INTRODUCTION TO LIBERAL STUDIES
FALL
2003
Section: 8
Meeting
Time: MWF 10:00-10:50, Th 8:00-8:50
Room
Number: SH 267
Instructor: Dr. Michael L. Galaty
Office: SH 343
Office
Hours: feel free to stop by any time, but if you
want to be sure to catch me, MWF 1:00-2:00 or by appointment
Phone
Number: 974-1387
Email: galatml@millsaps.edu
The following textbooks and packets are
required and are available at the bookstore:
1)
A Writer's Reference, by Diane
Hacker.
(St
Martin's Press)
2)
The Power of Myth, by Joseph
Campbell, with Bill Moyers.
(Doubleday)
3)
Tao Te Ching, by Lao Tzu,
translated by Gia-Fu Feng and Jane English. (Vintage
Books)
4)
Introduction to Liberal Studies
Reader
5)
The Promenade
6)
Visual Arts Packet
7)
Section 8 Reader
8) the Frank and Rachel Laney award essay collection, available at www.millsaps.edu/corecurr/laney/laney.htm
Section 10 Reader articles:
1)
The Spell of the Sensuous, by
David Abram. Chapter One: The Ecology of Magic.
(Vintage
Books)
2)
Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind: Informal talks on Zen meditation and practice,
by Roshi Shunryu Suzuki, pps.
116-118. (Wheatherhill)
3)
Dwain Wilder's "A Southern Baptist Church Turns the
Wheel in Texas" from Zen
Bow: A publication of
the Rochester Zen Center 21(1):10-13.
4) Charles Aaron's "Black Like Them"
from the Utne Reader, March-April
1999:68-73.
Reprinted from
Spin magazine.
POLICIES
ON ATTENDANCE AND LATE ASSIGNMENTS
The dates provided below are deadlines and not guidelines. All papers and projects must be turned in no
later than the assigned due date. Those
given to me late, should I choose to accept them, will be downgraded by one
half letter grade per day overdue. You
cannot make up an exam without a medical excuse or other information that makes
it clear you had a valid reason for missing.
No work will be accepted following the final exam date. Furthermore, tardiness is disruptive and will
not be tolerated. Late arrival will
count against your class participation grade.
Should you choose to sleep in class, I will wake you up and ask that you
leave.
You
have all pledged to abide by the Millsaps Honor Code. I expect that you will respect the Code,
especially with regard to issues of plagiarism.
During the course of the semester, as you work on various writing
assignments, if you have any questions at all about plagiarism, come talk to
me. Better to be safe than
sorry. We will also take time in class
to discuss these issues.
Note
that if you are challenged with a learning disability it is your responsibility
to register as such with Student Services and to inform me of any allowances
granted by the college, especially in terms of test-taking.
To
participate effectively in class, you must do all of the reading assignments. Keep up with your reading. In fact, read ahead if possible. Take detailed notes. Don't fall behind. Information from the text and videos, as well
as from lecture and discussion, is all fair game when it comes to exams.
A
portion of your grade in this course will come from class participation, so you
must regularly attend. Be prepared for
class discussions. Many ideas and issues
are best appreciated and understood through discussion and debate, so I will
actively engage you with questions during class time. As a result, a portion of your final grade
(see below) will be based on attendance.
You will be allowed two unexcused absences for the semester before your
grade begins to suffer.
Finally, if we
use terminology during class that you do not understand, be sure to ask for
clarification. My email address has been
provided above. Feel free throughout the
course of the semester to contact me via email anytime you need to. If something is unclear to you in the reading
or if you have a comment or suggestion, email.
I'll plan to check it every day.
You should also feel free to drop by my office or make an appointment to
meet with me.
With
your dynamic participation in class, this course will fly. Without it, it will grind to a halt. I actively seek your comments: let me know which class activities you like,
and which don't work for your learning style.
Your input will make this a better class!
Wednesday,
September 3 1st draft Analytical
Essay #1
Monday,
September 15 Final
Draft Analytical Essay #1
Friday,
September 26 Timed
In-Class Analytical Essay #2
Monday,
October 6 1st
draft Analytical Essay #3
Wednesday,
October 15 Final Draft
Analytical Essay #3
Wednesday,
October 22 "Inquiry"
Paper Prospectus
Friday,
November 7 1st
draft Analytical Essay #5
Friday,
November 14 Timed In-Class
Analytical Essay #4
Friday,
November 21 Final Draft
Analytical Essay #5
Wednesday,
December 3 Self-Assessment
Paper
Friday,
December 5 Writing
Portfolio
(Portfolio must be turned in on time or
a grade of incomplete will be assigned for the semester.)
