Earlham College, Spring Semester 2001-2002
Monday, Wednesday, Friday 10:00-10:50. Carpenter 320
Instructor: Ferit Güven
Office: Carpenter 328
Office Hours: Monday, Friday, 1:00-2:00 and by appointment
Office Phone: 983-1399 (voice mail)
e-mail: guvenfe@earlham.edu
web page: http://www.earlham.edu/~guvenfe/

Course Description: The aim of this course is to in introduce you to the philosophical movement called Existentialism through close readings of texts representing this movement.  Initially we will try to understand existentialism as a reaction to the Enlightenment and the presuppositions of modernity.  In particular, existentialism reacts to the rational subject and to the assumption that  reason is the essence of human beings.  Existentialism, while adhering to the idea of the primacy of the human being as the basis of thinking, questions the primacy of reason and attempts to broaden the meaning of human existence. Existentialists try to describe human existence in concrete situations and in terms of several dimensions other than or in addition to reason. In this course we will read novels rather than philosophical texts. However, we will read these novels from a philosophical point of view, which means that we will raise and try to answer philosophical questions.

Required Texts: (available in the Earlham College bookstore)
Milan Kundera, The Art of the Novel, (New York: HarperPerennial, 2000)
Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Notes From Underground / The Double, (New York: Penguin Books, 1972)
Franz Kafka, The Trial, (New York: Schocken Books, 1998)
Simone de Beauvoir, She Came to Stay, (New York: W.W. Norton, 1954)
Milan Kundera, Immortality, (New York: HarperPerennial, 1999)
Orhan Pamuk, The White Castle, (New York: Vintage Books, 1998)

This course mainly depends on your engagement with the novels.  I expect you to read the assigned sections of the book, paying attention to the details as well as trying to comprehend the general point of the reading.

Course Requirement and Evaluation: You are expected to write two 5-6 page papers:  I will provide paper topics for each assignment. You are also allowed to decide on your own topic provided that you discuss your topic with me at least a week before the deadline. Along with the paper topics I will also provide specific guidelines for each topic. Besides this, for every paper (including papers on topics of your own choice) you are responsible for following the general guidelines provided. (See "Comments and Suggestions for Papers").
You are also required to keep a journal throughout the semester.  Your journal entries will consist of two parts:  First, each entry will include a summary of class sessions written in full sentences.  Second, it will include your own reflections on the readings for the day.  You will have prepared a complete journal entry for the entire week by the Monday following that week.  You can, therefore, write your entries for the entire week either after each class or on the weekend .  Always write the date of your entry at the beginning.  Please purchase a notebook for your journals and write your entries legibly.  I will collect these journals at random several times over the semester, so you should have a complete journal every time.  I will also sometimes ask you to read your entries aloud in class so that we have a basis for our discussions.
There may be announced or unannounced quizzes either at the beginning or at the end of class sessions. There will be no make-ups for the quizzes.
There will be no final examination!
Your grade will be calculated according to the following distribution: Paper I: 25%, Paper II: 25%, Journals: 25% Quizzes, Participation and Attendance: 25%.
In order to pass the course you must fulfill all the requirements.

Participation and Attendance:
Class participation is an important dimension of your grade. However, I expect you to participate not simply for the sake of your grade, but hopefully because you will be interested in what will be discussed in class. The success of this course depends heavily on your contribution. You need to come to class prepared (having read the assigned readings, and ready to answer questions) and ready to participate in the discussions.

If you miss more than six classes you will fail this course regardless of your grade.

Our sessions will start at 10:00 am. Students are expected to come on time. Walking into the classroom while the session is in progress is extremely disruptive for everybody; so is walking out while the session is in progress. I ask you not to do these. I will mark late students absent, and reduce their grade.

Office hours are for students to discuss ideas, assignments and questions. You are encouraged and welcome to come by my office or make appointments for times other than scheduled office hours. You should take advantage of office hours and appointments not simply to discuss your papers (you are obviously welcome to do that too) but also to understand ideas, and texts discussed in class.

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.

