Earlham College, Fall Semester 2002-2003
Tuesday, Friday 1:00-2:20, Carpenter 220
Instructor: Ferit Güven
Office: Carpenter 331
Office Hours: Monday 3:00-4:00, Wednesday 2:30-3:30, and by appointment
Office Phone: 983-1399(voicemail)
e-mail: guvenfe@earlham.edu

Course Description:
The aim of this course is to introduce you to a number of texts of different styles organized under the title "Humanities." The texts we will  read this semester cover a wide range of disciplines, including literature, history and philosophy. We will attempt to understand, interpret and evaluate these texts. This course may be thought of at two levels.  First, we will read a number of texts in order to engage with them and appreciate their content.  They will provide us with intellectually challenging ideas and passionate opinions that will be significant for us. Secondly, this course has several goals which will provide you with a number of skills that you will need throughout your education at (and after) Earlham. These goals are of three kinds:
Reading Goals:
to acquire the patience to read a text (or at least important passages) several times until you comprehend it fully;
to grasp the central ideas in a variety of challenging texts; to identify the features of the author's style and the perspective of the text;
to respond thoughtfully to the idas of the text with your own; to comprehend the details of a text; to recognize the characteristics of different disciplines and genres; to recognize the implications of a text.
Writing Goals:
to acquire the patience to revise a paper several times; to write, simple, clear, and error-free prose; to support your interpretation with textual evidence; to blend a valid interpretation of the text with an interesting response; to identify the implications of a text and connect them to other ideas; to become a versatile writer, unrestricted by a single formula for papers.
Participation Goals:
to help the group to better comprehend the meaning and the implications of a text; to listen well to others and be able to restate other people's points; to express your own ideas in relation to other's ideas; to support your comments with specific textual evidence;
to receive and give criticism in constructive and friendly manner; to learn to have fun intellectually.

Required Texts: (Available in the Earlham College bookstore)
Adrienne Rich, "As If Your Life Depended On It" (handout)
Nawal El Saadawi, God Dies by the Nile
Yusef Komunyaakaa, Thieves of Paradise
Marion Kaplan, Between Dignity and Despair
Plato, Symposium
Sigmund Freud, Civilization and Its Discontents
Gabriel Gracia Marquez, Love in the Time of Cholera
 

Course Requirements and Evaluations:
You are expected to write seven papers (one 1-2 page, three 2-3 page, three 3-4 page papers).  Your papers must be double-spaced and typed in 12 point font (There should be approximately 250-300 words per page).
Papers must always be turned in at the beginning of the class on the day they are due, or by 4pm the same day. If you skip a class in order to finish your paper (or for any other reason) your paper will be regarded as late. In order to be fair to students who pass in their papers on time, late papers will be graded down one notch (e.g. B to B-) for each day late (including weekends). You are responsible for making copies of your essays.

For your last three papers you will have an opportunity to revise your papers in light of the comments that I provide. You may improve your grade up to one letter grade, if you revise your paper (e.g., from C- to B-).

Since you will be writing your papers on the texts we read in this course, there is no need to do additional research beyond these texts, that is, you do not need to use secondary sources.  Plagiarism, [i.e., copying or paraphrasing the ideas and language of others (without acknowledging the source) from a book, from an article, from the Internet, etc., and thus implicitly presenting them as one's own] will not be tolerated. You will receive an F for that assignment, and may be subject to academic disciplinary action. For further clarifications on plagiarism, read The Humanities Handbook and The Student Handbook under "Procedures and Penalties for Academic Violations." Plagiarism can be deliberate or accidental. It is your responsibility to know what plagiarism is and avoid it. If you are not clear about plagiarism you should discuss it with me.

Your grade will be calculated according to the following distribution:
1st Paper:  5%
2nd Paper: 10%
3rd Paper: 10%
4th Paper: 10%
5th Paper: 10%
6th Paper: 10%
7th Paper: 15%

Class Participation, Attendance, and Quizzes: 30%

There will be no final exam.  In fact there will be no exams in this course.  However, there may be quizzes in order to make sure that all students complete their reading on time.  There will be no make-up for these quizzes.