You will be evaluated on the following:
Attendance and Class Participation: 100 points
Analytical Essays 1-4: 110 points each (440 points total)
Analytical Essay 5: 160 points
Self-Assessment Paper: 50 points
Group Presentation: 40 points
Individual Presentation: 40 points
Journals/Conferences and Peer Reviews: 10 journal entries, 10 points each; 4
computer conferences, 10 points each; 3 Peer Reviews, 10 points each (170 points total)
TOTAL: 1000 points
At least once a week you will be
required to submit by email a journal entry.
Specific questions have been provided below in the Class Schedule and
you should work to address the assigned question without wandering off
topic. A journal is not the same thing
as a diary. I am asking you to reflect
on a particular issue, not relate personal problems. Note that the journal entry is due in my
email box by 8 am the class day following its assignment. I WILL NOT accept journal entries late! During November we will participate in
computer conferences as opposed to writing journal entries. I will explain this more as the time
approaches.
Fall
2003
UNIT I
Identity
In this unit we will explore notions of
identity which we and others use to make sense of our experiences. We will read and discuss autobiographies, and
you will write your own reflective essays.
We will learn to identify different strategies (narrative and
philosophical) for organizing and representing a life, and we'll begin to
explore the possibilities for applying those strategies to experiences both
familiar and unfamiliar to us.
Week One Introductions
(W)
Aug 27 Get to know one another.
(Th)
Aug 28 Introduction to reflective writing. I will introduce you to the process of
free-writing, so come prepared with pen and paper.
Reading
Assignment (for
Aug 29): Syllabus and Guide to LS1000;
Ward in the Introduction to Liberal
Studies Reader (hereafter Reader).
Journal
Assignment #1 (due via email by 8 am, Friday, Aug 29): What are your expectations for this
course? How does the guide fit in with
your goals? What do you look forward to
in this course? What worries you about
this course? Based on your reading of
Ward in the Reader what can you
expect to gain from four years at a Liberal Arts college?
Thursday,
August 28th, 11:30 am: 2003 Convocation, Academic Complex Recital
Hall
(F)
Aug 29 Why LS1000?
What are the goals of this course and, more generally, of a Liberal Arts
education? We will discuss what you will
need to do to enjoy this class, and to excel...
Reading
Assignment (for
Sep 1): "Reflective" essays in
The Promenade
Journal
Assignment #2 (due via email by 8 am, Monday, Sep 1): Read and reflect on the reflective essays in The Promenade. What makes for a good self reflection? Pick one, your favorite. How did the writer reach you? What event does she/he describe? Why was this event significant? What did he/she learn?
Writing
Assignment: The first draft of your reflective essay
(Analytical Essay #1) is due next Wednesday,
Sep 3. Bring two copies to class. This paper will be an account of an event (or
several closely related events) from which you learned something significant
(either at the time or later on reflection).
Week Two Analysis of Self and Experience
(M)
Sep 1 We will discuss together the
"reflective" essays in The
Promenade.
(W)
Sep 3 1st draft Analytical Essay #1 due. Bring two copies to class. Peer-review partners assigned. Free writing.
Bring your copy of the Reader
to class.
Reading
Assignment: Reviewed drafts are to be returned on Friday, Sep 5.
(Th)
Sep 4 Library Visit (required)
Meet at entrance to the library.
(F)
Sep 5 Writing and revision. We will discuss the process of writing in
more detail, and focus especially on the importance and difficulties of
revision. You will also meet with your
peer reviewer to discuss their reactions to your first essay.
Reading
Assignment (for
Sep 8): Reader - E.O. Wilson, B. Kingsolver
Journal
Assignment #3 (for Sep 8): With
regard to the reading assignment... What message is each author conveying, if
any in particular? Can you
empathize? That is, can you truly feel
what they felt when they lived the moment they have written about? Why or why not?
Week Three Living an Examined Life
At some point this week you should plan
to take your first Analytical Essay to the Writing Lab.
(M)
Sep 8 What does it mean to live an examined life?
Reading
Assignment
(for Sep 10): Reader - M. Angelou, M. Doty
(W)
Sep 10 Living an examined life, cont.'
Reading
Assignment (for
Sep 11): Section 8 Reader - David Abram,
"The Ecology of Magic"
Journal
Assignment #4 (for Sep 11): What
conclusions has Abram reached about the world, how it is put together, and how
he fits into it? What is the
significance of magic? What meaningful
event(s) does he describe?
