Honors 2102
Intellectual Traditions II
Brian Kubarycz
Fort Douglas Honors Center
1975 De Trobriand 619
knairb@hotmail.com
http://didascalicon.blogspot.com/
Engaging the Pre-Modern Canon:
Literacy and Adventure
Course Purpose: Irrespective of how certain students or other instructors may view the Intellectual Traditions courses, I do not consider them a Great Books series. I have little or no interest in teaching you either universal moral truths or objective facts. Nor do I intend to indoctrinate you in all that is great and noble from our cultural heritage. The purpose of this Honors class is to break down your prejudices, open your mind and imagination, make you simultaneously a more critical and a more sensitive reader – not only because it will help you in the future but more importantly because it is worth doing now, and simply for its own sake.
Traditionally, the struggle to develop the self, generally, and for its own sake—a process which the Germans called Bildung—is the very essence of university studies. It is the reason students, traditionally, choose to attend a university, instead of a conservatory, academy or technical school. This belief in the inherent value of a Liberal Education lies at the very heart of the Honors College and its curriculum. The Honors College was created precisely as an alternative to the extreme Utilitarianism which has overtaken so many other departments and programs at the university, which can understand education only in terms of what it is good for. Stubborn resistance to the free pursuit of knowledge will affect you adversely, both in and out of school, in ways you may not yet recognize. I will do my best to present our readings in ways which are both interesting and relevant. However, their immediate application to your major, in most instances, will not be readily apparent. Confusion is a normal and healthy response to what is new; intolerance, disdain and bigotry are not. These latter attitudes will damage you intellectually, emotionally and socially both in this class and in the real world – though quite honestly I don’t distinguish between the two. This course should NOT be considered preparation for real life; it is real life, and so your failure to treat it as such will have real consequences. High grades in Honors result from the active pursuit of a genuine education; which is to the say, conversely, that the mere pursuit of high grades generally does not lead to a genuine education, or even high grades in many instances. Students will do well to consider the difference between these two attitudes throughout the semester. I certainly will.
Historical Background: Quite habitually, we think of modern democratic governments and social institutions as founded upon ideas and forms of government attributed to ancient Greek and Roman models. The same could be said of our literary and artistic sensibilities: our feeling for the completeness, beauty and dignity of the human figure might be seen as deriving from classical antecedents. However, beyond the basic outer forms of antique civilization, is it possible that our present-day culture and sense of nationalism is deeply indebted to a motivating inner spirit associated with the Middle Ages? And if this is so for us Moderns, do the outer and the inner necessarily create an adequate fit? To what extent are we nationalists of today afflicted with a very precise symptom, that of possessing an excess of spirit which has actually outgrown its own body?
Our modern social institutions (including state universities and national museums) first emerged in the Romantic era (1800-1830), a period in which Europe looked back to the unified culture and ideal of the communal social forms of the Middle Ages as an alternative to the excessive individualism and materialism of the Enlightenment. In the art and ideals of the Middle Ages, Romantic thinkers and writers sought a source of inspiration, one which would organize, elevate and direct what they saw as a fragmented and decadent contemporary culture.
Central to this Romantic interpretation of the Middle Ages are the concepts of Discovery and Vision, notions associated with the human faculty of Imagination. In this worldview is the idea that the human creature is an exile in a fallen world, and must travel, both physically and spiritually in search of either his beloved or God. Medieval art and literature are replete with images and expressions of exile, the wandering, pilgrimage and reunion, themes central to Romanticism.
Methodological Approach: This semester we will attempt to disentangle ourselves from many of the inherited ideas and images which prevent us from getting a clearer understanding of the Middle Ages, or another other alien culture for that matter. In keeping with the term “alien”, I am proposing that we understand the Middle Ages and Renaissance as radically foreign cultures which we will understand in a quasi-ethnographic and anthropological manner – not because we are hope to identify human constants but rather because we hope to see how very different other cultures can be from us while still functioning in ways that make sense and work. Only after we begin to perceive the worlds of the Pseudo-Dionysos, Aquinas and Chaucer in all their strangeness , as if we were examining not historical texts but rather anthropological artifacts, will we be in a position to perceive the specific stakes involved in the later invention of the modern individual and systematic science. Whereas the Middle Ages stressed otherworldliness, mystery and the sinner’s vagrant status in the world, the Renaissance will begin to see the world in Humanistic terms in which the individual feels at home in the world and in command of his own well being, personal destiny, spirituality.
