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UCCP 101-22 Cultural Perspectives I
Fall 2005, TTH 8-9:50 am (202 Divinity North)
Mark Baggett jmbagget@samford.edu
Office Hours: MW 2-3 p.m. Office: DIV N 325; Phone: 726-2309 or
726-4129 (law) or fax, 726-2112
UCCP homepage: http://www.samford.edu/schools/artsci/history/uccp101/index.html.
Required for this course: The following books are at the bookstore
under UCCP 101
The Three Theban Plays, Sophocles The Iliad, Homer (Fagles, trans)
The Prince, Machiavelli The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer
Confessions, Augustine The Tempest, Shakespeare
The Aeneid, Virgil (translation by Mandelbaum)
Cultural Perspectives, A Sourcebook, Fisk & Mayfield (vol 1)
***Please make a special note of the following policy:
Samford University complies with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation
Act and the Americans with Disabilities
Act. Students with disabilities who seek accommodations must make
their request through Anne Sherman in Disability Support Services.
This office is located in Counseling Services on the lower level
of Pittman Hall, or can be reached by calling 726-4078 or 726-2105.
A faculty member will grant reasonable accommodations only upon
notification from the Disability Support Services.
Campus Speakers and Conferences
Samford offers a number of nationally-known speakers and conferences
throughout the year. During the fall semester, there is an important
conference on Islam in October. A full schedule of speakers will
be supplied later. In addition, students are encouraged to attend
Samford Theater performances. Finally, there are writers and poets
scheduled to speak as part of the BACHE, a Birmingham consortium
of schools. I strongly encourage you to attend as many of these
events as you can. You can get credit for going to two of these
events by writing a one-page summary.
Course Objectives
1. Develop critical reasoning skills through the reading of significant
texts and evaluating of different viewpoints
2. Develop the ability to research/investigate an issue and construct
a well-reasoned and coherent viewpoint
3. Learn to communicate ideas and arguments clearly and persuasively
through written and spoken means.
4. Understand the world through multiple perspectives and different
world values.
5. Explore religious and moral dimensions of critical issues
6. Appreciate how different disciplines advance understanding of
cultures and civilizations and recognize the
interconnectedness of the disciplines
7. Become a part of the larger academic community
Course Requirements/Evaluation
1. Participation (10%)
An essential part of the course, CLASS PARTICIPATION MEANS PARTICIPATING
in discussion and being present and prepared for class. Absences,
late papers, and tardiness will lower this grade dramatically. It
also means participating in group work and written assignments in
class. If you do not respond in class, you cannot expect to receive
a good grade here. If you are not prepared for class or do not bring
the book, you may be asked to leave.
2. Daily Grades. Quizzes, Class Presentations & Reading Journal
(20%)
You will be asked to write journal entries on the works you read.
You will also be tested by short, objective quizzes on the day the
work is assigned. You will also make at least one group class presentation
on some topic of the syllabus. These journal entries and quizzes
will be graded and will be added into this cumulative grade. You
can drop your lowest daily grade. However, please note these important
policies:
• YOU CANNOT MAKE UP QUIZ GRADES FOR ANY REASON.
• LATE PAPERS, EVEN A FEW HOURS LATE, WILL BE PENALIZED ONE
LETTER GRADE PER DAY
3. Papers (30%)
In keeping with the policy established by the UCCP faculty, you
will write two research papers for this class. The first paper (10%)
is shorter, approximately 3-4 pages typed, double-spaced, on one
aspect of the Crusades. The final paper is a longer paper (5-7 typed
pages)(20%) due on Tuesday, November 22. The topic for this paper
is a certain historical time period or event that occurs within
the time frame of this course. Both papers will require outside
sources and a bibliography.
4. Exams (40%) Two exams. Midterm counts 25% and final counts 15%.
Academic Honesty Plagiarism consists in the unattributed or unacknowledged
use of another's words or ideas. Using a paper written and graded
for any other college course will be defined in this class as academic
dishonesty. Any sort of academic dishonesty in this course will
result in a grade of F for the assignment in question and for the
course.
