SEMESTER AT SEA COURSE SYLLABUS
University of Virginia, Academic Sponsor
Voyage: Fall 2014
Discipline: Special Topics in Literature
ENSP 2559: Political and Other Memoirs: The Odyssey and Voyages of [Self] Discovery
Lower Division
Faculty Name: Nancy Y. Bekavac
Credit Hours: 3; Contact Hours: 38
Pre-requisites: None
COURSE DESCRIPTION: We will begin with The Odyssey, the account of a ten year
“Semester at Sea” in which the hero, a veteran of the Trojan War, confronts challenges from
monsters to sirens in his voyage home to re-establish his kingship. A foundational tale of
Western culture, it will frame our reading of other narratives of travel in which the adventures –
only some at sea – teach us important lessons about the narrator and the societies he/she
encounters. Some, like Che Guevara’s Motorcycle Diaries (2003), recount actual travels through
South America; others, like Nelson Mandela’s Long Walk to Freedom (1994) and Jacobo
Timerman’s Prisoner Without a Name, Cell Without a Number (1981), are more metaphorical
journeys of personal reflection during political crisis. Students will be responsible for reading
The Odyssey, background texts on politics and leadership, and selected memoirs selected from
the list for the class, One of which will form the basis of a short paper and one of which will
form the basis of a longer paper or project, to be presented in class. Students will also keep a
journal – shared with the class – of observations based on the work during the semester in class
and in shore visits we make. They will be asked to reflect on which aspects of history, culture,
economics, personal development, or politics they value most and to present their conclusions to
the class in a final project. Note: This class will also involve viewing a number of films, and
those films are to be regarded as a modern legacy of the oral tradition of the epic poem – that is,
they are popular, demotic (in the language of the popular culture), dramatic and non-literary even
if derived from literary sources. To the extent possible, reflections on the films should be
considered as viable sources for themes and issues presented in the papers.
COURSE OBJECTIVES: Students will consider, in a political context, the model of leadership
presented in the epic poem of the voyage of Odysseus. This wily, brave and determined leader
played a critical role in the triumph of the Greeks over the Trojans. His model of leadership
influenced not only the Greeks and the Romans, but, through the classical education of the
European elites from at least the Renaissance onward, spread his image throughout the world.
Homer’s tale is not, strictly speaking a memoir (although he tells his adventures in the first person
in some of the books), which is a nonfiction tale told by the person who had the adventure. Rather,
it is an epic, one which many authors have tried to emulate (James Joyce, Derek Wolcott). Most of
the memoirs we will read are written in the first-person, with a slightly different emphasis from an
autobiography. As Wikipedia puts it, “an autobiography tells the story of a life, while memoir
tells a story from a life.” Throughout our readings we will encounter historical persons, some of
them famous as leaders, and one of the purposes of the course is to use the texts we have to
reflect upon leaders and leadership. Another objective, of course, is to bring you closer to the
countries and cultures we will encounter by reading books by those who are immersed in those
cultures and whose formative experiences have been shaped by, and have shaped, those cultures.
A very important part of this course requires that you select two books from the list below - in addition to the Odyssey – on which to write. One of these books you will concentrate
on for your presentation and one of these books MUST BE MEMOIRS OF COUNTRIES
WE WILL VISIT ON THIS TRIP. So, for example, while we have books that deal with South
Africa and Argentina (previously scheduled for visits but now eliminated from the itinerary), you
may only choose ONE book from either of those countries. Because the point of the
paper/presentation is a personal reflection and discussion, choosing the best known books will
not necessarily yield a better result than choosing a relatively obscure one. It is the quality of the
work that will count the most.
REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS
AUTHOR: Homer, translated by Robert Fagles (Intro Bernard Knox)
TITLE: The Odyssey
PUBLISHER: Penguin Classics
ISBN #: 0140268863
DATE/EDITION: 1997
AUTHOR: John Reed
TITLE: Ten Days That Shook the World
PUBLISHER: Penguin Books
ISBN #: 9780141442129
DATE/EDITION: 2007
AUTHOR: Mikhail Gorbachev
TITLE: On My Country and the World
PUBLISHER: Columbia University Press
ISBN #: 9780231115155
DATE: 2000
AUTHOR: Nelson Mandela
TITLE: Long Walk to Freedom
PUBLISHER: Back Bay Books
ISBN #: 9780316548182
DATE: 1995
AUTHOR: George Orwell
TITLE: Homage to Catalonia
PUBLISHER: Harcourt Inc.
