CORE HUMANITIES SEMINAR 1001-100 T 6.10-8.50 SAC 310

Prof. Hugh Ormsby-Lennon Dept of English SAC 466; Phone/ Voice-mail 94655

Office hours: Tuesday and Thursday 2.00-3.30 PM and by appt.

Home Phone/ Voice-mail 215-592-8102. E-mail: Hugh.Ormsby-Lennon@villanova.edu

Home fax: 215-238-1187

Home Page: URL: http//www60.homepage,Villanova.edu/ Also accessible via the Villanova Faculty Directory on WWW.

Theme: "Modernity, Postmodernity, and some Augustinian Interrogations."

Seminar Description: In this seminar we shall review some of the Augustinian themes that many students will already have encountered in CHS 1000--such as the dream of progress, the delusions of spiritual pride, the problem of evil, and the snares of postlapsarian language--and we shall explore their continuing pertinence in a world that we have come to think of as "modern" (or even as "postmodern"). We shall pay particular (but not exclusive) attention to the Enlightenment, a complex swirl of ideas from which the United States emerged. Hence we shall examine some of the French and English (or British) influences on Philadelphia and shall sift some versions of the American Dream that our city helped engender.

Does the human realm "change"? Has it ever changed? In what sense do we (or can we) move "forward"? What is the promise of the new millennium?

Reading List:

Art Spiegelman, Maus

Dave Robinson and Chris Garratt, Introducing Descartes (Totem)

Paul Strathern, Descartes in 90 Minutes (Dee)

Francis Bacon, New Atlantis and The Great Instauration (Crofts)

William Rankin, Introducing Newton (Totem)

Voltaire, Letters Concerning the English Nation (Oxford)

Caryl Churchill, Vinegar Tom and Light Shining in Buckinghamshire in Churchill, Plays: One Routledge)

Jonathan Swift, Works (Norton)

Benjamin Franklin, Autobiography (Norton)

Voltaire, Candide (Dover)

Lewis Carroll, Alice (Yearling)

Frank Kermode ed, Selected Poems of T. S. Eliot (Penguin)

other xeroxed texts and some materials to be downloaded from my home page

Brief Holt Handbook (latest ed.)

***Students must bring a dictionary to each class***

Links: A variety of useful and unusual links may be found on my home page. For members of the class, accessible from this syllabus are: "First Aid for Introducing Descartes and Introducing Newton," "First Aid on Descartes," and "First Aid on Voltaire." Curious students may enjoy reading, for pleasure and profit, the "First Aid on Hobbes" which I prepared for a previous section of this Core Seminar.

Writing assignments: All papers must be typed, except for those completed in the classroom. The arrival of late essays will be noted and the student's final grade will be penalized accordingly. Students must retain a printed copy of their papers; the assumption that a copy of an essay will continue to reside on a diskette or a hard drive does not remain an acceptable substitute. In the event that a paper goes unaccountably astray, it is the student's responsibility to have a replacement. Ideally papers should be handed to me in the classroom; but, in certain circumstances, they can be handed to a secretary in the English Department (please make sure that she has noted the time and date the essay was submitted. Papers can also be slipped under my office door (but this is the least desirable mode of submission). Because of viruses, essays cannot, unfortunately, be accepted as e-mail. On occasion, papers may be faxed.

Formal essays should have a title and an epigraph. For further advice about my criteria for a successful essay, please see the link to "Tips on Writing" on my home page. Those tips will be further updated with links to comparable advice provided by fellow instructors in the Core Humanities Program and in the English Department.

For journals, in-class assignments, and the final examination, please see the next two sections.

CHS 1001: A Writing Intensive Course. This seminar is designated "Writing Intensive" by the University and thus requires 6000 words from each student in the course of the semester. This adds up to some thirty pages @ roughly 200 words per page; some students write more words per page, others less, but I keep a tally of each student's productivity in my file on her.

There will be four formal papers (3-6 pp, of increasing length) and each student will rewrite at least one paper (for details of revisions please see the next section). During the course of the semester students should expect a short set of essay assignments in the classroom (ample notice will be given of their dates). For details of the final examination, please see the next section.

On several occasions during the semester I shall distribute anonymous sections from student papers for classroom analysis. Students will be encouraged to engage in constructive "workshop" analysis.

