HAWAII PACIFIC UNIVERSITY
FACULTY ASSEMBLY
Gen Ed Curriculum Subcommittee of UCC
(To select a
box, highlight it
and press ―x”.)
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Proposal Type:
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Five themes category . . . . . . .  
“Special” 5 themes category. .   
5 Themes with Cross Theme.
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UD Service Learning. . . . . . .
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UD Global Citizenship. . . . . .
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UD Research and writing. . . .
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GECS RECORD OF CURRICULUM ACTION AND REVIEW
(RCAR FORM)
[To be filled out by Proposal Author(s)]
School/College:
Liberal Arts
Program:
Course Alpha/#:
LIT 2510
Proposed by:
Catherine Sustana
Category or
Type of UD
course
World Cultures C: Other World Cultures Courses
Title:
World Literature I (changing from Ideas in Lit I)
E-Mail:
Record of GECS Action
Online reading Date:
1st Reading:
Date:
Discussion:
English
csustana@hpu.edu
Proposal received by GECS on: 03-06-06
03-15-06 to 4-09-06
04-10-06
Catherine Sustana and Micheline Soong were present to address the proposal. There was a question about
how the course addressed outcome WC6 particularly how the course develops skills that will help students
engage with difference compassionately and systematically. The course addresses literature from cultures
that are unfamiliar to students. Students are introduced to the context and required to apply awareness of
the context to their discussion of the texts. The goal is to get students to move beyond the initial reaction
to something unfamiliar to a deeper understanding that avoids easy generalizations, unthinking criticism
or application of culturally or historically in appropriate responses. The outcomes is addressed through
class discussion as much as through written assignments and students learn to handle differences with
each other as well as with ideas from the readings. The instructor models tactful and respectful listening
and response. The systematic part of the outcomes is addressed by learning to ask specific questions when
responding to a text. For example students learn to identify the purpose and audience of a text. A goal is
to have students be able to imaginatively adopt someone else’s point of view. Students come in with
certain stereotypes and a challenge is to learn to put them aside and see beyond them.
Action:
The GECS unanimously recommends that the UCC endorse this course for World Cultures C and the art,
aesthetics and creativity cross theme.
Effective Fall 2010 the alpha for this course became ENG not LIT.
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SIGNATURE SHEETS OMITTED ON PDF COPY
HAWAII PACIFIC UNIVERSITY
GENERAL EDUCATION CURRICULUM
SUBCOMMITTEE OF UCC
GENERAL EDUCATION COMMON CORE COURSE PROPOSAL FORM
Course Alpha/#:
LIT 2510
Title:
Category
World Cultures C: Other World Cultures Courses
Art, Aesthetics and Creativity Cross theme
World Literature I (changing from Ideas in Lit I)
Required Gen Ed learning outcome #1:
Investigate the roles that race, ethnicity, class, power, belief systems, and
gender play in past and present cultural systems. [WC 3]
Relevance to course content—provide examples of assignments, course readings,
supplementary materials, or in-class activities from each sample syllabus that will help students
to achieve this learning outcome and/or demonstrate their ability to do so.
Syllabus one: The historical and geographic scope of the course (from literary beginnings
through Hamlet, from Mesopotamia to China to South America) will provide rich opportunities
to address this outcome through class discussions and informal daily responses to the readings.
In addition, for their first analytical essay, students will choose a topic related to this outcome
(see Appendix), and they will reflect on it in their creative projects (see Appendix). Readings
include foundational texts for some of the world’s major religions (the Old Testament, the New
Testament, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Koran). Almost every work on the syllabus raises
questions of power (e.g., The Prince), and often that power is articulated through class, gender,
race, or ethnicity (e.g., The Canterbury Tales, Antigone, The Thousand and One Nights.)
Syllabus two:
Overview of Curriculum: Readings are selected and provide historical, cultural, political,
ideological, and ethnic representation. Rhetorical strategies are provided and then teased out
from the readings. Artistic (literary elements) strategies are provided and teased from the
readings. A discussion on form and content allows students to identify, analyze, and evaluate
“the roles that race, ethnicity, class, power, belief systems, and gender play in past and present
cultural systems” via the readings. Measurement: Verbal communication: class discussions
and reports from small group activities. Written communication: informal responses posted to
the course blog, analytical essays, and a final creative project that includes verbal, written, and
visual components.
Student Assessment—According to each sample syllabus, how will the instructor assess
whether students have achieved this outcome? How will achievement of these learning
outcomes be reflected in the grade for the course?
Syllabus one: Students will be assessed based on their first analytical essay, for which they will
choose a topic related to this outcome (see Appendix). This essay is worth 20% of the final
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grade. They will also reflect on these ideas in their creative projects (see Appendix). The
creative project is worth 30% of the final grade. They will also be assessed on the quality of
their class discussion (10%) and of their daily informal responses (20%).
Syllabus two: Verbal communication: a discussion rubric designed by the instructor assessing
the quantity and quality of participation (20/100 points). Written communication: an essay
writing rubric (3 essays, each worth 10/100 points). Blog postings (10/100). Creative project
(40/100 points): rubric designed by instructor assessing all the major components.
Required Gen Ed learning outcome #2:
Develop skills that will enable students to assess and engage with cultural
difference in a compassionate and systematic fashion. [WC 6]
Relevance to course content—provide examples of assignments, course readings,
supplementary materials, or in-class activities from each sample syllabus that will help students
to achieve this learning outcome and/or demonstrate their ability to do so.
Syllabus one: At some point during the semester, students will most likely find themselves
disagreeing with each other and/or with the values proposed by some of the texts we read. We
will use these disagreements to examine the assumptions on which our own beliefs are founded
and to imagine the ways in which a different set of assumptions could lead to entirely different
beliefs. Discussion of audience, purpose, and stylistic conventions should provide a systematic
framework for students to use as they approach unfamiliar texts. Montaigne’s “Of Cannibals”
will also provide a structured way of thinking about difference.
Syllabus two:
Curriculum Overview: Values and or ideas are selected for each session and identified in class.
Students find other examples of the value/idea in the reading and analyze its importance or
significance in the cultural and historical context. Often, biographical information may be
shared with students on authors. Newspaper or web articles are brought into class by the
instructor and used as a comparative strategy to sift out difference or similarities. Film may
also be used, but works are primarily compared by selections ranging from genre and historical
period (eg. Essay v. epic poetry; how the poetic line changes from early poetry to modern).
Measurement: participation on class discussions and group activities, informal blog postings,
and formal analytical essays. Creative project.
Student Assessment—According to each sample syllabus, how will the instructor assess
whether students have achieved this outcome? How will achievement of these learning
outcomes be reflected in the grade for the course?
Syllabus one: This outcome will be assessed through an analytic essay based on Montaigne’s
“Of Cannibals.” (see Appendix). This essay will be worth 20% of the final grade. It will also be
assessed through class discussion (10%) and daily informal responses (20%).
Syllabus two: Verbal communication: a discussion rubric designed by the instructor assessing
the quantity and quality of participation (20/100 points). Written communication: an essay
writing rubric (3 essays, each worth 10/100 points). Blog postings (10/100). Creative project
(40/100 points): rubric designed by instructor assessing all the major components.
Required Gen Ed learning outcome #3:
Develop the ability to use other people’s experiences as a way to reflect critically
on their own ways of understanding the world. [WC 7]
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Relevance to course content—provide examples of assignments, course readings,
supplementary materials, or in-class activities from each sample syllabus that will help students
to achieve this learning outcome and/or demonstrate their ability to do so.
Syllabus one: Students will address this outcome through class discussion, daily written
responses, and ultimately in the final creative project, in which students will—like all the
writers we’ve read during the semester—be faced with the questions: “What is worth writing
about? What do I believe? What do I care about? Who is my audience? What is my purpose?”
Syllabus two: Curriculum Overview: Values and ideas are selected per unit. Students share
their definitions of each value/idea. Discussion on choices and motives for decisions/choices
are discussed. Each reading posits different responses (individual, national, ethnic, etc.) that are
then discussed in class. Rhetorical strategies are also examined (e.g., audience, purpose)
Student Assessment—According to each sample syllabus, how will the instructor assess
whether students have achieved this outcome? How will achievement of these learning
outcomes be reflected in the grade for the course?
Syllabus one: This outcome will be assessed through the creative project (see Appendix), which
is worth 20% of the final grade. It will also be assessed through class discussion (10%) and
daily informal responses (20%).
Syllabus two: If the student response is prefaced with, “I can see why” or “I can relate to” it is
a good indication that they are understanding why and how others respond the way they do.
When they continue with “but” or “I don’t understand why” or something similar, they are
engaging critically with the other’s choice; the student is also evaluating at the same time.
Assessment is also done by role playing, “if you were in her shoes, what would you do?”
Verbal communication: a discussion rubric designed by the instructor assessing the quantity
and quality of participation (20/100 points). Written communication: an essay writing rubric (3
essays, each worth 10/100 points). Blog postings (10/100). Creative project (40/100 points):
rubric designed by instructor assessing all the major components.
Required Gen Ed learning outcome #4:
Develop the vocabulary and conceptual skills needed to appreciate or respond to
aesthetic activity from cultures other than one’s own. [WC 8]
Relevance to course content—provide examples of assignments, course readings,
supplementary materials, or in-class activities from each sample syllabus that will help students
to achieve this learning outcome and/or demonstrate their ability to do so.
Syllabus one: Students will consider audience, purpose, form, style, and conventions in
examining works as disparate as Sophocles’ Antigone, Chuang Chou’s Chuang Tzu, and the
oral tradition of The Epic of Son Jara, told by an African griot. Students will also consider the
aesthetic context in which the work was produced.
Syllabus two: Each unit is supplemented with artistic representations of ideas/values in the
reading. For example, Gustave Dore’s illustrations (for Dante’s Divina Comedia) and the film
Arabian Nights (for 1001 Nights) may be used as supplements; however, major discussion
focuses on literary elements. Vocabulary lists are provided and explained (literary elements
such as theme, symbolism, character, setting) and students engage in discussion (e.g., reflect on
form, style, and conventions) using the vocabulary and incorporating other secondary examples
from non-literary sources. The ensuing discussion requires the essays or discussion use the
vocabulary.
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Student Assessment—According to each sample syllabus, how will the instructor assess
whether students have achieved this outcome? How will achievement of these learning
outcomes be reflected in the grade for the course?
Syllabus one: Students will demonstrate their vocabulary and skills in their analytical essays
(20% each—see Appendix) and particularly in their creative projects (30%--see Appendix).
Syllabus two: Verbal communication: a discussion rubric designed by the instructor assessing
the quantity and quality of participation (20/100 points). Written communication: an essay
writing rubric (3 essays, each worth 10/100 points). Blog postings (10/100). Creative project
(40/100 points): rubric designed by instructor assessing all the major components.
If the curriculum proposal requires a 5th outcome (R&EA) or if the program offering the course
wants to designate additional gen ed outcomes that will be covered in every section of the
course, copy the above questions and continue filling out the table as necessary. The sample
syllabi may address additional outcomes that will not necessarily be covered by every section of
the course. In that case do not include these outcomes in this table.
Course is taught by one or two instructors only: check here ___ and attach a sample syllabus
below
Course is taught by three or more instructors: check here _X__ attach two sample syllabi from
different instructors. Optional: If the curriculum area faculty have developed a generic course
outline with a course description and information on required or recommended course
outcomes, topics and assignments (some programs call this a “model syllabus”) it may be
helpful to include a copy of this document as well, but it is not required.
Note: Please update the syllabi to reflect gen ed theme and category applied for and to list the
relevant gen ed outcomes
Attach syllabus or syllabi here.
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SYLLABUS ONE
LIT 2510: World Literature I (changing from Ideas in Lit I)
Catherine Sustana, Ph.D.
LB-7C (1060 Bishop Street, basement)
544-1107; csustana@hpu.edu
Office hours: TBA
COURSE MATERIALS
▪ The Norton Anthology of World Literature, volumes A-C, second edition, ed. Sarah Lawall
▪ Photocopying budget
COURSE DESCRIPTION
LIT 2510 introduces students to some of the major texts of various cultures from ancient times through the
beginnings of the expansion of the British Empire. Texts studied will include works originally written in
English and works translated into English, from both Western and non-Western traditions. In examining
these texts, students will explore questions of aesthetics, culture, audience, purpose, archetype, structure,
and technique.
GENERAL EDUCATION STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
The course emphasizes HPU’s World Cultures theme. It is a general education course which satisfies the
requirement for World Cultures C as well as the Art and Aesthetics cross-theme requirement. In the course,
students will:

Investigate the roles that race, ethnicity, class, power, belief systems, and gender play in
past and present cultural systems.
The historical and geographic scope of the course (from literary beginnings through
Shakespeare, from Mesopotamia to China to South America) will provide rich opportunities
to address this outcome through class discussions, informal daily responses to the readings,
and two analytical essays. Readings include foundational texts for some of the world’s major
religions (the Old Testament, the New Testament, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Koran), and
many of the readings offer thought-provoking presentations of race, ethnicity, class, power,
belief systems, and gender.

Develop skills that will enable them to assess and engage with cultural difference in a
compassionate and systematic fashion.
At some point during the semester, students will most likely find themselves disagreeing with
each other and with the values proposed by some of the texts we read. We will use these
disagreements to examine the assumptions on which our own beliefs are founded and to
imagine the ways in which a different set of assumptions could lead to entirely different
beliefs. Students will address this outcome through class discussions, daily written responses,
and the analytical essays.

Develop the ability to use other people’s experiences as a way to reflect critically on their
own ways of understanding the world.
Students will address this outcome through class discussion, daily written responses, and
ultimately in the final creative project, in which students will—like all the writers we’ve read
during the semester—be faced with the questions: “What is worth writing about? What do I
believe in? What do I care about? Who is my audience? What is my purpose?”
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
Develop the vocabulary and conceptual skills needed to appreciate or respond to
aesthetic activity from cultures other than one’s own.
Students will address this outcome primarily through class discussion, and will demonstrate
their vocabulary and skills in their analytical essays and their final projects. Students will
consider audience, purpose, form, and style as they examine works that may be unfamiliar to
them and that certainly differ from one another.
COURSE LEVEL STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
Students should:
 Examine a variety of texts from ancient times through the beginnings of the globalization of
English.
 Consider the ways in which texts change (or remain the same) through history.
 Develop an understanding of the role that historical and cultural contexts might play in the writing
and reception of particular works.
 Understand that there are multiple ways to interpret texts.
 Become familiar with some of the theoretical lenses that have been used historically and/or are
currently used to interpret texts.
 Be able to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of particular interpretive approaches in
order to develop plausible readings of creative works while understanding some of the biases
that their own cultural positions may cause them to bring to their readings.
 Understand the way various communities have used and continue to use writing.
 Engage in at least two different forms of writing (such as literary analysis, poetry, or the political
essay).
 Use academic analysis to synthesize ideas and make a point.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS & EVALUATION
First analytical essay ..................... 20%
Second analytical essay .................. 20%
Creative project and analysis .......... 30%
Reading responses ..................... 20%
Class participation ..................... 10%
Participation in all class activities and discussions is MANDATORY. Any deficiencies in these areas will
result in a reduction of your final grade, regardless of your grades on the specific assignments listed above.
This class will assign plus and minus grades.
For your analytical essays, you may choose topics from the list appended to this syllabus. The due date of
your essay will depend on the topic you choose. Because you have such flexibility in timing your essay,
essays will NOT be accepted late.
Further details on the creative project and analysis will be distributed in class.
A reading response will be due every class period for which there is assigned reading. Each response
should be about two pages long (typed double-spaced) and should have your name, the due date, and the
name of the text to which you are responding at the top. Staple any responses that are more than one page
long. Responses should comment on or raise questions about the day’s reading; they should demonstrate
careful thought and should be specific. The response must demonstrate in some way that you have
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completed the reading. Responses will be graded , -, or +. If you receive a W, consider it a warning.
It means that the response you handed in should have received a -, but I’ve been merciful.
What should you write about in your responses? You might consider the ways that gender, race, ethnicity,
class, or power is portrayed in the text. You might examine the fundamental assumptions and beliefs
underlying the text, and explain how those differ from or complement your own beliefs. You might
compare the text to others we have read. You might speculate on the purpose and audience for the work, or
comment on the form or style. You might comment on the work’s relevance to your own life, or the way
the work made you see something about your own life in a different light.
There will be 23 reading responses assigned. For readings that are continued over two class periods (see
syllabus), you will have the option of finishing the reading for the first class period and turning in a single
response, which brings us to 20. Responses will NOT be accepted late. You may skip 4 reading responses.
CLASS POLICIES
Attendance: You are expected to be in class and to be on time for class. You will be allowed 4 absences.
Any additional absences may result in a grade of F for the course. There is no need to bring in a doctor’s
note or any other explanation. However, in case of serious illness or family emergency, please contact the
instructor as soon as possible. Lateness, especially chronic lateness, is not acceptable, and it will affect your
final grade to whatever extent the instructor sees fit.
Absences do not excuse you from the responsibilities or deadlines of the course.
HPU athletes, please note: your game-related absences will be entirely excused if you come see me in my
office hours before the absence so that we can arrange for you to make up the work you will miss AND if
you conscientiously meet the alternative schedule that we arrange together. You will also need to provide a
copy of your game schedule AND written documentation of what time you should be excused from class.
If the instructor is absent, you should 1) take any work that is due on that day and turn it in to the Faculty
Support Center in LB 402 or MP 441 and 2) keep up with the assignments on the syllabus for the next class
period.
Deadlines & late work: All assignments must be typed and are due at the beginning of class on the due
date. ASSIGNMENTS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED VIA E-MAIL.
Cheating and plagiarism: Cheating, plagiarism and recycling of essays or creative work are unacceptable
practices. All work performed in this class must be wholly original and the work of the student alone except
for group projects and except where assistance from the tutoring center is approved by the instructor. You
may not reuse papers from other or previous classes, nor may a paper in this course serve double-duty for
an assignment in another course. Any student engaged in any of these activities will receive either an F for
the assignment or an F for the course, as the instructor sees fit. He or she may also be referred to the
Academic Dean and brought before the Student Conduct Board. See university policy on academic
dishonesty attached to this syllabus.
All analytical essays must be posted to Turnitin.com, an online Internet database that checks your
writing for proper documentation of sources. Papers not submitted to Turnitin.com will not be accepted.
Finished reports will be available both to you and the instructor. Your essay submissions will be retained in
the database to be used to analyze future submissions to Turnitin.com.
Class cancellations: If the instructor is ill and class must be canceled, there will be an official notice
posted near the classroom door. If possible, I will also attempt to send an e-mail notification to the class. If
a final paper is due on the day of a canceled class, you should submit your paper (with the complete folder)
to Faculty Support in MP 441 or LB 402. If a final paper is due the day after the canceled class, you will
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have an extension (in other words, I won’t expect you to turn in a final paper without having one more
chance to ask questions or receive feedback). In all cases, you should continue to keep up with the readings
and other assignments on the syllabus.
COURSE SCHEDULE (tentative)
***All reading is to be completed before class on the day that it is due. You will need to bring your
textbook to class every time.***
WEEK 1
WEEK 2
WEEK 3
WEEK 4
WEEK 5
WEEK 6
WEEK 7
WEEK 8
WEEK 9
WEEK 10
WEEK 11
WEEK 12
WEEK 13
WEEK 14
EXAM
Introduction. Expectations for the class; how to approach the readings.
Gilgamesh (A, 10-41).
The Ramayana of Valmiki (A, 890-953). Complete at least half the reading.
The Ramayana of Valmiki continued. Finish the reading.
Akhenaten’s “Hymn to the Sun” (A, 42-46); The Leiden Hymns (A, 46-49); Genesis 1-4, 6-9,
and 11 (A, 56-63).
The Bhagavad-Gita (A, 1010-1028).
Chuang Tzu, chapters 1-3 (A, 834-846).
Antigone (A, 658-693).
Antigone continued.
Sakuntala and the Ring of Recollection (B, 1271-1332). Complete at least half the reading.
Sakuntala and the Ring of Recollection continued. Finish the reading.
Aristotle’s Poetics (A, 799-803).
New Testament: Luke 2 & 15 (B, 1207-08; 1213-14) and Matthew 5-7, 13, & 26-28 (B,
1209-13; 1215-1221).
Koran: suras 1, 5, 10, 19, 62, 71 (B, 1426-46; 1452-55; 1457-59).
Popol Vuh, parts 1 and 4 (C, 3079-82 and 3088-3092).
The Thousand and One Nights (B, 1566-1618).
The Epic of Son-Jara (C, 2415-62). Complete at least half the reading.
The Epic of Son-Jara continued. Finish the reading.
Canterbury Tales, General Prologue (B, 2051-67).
Canterbury Tales, Miller’s Prologue and Tale (B, 2067-82).
The Prince (C, 2521-34); “Of Cannibals” (C, 2644-53).
Hamlet (C, 2828-2918).
Hamlet Acts I & II.
Thanksgiving holiday
Hamlet Act III.
Hamlet Acts IV & V.