ISBN #: 0-15-642117-8
DATE: 1980
AUTHOR: Mary Robinson
TITLE: Everybody Matters
PUBLISHER: Bloomsbury USA
ISBN #: 1620405237
DATE: Reprint 2014
AUTHOR: Che Guevara
TITLE: The Motorcycle Diaries
PUBLISHER: Ocean Press
ISBN 1876175702#:
DATE: 2003
AUTHOR: Jacobo Timmerman
TITLE: Prisoner Without a Name, Cell Without a Number
PUBLISHER: University of Wisconsin
ISBN #: 0299182444
DATE: 2002
AUTHOR: Ken Bugul
TITLE: The Abandoned Baobab
PUBLISHER: University of Virginia Press
ISBN #: 0813927374
DATE: 2008
AUTHOR: Derek Walcott
TITLE: Omeros
PUBLISHER: Farrar, Straus & Giroux
ISBN #: 0-34-52350-9
DATE: 1992
AUTHOR: Lech Walesa
TITLE: The Struggle and the Triumph: An Autobiography
PUBLISHER: Arcade Publishing
ISBN #: 1559702214
DATE: 1994
TOPICAL OUTLINE OF COURSE
Depart Southampton- August 23:
A1- August 25: The Odyssey as epic. Read Bernard Knox, “Introduction” and Books 1 and 2 in
Fagles. Auden, “Introduction to The Portable Greek Reader,” concentrating on his discussion of
the Greek hero. Read Introduction and through p. 62 of John Reed, Ten Days That Shook the
World. Read Gorbachev, pp. 1-24. Read Weber, “Politics as a Vocation,” pp. 77-95 (ER). View
“Reds.”
A2-August 27: Read Gorbachev, pp. 25 – 54. Read Reed, pp. ------------Read Robert K. Massie
passage on the equestrian statue of Peter the Great, Massie pp. 528-533(ER); Joseph Brodsky, “A
Guide to A Renamed City” (ER); Pushkin, “The Bronze Horseman” (ER); Harrison Salisbury
excerpt (ER). Review assignment sheet for field work project. Attend screenings of “Battleship
Potemkin” in preparation for the visit to St. Petersburg.
St. Petersburg: August 29- September 2
FIELD WORK: Class trip to view the equestrian statue of Peter the Great, tour the Cathedral,
brief discussion in the square. This and the paper for September 3 are a required part of the course
and can count for up to 20% of your grade, so do be prompt, attentive and take notes.
A3- September 3: Discussion of Books 3 and 4 in Fagles (from this point on, references to
“Book” refers to the Books in The Odyssey). Discussion of trip to St. Petersburg. Read
Gorbachev, pp. 55-79. In class presentations of Field Work assignment.
A4- September 5: Read Books 5 – 7. Read Gorbachev, pp. 134- 167; Walesa, pp. _____. Read
Weber, “Politics as a Vocation,” pp. 95 – 128 (ER). Putin, Address to the Russian Duma, March
18, 2014 (ER)
Hamburg: September 7-11
A5- September 12: Read Books 8-9.
Read Gorbachev, pp.
Discussion re onshore experiences in Poland and Germany.
194-214; Walesa, pp. ___.
Antwerp: September 14-16
Le Havre: September 17-19
A6-September 20: Read Book 10; read Malraux Anti-Memoirs pp. _____ (ER)
A7- September 22: Read Book 11: read Robinson pp. ______; view film, “Ulysses” 1967 (film
of the James Joyce novel re-creating a day in Dublin as an analogy to The Odyssey – uneven but
fascinating)
Dublin: September 24-27
A8- September 28: Read Book 12; Read Robinson, pp. ____. Discussion of Dublin onshore
experiences. Read Introduction in Homage to Catalonia; read pp. 1 – 22; pp. 180 – 232. Read
Auden, “Spain” (ER). View film “Land and Freedom” (1995)
A9- September 30: Read Books 13 – 14. Read Orwell, pp. _____ ; read Orwell, “Animal Farm”
excerpt (ER)
Lisbon: October 1-2
In transit: October 3
Cadiz: October 4-5
A10- October 7: Read Books 15 - 16. Read Orwell, pp. ____. Discussion on Portuguese,
Spanish onshore experiences. Read Frantz Fanon excerpt pp. _____ (ER)
Casablanca: October 8-11
A11-October 13: Read Books 17 - 18. Read Bugul, pp. : read Sheila Walker Obituary of
Ousmane Sembene (ER); view Sembene film, Camp de Thiaroye (1988)
A12- October 15: Read Book 19. Read Bugul, pp. ______. Read Fanon, “Black Skins, White
Faces” excerpt (ER).
Dakar: October 16-19
A13- October 21: Read Books 20 – 21. Discussion on Senegal experiences. Paper
presentations TBA.