(Th)
Sep 11
The Ecology of Magic
Reading/Writing
Assignment: You and a partner will be assigned a chapter
from Joseph Campbell's The Power of Myth. It will be your responsibility to read this
chapter and report on it together to the rest of the class (beginning Wednesday, Sep 17). You should plan to lead a ten minute discussion,
to be spurred by a significant question (or a set of closely related questions)
drawn from your reading. Before
introducing your question(s), you should plan to summarize for the class the
content of the chapter you were assigned.
(F) Sep 12
Writing Center Workshop
(required)
Week Four The Call to Adventure
(M)
Sep 15 Final Draft Analytical Essay #1 due in
class. Writing Workshop:
Paraphrasing and Plagiarism.
(W)
Sep 17 We will begin discussion of Joseph Campbell,
his life and work.
(Th)
Sep 18 Joseph Campbell, cont.
(F)
Sep 19 Joseph Campbell, cont.'
Week Five Self-Portraits
(M)
Sep 22 Videotape:
The Hero's Journey.
Journal
Assignment #5 (for Sep 24): Spread
out the self-portraits from the art packet and spend some time looking
at each of them. Write a journal entry
on one of the following:
• Imagine yourself as the artist of one of the portraits. Write a letter to a friend or patron
describing what you have painted and why.
OR
• Choose two of the images to compare and contrast. How do different personalities come through?
(W)
Sep 24 Bring art packet to class
(Th)
Sep 25 Essay Exam Workshop
(F)
Sep 26 Timed In-Class Analytical Essay #2
UNIT II
Cognition
In this unit we will focus upon the
nature of ambiguity and multiplicity in and among explanations of human
experience. We will discover the meaning
and relevance of subjectivity and objectivity and will come to understand
differences in approach and style in the knowing process.
Week Six Epistemology: Ways of Knowing
(M)
Sep 29 NO CLASS
We will meet outside of class time to view the film “Fast, Cheap, and
Out of Control.” Note that the first
draft of your Analytical Essay #3 is due in class on Monday, October 6. Bring two copies to class.
Reading
Assignment (for
Oct 1): "Science" essays from The Promenade
Journal
Assignment #6 (for Wednesday, Oct 1, 8 am): Choose one of the "Science" papers
from The Promenade and analyze the
analyzer. How did the person go about
their analysis? What were they analyzing
and why?
(W)
Oct 1 Writing Workshop: Analytical Essay #3. We will discuss together the
"Science" essays in The
Promenade.
Reading
Assignment (for
Oct 3): Reader - Plato
(F)
Oct 3 Plato's “Allegory of the Cave.” How does one construct a vision of the world? How do we know what is really real? Is there one truth, or are there multiple
versions of the truth?
Reading
Assignment (for
Oct 6): Reader- S.J. Gould, S.J.
Gould, Tinbergen
Week Seven Science as a Means of Knowing
(M)
Oct 6 1st draft Analytical Essay #3 due. Bring two copies to class. Final draft due Oct 15. Peer-review partners assigned. The Scientific Method.
Reading
Assignment: Read and review partner's draft of Analytical
Essay #3, to be returned Monday, Oct 13;
Reader - LeShan and Margenau
(W)
Oct 8 Writing Center Workshop (required)
October
9-10 NO CLASS
Week Eight Tao
(M)
Oct 13 Understanding and Explanation. Meet with your peer reviewer to discuss their
reactions to your analytical paper.
Reading
Assignment (for
Oct 15): Ethics Papers in The Promenade
Reading
Assignment (for
Oct 22): Read Chapters 1-25 of the Tao Te Ching
Journal
Assignment #7 (for Oct 22): Read
Chapter 1 again. What is 'tao'? If tao cannot be known, what good is it? What does Lao Tzu have to teach us about ways
of knowing or not-knowing?
(W)
Oct 15 Writing Workshop: Introduction to the "Ethics" Paper
(Analytical Essay #5); prospectus due on Wednesday, October 22. Final Draft Analytical Essay #3 due.
Reading
Assignment (for
Oct 24): Section 8 Reader - Dwain
Wilder's “A Southern Baptist Church Turns the Wheel in Texas.”
Journal
Assignment #8 (for October 24):
Having read Wilder’s “A Southern Baptist Church Turns the Wheel in
Texas,” email Mr. Wilder (Dwain@bearmeadow.com) and ask him at least one significant
question about his article and his faith.
(Th)
Oct 16 Second Library Visit (required)
(F)
Oct 17 NO CLASS
Week Nine Tao
(W)
Oct 22 Lao Tzu, cont.' "Ethics" Paper Prospectus due.