Creative project drafts presented.
Creative project drafts presented.
All creative projects due XXX
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APPENDIX: Syllabus One
From Syllabus One:
LIT 2510: Analytical Essays
For your first analytical essay, please choose from the list of topics below. Your essay is due on the date
listed and will NOT be accepted late. You do NOT have to complete a reading response on the day you turn
in an essay.
For your second analytical essay, you will write about Montaigne.
Each essay should be coherent and should focus on a particular thesis (i.e., say something interesting about
the topic and develop that point throughout your essay—DON’T just answer the question(s) without
drawing some kind of overall conclusion). The essay should be well developed, with an introduction,
conclusion, and supporting evidence. In most cases, this evidence will take the form of quotations from the
work (be sure to explain how those quotations support your argument).
Each essay should be 5-7 pages long. Work should be cited using MLA format. Your first page should
include your name, your class and section, the due date, and a title. Please staple all work; unstapled work
will not be accepted.
All essays must be submitted to Turnitin.com before they are given to me. Class ID = TBA. Password
= TBA. If your initial posting indicates small errors in citation, you may correct them and post a revision.
However, if your initial posting reveals extensive plagiarism, you may fail the class.
Topics for Analytical Essay One:
 Gilgamesh has the earliest version of the flood story that appears later in the Old Testament of the Bible
(Genesis 6-9). Discuss how each version has very different emphases and draws a different moral.
 The Leiden Hymns and Akhenaten’s “Hymn to the Sun” offer two different approaches to giving poetic
expression to the concept of divinity. Compare these two approaches, and compare the gods Amun-Re and
Aten. How do the differences in the poetic styles emphasize the different nature of the respective gods?
 Creation stories from around the world differ in their accounts of both the fundamental elements of the
universe and the order in which these elements are created. Compare Genesis 1 with Akhenaten’s “Hymn
to the Sun.” What is the significance of the differences?
 The myths of the ancient Near East tell of the need to build a firmament. When you first start Chapter 1 of
the Chuang Tzu, what kind of narrative do you expect? Are these expectations fulfilled? Compare the
religious assumptions of Chuang Chou with those articulated in other ancient cultures.
 Antigone. Creon, Antigone, and Tiresias all speak at different times and places of the issues at stake in
terms of profit and loss, of monetary value. Trace these terms through the language of the play. What does
their use reveal about the attitudes and actions of the protagonists?
 Creation stories from around the world differ in their accounts of both the fundamental elements of the
universe and the order in which these elements are created. Compare the opening prayer of Kalidasa’s
Sakuntala with Genesis 1 and/or Akhenaten’s “Hymn to the Sun.” What is the significance of the
differences?
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 Compare the accounts of Cain and Abel and Noah in the Koran with those in the Old Testament of the
Bible. How do the narrative strategies of these versions alter both their “message” and their relation to the
larger discursive fabric in which they appear?
 In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna speaks to Arjuna, a warrior afraid to fight. Compare the code of conduct
that Krisha explains to Arjuna with Genesis 4 of the Old Testament, Matthew 5-7 of the New Testament,
and Sura 5 of the Koran.
 What is the Koranic attitude toward women as revealed in Suras 4, 12, and 19?
 Creation stories from around the world differ in their accounts of both the fundamental elements of the
universe and the order in which these elements are created. Compare Part 1 of the Popol Vuh with Genesis
1 and/or Akhenaten’s “Hymn to the Sun” and/or the opening prayer of Kalidasa’s Sakuntala. What is the
significance of these differences?
 How are women portrayed in the stories of The Thousand and One Nights? Shahrayar and Shahzaman are
appalled by the actions of their wives. Should we be as well? What are other possible interpretations?
 Gilgamesh depends on the advice of his mother, Ninsun, “one of the wise gods.” Compare this with SonJara’s relationship with his mother. For both Gilgamesh and Son-Jara, what does their relationship with
their mother imply about the kinds of strength a man needs to be able to summon in times of need?
 Discuss the implications of Rama’s divine affiliation for his character, the Ramayana’s plot, and the
reception of the epic in India. Compare Rama’s relation to the gods with that of Gilgamesh or Son-Jara.
 How does wifely rivalry in a polygamous society affect the experience of the hero in narratives like the
Ramayana and the epic of Son-Jara?
 Compare the emphasis on the purity required by pilgrimage in the Koran with Chaucer’s treatment of
pilgrimage in The Canterbury Tales.
 How does the prevailing vision of punishment in “The Miller’s Tale” measure up against punishments
suffered by characters in The Thousand and One Nights?
 Discuss the extent of Machiavelli’s “amorality,” and his basic alibi that “if man were good . . .” Compare
his ideas with some of the religious texts we have read.
Analytical Essay Two:
In urging caution when we presume to judge others, Montaigne offers an important critique of the
comparative method of thought. Explain the sensitivity he shows to cultural difference in Of Cannibals.
Can you think of any occasions during this semester’s reading when this essay would have been a useful
critical guide?
LIT 2510
Creative Projects
DUE DATES
Projects will be presented in class X and X. You must sign up in advance for one of these
presentation days.
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Complete projects should be delivered to my mailbox in LB 402 no later than the beginning of
your final exam period:
THE PROJECT
The creative project will require you to compose an original creative work inspired by or reacting
against one or more of the works we have read in class. You will then analyze your own writing.
The project will consist of two parts:
1) An original poem, story, play, or essay (“excerpts” from longer works—even when
those longer works are only imagined—are acceptable). Your composition must be
entirely your own work and it must be composed especially for this class (please don’t
turn in a poem you wrote last year, for instance). Before you get started, you should
consider:
a. Your audience and the rhetorical purpose of your writing. We have read works
this semester that attempted to immortalize individuals (e.g., Gilgamesh), to
model appropriate behavior (e.g., the Ramayana), to influence religious beliefs
(e.g., the Bible and the Koran), and to entertain (e.g., The Thousand and One
Nights). Who is your intended audience? What do you want your writing to
accomplish? Is your writing an extension of or tribute to a work we’ve read? Or
is it a revision, a reaction against?
b. The form and style of your writing. How will it be similar to or different from the
works we’ve read?
2) Analysis (about 5 pages). I am expecting fairly formal, academic language here, though
you may use first person if you wish. Focus as much as you can on textual evidence (i.e.,
what’s on the page) rather than on personal experience and knowledge that is background
information. How would you interpret your work if you were not the author? You must
compare your work in some way to Hamlet and to other relevant works we’ve read. You
will probably need to quote from your work as well as from the works with which you
compare it.
In addition to explaining a & b (above), you should also consider questions of culture and
history. What ideological assumptions does your work make (about power, gender, class,
race, ethnicity, the divine, or anything else), and how do those assumptions differ from
those of other works we’ve read? What continuities or discontinuities do you see in these
works over time and across cultures?
PRESENTATION
You will sign up for a day on which to read your work to the class, and you will need to make
photocopies of the creative writing part of your project for everyone in the class. I repeat: Be sure
to bring photocopies of PART 1 of your project (the creative work itself) for everyone in the class
on your presentation day!
12
MECHANICS
All projects should include your name, the date, a title, and page numbers. The projects should be
typed (double-spaced, except for poetry, which may be single-spaced) and STAPLED. Your
project should contain few if any grammatical or typographical errors, so you should consult the
Tutoring Center if you know you have weaknesses in those areas.
GRADES
I know that you are not Shakespeare. Neither am I. So your grade will be based in large part on
the analysis in Part 2.
A
• addresses both parts of the project thoroughly and creatively, exploring the many
possibilities offered by this assignment
• demonstrates meticulous attention to the connections between your work and other
work(s) we have read in class (i.e., uses the project to bring coherence to the semester’s
work)
• offers thoughtful and original ideas
• is well written and contains few if any grammatical or typographical errors
B
• addresses both parts of the assignment thoroughly and competently
• contains few grammatical or typographical errors
C
• addresses most of the requirements of the assignment, but not thoroughly or well
• might contain extensive grammatical or typographical errors
D
• does not adequately address the requirements of the assignment
• might contain extensive grammatical or typographical errors
F
This grade is rare and is reserved for serious inadequacies.
13
Appendix for Syllabus Two
I.
Syllabus
II. Example Study Guide: Monotheism
III. Rubrics (essay, presentations, creative projects)
IV. Grade book
14
I. Syllabus Two
Syllabus
LIT 2510 Ideas in Literature I
CRN #
Section #
Hawaii Pacific University,
Military Campus Programs
Term 2-2005, Kaneohe MCBH
January xx to March xx, 2005
To activate all hotlinks in this section, press CTRL + Click
COURSE DESCRIPTION
LIT 2510 examines texts from ancient times through the 16th century, including
works originally written in English and works translated into English, from both
Western and non-Western traditions. You will explore questions of context,
audience, purpose, structure, and technique while improving your writing and
analytical skills. This course may substitute for LIT 2000. Pre: WRI 1200 or
equivalent.
INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION






Jocelyn S. Cardenas, MA Humanities, MA English, MLIS Library and
Information Studies, presently in the doctoral program at UH Manoa.
Office Location and Hours: Classroom, before, after, or by appointment
Primary E-mail: jcardenas@campus.hpu.edu
Secondary E-mail: Jocelyn.cardenas@gmail.com
Phone: (808) 221-7660 (voicemail)
Course Web Page: Pipeline>My Courses>Term 4-2005>Literature 2510
COURSE TEXTBOOKS
Required Texts:
The Norton Anthology of World Literature, volumes A-C, second edition, ed. Sarah
Lawall
o Vol. A 0393977552
o Vol. B 0393977560
o Vol. C 0393977579
Recommended Texts: any college dictionary, thesaurus, writer’s handbook
SUPPLEMENTAL RESOURCES AND MATERIAL
Resources: EbscoHOST databases in Pipeline, University Libraries library catalog,
your base library collection, the Norton Anthology online, the Internet Movie
Database.
Material: Any supplemental handouts will be distributed by the instructor. Films
will be brought by the instructor and screened in class. Audio CDs and other visual
supplements will be provided by the instructor.
GENERAL EDUCATION’S FIVE THEMES AND STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
The course emphasizes HPU’s World Cultures theme. It is a general education
course which satisfies the requirement for World Cultures C as well as the Art and
Aesthetics cross-theme requirement. In the course, students will:
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1. Investigate the roles that race, ethnicity, class, power, belief systems,
and gender play in past and present cultural systems.



Curriculum: Readings are selected and provide historical, cultural,
political, ideological, and ethnic representation. Rhetorical
strategies (audience, purpose, structure, motive, etc.) are
identified and examined and then teased out from the readings.
Artistic (literary elements to include setting, symbolism, character,
etc.) strategies are defined, teased out from the readings and
further discussed. A discussion on form and content, and
information about cultural and historical significance of the
readings allow you to identify, analyze, and evaluate “the roles
that race, ethnicity, class, power, belief systems, and gender play
in past and present cultural systems” in the readings.
Measurement: Verbal communication: class discussions and
reports from small group activities. Written communication:
informal responses posted to the course blog, analytical essays,
and a final creative project that includes verbal, written, and visual
components.
Assessment: Your work is assessed according to a rubric designed
by the instructor.
2. Develop skills that will enable them to assess and engage with cultural
difference in a compassionate and systematic fashion.



Curriculum: Values and or ideas are selected for each session and
identified in class. You will find other examples of the value/idea
in the reading and analyze its importance or significance in the
cultural and historical context. Often, biographical information
may be shared with on authors. Newspaper or web articles are
brought into class by the instructor and used as a comparative
strategy to sift out difference or similarities. Film may also be
used.
Measurement: You will participate in class discussions and
complete group activities, compose informal blog postings, and
write formal analytical essays. A final creative project is expected.
Assessment: Your participation is assessed according to a rubric
designed by the instructor.
3. Develop the vocabulary and conceptual skills needed to appreciate or
respond to aesthetic activity from cultures other than one’s own.

Curriculum Overview: Values and ideas are selected per unit.
Students share their definitions of each value/idea.

Measurement: Discussion on choices and motives for
decisions/choices are discussed; each reading posits different
responses (individual, national, ethnic, etc.) that are then
discussed in class. Students post blog responses and compose
formal essays and a creative project.

