Augustine and Culture: Fate, Guilt, and Luck

Fall 2010, ACS 1000-G15

Tues & Thurs 1:00 - 2:15 pm

Driscoll Hall 223

Dr. Jesse Couenhoven

jesse.couenhoven@aya.yale.edu

or jesse.couenhoven@villanova.edu

(both are forwarded to: jesse.couenhoven@gmail.com)

Office: SAC 473; Office hours: T/Th 2:30-3:30 and by appointment

 

Course Goals:

1. Developing close reading skills in a variety of genres by immersing ourselves in important ancient, medieval, Reformation and Renaissance texts.

2. Improving writing skills by extensive practice in writing and rewriting.

3. Developing skills in leading and contributing to discussions.

Academic Integrity:

Students are expected to adhere to the most rigorous standards of academic integrity. The Arts and Sciences academic integrity policy will be followed scrupulously. Students who plagiarize or cheat on any assignment will receive either an F for the assignment or for the course (at my discretion, depending on the seriousness of the violation), and a letter will be filed with the student's dean and with the Vice President for Academic Affairs. A second offense in this or any other course at Villanova will result in dismissal from the university. A permanent indication of the reason for dismissal will appear on the student’s transcript.

Learning Disabilities:

Villanova attempts to make reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities. Persons with disabilities that might affect their academic performance should contact me, or register with the Learning Support Office at 610-519-5636 or nancy.mott@villanova.edu as soon as possible. Registration is necessary in order to receive accommodations.

Class Attendance and Participation:

This is a seminar, not a lecture class, so students are expected to attend and participate in all class sessions. By university policy, students who are absent from more than 4 class sessions without a proper excuse (a note from a physician, dean, or coach) will receive an F for the course. 

It’s not enough to show up for class; you should come prepared to contribute to class discussion. Feel free to say whatever you want about the texts and themes of the course (don’t just say what you think I or your classmates will agree with), but be prepared to back up what you say with arguments and textual references. To receive an “A” for class participation you must both be engaged and show that you have thought carefully about your contributions.

Thought Papers:

Writing—like any skill—is improved by practice. To ensure that you write regularly throughout the semester, and to help you improve your skills at close readings, you must submit 10 1-page thought papers during the course of the semester. You should submit 1 paper each week, beginning the second week of the semester, and not including the week of Thanksgiving break. If for any week you do not hand in a thought paper, you may not make it up; just hand a paper in the following week. You are responsible to keep track of how many thought papers you have written; I suggest you write the number of the thought paper after your name at the top of the page.

Each thought paper should summarize between 1 and 3 of the main points you think were made in the reading for the class day on which you hand your thought paper in, and reflect briefly on that material. Again, submit these papers once a week at the beginning of either class; they must pertain to the readings for that class period. You must always include 2-3 "discussion questions," questions that interest you and you think might also be interesting or important for the class to talk about.  Your paper should show that you have carefully read the text and thought about the issues it raises.  It's important to give references and possibly a quotation so I know what parts of the text you are reflecting on. 

My thought process when grading thought papers focuses on answering these two questions:  "Has this student read carefully, and considered how the reading relates to the themes of the course? How well has s/he prepared to contribute in class?" The papers are graded on a simple scale from 1 to 5, a 3 being average.

Cultural Events:

Each student is required to attend 3 cultural events during the semester and submit an ungraded one-page reaction paper on each event.  These events may be on or off campus, but they should relate in some way to the content of our course—the readings or the discussions in class. Cultural event papers can be handed in via paper or email attachment at any time, and are due before the reading period; I will not return them to you.

 

Writing Center:

You must go to the University Writing Center (located in Old Falvey Library) in conjunction with your first graded essay assignment. This requirement does not assume that you are not a good writer, only that you can be a better writer than you presently are. Make your appointment well ahead of time, or you will find that the Center is booked up and you cannot schedule a meeting in time for the due date.

Regarding Assignments:

Please email me a copy of each paper in Word format, as an attachment; I will email it back to you with comments. Essays should be double spaced, 12 point Times New Roman (or similar) font, 1 inch margins. Topics will be assigned ahead of time, but I am happy to allow you to write on a topic of your own choosing if you pass it by me first.

You may rewrite the first or second paper assigned for this class (but not both); your grade will improve only if you make significant improvements to your paper. Use the “track changes” function in Word so I can easily see your revisions at a glance.  If you don’t know how to do that, I’ll be happy to tell you, or you can use Word’s “help” function. Revisions should be handed in by the end of our last class period.

Grading criteria are as follows (taken from the Student Handbook): 

A         The highest grade possible; an honor grade, reserved for accomplishment that is truly distinctive and demonstrably outstanding. It represents a superior mastery of course material, a very high degree of understanding, and originality or creativity appropriate to the nature of the course. The grade indicates that the student works independently with unusual effectiveness and often takes the initiative in seeking new knowledge outside the formal confines of the course.

B          A grade that denotes achievement considerably above acceptable standards. It represents a good mastery of course materials, and a high degree of originality or creativity. The grade indicates that the student works well independently and often demonstrates initiative. Analysis, synthesis, and critical expression, oral or written, are considerably above average.