A14- October 23: Read Book 22. Read Mandela, pp. ____; Martin Meredith, “Reinventing
South Africa” (ER)
Takoradi: October 25-26
Tema: October 27-28
A15- October 29: Read Book 23. Discussion on African experiences. Read Mandela pp. ____;
read Coetzee, pp. ____ (ER). Paper presentations TBA:
A16- October 31: Read Book 24. Paper presentations TBA. Special evening session for oral
reading.
Study Day: November 2
A17-November 3: Re-read Weber on traditional authority, pp. ____ (ER). General summary
discussion on The Odyssey. View “Black Orpheus” (1959)
A18- November 5: Read Perlman, “Favela,” Introduction and Ch. 1 (pp. 1-40) – Reserve and ER.
Read Richard Bourne, “Lula of Brazil” (ER). Note assignment sheet for specific issues to be
researched on shore. Read Timmerman, “Prisoner Without a Name, Cell Without a Number” pp. 1
– 41 ; view “City of God”
Rio de Janeiro: November 7-9
In-transit: November 10-11
Salvador: November 12-14
A19- November 15: Discussion of impressions of Brazil. Read Timmerman pp. ____. View
“Kiss of the Spider Woman” (1985). Paper presentations TBA
A20- November 17: Read Guevara, “Motorcycle Diaries,” pp.____. Read V. S. Naipul,
“Middle Passage” (ER). Read Derek Walcott, “Omeros” pp. _____
Study Day: November 19
A21-November 20: Read Wolcott, “Omeros” pp. _____. Paper presentations TBA
Bridgetown: November 22-24
A22-November 25: Discussion of experiences in Bridgetown. Reread Weber on Charismatic
leadership (ER); view “Motorcycle Diaries.” Read Guevera , “Motorcycle Diaries,” pp. ____;
Fidel Castro, “Prison Letters” (ER)
A23- November 27: Read Timmerman, “Cuba,” pp. 77-107; Guevera, (ER); Fidel Castro,
“Autobiography” (ER)
Havana: November 29- December 2:
Study Day- December 3
A24-December 4 (A Day Finals): Paper Presentations TBA
FIELD WORK
Field lab attendance is mandatory for all students enrolled in this course. Please do not book
individual travel plans or a Semester at Sea sponsored trip on the day of our field lab.
One of the key concepts of the course is the image of leadership and how it functions in the various
countries we will visit. Our field lab for this course will occur during the first shore visit of the
trip, so it is important that you read the first assignments and focus on the field lab assignment.
Leadership in any culture or society is shaped by cultural expectations and norms, and in St.
Petersburg we will encounter both a solid image – a monumental equestrian sculpture of the
founder of the city, Peter the Great – as well as reflections of that figure through both 19th century
and 20th century literature. You will note that the image itself was created at the order of another
historic leader, Catherine the Great, as you will see on the inscription on the base. The figure of
this statue – actually designed and executed by a Frenchman at the behest of a German princess
turned Russian autocrat – resounds down the centuries. The assignment will be for you to look at
the figure – REALLY LOOK – and reflect on what you see, what it tells us about the leaders
represented and involved, how you respond to it and what you take the figures to represent. You
should connect your response to “The Bronze Horseman” and the Brodsky essay, and also to the
Weber typologies of leadership. This assignment is not only about Russian history and leadership,
but is intended to model how you look, interrogate, evaluate and respond to other cultural
monuments we will encounter, including war memorials, chapels, triumphal arches and other
public monuments throughout the voyage. You will receive an assignment sheet before we go
ashore.
Do note, of course, that this aristocratic and historical image was never damaged by the Revolution
of 1917 and, indeed, was carefully protected during the horrendous siege of then-Leningrad for
over two years of starvation and bombardment by Nazi forces in the Second World War. You will
be required to write a short response paper for the class – depending on class size, they may be
presented during class time -- after our Russian visit based in you viewing and the reading
materials. NOTE: This paper will count for as much as 20% of your final grade.
METHODS OF EVALUATION / GRADING RUBRIC
This class will require class participation as of the grade; obviously, if you don’t attend, you can’t
participate, and so you will be penalized. There will be three components of class participation:
Speaking up and contributing directly in class discussion – 10%
Participation in team question assignments (groups of students will be required to devise 3
– 5 discussion questions for each class, with the questions posted on line more than 2 hours
in advance of the class meeting. An assignment sheet will be handed out to guide you –
10%
A daily journal posted to be shared with classmates and relating to the readings, the films,
onshore experiences and other relevant matter – 10%
In addition, the Field Lab experience will constitute 20% of the grade, as will be explained in the
assignment sheet. And there will be both (1) a short paper of 5-10 pages on one of the memoirs,
counting for 20% of the grade and (2) a longer paper of 15-25 pages focused primarily on one of
the memoirs, counting for 30% of the grade. Note: Your topic for the longer paper must be
approved by the instructor in advance to assure both relevance and feasibility. Further note:
Depending on the class size and class discussion, both short and long papers may be presented to
the class as a whole for discussion.