Assessment: A rubric designed by the instructor.
4. Develop the vocabulary and conceptual skills needed to appreciate or
respond to aesthetic activity from cultures other than one’s own.

Curriculum: Each unit is supplemented with artistic
representations of ideas/values in the reading. For example,
Gustave Dore’s illustrations are shared with the class on Dante’s
Divina Comedia, the film Arabian Nights is used to supplement the
reading on 1001 Nights. Vocabulary lists are provided and
explained (“line” in art, mise en scene or photography in film) and
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

students engage in discussion using the vocabulary and finding
examples from the supplement.
Measurement: The ensuing class discussion (after the vocabulary
is defined, the film viewed) requires the essays or discussion use
the vocabulary.
Assessment: You will be assessed according to a rubric designed
by the instructor.
COURSE LEVEL STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
Throughout the term, you will:

Examine a variety of texts from ancient times through the beginnings of
the globalization of English.

Consider the ways in which texts change (or remain the same) through
history.

Develop an understanding of the role that historical and cultural contexts
might play in the writing and reception of particular works.

Understand that there are multiple ways to interpret texts.

Become familiar with some of the theoretical lenses that have been used
historically and/or are currently used to interpret texts.

Be able to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of particular
interpretive approaches in order to develop plausible readings of creative
works while understanding some of the biases that their own cultural
positions may cause them to bring to their readings.

Understand the way various communities have used and continue to use
writing.

Engage in at least two different forms of writing (such as literary analysis,
poetry, or the political essay).

Use academic analysis to synthesize ideas and make a point.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS & EVALUATION
Participation in all class activities and discussions is MANDATORY. Silence is NOT
golden in our class. Your grade reflects your participation—simply nodding your
head in agreement does not constitute participation. Understand that this course
works toward providing you with a safe venue to express your ideas, attitudes, and
anyone that works against this policy will be removed from participating. Missing
more than two sessions will result in a reduction of your final grade, regardless of
your grades on the specific assignments listed above. This class will not assign plus
and minus grades. 10 points
Formal writing: Your three analytical essays are in response to a question provided
by the instructor. Each essay must be your own work (plagiarism is not acceptable)
and be submitted on time. Essays are comparative in nature. You may be asked to
synthesize, analyze, evaluate, etc. in your essays. These essays are to be posted
onto your Student Homepage and separated by title and the <HR> or horizontal rule.
No late work will be accepted. 30 points
Creative project: will consist of three components: written, visual, and verbal. In
other words, you will compose something in writing, present your project to the
class, and have some sort of visual/sound to the project. You will use as your guide,
one of the works covered in the course.

Written component: You will select one and compose:
o poem (at least 4 lines and 6 stanzas with five elements)
o song lyrics (at least 4 lines and 6 stanzas with five elements)
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o essay (at minimum five pages, MLA format, Works Cited, 5 secondary
sources)
o film (at minimum 5 minutes, maximum 7 minutes and must include a
discussion on at minimum 3 filmic elements)
o artwork (sculpture, drawing, painting, or computer graphic)

Visual/Sound component: You can create a Power Point presentation on
your project and present it to the class as you discuss your project. Your
artwork constitutes this component. (Bells, whistles, and chimes in your
.ppt presentation do not count toward a “sound component” in your
presentation.) If you are composing a lyric, this component can be met by
a performance or recording of your music.

Verbal component: You must present your project to the class and
explain its significance.
Examples: Student A selects the reading “The Prince” from Machiavelli and decides
to compose a song based upon the reading. She decides to write this in response to
her relationship with her father, a domineering and exacting man. She selects three
elements of poetry (imagery, symbolism, and alliteration) in her composition. She
then integrates her creation into a formal essay explaining the rhetorical and literary
elements used in the song. She discusses the images, symbolism, and alliteration
the song and provides rationale for the choices she’s made. She also explains the
rhetoric behind the performance as a jazz piece (i.e., her father is a fan of jazz music
and listens to jazz vocals all the time). This essay is posted onto her student
homepage in WebCT. Lastly, she briefs the class on her project and performs the
piece in class. 40 points
Blog response will be due for every reading/session. The blog has been created by
the instructor invite students to join the private (viewable only to the class) and
each student must create a FREE account in order to begin posting. The response
must demonstrate in some way that you have completed the reading by inserting
direct quotes (include citation information) from the primary sources. What should
you write about in your responses?

You might consider the ways that gender, race, ethnicity, class, or power
is portrayed in the text.

You might examine the fundamental assumptions and beliefs underlying
the text, and explain how those differ from or complement your own
beliefs.

You might compare the text to other texts we have read or films we
watched.

You might speculate on the purpose and audience for the work, or
comment on the form or style.

You might comment on the work’s relevance to your own life, or the way
the work made you see something about your own life in a different light.
Additionally, you must also read the responses from other students and post
comments. Your comments should raise questions about the interpretation or
demonstrate carefully your positive or negative reaction using the vocabulary we
discuss in class. 20 points
Total Points for Course equals 100 points. Download the grade book from the
Course Homepage. After every submission or session, I will send you points. Find
your name (the row) on the grade book and assignment (the column) and insert
your points. The grade book is based on cumulative points. EVERY POINT COUNTS.
CLASS POLICIES
WEBCT Course Homepage: This is a web-enhanced section. This means we will use
resources on the Internet as a way to deliver course content, supplement course
content, and assess course content. You must activate your Pipeline account
immediately if you have not done so before this course. You must familiarize
yourself with the Course Homepage designed for the course and check your e-mail
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(or send e-mail) daily using the tool provided on the course homepage. All
communication for the course is done via this course homepage.
Attendance:
1. You are expected to be in class on time all the time.
2. Lateness, especially chronic lateness, is not acceptable, and it will affect your
final grade to whatever extent the instructor sees fit.
3. You will be allowed one absence w/o documentation. If you miss two
classes, your grade drops one full grade; if you miss three classes, your grade
drops two full grades, etc.).
4. All extended absences require TDY orders or other documentation. Any
additional absences will result in systematic downgrading for the course.
5. No “I” Incompletes for this course.
6. In case of serious illness or family emergency, please contact the instructor
and your Coordinator as soon as possible
7. Absences do not excuse you from the responsibilities or deadlines of the
course.
Deadlines & late work: All assignments are due as stated in the course syllabus
and/or on the Course Homepage calendar.
Cheating and plagiarism: Cheating, plagiarism and recycling of essays or creative
work are unacceptable practices. All work performed in this class must be wholly
original and the work of the student alone. You must discuss the reuse of papers
from other or previous classes. You must discuss using the paper in this course in
conjunction with another assignment from another course. Any student engaged in
any of these activities without my knowledge or consent will receive either an F for
the assignment or an F for the course, as the instructor sees fit. He or she may also
be referred to the Academic Dean and brought before the Student Conduct Board.
See university policy on academic honesty attached to this syllabus.
Class cancellations: If the instructor is ill and class must be canceled, there will be
an official notice sent via the Course Homepage, WebCT email tool. Additionally, the
Coordinator’s office may post a sign on the classroom door. In all cases, you should
continue to keep up with the readings and other assignments on the syllabus.
Others: The instructor supports the University policy concerning the Americans with
Disabilities Act. Students with disabilities needing academic accommodation should
access the HPU webpage on ADA for more information.
COURSE SCHEDULE (tentative)
WEEK 1
WEEK 2
WEEK 3
WEEK 4
WEEK 5
Introductions, Syllabus and other administrative procedures. Course
Homepage and WebCT. Elements of literature. Elements of Rhetoric.
Genres. Ways to Read, assess, and respond. The Origins of Monotheism

Readings in class: Hymn to the Sun, Leiden Hymns

Homework: Blog post #1 due by Week 2 session
Origins of Monotheism

Readings: Epic of Gilgamesh, Genesis 1-11

Homework: blog post #2
The Problem of Violence in the Ancient World.

Readings: Bhagavad-Gita, Iliad, Troy (film)

Homework: blog post #3
The Paradoxical Nature of Medieval Warriors. Essay 1 due.

