INTERPRETIVE PRACTICES: LOVE: PHILOSOPHY, LITERATURE, FILM

Earlham College, Spring Semester 2008-2009
Monday, Wednesday, Friday 10:00-10:50, Carpenter 315
Instructor: Ferit Güven
Office: Carpenter 328
Office Hours: By Appointment
Office Phone:  983-1399
e-mail: guvenfe@earlham.edu
web page: http://www.earlham.edu/~guvenfe
Moodle Page: https://moodle.earlham.edu/course/view.php?id=316

Course Description: What is love? Is it even possible to understand the concept of love? In this course, we will approach these and related questions in order to understand how love is represented in philosophy, literature and film. We will investigate various conceptions of love in order to problematize the Judeo-Christian understanding of love as a unifying force among other things. Since the very conception of love involves philosophy (philosophy is defined as love (philia) of wisdom (sophia), our initial approach to this concept will be philosophical. However, we will also raise questions as to whether philosophy as a specific Western discourse can uniformly define love in the multicultural world that we live in.

Required Texts: Available at the Earlham bookstore:
Plato, Symposium, (Indianapolis: Hackett, 1989)
Freud, Beyond the Pleasure Principle, (New York: W.W. Norton, 1961)
Botton, Alain de, On Love, (New York: Grove, 1993)
Barricco, Alessandro, Silk, (New York: Vintage Books, 1997)
Nakeda Silvera, The Heart Does Not Bend, (Toronto: Vintage Books, 2003)
Arundhati Roy, The God of Small Things, (New York: HarperPerennial, 1997)
There will be additional readings on Moodle
Movies: Casablanca; Hiroshima Mon Amour; Madame Bovary; Wings of Desire; The Lovers on the Bridge; Climates; Paris, Je T'aime; Talk To Her.

Course Requirements and Evaluations:
You are expected to write four papers (4-5 page) and six movie analysis papers (2-3 page).  Your papers must be double-spaced and typed in 12 point font (There should be approximately 250-300 words per page).
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.

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 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: 10%; 2nd Paper: 10%; 3rd Paper: 10%; 4th Paper: 10%; Movie Reviews: 30%; Class Participation and Quizzes: 20%; Attendance 10%

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

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.  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.
In discussion: Listen to what classmates say carefully so that you can rephrase their ideas; Challenge ideas that you think are incorrect; Demonstrate a thoughtful engagement with the texts; 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; Vary your style of participation, sometimes lead, sometimes hold back, sometimes push your ideas, sometimes help others to develop their ideas.

There are few official rules in this course.  These are:
If you miss more than three classes you will lose 10% of your grade (i.e., your entire attendance grade).
If you miss more than six classes you will fail this course regardless of your grade.
You must bring your book to every class.
Our sessions will start at 10:00 am. Students are expected to come on time. Walking into (and out of) the classroom while the session is in progress is very disruptive for everybody. For every two late attendance (or early exit) you will be marked as absent for one class session.

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:
January 14: Introduction
January 16: Symposium
Week 2:
January 19: Symposium
January 21:
January 23:
Week 3:
January 26: Symposium
January 28:
January 30:
Week 4:
February 2: Beyond The Pleasure Principle; 1st Paper due
February 4:
February 6:
Week 5:
February 9: Beyond The Pleasure Principle
February 11:
February 13:
Week 6:
February 16: Beyond The Pleasure Principle
February 18:
February 20: Mid-Semester Break
Week 7:
February 23: On Love; 2nd Paper due
February 25:
February 27:
Week 8:
March 2: On Love
March 4:
March 6:
Week 9:
March 9: Silk; 3rd Paper due
March 11:
March 13:
March 15-March 20: Spring Break
Week 10:
March 23: The Heart Does Not Bend
March 25:
March 27:
Week 11:
March 30: The Heart Does Not Bend; The God of Small Things
April 1:
April 3:
Week 12:
April 6: The God of Small Things
April 8:
April 10:
Week 13:
April 13: Selected Poems by Sappho and Federico García Lorca
April 15:
April 17:
Week 14:
April 20: Selected Writings from Jean-Luc Marion, Georges Bataille and Marquis de Sade
April 22:
April 24:
Week 15:
April 27: Review and Evaluations
April 29:
May 1:

May 3: Final Paper Due

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