Western Humanities II 221 08 Fall 2014
Rev. 11/9
INSTRUCTOR: THOMAS A. GREENFIELD tag@geneseo
Class: 4:30-6:10 Newton 212
Office: Welles 219 A.
Hours: Tues 6:20-7:10 Newton (alt. Th. 3:00-4:00 Welles 219)
W, 10:30-11:20 Welles 219.
>Reading update 9/2 on Aug 31<
Required Texts (purhcase, library).
Ibsen, An Enemy of the People Dover Thrift Edition
Shelley, Frankenstein. New American Library
Swift, Gulliver's Travels Dover Swift
Miller, Incident at Vichy, Penguin
Locke, Second Treatise of Government, Harlan
Shaw, Pygmalion Dover.
Marx, The Communist Manifesto, International
Darwin, The Origin of the Species, Signet Classic
Camus, The Stranger, Vintage (Matthew Ward translation)
Achebe, Things Fall Apart Anchor
Required Readings without purchase: Booklet, MyC, Reserve and/or email readings as
assigned.
.Class Preparation
All reading assignments (including reserve, handout/mail outs, MyC, booklet, and online
readings) are to be completed in their entirety prior to the date on which they appear on the course
calendar (below). Students are expected to have prepared material so that, at a minimum, they
are capable of:
a) describing the major plot lines (such as they can be discerned), major
arguments, points, or theme(s), or etc. of the principal texts as well the
major points of argument in secondary critical, historical, philosphical and
theoretical essays as assigned;
b) drawing fundamental comparisons and contrasts between/among assigned
authors and their works;
c) identifying the title, date, author (name and nationality) of assigned works:
d) passing a quiz (usually 60%) on a, b, and c.
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Grades
Grading is based on the A thru E, plus/minus system as described in the College Bulletin.
Grades will be computed as follows:
Exam 1,
Tu. Oct 7
20%
Exam 2 Pt 1,
Th
Dec 4
20% (Pt 1 and 2 combined)
>Exam Pt
Tu
Dec 16
Paper #1
Th
Oct 9
20%
Paper #2
Th Dec 4/F Dec12
20%
*Preparation and Professionalism Grade)
20%
(*Includes quizzes, participation, class and group
activities; a C (2.0) or higher iin Preparation... must be achieved to receive
a final grade of B- (2.7) ] or higher.
100%
In rare instances, the instructor may evaluate a work as “satisfactorily completed,” in
which case a student will be given credit but not a letter grade for the work. No grading
penalty accrues to the student in such instances.
Paper Format
Unless otherwise specified, papers are to be prepared for hard copy submissions (see
“Paper Submission” policy below). Place your name, date, campus address, phone
number and course (HUMN 221, ENGL 321, etc.), and a shorthand topic/assignment note
(“Scene Analysis I,” etc.) in the upper right-hand corner. Please provide a title for the
paper, centered and double-spaced above the opening sentence of the paper. Staple the
paper in the upper left-hand corner. Please number all pages. Please do not: a) use a
title page; b) include an outline; c) put the paper in a cover; d) paper clip, “dog ear,” the
paper.
Documentation
You may use citation methods from any discipine with which you are familiar as long as
you are clear and concsistent in its use. If you are not certain of what citation model to
use, you may use that of the Modern Language Association, 7th ed. guidelines Models
for paper documentation are available in Course Materials on MyCourses. Purdue
online MLA Guide (w/7th edition updates) is a good source for MLA
documentation.
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_mla.html
Paper Submissions
Unless otherwise specified, papers (including take-home exam if any) are to be submitted in class
on the due date by the author. This is the only “approved” method of submitting a paper.
Students submitting papers by proxy, through mail or email, to work study students or secretaries,
etc. – with or without advance permission to do so – indeed do so at their own risk.. Students
who submit papers by means other than the “approved” method assume full responsibility for loss
or misplacement of the paper and must produce a duplicate upon request. All students submitting
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papers are required to keep a second or back-up copy for the remainder of the semester.
Late Papers. I have no objection to receiving late papers without explanation or
excuse. You can just take the late penalty noted below at your discretion. You do not
have to request this but you should probably let me know the day or so before (email is
fine) so there is no confusion when papers are handed in.