Readings: Hildegard of Bingen, Canterbury Tales (selections),
Tale of Heike

Homework: blog post #4
Variations of the Theme of Romantic Love
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WEEK 6
WEEK 7
WEEK 8
WEEK 9
WEEK
10

Readings: Canterbury Tales (selections), Lanval, Laustic

Homework: blog post #5
Uncertainty in a Changing World. Essay 2 due

Readings: Divine Comedy, The Prince

Homework: blog post #6
The Emergence of the Personal in European Representations of the Inner
Life

Readings: Montaigne’s Essays, Hamlet (film), Letter to
Dionisio da Borgo San Sepulcro, Paradise Lost, selections from
Don Quixote

Homework: blog post #7
Continuation of Week 6. Essay 3 due

Homework: Blog post #8
Shaping of Narrative Material. Essay on Creative Projects are due.

Readings: selections from 1001 Nights and the Decameron.

Homework: blog post #9 and #10 on Oratory/Oral
Performance readings)
Oratory and Oral Performance in the Pre-modern World and
presentations, course wrap up, and end of course evaluations.

Readings: selections from Kumulipo, Florentine Codex, Popul
Vuh
II. Example of Study Guide for Readings: Epic of
Gilgamesh, selections from Genesis, Hymn to the Sun,
and the Leiden Hymns [Please note: the term this was
offered, I decided to use the publisher’s online website
and pre-packaged modules. Much of the study guides
are copy/paste of information accessed from the site.]
Historical Context
Historical Timeline: The Invention of Writing and the Earliest Literatures (3000 BC–30 AD)
* Boldface titles indicate works in the anthology.
TEXTS
CONTEXTS
ca. 3000 B.C. Mesopotamia: Sumerian cuneiform writing on clay
tablets • Egypt: writing in hieroglyphic script
2700 Gilgamesh is king in Uruk
ca. 2575–2130 Old Kingdom (Egypt) • Great Pyramids; Sphinx
ca. 2130–1540 Middle Kingdom (Egypt)
ca. 2000 B.C. Legends
about King Gilgamesh
appear on clay tablets
ca. 1900 Hebrew migration from Mesopotamia begins
18th century Hammurabi's Code of Law written in Babylon
1600 The epic of
Gilgamesh begins to take
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shape
1500 Egyptian Book of the
Dead
ca. 1539–1200 New Kingdom (Egypt)
1375–1358 Akhenaten's
"Hymn to the Sun"
composed
1375–1354 King Akhenaten dedicates his capital to Aten, the sun
god
1300 The epic of
Gilgamesh written down
1300–1100 Love lyrics of
the New Kingdom
composed
1238 The Leiden Hymns
written down
ca. 1200 Moses leads the Jews in Exodus from Egypt to Palestine
1000–925 David, then Solomon, king in Israel
586 Jerusalem captured by Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar;
many Jews taken to exile in Babylon
539 The Persian shah, Cyrus the Great, conquers Babylon and
allows the Jews to return to Israel. He founds the Iranian empire,
which later envelops most of the Middle East and Central Asia
525 Cambyses, king of Persia, conquers Egypt
ca. 450 Herodotus, History
Overview: The Origins of Monotheism and the Evolving Notions of the Divine
Gods and mythology
Our understanding of ancient mythology is far from perfect, not only because evidence is scanty
and incomplete but also because mythologies by their very nature describe the universe in
magical and metaphorical terms. They are pre-rational, nonlinear, and embrace mutually
contradictory narratives, some of which apply at some moments but not others. But all
mythological systems are codes that signify human beings' experiences of the vast and
frightening world in which they find themselves.
Typically, the primal gods and goddesses represent the sky, land, and ocean; often, they are
seen as the progenitors of families in conflict, families in which animal and human features
mingle. And frequently, the most powerful of human beings—kings and their families—are
represented as having special links to the divine.
In the millennia before the common era, a fascination with mythologies and their representation of
reality through stories about the gods' convoluted adventures begins to shift to a new interest in
the interaction between the human and the divine and the responsibilities each has to the other.
Emerging monotheism
Monotheism today is primarily associated with the Peoples of the Book—the Jews, Christians,
and Muslims who trace their belief in a single, all-powerful God to a man born Abram, who
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became Abraham. But before Abraham smashed his father's idols, an Egyptian pharaoh excised
the names of all but one divinity from the stone monuments that he briefly had under his control.
In other parts of the ancient world, even in South Asia, where the monotheist's devotion to a
single, exclusive god to whom everyone ought to pray never took hold, we see the sophisticated,
increasingly perceived pantheons composed of individual divinities in charge of discrete forces of
nature as personifications of a unitary divine power in which all cosmic powers were united.
We can make explicit connections among the major cultures studied in Volume A. Certainly, the
monotheism of the Hebrews reflects and reacts to the influence of their immediate Egyptian and
Mesopotamian neighbors.
Cultural Context: The Egyptian Gods: Towards Abstraction
"During the reign of Amen-hotpe IV—Pharaoh Akhenaten of the eighteenth dynasty, who reigned
from 1375 to 1358 B.C.—the royal family elevated worship of the sun disc, Aten, above that of
other deities and of Amun-Re, the imperial and universal god of the New Kingdom in particular."
(p. 41)
Akhenaten's reforms were short-lived. Yet both his "Hymn to the Sun" and the Leiden Hymns,
composed in a slightly later era, reveal how perceiving the ruling divinity as an abstraction
changes the emphasis of religious thought.
Akhenaten's "Hymn to the Sun" and the Leiden Hymns speak of several gods but praise the sun
as the supreme creative force. Local climate and landscape play an important part in any
culture's worldview. The interaction of the overflowing Nile River (acknowledged as the god of the
river's yearly flooding, Hapy, in the poems) and the baking rays of the sun made Egypt a rich and
prosperous country. Like all religious systems, traditional Egyptian belief was therefore
preoccupied with the cycle of life and death, to which the great pyramids and tombs attest, and
with perpetuating the fertility of the land. Many of the images in the "Hymn to the Sun" and the
Leiden Hymns provide verbal equivalents of the concerns made manifest in the visual arts of
ancient Egypt, as illustrated below.
The gods are everywhere
References to the gods are ubiquitous in ancient Egyptian writing. The Leiden Hymns begin by
celebrating one of the several sun gods of ancient Egypt, "Horus of the Twin Horizons." The
lovesick female speaker of one of the love lyrics, "I was simply off to see Nefrus my friend," begs
help from "Mother Hathor" (a goddess in the form of a cow) when she fears the young man for
whom she longs will see her:
Make me a small creeping thing
To slip by his eye
(sharp as Horus')
unseen. (ll. 11–14)
One theory links the sun and the moon to these eyes, which were robbed from their owners and
restored as power moved from one ruler to the next. In visual terms, such representations of
astronomical phenomena appear to prefigure the kind of abstraction embodied in the sign of
Aten, the sun disc that Akhenaten made supreme.
The elaborate creation story of Ancient Egypt that describes the movement of these disembodied
eyes is abandoned by Akhenaten when he praises the sun as the creator of all things. However,
the "Hymn to the Sun" does not offer a systematic description of the process of creation with
which we are familiar, such as the one beginning the Hebrew Book of Genesis.
Amun, another sun god, was more important to the conservative priestly class, whose enmity
Akhenaten earned for displacing them and their god.
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Figure B. This famous relief in the collection
of the Charlottenberg Museum in Berlin
shows Akhenaten and his family in nusually
intimate postures, with Aten as the focus of
the image.
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Figure A. Aten is represented by the abstract
symbol of the sun's disk with outstretched rays,
ending in tiny hands.
Personalizing the relationship between human and divine
As we see in his "Hymn to the Sun," Akhenaten also personalized his relationship to Aten, an
abstract symbol of the sun's power, in ways that shocked the priests, who previously had
performed ritual functions that Akhenaten took into his own hands. Thus he ends the hymn,
addressing the sun but also embedding in his praise an advertisement for himself:
Then, Shine reborn!
Rise splendidly!
my Lord, let life thrive for the King!
For I have kept pace with your every footstep
Since you first measured ground for the world.
Lift up the creatures of earth for your Son
Who came forth from your Body of Fire! (ll. 154–59)
Cultural Context: The Mesopotamian Gods: Taming Animal and Natural Powers
The gods as natural forces
The Epic of Gilgamesh begins with the creation of the hero by the gods. Gilgamesh is "terrifying
like a great wild bull. Two thirds they made him god and one third man." This type of imagery can
be seen in this great statue of a human-headed winged bull and winged lion, dating from the NeoAssyrian period (883–839 B.C.).
The gods themselves are linked to different natural realms and are deeply involved in human
activities. They include "Shamash the glorious sun . . . Adad the god of the storm . . . the god of
the firmament Anu . . . and Ishtar the goddess of love" (p. 13).
Ishtar (an Akkadian name) is another form of Inanna (the Sumerian goddess of love, associated
with Venus. The Greek Aphrodite, goddess of love, is clearly related to these divinities.)
Taming natural forces
This famous plaque is attached to the bull-headed lyre from the Royal Tombs of Ur. The top
image shows the importance of taming the wild in the form of a hero who has exerted control over
two bulls. Many of the episodes in the Epic of Gilgamesh deal with taming. Enkidu is brought into
being by Aruru, the goddess of creation, in order to repress the arrogance of Gilgamesh. Sexual
love domesticates and urbanizes Enkidu, who is then brought to the temple of Anu and of Ishtar.
When Enkidu and Gilgamesh seek to exert human power over the forces of nature—to tame the
wild—they discover the limits of mortality.
The flood story
In what is thought to be a late addition to the compilation of stories that make up the Epic of
Gilgamesh, the story of Utnapishtim and the great flood is introduced. Gilgamesh's encounter
with Utnaphistim reinforces his understanding of death, but the flood story itself, as it is told here,
is also a narrative about taming. The father god Enlil's desire to rid the world of human noise
pollution provokes a serious moral discussion among the other gods, who can be seen as taming