In order to pass this course you are also required to complete a library assignment. Our library liaison will help you with this assignment.

We will meet between October 14-17 in order to discuss the course, and assess progress.

Any student with a documented disability (e.g., physical, learning, psychiatric, vision, hearing etc.) who needs to arrange reasonable accommodations must contact the instructor and Disability Services Office (Academic Support Services) at the beginning of the semester. Accommodation arrangements must be made during the first-two weeks of the semester.

Class Participation:
This is primarily a discussion/seminar course.  The success of the course depends on your contribution. In order for all of us to have a good course your individual participation will be necessary. Consequently, you should feel a responsibility not only to me and to yourself (for the sake of your grade), but also to your classmates in this course. Participation is not equal to "just speaking" in class.  Your remarks have to contribute to our understanding of the meaning, or of the implications, or of the importance of the text.

In order to be an effective participant you need do the following:

In preparing for class: Complete the reading assignments for the day; Mark important passages in the text so that you can refer to them; Bring questions to class; Try to have a sense of important concepts.

In discussion: Listen to what classmates say carefully so that you can rephrase their ideas; Challenge ideas that you think are incorrect without insulting others, Demonstrate a genuine enthusiasm for the books which can be gained by thoughtful engagement with the texts; Help others to understand the text better; Take notes.

In speaking: Respond to the question under consideration; Connect your remarks to what others have said; Support what you say through textual evidence; Direct your comments to the class as a whole, not just to the instructor; Vary your style of participation, sometimes lead, sometimes hold back, sometimes push your ideas, sometimes help others to develop their ideas.

In general: Pay attention when others speak; Look for solutions for the problems you see rather than complaining; Express your respect for others with your body language.

There are very few official rules in this course.  These are:
If you miss more than three classes you will lose 30% of your grade (i.e., your entire participation grade).
If you miss more than four classes you will fail this course regardless of your grade.

You must bring your book to every class.

Our sessions will start at 1:00 pm. Students are expected to come on time. Walking into (and out of ) the classroom while the session is in progress is extremely disruptive for everybody. I ask you not to do this.

Calendar:
There may be some modifications to this calendar. It is your responsibility to be aware of these changes. These changes will be announced in class. If you miss a class you should make sure that you are informed about the assignments for the next session.

Week 1:
August 30: Introduction; Rich, "As If Your Life Depended On It"

Week 2:
September 3: Saadawi, God Dies by the Nile, 1st paper due
September 6: Saadawi, God Dies by the Nile

Week 3:
September 10: Saadawi, God Dies by the Nile, 2nd Paper due
September 13: Saadawi, God Dies by the Nile

Week 4:
September 17: Komunyaakaa, Thieves of Paradise
September 20: Komunyaakaa, Thieves of Paradise

Week 5:
September 24: Komunyaakaa, Thieves of Paradise
September 27: Komunyaakaa, Thieves of Paradise, 3rd Paper due

Week 6:
October 1: Kaplan, Between Dignity and Despair
October 4: Kaplan, Between Dignity and Despair

Week 7:
October 8: Kaplan, Between Dignity and Despair
October 11: Kaplan, Between Dignity and Despair,4th Paper due
 
 

Week 8:
October 15: Library Assignment; Individual Conferences
October 18: Midsemester break

Week 9:
October 22: Plato, Symposium,
October 25: Plato, Symposium, 5th Paper due

Week 10:
October 29: Plato, Symposium,
November 1: Plato, Symposium, 5th Paper revision due

Week 11:
November 5: Freud, Civilization and Its Discontents
November 8: Freud, Civilization and Its Discontents, 6th Paper due

Week 12:
November 12: Freud, Civilization and Its Discontents
November 15: Freud, Civilization and Its Discontent, 6th Paper revision due

Week 13:
November 19: Marquez, Love in the Time of Cholera
November 22: Marquez, Love in the Time of Cholera, 7th Paper due

November 25 - November 29:  Thanksgiving Break

Week 14:
December 3: Marquez, Love in the Time of Cholera
December 6: Marquez, Love in the Time of Cholera

Week 15:
December 10:  Review and Evaluations, 7th revision Paper due

Back to Homepage.