CLASS ACTIVITIES AND READING SCHEDULE:
(You can also find the syllabus at J:\A&S\ENGLISH\USERS\jmbagget\Personal
Website J\UCCP101syllabus.htm)
August
30 Tuesday Introduction to course. Discuss requirements.
September
1 Thursday Begin reading The Iliad, Books 1, 2 (pp 99-115). Introduction
to the Greeks
6 Tuesday The Iliad, continued. Books 16, 22, and 24.
8 Thursday Plato. The Allegory of the Cave. (Sourcebook 25).
13 Tuesday Plato, "Apology" (Sourcebook 1) and (optional:
Aristotle, "Nichomachean Ethics" (Sourcebook 33)
Must schedule a conference with professor this week
15 Thursday Greek Drama. Sophocles, Antigone
20 Tuesday Sophocles, Antigone (continued) and Civil Disobedience
22 Thursday Read Virgil, Aeneid, Books 1, 2, and 4
27 Tuesday Read Virgil, Aeneid, Books 6, 12 and "Funeral Oration"
(Sourcebook 63)
29 Thursday Introduction to the Middle Ages. FIRST PAPER DUE (on
the Crusades)
Begin reading Augustine's Confessions
October
4 Tuesday Read Augustine's Confessions, selections to be announced.
6 Thursday Confessions, continued. (Optional: Read also "City
of God" (97), "Enchiridion" (111), "Aquinas"
(155)
11 Tuesday Chaucer, "Prologue" (SB 191) Group Presentation.
Renaissance ideas of love. Ch. 15-18 of SB.
13 Thursday Chaucer, "Knight's Tale"
18 Tuesday "Miller's Tale" "Wife of Bath's Prologue
and Tale" Chapters 19 of Sourcebook. (191)
20 Thursday MIDTERM EXAMINATION
Fall Break Oct 24-25 No class Tuesday October 25
25 Tuesday Introduction to the Renaissance: Renaissance Art
27 Thursday Conferences on final paper
November
1 Tuesday Machiavelli, The Prince
3 Thursday Machiavelli, The Prince
8 Tuesday Cultural Perspectives of Columbus, Read Chapter 23-25
Sourcebook
10 Thursday The Global Village
15 Tuesday Read Shakespeare, The Tempest
17 Thursday Read Shakespeare, The Tempest
22 Tuesday 2ND PAPER DUE
Thanksgiving Holiday, November 23-25
29 Tuesday The Global Village. Presentations on second paper.
December
1 Thursday Presentations
6 Tuesday Presentation
8 Thursday. Last day of class
FINAL EXAM Thursday, December 15, 2005 at 8 a.m.
Paper topics
The purpose of the second paper is to focus on a specific historical
event within the time frame of this course–from classical Greece
and Rome, through the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and to the early
16th century. The list of possible topics is endless, but here are
some broader suggestions:
• Greek Theater or Greek dramatists. Other Greek philosophers,
such as the Sophists.
• Roman Legacies and Influence. What did the Age of Imperial
Rome(300 B.C.–300 C.E..) mean to the western world? Examine
the reasons Rome rose and fell. Examine the context of the Christian
era. In what ways is Rome like United States today? Discuss some
of the emperors and their legacies good and bad.
• Introduction to the Middle Ages (300 C.E.. through 1400 C.E.).
How does the medieval period produce works such as Augustine's Confessions?
How was the Christian world changed and expanded in this time. Look
at continental Europe, but also in England (Beowulf and other works)
through the time of Chaucer. Examine particularly the monastic legacy
and the feudal system.
• The Gothic Cathedral. 1200 C.E. and following. The Gothic
Cathedral has become the symbol of the Medieval era, a symbol of
an era of faith, mystery, revelation, transcendence. What defines
the Gothic? How does the Gothic cathedral differ from what came
before it? After it? How do the elements of the cathedral work toward
the whole?
• Renaissance ideas of love. Introduce us to the Renaissance
period, using chapters 15-18 of the Sourcebook and other readings
on the concept of love in the Renaissance. This presentation should
address the ways in which love has been changed in its medieval
expressions, and should address related ideas, such as the Great
Chain of Being.