their own powers in the wake of the destruction wrought by the flood. The connection to the flood
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story in Genesis helps us see how ideas of monotheism, with their emphasis on moral
responsibility, evolved in the Ancient Near East.
Cultural Context: Judaism: "You Shall Have No Other Gods before Me"
Judaism defined itself in opposition to the idol-worshipping cultures of Mesopotamia and Canaan.
Although God walks in his garden and communicates through angels in the early books of the
Bible, the essential monotheistic conception of the divinity means that in Jewish tradition, there
are no images of God. Instead, the word with which He creates the world provides a
characteristic visual representation of His involvement in the world. Here is an illustration of a
Bible scroll, the repository of God's words and works that the People of the Book revere (but do
not literally worship).
The monotheistic tradition: Creating the world
There are two sequential creation narratives in the opening chapters of Genesis. In the first, a
highly disciplined God proceeds in careful linear fashion to organize the universe. The
monotheist's single god takes no physical role in creation. By the power of speech alone all living
things are created and put into categories of being. The occasional plural reference may mark the
residue of an older, repressed polytheism ("Let us make man in our image, after our likeness," p.
57), as do the moments when God seems to consult with colleagues ("Go to, let us go down, and
there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech," p.63), but a
new relationship between human and divine is clearly established.
The monotheistic tradition: The divine parent
In the second creation story and the subsequent early chapters of the Bible, Adam and Eve, Cain
and Abel, Noah and his sons all must make painful choices and live with guilt and sorrow if they
err. The portentous dialogues in which the Hebrew God engages his creations sound to our ears
like the difficult discussions that we all have had with our parents: in the beginning, God seems to
want to establish a familial intimacy with human beings. The complicated story of the creation of
Adam and Eve invites various interpretations of gender relations and appropriate roles within the
family. Ambiguity and choice enter the divine scheme.
The monotheistic tradition: Moral questions
The early chapters of Genesis put a premium on moral and cerebral activity. It is not sufficient
simply to make a sacrifice, as Homer's characters so routinely do; Cain makes a sacrifice, but
God knows that something in Cain's spirit negates the act. This monotheistic God requires of
humanity a searching introspection that cannot be illustrated or enacted in material terms. As
human actions prove disappointing, God begins to examine His motives even as man must. In
the flood story, which the writers of Genesis based on the same story we read in Gilgamesh, this
is perhaps the most profound change. Where Enlil lashes out because he is annoyed by the
cacophony of the human race, the Hebrew God "saw that the wickedness of man was great in
the earth, and that every imagination of the thought of his heart was only evil continually. And it
repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart" (p. 60).
This extraordinary inner life endows an all-powerful creator with a sensibility like his creatures'.
Where Akhenaten proclaims his direct link to the sun, the God of the Bible acknowledges His own
likeness to his creation.
The monotheistic tradition: The rainbow covenant
When the flood recedes, a rainbow becomes the sign of the covenant, of mutual responsibilities.
For the Greeks, the rainbow is represented by the figure of Iris, who serves as a messenger
(Endorsed) LIT 2510 - GECS RCAR Form
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between gods and people. For the Hebrews, the rainbow represents the cosmic imprint of God's
concern for humanity, but as a sign to be understood and not as a physical intermediary.
Class Discussion Questions
Discussion Focus on Akhenaten's "Hymn to the Sun"
Outline the different activities described in each of the 12 stanzas of Akhenaten's "Hymn to the
Sun" and consider whether the poem organizes its topics in a logical, linear fashion. Does each
stanza lead directly into the next, or do the stanzas seem to take new directions?
Discussion Focus on the Leiden Hymns
How does the organization of the four Leiden Hymns compare with the organization of the single
"Hymn to the Sun"?
a. What is the main focus of each poem?
b. How many gods are mentioned in these poems?
c.
What two views of divine creativity are offered in the two stanzas of "God is a
master craftsman"?
Do you consider the Leiden Hymns to be an expression of a monotheist view of the divine?
Discuss the evidence that leads you to your conclusion and relate it to your understanding of
ancient Egyptian society.
Discussion focus that compares the monotheistic ideas in these Egyptian and Hebraic
readings to ideas about divinity
Compare and contrast the related Mesopotamian and Hebraic stories about divine intervention in
human affairs.
1. What are the causes of the flood in the Epic of Gilgamesh?
2. Who is the lone survivor? Why? How is he rewarded?
3. What are the causes of the flood in Genesis 6–9? Who survives? What is his
reward?
How do the gods behave in the Epic of Gilgamesh? How do they involve themselves in the
human world? Why is Utnapishtim saved?
Compare God's involvement with human beings in the early chapters of Genesis that lead up
to the flood. Why is Noah saved?
[From ―Origins of Monotheism‖ http://www.wwnorton.com/nawol/discovery_modules/dm1_1.htm]
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II.
Rubrics: Essay and Presentation
Essay Rubric
Student:
Summary
Your essay’s strength is . . .
Your essay needs improvement in . . .
All points are made in this area of the rubric.
All points are made in this area of the rubric
Thesis statement, para 1
Trait
Claim
Logic &
Organiz
ation
Audienc
e
Evidenc
e
Citations
Control
of
Languag
e
Fragment, para 3
Essay Writing Grading Rubric for Jocelyn Cardenas
A/10-9
B/8-7
C/6-5
D/4-3
claim is scholarly,
compelling,
genuinely
debatable,
focused, and
specific
claim is clear and
debatable, but
may have shifting
focus and/or
specificity
develops ideas
cogently,
organizes them
logically within ¶’s,
connects them
with effective
transitions; clear
and logically
consistent
organization
relating all ideas
together
clearly addresses
claim, structure,
and evidence to
paper’s intended
audience
develops unified
and coherent
ideas within
paragraphs with
generally
adequate
transitions; clear
overall
organization
relating most
ideas together
ample, relevant,
concrete evidence
and persuasive
support for every
debatable
assertion; uses
multiple, reliable
sources which are
assessed critically;
maintains own
voice
researched
support quoted,
paraphrased, and
cited, and wellintegrated into
prose
exact control of
language,
including effective
word choice and
sentence variety;
superior facility
with the
conventions of
standard written
English
relevant, concrete
evidence and
persuasive
support for most
debatable
assertions; uses
multiple or reliable
sources which are
not always
assessed critically
(Endorsed) LIT 2510 - GECS RCAR Form
claim, structure,
and evidence fir
the paper’s clearly
attempt to address
audience needs
F/2-1
claim is
intermittently
unclear or
debatable, and
intermittently shifts
in focus or
specificity
develops and
organizes ideas in
paragraphs that
are not necessarily
connected with
transitions; some
overall
organization, but
some ideas may
seem illogical
and/or unrelated
claim is vague or
pedestrian, raises
little debate, and
lacks focus and
specificity
claim is limited,
unclear, trite,
inconsistent or
absent, and lacks
focus and
specificity
does not develop
ideas cogently,
organize them
logically within
paragraphs or
connect them with
clear transitions;
uneven or
ineffective overall
organization
does not develop
ideas cogently,
organize them
logically within
paragraphs and
connect them with
clear transitions;
uneven and
ineffective overall
organization
claim, structure
and evidence
chosen with some
limited attention to
the paper’s
audience
merely adequate
evidence and
support for most
assertions; uses
single or multiple
sources, which
may be unreliable
and used
uncritically
claim, structure or
evidence not
suited to the
paper’s audience
little or no attempt
to consider
audience in its
choice of claim,
structure or
evidence
little or no
evidence or
support connected
to essay’s topic or
claim, relies solely
on author’s
experiences,
questionable
sources; outside
the genre of
academic prose
researched
support incorrectly
quoted, cited, and
paraphrased
researched
support correctly
quoted, cited, and
paraphrased
researched
support
adequately
quoted, cited, and
paraphrased
clear and effective
control of
language, including
word choice and
sentence variety;
competence with
the conventions of
standard written
English
intermittent control
of language,
including word
choice and
sentence variety;
minor errors in
standard written
English
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weak evidence
and persuasive
support; uses
limited source(s),
and/or relies
predominantly on
sweeping
generalizations,
narration,
description, or
summary
researched
support incorrectly
quoted, cited, and
paraphrased
intermittent control
of language,
including word
choice and
sentence variety;
major errors in
standard written
English impeding
understanding
poor control of
language, includes
problems with
word choice and
sentence
structure; frequent
errors in standard
written English
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Score
Level
s
Presentation Rubric
Content
 Is well thought out and
supports the solution to
the challenge or
question
 Reflects application of
critical thinking
4
Conventions
 No spelling,
grammatical, or
punctuation errors
 High-level use of
vocabulary and word
choice
 Has clear goal that is
related to the topic
Organization
Presentation
 Information is clearly
focused in an
organized and
thoughtful manner.
 Multimedia is used to
clarify and illustrate
the main points.
 Information is
constructed in a
logical pattern to
support the solution.
 Format enhances the
content.
 Presentation captures
audience attention.
 Presentation is
organized and well
laid out.
 Is pulled from a variety
of sources
 Is accurate
 Is well thought out and
supports the solution
 Has application of
critical thinking that is
apparent
3
 Has clear goal that is
related to the topic
 Few (1 to 3) spelling,
grammatical, or
punctuation errors
 Information supports
the solution to the
challenge or question.
 Good use of
vocabulary and word
choice
 Multimedia is used to
illustrate the main
points.
 Format is appropriate
for the content.
 Presentation captures
audience attention.