RESERVE LIBRARY LIST
AUTHOR: Harison Salisbury
TITLE: The 900 Days: The Siege of Leningrad
PUBLISHER: Da Capo Press
ISBN #: 0306812983
DATE: 2000
AUTHOR: Max Weber (ed. H.H. Gerth and C. Wright Mills)
TITLE: From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology
PUBLISHER: Oxford University Press
ISBN #: 0195004620
DATE/EDITION: 1958
AUTHOR: Jacobo Timmerman
TITLE: Cuba
PUBLISHER: Vintage Books
ISBN #: 0-679-73631-X
DATE: 1990
AUTHOR: Janice Perlman
TITLE: Favela
PUBLISHER: Oxford
ISBN #: 978-0-19-536836-9
DATE: 2010
ELECTRONIC COURSE MATERIALS
AUTHOR: W.H. Auden
ARTICLE/CHAPTER TITLE: Introduction
BOOK TITLE: Portable Greek Reader,
VOLUME:
DATE: 1997
PAGES: Entire introduction
AUTHOR: Joseph Brodsky
ARTICLE: A Guide to a Renamed City
BOOK TITLE: Less Than One: Selected Essays
DATE: 1987
PAGES: 69 - 94
AUTHOR: Pushkin
ARTICLE/CHAPTER TITLE: “The Bronze Horseman”
SOURCE: http://www.poetryloverspage.com/poets/pushkin/bronze_horseman.html
AUTHOR: Max Weber (ed. H.H. Gerth, C. Wright Mills) (Oxford)
ARTICLE/CHAPTER TITLE: “Politics as a Vocation”
VOLUME: From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology/
DATE: 1958
PAGES: 77- 128
AUTHOR: Richard Bourne
TITLE: Lula of Brazil
CHAPTER: A Tough Start in Life
DATE: 2008
ISBN: 978-0-520-26155-6
PAGES: 1 – 23
AUTHOR: Jacobo Timmerman
TITLE: Cuba
CHAPTER: Excerpt from “The Trip”
DATE: 1990
ISBN #: 0-679-73631-X
PAGES: 72 -91
AUTHOR: Janice Perlman
TITLE: Favela
PUBLISHER: Oxford
ISBN #: 978-0-19-536836-9
DATE: 2010
PAGES: 1 -40
AUTHOR: Sheila Walker
TITLE: Obituary of Ousmane Sembene
SOURCE: The Guardian
DATE: 2007
SOURCE: http://www.theguardian.com/news/2007/jun/12/guardianobituaries.obituaries
AUTHOR: Frantz Fanon
TITLE: The Wretched of the Earth
CHAPTER:
PUBLISHER: Grove Press
ISBN #: 0802141323
DATE: 2005
PAGES: TBA
AUTHOR: Frantz Fanon
TITLE: Black Skin, White Masks
PUBLISHER: Grove Press
CHAPTER:
DATE: 2008
PAGES: TBA
AUTHOR: Martin Meredith
TITLE: Nelson Mandela, A Biography
CHAPTER: “Reinventing South Africa”
PUBLISHER: St. Martin’s Press
ISBN #: 0-312-18132-9
DATE: 1997
PAGES: 522-554
AUTHOR: Vladimir Putin
TITLE: Address to the Russian Duma
VOLUME: Kremlin.ru Archives
DATE: March 18, 2014
PAGES: http://eng.kremlin.ru/news/6889
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Films: “Reds” (1981)
“Battleship Potemkin” (Serge Eisenstein 1925)
“Ulysses” (1967}
“The Motorcycle Diaries” (2004)
“Kiss of the Spider Woman” (1985)
“Ramparts of Clay” (1971)
“Campe de Thiaroye” (1988)
“Land and Freedom” 1995
“Black Orpheus” (1959)
“City of God” (2002)
HONOR CODE
Semester at Sea students enroll in an academic program administered by the University of
Virginia, and thus bind themselves to the University’s honor code. The code prohibits all acts of
lying, cheating, and stealing. Please consult the Voyager’s Handbook for further explanation of
what constitutes an honor offense.
Each written assignment for this course must be pledged by the student as follows: “On my honor
as a student, I pledge that I have neither given nor received aid on this assignment.” The pledge
must be signed, or, in the case of an electronic file, signed “[signed].”