Extensions without penalty must be requested at least 48 hours in advance of paper
deadlines and are granted or denied by the instructor on a case by case basis. Among the
factors considered in the instructor’s decision are: reason for extension, length of
extension, student’s class attendance (and/or promptness), and overall performance in
class.
Penalties for late papers: 1-4 school days (M-F) = 1 letter grade penalty
5 or more class days = F for paper
Late papers, excused or not, are likely to take longer to return and are likely to have
fewer comments than those handed in on time.
Quizzes
Quizzes are unannounced and cannot be made up even if students miss them for valid
reasons. (They are a given to assess daily preparation of material and, therefore, make-up
quizzes serve no purpose.). Students missing a quiz for a valid reason (see below under
“Attendance”) receive “Credit” for that quiz. There are two types of quizzes.

Preparation quizzes – test students’ basic knowledge and retention of assigned
readings for the day and/or recent class discussion and lecture (in class or “email’
lecture). These quizzes are graded A-E and are recorded as the principal part of the
preparation grade.

Parimutuel quizzes -- are brief and are intended to remind people who do not attend
class as often as they might how much I miss them. These are graded S (Satisfactory)
or E. The E counts as an E (or F) in a Preparation quiz.
Quizzes are generally, but not always, given at the beginning of a class period. In any
case, I reserve the right to penalize a student’s quiz grade or to decline to give a quiz to
any student who is not present for the quiz five minutes or more after a quiz has begun.
Attendance
Attendance may be taken as part of the course history. Although no final grade penalty is
assessed for a fixed number of absences per se, attendance is a factor in your overall
“Preparation...” grade (20% of the final grade and a threshold requirement for a final grade of B
or higher). Quizzes and class discussion/participation/group work as assigned are also factored
into the Preparation...grade. Attendance is also factored heavily in granting requests for work
extensions,* forgiveness and penalties for late or missed work, resolution of “borderline” grades,
forgiveness of course problems arising from human error and the vicissitudes of life, to say
nothing of the overall cheerful disposition of the instructor, etc. In other words, show up!
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*The only 100% valid excuses for missing coursework (including regularly scheduled class meetings)
without penalty and/ or opportunities for extensions and make-up work are religious holidays (per state
law), military service and/or medical or emergency service (documented) where the student renders these
services, and exemptions duly authorized by the College’s Office of Disabilities Services. In almost all
cases, I will also excuse documented illness, serious illness or death of immediate family, and selected
approved off-campus, college-sponsored events (e.g., intercollegiate athletic ‘away’ events, model UN
conference, etc.) if overall class preparation and attendance are fully satisfactory (applicable or reversible
retroactively as necessary if absences and excuses are abused). A professor, college staff. or activities
advisor or officer may NOT require you to miss another professor’s class.** Generally, not excused for
make up work, extensions, etc. are rides home; weddings, reunions, social gatherings; employment
opportunities that conflict with the semester; “required” on campus or local meetings or activity for another
class or activity (including res life, clubs, etc.); too busy.
Late arrivals. Lateness to class, although sometimes unavoidable, is invariably
inconvenient and potentially disruptive. If you must be late, please enter quietly and
without ceremony.
Please turn your electronic noise stuff off while in class. Electronic interruptions during
a business meeting are widely viewed as inappropriate behavior.
Note
The syllabus and calendar of reading material represent the instructor’s best estimate of
the structure of the course. The instructor reserves the right to modify syllabus and
assignments. Changes in the syllabus will be announced in class and emailed. Students
are responsible for such changes.
**No Geneseo faculty member, staff, or advisor may require you to miss or be late for
my class for another activity, academic or otherwise. You (or the faculty and staff
member on your behalf) may request your excused absence at least two days before
(which, depending upon the student and the request, I may or may not grant). Otherwise
students are responsible for any material, quiz, or other graded activity with no
opportunity to make up any “lost” grades or credit.
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HUMN 221 Fall 2014 Readings
Fall 2014 TTH
Thurs.
Tues.
Aug
26
Course Intro. Bring Locke to
class
Aug
28
Locke, Ch 1, 2; Hobbes, Booklet.
Locke/Enlightenment Mini lecture
Booklet
S2
Slight Revisions, Aug 31.
