Please note that this syllabus should be regarded as only a general guide to the course. The instructor may have changed
specific course content and requirements subsequent to posting this syllabus. Last Modified: 12:39:48 04/20/2012
HP 13408
Kevin Newmark
Lyons 204C (2-8497)
Office Hours: MW 4:30-5:30
Spring, 2012, 103 More
20th Century and the Tradition
MW 3:00-4:15
HOW TO BEGIN THINKING
WEEK OF
January 16
"On the Uses of a Liberal Education"
January 23
Disgrace
January 30
J. M. Coetzee, Disgrace
February 6
Jacques Derrida, "On Forgiveness"
February 13
René Descartes, First Meditations (Selections)
February 20
Ferdinand de Saussure, Course in General Linguistics (Selections)
February 27
Roland Barthes, Mythologies, "The Death of the Author"
March 5
Spring Vacation
March 12
Italo Calvino, Under the Jaguar Sun ("The Comfort of Strangers")
March 19
Albert Camus, The Fall
March 26
Albert Camus, The Fall
April 2
Wednesday: Lévinas, "Bible and Philosophy," "There is"
April 9
Andrew Krivak, The Sojourn
April 16
Andrew Krivak, The Sojourn, Art Spiegelman, Maus
April 23
Art Spiegelman, Maus
April 30
"Night/Fog"; Heidegger, "The Question Concerning Technology
May 2
Assia Djebar, "Women of Algiers in their Apartment"
May 11
Final Exam Due
Course Requirements: In addition to regular class attendance and participation, there will also be
occasional short writing assignments as well as a Take-Home Final Exam, and two papers (6+ pages).
Topics will be discussed and agreed upon in class. Students will read two pages of Blanchot's text each
day, five days a week, writing one page of commentary about a fragment of their choice once a week,
beginning in February. Paper 1: Due Friday, Feb 10, on Coetzee's novel. NB: 4/16 evening session.
2
GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF COURSE
This course will examine great or influential texts representative of the latter half of the twentieth century
and beyond. This is a period of great social upheaval, including the aftermath of World War II and the
Holocaust, the civil rights movement, a new wave of feminism, post-colonialism, globalization, and the
digital age. The purpose of the course is to examine how contemporary culture, against this background,
has emerged from and reconsidered the Western Cultural Tradition.
Academic Integrity
"…Among the least enjoyable aspects of our jobs is dealing with violations of academic integrity. We have
noted an increased number of these cases over time, with most involving internet sources. Please discuss
academic integrity with your students on the first day of class and clarify your expectations in the context
of your course and your assignments. Some issues may be ambiguous unless addressed; e.g., are students
permitted (or encouraged?) to work together on homework assignments? Plagiarism can sometimes be
murky on writing assignments unless you have been clear about the appropriate extent of referencing and
footnoting, especially with internet sources. I urge you to place the following link directly on your
syllabus, and to ask your students to read the section on our academic integrity policy. Suspected
violations of academic integrity must be reported to the student’s A&S class dean and will be adjudicated
by the Academic Integrity Committee of the College. If you have any questions about the process, feel free
to consult Dean Clare Dunsford in Gasson 109. Thanks in advance for your assistance..."
Professor David Quigley, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Boston College in a letter to College
of Arts and Sciences Faculty, dated 2 September, 2009.
Please consult this website for the BC policy and other important information:
http://www.bc.edu/offices/stserv/academic/resources/policy.html#integrity
BOOKS
J. M. Coetzee Disgrace, Viking, 1999. ISBN: 0670887315
Jacques Derrida, On Cosmopolitanism and Forgiveness, Routledge, ISBN 0 415 22712 7
Rene Descartes, Discourse on Method and Meditations on First Philosophy, Indianapolis, Hackett
Publishing Company, ISBN 0 87220 420 0
Emmanuel Lévinas, Ethics and Infinity, Duquesne, 1985. ISBN 0-8207-0178-5
Italo Calvino, Under the Jaguar Sun, Italo Calvino, Harcourt, Brace, ISBN 0 15692794 2
Roland Barthes, Mythologies, Noonday Press, 1988 ISBN 0 374 52150 6
Albert Camus, The Fall, Vintage, 1991 ISBN 0 679 72022 7
Art Spiegelman, Maus: a survivor's tale, Pantheon Books, ISBN 0 39474723 2
Maurice Blanchot, The Writing of the Disaster, University of Nebraska, ISBN 0 8032 6120 9
Martin Heidegger, The Question Concerning Technology, Harper and Row, ISBN 0 06 131969 4