 Is pulled from several
sources
 Presentation is well
organized.
 Is accurate
 Supports the solution
 Has application of
critical thinking that is
apparent
 Has no clear goal
2
 Minimal (3 to 5)
spelling, grammatical,
or punctuation errors
 Project has a focus
but might stray from it
at times.
 Multimedia loosely
illustrates the main
points.
 Low-level use of
vocabulary and word
choice
 Information appears
to have a pattern, but
the pattern is not
consistently carried
out in the project.
 Format does not suit
the content.
 Is pulled from a limited
number of sources
 Information loosely
supports the solution.
 Has some factual
errors or
inconsistencies
 Provides inconsistent
information for solution
 Has no apparent
application of critical
thinking
1
 Has no clear goal
 More than 5 spelling,
grammatical, or
punctuation errors
 Poor use of
vocabulary and word
choice
 Information does not
support the solution to
the challenge or
question.
 Information has no
apparent pattern.
 I pulled from few
sources
 Presentation is
loosely organized.
 Presentation appears
sloppy and/or
unfinished.
 Multimedia is
overused or
underused.
 Format does not
enhance content.
 Presentation has no
clear organization.
 Has significant factual
errors, misconceptions,
or misinterpretations
(Endorsed) LIT 2510 - GECS RCAR Form
 Content is unfocused
and haphazard.
 Presentation does not
capture audience
attention.
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(Endorsed) LIT 2510 - GECS RCAR Form
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HAWAII PACIFIC UNIVERSITY
FACULTY ASSEMBLY
GENERAL EDUCATION CURRICULUM
SUBCOMMITTEE OF UCC
SUPPLEMENTARY FORM FOR ART, AESTHETICS AND CREATIVITY
CROSS THEME REQUIREMENT
COURSE NUMBER LIT 2510
AND
TITLE World Literature I (changing from
Ideas in Literature I)
Outcomes for Courses that will Satisfy the Arts, Aesthetics and Creativity General
Education Requirement
Students in these courses should do 3 of the following:
1. Demonstrate an understanding of style in the Arts.
(Check those that are applicable) ↓
X
2. Develop an appreciation of skills involved in artistic expression.
X
3. Develop an appreciation for cultural diversity in the Arts.
X
4. Attend and be able to critique or contextualize an artistic performance or exhibition.
And 4 of the following:
(Check those that are applicable) ↓
1. Participate and develop skills in the actual production of artistic work.
X
2. Demonstrate knowledge of principles of form, structure or delivery.
X
3. Demonstrate an understanding of compositional elements.
X
4. Discuss various types of media and/or delivery practices.
5. Demonstrate understandings about the aesthetics of a culture, time or place
6. Express an understanding of the history of Arts.
7. Compare and discuss the philosophy of the Arts.
8. Develop an understanding of the genres of the Arts.
X
9. Discuss cultural and social values that are expressed in the Arts.
X
Please explain briefly how the outcomes checked apply to your particular course. You may refer
to outcomes on your syllabus, concepts and materials covered in the course, and course activities
and assignments that give students opportunities to demonstrate their learning of these outcomes.
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Syllabus one: This syllabus begins with the earliest literary work on record, The Epic of
Gilgamesh, and culminates with Hamlet, which many people have argued is the greatest literary
work in English. The course covers a wide range of forms (epics, plays, sacred texts, poems,
essays, oral traditions) from a wide variety of places/cultures (Mesopotamia and the larger Arab
world, Africa, China, Greece, India, South America, England). Because these works are so
disparate and often so unfamiliar to students, discussions of style, form, structure, compositional
elements, and genre are absolutely necessary to make the works comprehensible. Because the
course covers World Cultures 3, social and cultural values will be at the forefront of many of our
discussions. The creative project (worth 30% of the final grade) requires students to compose
their own creative work, which certainly should give them an appreciation for the “skills involved
in artistic expression.”
Syllabus two:
1. Demonstrate an understanding of style in the Arts.
I will give a brief overview of the elements of each style (literary elements) and convention
(genre), which include a small amount of cultural and historical information as well. Example:
Prior to reading epic poetry, I will explain the elements of the genre and give examples (e.g.,
provide information on other epic poems). After discussing the epic poem, the class will
engage in discussion about it using the terminology/vocabulary.
2. Develop an appreciation of skills involved in artistic expression.
Supplemental artwork or other forms of creative expression are shared with the class and
explained in terms of their cultural and historical significance. Example: the architecture of
Dante’s inferno is compared to its form. The literary work is assessed in terms of form, style,
structure, literary elements, and genre.
3. Develop an appreciation for cultural diversity in the Arts.
Supplemental readings will expand the student’s mind by demonstrating how cultures express
the same idea/value. It also shows what the culture valued as a source of expression (literary
vs. visual arts). Students will have the ability to compare the different forms of literary and
artistic expression in their essays or blog postings. We will discuss why ancient cultures used
stone and why Renaissance preferred tempera.
1. Participate and develop skills in the actual production of artistic work.
This is demonstrated by completion of the creative projects for the course. Students are
allowed as much freedom to express themselves. Cost and availability of resources and
services will be explained in class.
2. Demonstrate knowledge of principles of form, structure or delivery.
Supplemental and short literary examples (selected areas of big works) will expand the
student’s mind by demonstrating how cultures use literary form, structure to deliver or express
the same idea/value. It also shows what the culture valued as a source of expression (literary
vs. visual arts). Students will use the terminology/vocabulary in essays and blog postings.
3. Demonstrate an understanding of compositional elements.
When supplemental literary works are used, the instructor will give a brief overview of the
elements of each style, which include literary history/ information as well. Students can
discuss compositional elements in their essays and blog postings.
8. Develop an understanding of the genres of the Arts.
Sharing a wide variety creative expression and overviews of the literary elements of each genre
expand the experiences and knowledge of students.
9. Discuss cultural and social values that are expressed in the Arts.
Lectures and discussions will provide literary context for each reading. Weekly readings are
organized by themes and allow students to see historical and cultural similarities and
differences.
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