Revisions >underlined<
S4
Locke 17, 18, 19
Begin Locke/Hobbes in class group debate
Locke Ch. 2, review as needed;
>Hobbes reading in Booklet.<
(Brought back from last week)
Locke Ch. 3 sec 16 (and
>17<)."State of War" (1 pg.)
Ch 7 (sec 77-84): "Of Political
or Civil Society")
Ch 8 (sec 95-99, 119).
S9
Finish Locke and Locke/Hobbes
group debate
S 11
Swift Mini lecture, Booklet; Book 1
Gulliver. all of it (Lilliputians);
S 16
Finish Swift 1
Swift Book 4 (Houyhnhnms all
of it)
S 18
Finish Swift 4 (Houyhnhnms)
Declaration of Independence Bklt
Intro to Douglass, Martineau and the
trajectory of “equality.”
S 23
“US Documents”
Douglass, 4th of July Speech
Bklt: King, “Letter from B’ham
Jail” w. letter from white
ministers
S 25
Finish Douglass/King if necessary.
Martineau, “Political Non-Existence”;
Stanton, “Declaration of Sentiments”;
Stanton, “Destructive Male”
S 30
Romantic Mini Lecture Bklt
Shelley, Frankenstein ch 1-13,
Oct
2
Finish Shelley, Frankenstein, end of book.
O7
Exam 1
O9
Paper #1 Due Class Lecture: The
“Modern” Era: Determinism and the
Problematic Democritization of
Knowledge.
O 14
Mid-term Break
O 16
Marx Ch 1 and 2,
Booklet: Marx & Smith Terminology
5
O 21
Marx same readings. Locke Ch 4
(25-31, 34 [Labor Theory of
Value vs. Marx, Smith]).
O 23
TBA or Marx/Smith group debate
6
O 28
Darwin. Bklt terminology and
concepts.
Last pgrph of book; Ch 1, Ch 2
(last pgrph only) Darwin
Terminology Sheet
O 30
Darwin Ch 3 all of it; Ch 4 (76-79, 84-86,
104-118 ).
N4
Finish Darwin; Darwin in
Malibu in class./ Bring Ibsen to
class
N6
Ibsen, An Enemy of the People
Class Canceled
N 13
Miller,
Incident
at Vichy.
All at
ofVichy
it. and/or begin
N 13
Miller,
Incident
Shaw, Pygmalion
N 11
New:Read An Enemy of the People
Bring Ibsen to Class.
Short review of Ibsen Play from
pre-sent discussion.
Bring booklet:
We will review. De Gobineau 71-72
(Bklt), “The Banality of Evil”
76-79 (only)
Miller, Incident at Vichy
N 18
Shaw, Pygmalion
Shaw terminology, Booklet
N 20
Camus, “Myth of Sisyphus” Bklt
The Stranger, Part 1, up to the fatal
shooting.
N 25
Finish The Stranger
Review Stranger mini-lecture
and “The Myth of Sisyphus”
BKlt.
N 27
Thanksgiving
D2
Things Fall Apart (all of it)
D4
Last day of class Exam 2 Part 1
Paper #2 Due Date option 1.
Fri D
12
4:00
PM
Paper Due Date option 2. (Email
attachment or hard copy in my mailbox,
Welles 226 acceptable.)
Tu
Dec
16
3:306:50
Final Exam Part II
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8
The Learning Outcomes for Western Humanities Song
(“Everybody Has to Take Hummmmm”)
Sing-a-long chorus
EVERYBODY HAS TO TAKE HUMANITIES
TO SEPARATE TRUE WISDOM FROM INNANITIES
AND SAVE THE WORLD FROM FOLLY AND CALAMITIES
EVERYBODY HAS TO TAKE HUMMMMMM
We hope you’ll argue your convictions without shame or fear
And hear their opposition with a sharper ear.
Yes, you can blow it off until your senior year
But everybody has to take Hummmmmm
EVERYBODY HAS TO TAKE HUMANITIES
TO SEPARATE TRUE WISDOM FROM INNANITIES
AND SAVE THE WORLD FROM FOLLY AND CALAMITIES
EVERYBODY HAS TO TAKE HUMMMMMM
Group A Hum,Hum, Hum, Hum, (etc.)