Journals: Journals will enable undergraduates to complete some of their writing in more informal circumstances; these are designed to promote confidence and fluency. Handwritten journals will be accepted (but my experience is that such journals tend towards the ill-conceived and the slapdash). Most students now compose even informal documents upon the screen. I have not always mandated the subjects upon which students write in their journals. Some undergraduates have chosen to reflect upon their individual experiences at Villanova, some of which have been cultural.

In CHS 1001, however, I shall expect to find in journals a brief but coherent exploration of themes we have discussed in class. In their journals students will also be required to write three "set pieces" which should include: an account of a significant excursion to Philadelphia; a brief response to a poetry reading or lecture on campus; and a brief review of at least one of the films screened during "Millennium Madness" Villanova's semester-long Cultural Film and Lecture Series. (Films are screened weekly in the Connelly Center Cinema: Sat 7 pm; Sun 3.30 and 7 pm; Mon 7pm. There will be lectures after each Monday screening. Students should acquire a program of the movies that will be shown.)

Journals must be dated; the total page count should be at least fifteen pages, but students are encouraged to explore at greater length the topics upon which they have chosen to write. The journals will be collected twice, first at mid-term, and again towards the end of the semester.

A helpful discussion of "Keeping a Journal" by one of my colleagues, Professor Evan Radcliffe, is available on a link from his home page (accessible through the Villanova Directory).

Classroom discussion: This is a discussion class and it will thrive only if students contribute to our joint enterprise of opening Augustinian perspectives on modernity. Once the class has got under way, there will be a regular schedule of reports and of student responses to them; a roster will be posted on a link on my home page, and students will be responsible for knowing the dates and subjects of their reports or responses. These reports and responses will not, however, represent an opportunity for other students to abstain from debate. I shall keep a record of individual student contributions in my files.

Grades: Final grades will be based primarily (but by no means exclusively) upon the performance of undergraduates as writers in the formal writing exercises (the "essays" or "papers"). All students are encouraged to revise every paper (but every student must revise one). The new grade will not replace the old one, but improvements will be registered in a new grade which should improve the undergraduate's overall grade. Please note that a revision will NOT be accepted as a revision UNLESS it is accompanied by a copy of the original paper with my suggestions and corrections upon it. Undergraduates are encouraged to visit the Writing Center; I shall keep a copy of the peer counselor's report in each student's individual file.

Student journals will not be graded, but I shall keep an informal record of student performance. E-mail has become an important part of all our lives; I shall keep a printed record of each undergraduate's communications with me. E-mails sent during the course should not be treated as "shopping lists" or as other scribbles designed "for your eyes only." Grammar, spelling, and general literacy will thus be scrutinized.

The final examination is open-book: bring notes, syllabi, e-mails, and whatever else you wish (except laptops) to the examination room. This final is important insofar as I am convinced that a student's performance on the identification and commentary question reflects her familiarity with crucial passages of the works that we have discussed during the semester. Please note that I often comment in the class-room that "This is an important passage; students should realize that it comprises just the kind of passage that will appear in the identification and commentary question." (Hint: take notes.) Student essays on the final will provide further indications of a student's familiarity with works and themes.

This is a seminar that requires student participation so contributions to classroom discussion, as well as performance in reports, will also comprise an important factor in the assignment of final grades. "Speaking" no less than "writing" has again been deemed a crucial component of undergraduate education in universities across America. I recognize, of course, a recurrent paradox: there are always some students who write beautifully but who are not active in classroom discussion.

A variety of other "imponderables" also enters into the assignment of a final grade. Improvement (particularly in writing) can prove a major consideration. Come to conferences with something to say; don't stare at me like a fish. Don't fall asleep in the classroom; don't stare blankly out the window; or don't endeavor, surreptitiously, to catch up with work for other classes. Don't chatter with, or pass clandestine notes to, your colleagues. Read the newspaper at home, please. A student's overall attitude is important, and it will be noted. Please remember, too, that grades in every class must display some "curving."

Grading is an art not a science. I refrain from assigning rigorous percentages for written work, for classroom discussion, for the final examination, and for other components of the semester's grade. I do, however, expect a competent performance on the final examination. (A rule of thumb of percentages might be: 40% writing; 20% final exam; 20% class discussion; 20% journal.) Rest assured that I try to be scrupulously fair and, all things being equal, invoke mercy as well as justice.