Time permitting, our course will end with readings from Shakespeare and Descartes, the respective inaugurators of these related notions. The general theme of the course, modernity and affect, will attempt to address the transformative experience of being possessed by an idea that exceeds us, summons us to expand our mental and bodily boundaries. We will investigate the sense of elation and motivation which subsumes the individual who recognizes himself in an external symbol, an experience so crucial to the development of modern consciousness. Which is really just another way of saying we will attempt to learn what it means to read.
Participation: University courses demand that both teachers and students share the responsibility of working toward insight and understanding. This course will be no exception. I will explain key texts as clearly as possible. You, in turn, must complete the readings, so that my explanations can find a ground in actual writings, as well your thoughtful comments and questions. Also, you must also participate verbally in class discussions. I will depend upon you to provide much of the course content, by asking clear questions and making helpful comments. I do not intend to teach you meanings which inhere is a text. Even less will I attempt to convey mere information you can simply memorize. Insights into texts and objects will come into being as we intelligently and imaginatively discuss them. You will remember these insights not because they are authoritative, but rather because you participated in their creation and witnessed the moment of their birth, all of which is intimately connected with the full theory of Bildungs, or linguistic development and intellectual growth. To truly to learn and successfully complete this class, you must participate actively and alertly in class discussions. Just hanging out, smiling and listening and others talk is not sufficient to earn an A. Please feel free to discuss your current standing with me at any time.
Assignments:
50% Final paper – one ten-page paper on an assigned topic.
25% Midterm paper = one seven-page paper on assigned topic.
25% Participation – speaking in class is not optional but mandatory.
Grades:
A Outstanding achievement. Student performance demonstrates full command of the course materials and evinces a high level of originality and/or creativity that far surpasses course expectations.
A- Excellent achievement. Student performance demonstrates thorough knowledge of the course materials and exceeds course expectations by completing all requirements in a superior manner.
B+ Very good work. Student performance demonstrates above-average comprehension of the course materials and exceeds course expectations on all tasks as defined in the course syllabus.
B Good work. Student performance meets designated course expectations and demonstrates understanding of the course materials at an acceptable level.
B- Marginal work. Student performance demonstrates incomplete understanding of course materials.
C Unsatisfactory work. Student performance demonstrates incomplete and inadequate
understanding of course materials.
D Unacceptable work.
E Failing.
Addendum to The Syllabus:
I had hoped this day would never come, but because of manipulative and unprofessional behaviors which have arisen repeatedly and in the very recent past, I am instituting some new policies in all my courses. These policies are not meant to punish anyone in advance for things they may not even have considered doing. They are meant to teach and encourage responsible professional behavior, without which you will go nowhere in either you major or your profession. Additionally, this format is meant to prepare you for applying to graduate school, an ordeal for which you had best gear up as soon as possible. Failure to comply with these expectations will result in dismissal from class and a lowered grade. If you are not willing to comply with them, please drop the course.
• Don’t not speak rudely or behave discourteously in class.
• Turn off your phone before class starts. Refrain from surfing the net, instant messaging, text messaging and any similar activities during class. If I see you doing any of the above, I will ask you to leave the room for the rest of the period.
• Please use only one name during the semester, that which appears on the official university records. I’m happy to call you by a nickname or something similar in class. But be prepared to make all necessary arrangements so that your all your emails and paper come to me with a name which will allow me to identify you.
• Submit documents in the form of email only, and exclusively in Microsoft Word or Office format. Papers submitted in other formats will not be read and cannot be resubmitted.
• Submit all work on time. Late papers will not be accepted, period.
• Submit all papers with an appropriate document file title:
last name, first name, assignment name; i.e.; Jones, Tony – Paper 1
• Never ask me to look at work for other instructors.
• Remember that keeping your scholarship is your responsibility, not mine.
• Unless you believe I made a genuine mistake (it does happen), don’t complain to me about your grades.
• Never attempt to beg, bride or manipulate me in any form.
• Never act helpless.
• Do communicate with me and seek appropriate help in a respectful manner. Do rely on your peers for help. Do acknowledge peer help when you receive it.