Group B Hummmmmm, Hummmm,
(Reading of the Outcomes)
Students will:
* demonstrate knowledge of the contributions of significant Western thinkers to ongoing
intellectual debate about moral, social, and political alternatives;
* demonstrate knowledge of the major trends and movements that have shaped and responded
to this debate: e.g., monotheism, humanism, etc.
* demonstrate the ability to think critically about moral, social, and political arguments in the
Western intellectual tradition, evaluating the logic of these arguments and relating them to the
historical and cultural context;
* consider moral, social, and political issues from an interdisciplinary perspective
Chorus: EVERYBODY HAS TO TAKE HUMANITIES
TO SEPARATE TRUE WISDOM FROM INNANITIES
AND SAVE THE WORLD FROM FOLLY AND CALAMITIES
EVERYBODY HAS TO TAKE HUMMMMMM
You will read some masterpieces ‘til your eyeballs break,
Maybe you will join in on the give and take,
By Christmas you might think it was a big mistake…
But …everybody has to take Hummmmm
EVERYBODY HAS TO TAKE HUMANITIES
TO SEPARATE TRUE WISDOM FROM INNANITIES
AND SAVE THE WORLD FROM FOLLY AND CALAMITIES/EVERYBODY HAS TO TAKE
THAT’S TOO BAD BUT, THEM’S THE BREAKS
EVERYBODY HAS TO TAKE HUMMMMMM
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Humanities 221 Greenfield Fall 2014
Paper #1 TOPICS TENTATIVE.WILL CONFIRM BY 2ND WEEK OF
CLASS.
1500 words minimum (exclusive of front matter, sources, works cited, any
asterisk notes, the title, and front matter).
Due: as hard copy, handed in during class Th. Oct 9th
Select One of the following topics. Please do not use materials or sources
beyond those listed and assigned for the topic you select unless otherwise
noted.
1. Read Alvin B. Kernan’s Discussion of “The Scene of Satire” (MyC).
Discussing Book I and/or Book IV of Gulliver’s Travels assess
Kernan’s theory of satire in terms of Swift’s work. To what extent
does Kernan’s theory of satire successfully (or not) account for
Swift’s work. Are certain parts or aspects of GT more in line with
Kernan’s theory than others? Given that satire seeks to instruct
and entertain, do you find any aspects of Kernan’s theory to be
particularly on target? Off the mark? Please do not use any
additional outside sources.
2. Diane Schulder’s “Does the Law Oppress Women,”1970 (MyC)
is one of the first essays of the modern feminist movement that
seeks to link specific laws and rulings in contemporary America to
the historical discrimination of women.
Using Stanton’s “Declaration of Sentiments,” Martineau’s “Political
Non-Existence of Women” and Stanton’s “The Destructive Male”
write an essay on the presence, influence and/or evidence of early
feminist writing (as embodied in these three essays) on Schulder’s
essay. You may, and I encourage, learned extrapolation about the
assumptions of women’s place in society on Schulder’s part as they
may relate to statements and arguments in the early feminist works.
You may focus equally on all three of the 19th century feminist articles
or emphasize one or two of them; that decision should be based on the
degree to which you find arguments in these respective essays that
seem to anticipate points raised in Schulder’s argument.
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3. Intellectual Lineage of Frederic Douglass. Read the entirety of
Douglass’ “Fourth of July Speech,” making note of such issues as
his invocation of religious imagery and language, the prospects for
racial equality, the place of African-Americans in the USA, etc.
Then read the following speeches from Malcolm X AND Martin
Luther King (on MyC)
King: “Letter from Birmingham Jail” (Edited, Booklet version ok)
Malcolm X: “God’s Judgment Upon the White
Man” (Edited MyC permissible).
Using Frederic Douglass’ “Fourth of July Speech” as your starting
point, discuss Douglass as a precedent or precursor for major
speeches/writings by King and Malcolm X. Dividing your essay
more or less evenly between King and Malcolm X trace similarities
and differences in the points of view between Douglass and each of
the 20th century leaders. (Do not spend a great deal of time tracing
differences between Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, although in
your discussion of Douglass’ “presence” in both their writings, some
of those differences will come up.)
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