Prof. Laura Quinney
Rabb 131
quinney@brandeis.edu
Office hrs: M 12-1, W 2-3 and by appt.
Eng 134b
MWTh 1-1:50
Olin-Sang 112
SUBJECTIVITY
Required books:
Blake, Songs of Innocence and of Experience (Oxford)
Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy (Hackett)
Kierkegaard, The Sickness Unto Death, trans. Hong (Princeton)
Montaigne, Essays (Penguin), Cohen ed.
Pascal, Penseés (Penguin)
Shakespeare, Hamlet (Penguin)
Note: Other readings on the syllabus will be provided via internet or on LATTE.
Syllabus:
Th
8/28
Introduction
W
9/3
Th
9/4
Montaigne: “To the Reader,” “On idleness” (I, 8), “On the uncertainty
Of our judgement” (I, 47), “On Democritus and Heraclitus” (I, 50). Plus,
via internet: “Of prompt or slow speech” (I, 10), “That to philosophize is
to learn how to die” (I, 20), “Of a saying of Caesar’s” (I, 224) and “Of
solitude” (I, 39). Downloadable pdf of the complete essays at:
http://www.pdforigin.com/the-complete-essays-of-michel-de-montaignepdf-download/
Montaigne: “That it is folly…” (I, 27), “On the uncertainty of our
judgement (I, 47), “On the inconstancy of our actions” (II, 1), “On
presumption” (II, 17)
M
W
Th
9/8
9/10
9/11
Montaigne: “On experience” (111, 13)
Hamlet
Discussion
M
W
Th
9/15
9/17
9/18
Hamlet, cont.
Hamlet, cont.
Discussion
M
T
W
Th
9/22
9/23
9/24
9/25
Descartes, Meditations: Meditations 1 and 2
Brandeis “Thursday.” Discussion
Descartes, cont.
NO CLASS
M
9/29
Pascal, Penseés, sections 1-139 (pp. 3-43)
W
Th
10/1
10/2
Pascal, sections 140-220 (pp. 43-70)
Discussion
M
W
Th.
10/6
10/8
10/9
Pascal, sections 383-431 (pp. 115-136)
Pascal, sections 592-729 (pp. 200-224)
NO CLASS
M
W
Th
10/13 Brandeis “Thursday.” Discussion
10/15 Locke, “Of Identity and Diversity” (LATTE)
10/16 NO CLASS
M
W
Th
10/20 Locke, cont. and Hume, “Of Personal Identity” (LATTE)
10/22 Locke and Hume, cont.
10/23 Discussion
M
W
Th
10/27 Kant, “Paralogisms of Pure Reason (A)” (LATTE)
10/29 Kant, cont.
10/30 Discussion
M
W
Th
11/3
11/5
11/6
M
W
Th
11/10 Wordsworth, cont.
11/12 Blake, Songs of Innocence and of Experience
11/13 Discussion
M
W
Th.
11/17 Blake, Visions of the Daughters of Albion and The Book of Urizen
(LATTE)
TOPIC DUE
11/19 Blake, cont.
11/20 Discussion
M
W
Th
11/24 Kierkegaard, The Sickness Unto Death, pp. 1-29
11/26 NO CLASS
11/27 NO CLASS
M
W
Th
12/1
12/3
12/4
Kierkegaard, pp. 29-74
Kierkegaard, pp. 75-131
Discussion
M
12/8
Some contemporary poems (Ashbery, Merwin)
Th
12/11 TERM PAPER DUE.
5-7pp. PAPER DUE
Wordsworth, “Tintern Abbey” and the Intimations Ode (LATTE)
Wordsworth, cont.
Discussion
Course Requirements:
1) Attendance and participation. (10%)
2) Questions for discussion (2x). Each student will submit a question for discussion
section twice in the course of the term. Email your question to the instructors. Due: by
midnight the night before the discussion section meets. Assignments to follow in
alphabetical order. (15%)
3) One 5-7pp. paper. (30%). Due 10/15. Choice of topics.
4) One 10-12 pp. term paper. (45%). Design your own topic. Topic due: 11/17. (Email
me or submit on paper a brief description of your topic.) Paper due: 12/11.
Course Rules:
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2)
3)
4)
Please bring a printed text of the work under discussion to class.
No laptops in class. No iphones, ipads or other electronic devices.
No plagiarizing. No cheating.
Inform me the first week of class if you have a documented disability.