Conferences: At least two conferences will be scheduled with each student. You are expected not only to be on time but to have something to say about your work. "Blowing off" a conference will adversely affect a student's cumulative grade. If circumstances prevent you from keeping an appointment on the day of our conference, call me promptly at the office; I do not have e-mail facilities in my office so an e-mail will not reach me there.

Class communication: Students are expected to read their e-mails (since the e-classroom becomes more of a reality each year). If you arrive in class and find yourself in a minority of one (or two or even three) as regards a missive from me, there is clearly something wrong with your communication system! Often I make significant remarks in e-mails about the works we have discussed. The serious student will keep a record of these.

Academic honesty: You are required to familiarize yourself with the latest statements of the university's policies on academic honesty. You will also read "Documenting Sources, MLA Style," Brief Holt Handbook, pp. 307-343 and "Avoiding Plagiarism, Brief Holt Handbook, pp. 299-303. Read this material in the Handbook with particular attention to problems of using work not your own. Paper topics will be designed to discourage any temptation to plagiarism.

You should be aware that I have reported students for plagiarism in the past and that I shall not hesitate to do so again. The university protocols for dealing with my reports protect the interests of both professor and student, but they are, necessarily, time-consuming and labor-intensive. Far better that you should avoid, scrupulously, any suspicion of plagiarism on your part. Students should also be aware that powerful search-engines have been devised for detecting any plagiarism from materials on the www; the resources of the web may seem to make it easier to pull of plagiarism, but they make academic dishonesty far more detectable.

Etiquette: Gentlemen may wear hats. Undergraduates are requested to eschew the use of bubble-gum in the classroom and during conferences. (Chewing gum, by contrast, is permissible.) Unexplained absences, as well as late arrivals to class, will be recorded by the instructor. Please familiarize yourself with university policy on absences that lack a legitimate excuse. Students can, alas, encounter sudden crises in their lives--I am always sympathetic--but please do not wait until the end of the semester to explain why you haven't attended class or submitted papers; I am not nosy, but a call from the University's Counseling Center or a doctor's note will substantiate explanations. The university requires that students be prepared to document their reasons for missing class.

Conference appointments will be faithfully observed (and cumulative grades will suffer from any cavalier disregard displayed by undergraduates). Students who neglect to bring their books invite summary extrusion from the classroom. Students (particularly those who have been absent from class) are required to remain familiar with the syllabus and with fresh postings on my home page.

Academic Accommodations for Qualified Students with Disabilities. "It is the policy of Villanova University to make reasonable academic accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities. If you are a person with a disability and wish to request accommodations to complete your course requirements, please make an appointment with the course professor as soon as possible to discuss the request. If you would like information on documentation requirements, contact the Office of Learning Support Services at 610-519-5636, or visit the office in Geraghty Hall."

Special Events. (i) St Thomas of Villanova Day will be held on Thursday September 7^th. The address will be given by Dr, Lawrence Little, a popular speaker from our History Department. (ii) Dr. Mark Vessey, Augustinian Chair in the Thought of St. Augustine, will deliver a lecture on St. Augustine in the Villanova Room on Thursday October 26^th. The university expects all students to attend these important occasions. Further details will be forthcoming. A response to these university events will comprise ideal (and important) entries in your journals.

Pizza Party. Stand by for details!

SYLLABUS: Please note that this syllabus is not graven in stone, particularly since we shall be meeting only once a week; students are invited to make constructive suggestions about our readings; any changes to the syllabus will be announced in class and will also be posted on the Web.

Aug 29 Introduction to the course. Screening of the film The Madness of King George.

Sept 5 Maus; Bacon, The New Atlantis (pp. 36-83)

7 St. Thomas of Villanova Day: Be There. (Good talk and food!)

12 Bacon, The Great Instauration (pp. 1-32); Introducing Descartes, 1-60 (chiefly pictures)

19 Introducing Newton, 8-17, 37-70, 71-79 (ancient, Renaissance, and Cartesian science: more pictures); Introducing Descartes, 1-60 (reprise); 61-103; Strathern, Descartes in Ninety Minutes; Swift, A Tale of a Tub, Writings, 345-355 (sheer madness!)  Help with Descartes.

First Paper Due

26 Churchill, Vinegar Tom (pp. 127-179); Light Shining in Buckinghamshire (pp. 181-241); Swift, A Tale of a Tub, Writings, pp. 301-310, 318-326, 340-345, 359-368 (about the Reformation and radical Puritanism; elliptical but hilarious).