C          Indicates a satisfactory degree of attainment and is the acceptable standard for graduation from college. It is the grade that may be expected of a student of average ability who gives to the work a reasonable amount of time and effort. This grade implies familiarity with the content of the course and acceptable mastery of course material; it implies that the student displays some evidence of originality or creativity, works independently at an acceptable level, and completes all requirements.

D         Denotes a limited understanding of the subject matter, meeting only the minimum requirement for passing the course. It signifies work which in quality and/or quantity falls below the average acceptable standard for passing the course. Performance is deficient in analysis, synthesis, and critical expression; there is little evidence of originality or creativity.

Grade Breakdown:

Making use of the Writing Center (pass/fail)

3 Cultural Events (pass/fail)

 

Class participation                                                                 14%

10 thought papers                                                                   10%

Essays 1, 2 & 3                                                                       19% each

Oral Final Exam                                                                     19%

 

Required Texts:

In the bookstore:

 

Sophocles, Antigone, Oedipus the King, Electra (Oxford World's Classics). Oxford UP, 2009. ISBN: 0199537178 (paperback)

 

Donald Senior, et al, eds. Catholic Study Bible. (other translations acceptable, ask me!)

Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, translated by Joe Sachs. Focus Publishing, 2002. ISBN:

1585100358 (paperback)

 

To purchase online:

 

Christopher Marlowe, Doctor Faustus and Other Plays (Oxford World's Classics). Oxford University Press, 2008. ISBN: 0199537062 (free, fast shipping for a year if you sign up on Amazon with your VU email account)

 

 

Many other texts for this course will be made available for free online in the WebCT page for this course. You should print them out, mark them up, and bring them to class on the day we are due to discuss them.

 

Daily Schedule

Tues, August 24          Course Introduction

 

Thurs, August 26        O. Henry, “Mammon and the Archer”; and

Arthur Miller, “Tragedy and the Common Man” (online)

 

Part One: Classic Greek Tragedy

Tues, Aug 31              Homer, Illiad (online: Books 1, 9, 16)

 

Thurs, Sept 2               Homer, Illiad (online: Books 18 (first half), 21, 22)

 

Tues, Sept 7            Sophocles, Oedipus pp. 48 - 69 line 635

Thurs, Sept 9           Sophocles, Oedipus pp. 69 - 85 (through Strophe 1)

Tues, Sept 14           Sophocles, Oedipus pp. 85 - 99

Part Two:  Greek Philosophy

Thurs, Sept 16            Aristotle, selections from his Poetics (online)

Sunday, Sept 19                      Essay 1 due (via email) at 11:59 pm  

 

Tues, Sept 21               Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics Book I, Ch 1 - 11

 

Thurs, Sept 23            Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics Book I, Ch 12 – Book II, Ch 9

 

Tues, Sept 28              Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics Book III, Ch 1 – 9

 

Thurs, Sept 30            Seneca, a selection from his Letters (online)

 

Part Three: Early Judaism and Christianity

Tues, Oct 5                 Psalm 119:41-112; 2 Chronicles Ch 1-9

 

Thurs, Oct 7                2 Chronicles Ch 28-32, 36;

Jeremiah 1-2:22, 3:1-4:2

 

Tues, Oct 12               No Class: Fall Break

 

Thurs, Oct 14              No Class: Fall Break

 

Tues, Oct 19               Jeremiah 5:1-19, 7:1-29, 23:1-8;

                        Job Ch 1-3, 38, 40-42

 

Thurs, Oct 21              Hosea Ch 1-3, 14

Gospel of John, Ch 13 - 21

 

Tues, Oct 26               Revelations 20:11-15; 21:1-8, 22-27; 22:1-17

 

Part Four: Christian Reflections

Thurs, Oct 28              Søren Kierkegaard, “The Joy of it that in Relation to God a Person

always Suffers as Guilty” (online) from his Upbuilding Discourses

 

Sunday, Oct 31                        Essay 2 due (via email) no later than midnight  

Tues, Nov 2               St. Augustine, selections from his Enchiridion (online)

 

Thurs, Nov 4               St. Augustine, selections from City of God  (online)

 

Tues, Nov 9                St. Augustine, selections from City of God  (online)

 

Thurs, Nov 11            Martin Luther, selections on Predestination (online)

 

Tues, Nov 16             Dante, Divine Comedy: Inferno Cantos 1, 3, 5 (online)

 

Thurs, Nov 18             Dante, Divine Comedy: Inferno Cantos 7, 11, 34 (online)

 

Part Five: A Renaissance Tragedy

Tues, Nov 23              Marlowe, Faust Prologue and Acts 1-2

 

Wednesday, Nov 24                  Essay 3 due (via email) by midnight

Thurs, Nov 25             No Class: Thanksgiving Break

 

Tues, Nov 30              Marlowe, Faust Acts 3-4

 

Thurs, Dec 2               Marlowe, Faust Act 5

course evaluations

 

Tues, Dec 7                 No Class: Friday Classes meet

 

Thurs, Dec 9               Last class: cancelled to extend your reading period

 

 

Final Exam: Thursday, Dec 16 8:00 - 10:30 am (exams will be held in our usual room)

The final will be an oral exam on the Marlowe readings; you will take the exam in groups of 3 or 4, but the grade will be largely individual (75%).