• Renaissance art. The Renaissance was, by definition, a high
period of art and literature. Look at writers such as Dante and
Shakespeare and the great artists (Leonardo, Michelangelo) to discuss
the cultural revolution that takes place in Europe in the 15th &
16th centuries.
• The Discovery/Exploration/Conquest of the New World. Which
word should we use? Was Columbus' achievement noble or cruel? Examine
the other explorations of the time (D. Boorstin's book would be
a good starting place), as well as the Diaz chapter in the Sourcebook.
Discuss how Columbus' voyage and discovery has changed perceptions
from the 400th anniversary in 1892 to the 500th anniversary in 1992.
• Colonial and Post-Colonial Worlds. Examine the extent of
colonization in the western world–in Latin America, North America,
Africa, India, etc. Has the legacy been positive or negative? What
does it mean to live in a post-colonial world? What have been the
legacies of colonialism? Does it exist today?
Other possible topics:
--on beginnings of English literature, Beowulf, epic poetry, elegies,
up to Chaucer--on Saints Lives in middle ages
--on the sacred feminine and its transformation from pagan to Christian
--on the rise of the papacy
--on the craft/guild system in the middle ages
--on early pre-Christian sects
--on Barbarian tribes (Goths, Vandals, etc.)
--on women in middle ages and early renaissance, esp. Book of the
City of Ladies
--on How the Irish Saved Civilization (book)
–on monastic life
–on Shakespeare, his life or works
--on other literary works (Paradise Lost, Dr. Faustus, Pilgrim's
Progress) or genres (romances)
–on the excavation of Troy
–on the Arthurian legend
Supplemental Texts
These are important books that we will not be able to read as a
class. You may choose to read and write on one of these books for
your paper.
Plato, The Republic or Timaeus or Crito or Phaedo
Aristotle, Tragedy and the Emotions of Pity and Fear (during Plato)
Aristotle, Poetics (during Plato)
Ovid, Metamorphoses (during Plato)
Virgil, The Aeneid (during Plato)
Thucydides (during Plato)
Sophocles, Oedipus the King (during Antigone)
Sophocles, Electra (during Antigone)
A play from Aeschylus or Euripides (during Antigone)
St. Thomas Aquinas, selections from Summa Theologica (during Augustine)
Augustine, Enchiridion (during Augustine)
Augustine, Selections from The City of God (during Augustine)
Cahill, How the Irish Saved Civilization (during Augustine)
Dante Alighieri, selection from The Divine Comedy (during Augustine)
Pope Innocent, III, On the Misery of the Human Condition (during
Augustine)
Middle English Verse Romances: Sir Orfeo (during Chaucer)
Boccaccio, Decameron (during Chaucer)
Life in a Medieval Village (during Chaucer)
Andreas Capellanus, The Art of Courtly Love (during Chaucer)
C.S. Lewis, The Allegory of Love (during Chaucer)
Moses Maimonides, "On the Limits of Man's Intellect" (during
Chaucer)
Middle English Verse Romances: Pearl (during Chaucer)
Medieval Lyrics (during Chaucer)
Marie de France, Lays (during Chaucer)
Medieval Mystery Plays, medieval drama (during Chaucer)
Malory, Morte d'Arthur (during Chaucer)
Boethius, The Consolation of Philosophy (during Chaucer)
"Oration on the Dignity of Man"
Leon Battisa Alberti, "Universal Man"
Leonardo Da Vinci, "Notebooks of a Universal Man"
Sources, Sprenger and Kramer, "Antifemale Prejudices"
Maxine Hong Kingston, The Woman Warrior
Story of Perpetua (during City of Ladies)
Calvino, Invisible Cities (during City of Ladies)
Lao-Tzu, Tao-te Ching (during Machiavelli)
Thomas More, Utopia (during Machiavelli)
The Merchant of Venice (during Shakespeare)
Don Richardson, Peace Child (during Broken Spears)
Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca (during Broken Spears)
Selections from Popol Vuh (during Broken Spears)
Boorstin, "The Prison of Christian Dogma" from The Discoverers
Ptolemy, The Geography (during Broken Spears)
Selections from Bernal Diaz, Conquest of New Spain (during Broken
Spears)
Herodotus, Observations on Egypt (during Broken Spears)
Pizan, Book of the City of Ladies
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