Oct 3 Class will meet at 6.10 to discuss the play and its themes before attending the 8 p.m. production of Churchill's Light Shining in Buckinghamshire at the Villanova Theatre.

10 Voltaire, Letters, 9-32, 49-53, 61-66, 116-121 (On the Quakers, On the Church of England, On the Presbyterians, Socinians etc, On the Lord Bacon, On the Royal Society). See also Swift on quakerism and fanaticism, Tale of a Tub, Writings, 340-345, 360-367.  Help with Voltaire.

Second Paper Due.

Oct 17 Fall Recess

24 Introducing Descartes, 104-71; Voltaire, Letters, 61-86 (On Descartes and Newton, On Attraction, On Newton's Opticks, On Infinities and Newton's Chronology); Introducing Newton, 120-137, 159-171 (Newtonian physics and thereafter); Voltaire, Letters, 33-41, 54-60 (Parliament, Government, Locke)Swift, Tale of a Tub, Writings, 318-326.  Help with Newton (and Descartes).

26 Dr Mark Vesey on Augustinianism, Villanova Room, 7.30 p.m.

31 Swift, Gulliver's Travels, Books I and II. Screening of first part of the mini-series, Gulliver's Travels. Comparison of text with movie.

Nov 7 Swift, Gulliver's Travels, Books III and IV. Screening of the second part of the TV mini-series, Gulliver's Travels. Comparison of text with movie.

14 Review Gulliver's Travels and discuss the work in the context of Bacon, Descartes, and Newton.. Swift, "Strephon and Chloe," A Beautiful Young Nymph Going to Bed," "The Lady's Dressing Room," Writings, 535-547. Review readings on Descartes and Newton.   Help with Newton and Descartes.

21 Franklin I, Autobiography, 1-76 (esp. pp. 1-29, 32-40, 45-51, 64-76). [Browse in Swift's "Partridge Papers," Writings, 436-441; Franklin imitated these when establishing his reputation as the author of Poor Richard's Almanac.]

23 Thanksgiving

28 Franklin II, Autobiography, 77-146 (esp. pp. 77-82, 87-89, 97-107, 131-134, 140-141. Voltaire, Candide

Third Paper Due

Dec 5 Declaration of Independence & The American Constitution (to be distributed). Guest Lecturer. [Consult, too, Swift, Tale of a Tub, Writings, 301-310.] Begin Carroll, Alice.

12 Carroll, Alice. Reexamine Maus. Poems of T. S. Eliot.

Fourth Paper: due, provisionally, 12 Dec, 6-8 pp.

BRIEF PAPER TOPICS (AND DUE DATES)

Topics will be fully discussed in class; student suggestions are actively encouraged.

First paper: due 19 Sept 27, 3-4 pages.

Compare the visions of the world conjured up by Art Spiegelman in Maus and by Francis Bacon in The New Atlantis. Making careful reference to the text, you should explain which seems more realistic and why. Does one involve an "Augustinian" vision of the world? If so, why might this strike some students as more unrealistic?

Second paper: due 10 October, 4-6 pages.

Compare the text of Churchill's Light Shining in Buckinghamshire with the production at the Villanova Theatre. How do the two differ? How, if at all, did the stage production surprise you? In what way does Vinegar Tom emerge from the same world as Light Shining? Does Bacon's New Atlantis reflect the world of the plays? You should not try to answer all of these questions; they are merely suggestions.

Third Paper: due 28 November, 4-6 pages

Either: Compare the text of Gulliver's Travels with the satire's presentation on film. Or: compare the world views of Swift and Franklin.

Fourth Paper: due circa 12 December, 5-7 pp.

This paper will involve a trip to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, or to the Benjamin Franklin Museum, or to the Mutter Museum. Students will be assigned certain artifacts and works of art to compare. These have been chosen to shed light on transitions from the early modern period to the nineteenth century and to "modernity." I shall schedule a class outing to the Mutter Museum. Please note that this paper will require advanced planning on your part. We shall discuss the requirements in detail.

*****Displayed on my home page is "first aid" on Descartes and on Voltaire. There is also information on Thomas Hobbes, a modern philosopher no less important than Francis Bacon.****

Reports: Once class is in full swing, we shall work out a schedule of in-class presentations and student critiques.

Pizza Party: keep your ears peeled.