Reading
Assignment (for
Oct 24): Read Chapters 25-end of the Tao Te Ching; Section 8 Reader - Excerpt
from Shunryu Suzuki's Zen Mind,
Beginner's Mind
(F)
Oct 24 Meditation and the process of 'Not-Knowing'
Journal
Assignment #9 (for Oct 27): Spread
out the landscapes from your art packet.
Take some time to look at all of them.
Choose one to answer the
following: How does each artist portray
or manipulate (even reconstruct) the world?
Does each image represent a different philosophy of knowledge?
Week Ten Landscape:
Knowing the World
(M)
Oct 27 Artistic perceptions and representations of
the world. Note: First draft of "Ethics" Paper
(Analytical Essay #5) due on Friday, November 7; bring two copies.
(W)
Oct 29 Writing Workshop: citation and formal
documentation.
(F)
Oct 31 NO CLASS
We will view the film "Schindler's List" over the weekend,
outside of class.
UNIT III
Negotiations: How Do I Act Responsibly?
In this unit we will explore the range
of values that inform specific choices and judgments in our lives and those of
others. We will learn to interpret and
explain the values underlying our own moral choices as well as those distinctly
different from our own. Finally we will
be able to imagine the consequences of specific values in unfamiliar situations
or arenas beyond our own life experience.
Week Eleven Responsibility
(M)
Nov 3 Discussion of "Schindler's List"
and the meaning of responsibility.
Reading
Assignment (for
Nov 5): Reader - Heinz Dilemma
Journal
Assignment #10 (for Nov 5): Describe
an ambiguous moral-ethical situation in which you have found yourself. Discuss it in the context of the Heinz
Dilemma.
(W)
Nov 5 Cultural relativism and the possible
existence of evil
Reading
Assignment (for
Nov 6): Reader - Milgram
Computer
Conference: Is civil disobedience ever justified? If so, under what circumstances and why?
(Th)
Nov 6 Challenging authority
Reading
Assignment (for
Nov 7): Reader - King
Computer
Conference: What is our responsibility with regard to
racial inequalities and racial injustice?
(F)
Nov 7 Racism.
1st draft of Analytical Essay #5 (i.e. "Ethics" Paper) due
in class. Bring two copies. Peer review partners assigned.
Reading
Assignment (for
Nov 10): Reader - Terkel; and in Section 8 Reader - "Black Like
Them" by Charles Aaron; review of partner's "Ethics" Paper draft
due in class on Monday, November 10.
Week Twelve Acting Responsibly
(M)
Nov 10 Racism cont'; peer review conferences. Note:
Final Drafts of Analytical Essay #5 due in class Friday, November 21.
Reading
Assignment (for
Nov 13): Reader - Gomes
Computer
Conference: Is homosexuality wrong?
(W)
Nov 12 Homosexuality and homophobia
(F)
Nov 14 Timed In-Class Analytical Essay #4:
Business Leadership
Week Thirteen Acting Responsibly
(M)
Nov 17 NO CLASS
We will view the film "Philadelphia" outside of class time.
(W)
Nov 19 Public Speaking and Presentation
Reading Assignment (for Nov 22): the Frank and Rachel Laney award essay collection, available at www.millsaps.edu/corecurr/laney/laney.htm.
(F)
Nov 21. Self Assessment. Analytical Essay #5 due. Self Assessment due on Wednesday, December
3.
Computer
Conference (for
Nov 24): Spread out the images of war
from your art packet. Think about a war
or military conflict with which you are familiar. How would you portray it? Is there ever such a thing as a just (and
therefore unavoidable) war?
Week Fourteen Respecting the Earth
(M)
Nov 24 Images of War
Homework
Assignment (for
Week 15): Prepare presentations
Writing
Assignment (for
Dec 3): Self-Assessment
(W)
Nov 26 NO CLASS
UNIT IV
Assessment
In the final unit of this course you
will share the findings of your final project with your peers in a formal
presentation, explaining both the questions with which you began, the methods
of your search for answers, and finally what discoveries the search led you
to. As a final project, you will
undertake a self-assessment of your progress as a writer, reader, and critical
thinker over the period of the course, demonstrating in the assessment a clear
understanding of your strengths and weaknesses in each area.
Week Fifteen Student Presentations
(M)
Dec 1 Presentations.
(W)
Dec 3 Presentations. Self Assessment due.
(Th)
Dec 4 Presentations.
(F)
Dec 5 Presentations. Writing
Portfolio due on last day of class.