Calender:
There may be some modifications to this calender. It is your responsibility to be aware of these changes. These changes may 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
January 16: Introduction
January 18: What is Existentialism? Lecture

Week 2
January 21: Lecture,
January 23: Lecture,
January 25: Milan Kundera, "The Depreciated Legacy of Cervantes" in The Art of the Novel

Week 3
January 28: Milan Kundera, "The Depreciated Legacy of Cervantes" in The Art of the Novel
January 30: Milan Kundera, "Dialogue on the Art of the Novel"in The Art of the Novel
February 1: Milan Kundera, "Dialogue on the Art of the Novel" inThe Art of the Novel

Week 4
February 4: Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Notes From Underground
February 6: Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Notes From Underground
February 8: Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Notes From Underground
 

Week 5
February 11: Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Notes From Underground
February 13: Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Notes From Underground
February 15: Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Notes From Underground

Week 6
February 18: Franz Kafka, The Trial
February 20: Franz Kafka, The Trial
February 22: Mid-semester Break

Week 7
February 25: Franz Kafka, The Trial, Milan Kundera, "Somewhere Behind" in The Art of the Novel
February 27: Franz Kafka, The Trial
March 1: Franz Kafka, The Trial

Week 8:
March 4: Simone de Beauvoir, She Came to Stay
March 6: Simone de Beauvoir, She Came to Stay
March 8: Simone de Beauvoir, She Came to Stay, First Paper due

Week 9
March 11: Simone de Beauvoir, She Came to Stay
March 13: Simone de Beauvoir, She Came to Stay
March 15: Simone de Beauvoir, She Came to Stay

March 18, March 20, March 22: Spring Break

Week 10
March 25: Milan Kundera, Immortality
March 27: Milan Kundera, Immortality
March 29: Milan Kundera, Immortality

Week 11
April 1: Milan Kundera, Immortality
April 3: Milan Kundera, Immortality
April 5: Milan Kundera, Immortality

Week 12
April 8:   Orhan Pamuk, The White Castle
April 10: Orhan Pamuk, The White Castle
April 12: Orhan Pamuk, The White Castle

Week 13
April 15: Orhan Pamuk, The White Castle
April 17: Orhan Pamuk, The White Castle
April 19: Orhan Pamuk, The White Castle

Week 14
April 22: J.L. Borges, The Book of Sand, selections
April 24: J.L. Borges, The Book of Sand, selections
April 26: J.L. Borges, The Book of Sand, selections

Week 15
April 29: Review and Evaluation
May 1:   Review and Evaluation May 2: Final Paper due

1.  You are expected to write on ideas discussed in class and from the texts we read for this course.  You are responsible for the class discussions on the text; any further insight you may bring from the readings that we may have not discussed in class will raise your grade.  You do not need to use secondary sources. If you do, however, make sure that you give proper references to these sources

2.  Do not give historical information in your papers.  A paper should develop an argument (or respond to a question or a series of questions).  Your paper should go beyond summarizing the texts.  This means:  You have to explicate and interpret the text, something like "The author says this or that, and it means this, and has such implications... etc."

3.  Do not use ordinary dictionaries (i.e., American heritage) to explain philosophical concepts.  You are obviously free to look up words in dictionaries, but you are supposed to learn concepts through a discussion of philosophical texts.

4.  You are responsible for making copies of all your papers.  Even if I lose your paper, and you do not have a copy of it (on disk, for example), then, unfair as it may seem, you are responsible.

5.  To be fair to students who pass in their papers on time, late papers will be graded down one notch for each day late (including weekends).  Papers must be turned in at the beginning of class on the day they are due.  There is no advantage, therefore, in skipping class to finish typing your paper.

6.  You are required to write your papers alone without any help from any other student in this course.  You may (and indeed should) discuss ideas with your classmates, but you must write your paper by yourself.

7.  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 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.

8.  However, you have to make sure that someone proofreads your work.  Look up or ask about all words and rules of punctuation of which you are uncertain.  Spelling, grammar and punctuation errors affect the clarity and readability of your papers, so papers may be graded down if they are not carefully written.  If you use a computer, it will be easier to correct these errors.

9.  Your papers must be double-spaced and typed.  Use 12 point font!  There should be approximately 250-300 words per page.

Your essays will be graded according to the following scale:
An ‘A’ is reserved for truly excellent work that shows you have understood the concepts and the texts well, reflected upon them, and composed your work thoughtfully and carefully with some attempt to incorporate your own voice.
A ‘B’ grade indicates a very good understanding of concepts and texts that does not capture all their complexity or that does not critically reflect upon them.
A ‘C’ grade will be given to work that is satisfactory and shows a basic comprehension of the material but which simplifies or misunderstands significant points and makes little effort to organize thoughts around a central argument.
A ‘D’ grade indicates less than satisfactory work that shows very little comprehension of the texts and ideas and serious misunderstanding of major points.
An ‘F’ will be given to work that is unacceptable because it shows no comprehension of the material at all, and to plagiarized papers.