sure you read it: mid term questions will come from these in addition to the three period introductions and the literature itself.

 

Week One: The Heroic Code in Pre-Christian Culture.

Readings: a) Introduction of Puchner pp 3-21

b) Homer (181-8) The Iliad : Book I (189)　 from Book

VI (205)  Book XVIII (243) Book XXII (258) and Book XXIV (271).

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Week Two : The Domos and the Ideal.

The Odyssey: (291ff). Book I (291-301). Book IX (385), Book X, (397) , Book XI, (410), Book XII (426). Book XXII (546), Book XXIII,  (559). Book XXIV (568). Plato (821ff) Symposium (826).

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Thurs of week 2: Mid Term: 50 pts. Multiple Choice: Consisting of: Factual questions from the Puchner introductions to the relevant works from Homer and  Plato. Identification and/or commentary on passages, sections, chapters etc.. assigned and/or discussed in class. Definitions of some Greek concepts and words discussed from readings or lectures.  25 questions, @ 2 points each). Plus some writing: short responses.10 points.

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Week Three: Virgil, Christianity and  Mental Heroism 　

 

Virgil (intro p.977) The Aeneid Books I, IV, XII and the New Testament: (1149) and 'Circling the Mediterranean: Europe and the Islamic World' (read from 1135 to 1152

The Gospels: Matthew  5-7  (1154) and

Augustine’s Confessions  (1177): Books, I, II, II, VI, VIII.

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Week Four:  The Dangerous Body in Dante and Beyond.

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Dante  (1595): Inferno (1600ff): Read Cantos I,  III, IV, XI, XIII, XIV, XVII, XXXII, XXXIII, XXXIV.  

Marie de France: 'Lanval.'  (1408). 'Gawain and the Green Knight' (1915). Chaucer: (1847) The Canterbury Tales: 'The General Prologue' (1852)

Thurs : Mid Term Two: everything from Virgil to Chaucer.  Same as Exam One: 25 Multiple choice @ 2 points each. Plus some short written responses. 10 points.

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Week Five: The Empty Self and The Birth of the Self.

Read ' Europe and The New World: Early Modernity' (2023).  Martin Luther: To the Christian Nobility' (2727-9).

William Shakespeare (2077). Read Sonnets (2078), Read all five.  Plus Sonnet 20, and Sonnet 144. Find them online please. Print and bring to class. William Shakespeare (2624), Read Hamlet (2624).

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Week Six :

 John Donne: Read ‘The Flea’ and ‘A Nocturnal Upon St.Lucy’s Day, being the Shortest Day’ and ' A Valediction Forbidding Mourning' . 

You can find these Donne poems  here .

(www.luminarium.org/sevenlit/donne/donnebib.htm)

Also read Donne's  Holy Sonnet 5: 'I am a Little World...' and 14: 'Batter my Heart' (2741).

 

Thur:  Final  on ' Europe and the New World: Early Modernity' and Shakespeare  and  Donne, 25 Multiple Choice, @ 2 points each. Some writing too: Short responses. 10 points

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And the Score is….

1 Midterm @60

2 Midterm @ 60

1 Final @60

Total=180 pts.

Attendance: 10 points (if you do not miss more two classes)

Class Participation: 10 points. Everyone will get called on about twice. Make sure you can answer the questions!

Grand total : 200.

 

No 'extra' credit: the semester is your credit. So do the work on time. Keep up. No curving!

All quizzes will be taken in class. No take home essays about vivid imagery and deep meanings! Use your evenings to READ....

Remember: Don't pressure me for a good grade...pressure yourself.

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Students who are 'sporadic' in their attendance can expect that their grades will reflect their absences. More than three absences = down a Grade level ( i.e. when your grade is calibrated an overall B moves to C). Habitual cell phone use = 2 warning given= Deduct 20 points.

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As universities become increasingly competitive, students become more grade conscious. While this is understandable, you should also have realistic expectations about your grade for this course. One who has fulfilled the requirements for the course, even at the cost of a great deal of hard work, is not automatically entitled to an A. Standards for grades here at SMC are what you would expect at UCLA, Berkley, or any reputable university. Following are some general guidelines for passing grades in this class:

A: A’s are reserved for excellent, superior work, that is often original, and well-expressed. A students always come to class, particpate in class discussions and keep up with the reading as well as asking questions of it. 'A' work demonstrates intellectual curiosity and initiative. 'A' writing is intellectually engaging, well-reasoned, and well-supported; revealing complexity of thought; it is free of mechanical errors.

B: B’s are for good to very good work. Generally, students earn B’s by being prepared for class and participating in discussion. B writing while being free of mechanical errors may demonstrate less complexity of thought and analysis than A work, even while offering a degree of originality and insight.

C: C work reflects the average ability of university level students. Students earn C’s by completing all the requirements of the course. They come to class, accomplish the reading, and turn in competently written assignments. Often they participate in discussion. They are developing skill in engaging intellectually with written material and learning to ask questions of it. C papers probably contain less that is insightful or original than A or B papers. Essays and exam answers are sometimes clouded with surface errors or occasional unsupported generalizations. But the writing shows thoughtfulness and general university level skill and fluency.

A NOTE ON PLAGIARISM: A plagiarized paper is not acceptable, under any circumstances. To plagiarize is to present the work of others as your own. If you use an idea from a secondary source -- a book, an article, Cliff or Monarch notes-- or from commentary in the textbook, you must document it as you learned to do in English 1: even if you put the idea into your own words. You may not have others write papers for you and present the work as your own effort. Consequences for plagiarism, a violation of academic integrity, are severe, resulting in failure, and/or expulsion. As your instructor I will also have to place a notice of academic dishonesty on your permanent record.