GREAT CONVERSATION 217 The Tradition Renewed: New Forces of Secularization
Fall, 2002: MWF
Section A: Prof.
Anne Groton (Old Main 32B, x3387,
Section B: Prof. Jonathan Hill (Library 527D, x3200, hillj)
Section C Prof. Ed Langerak (
T,Th,
Teaching Assistants: Karl
Batalden '03 (batalden),
Sarah Campbell '03 (
F Sept. 6 Introduction; Melchert, pp. 304-306 (includes selection from Pico della Mirandola, On the Dignity of Man)
M Sept. 9 Machiavelli, Letter to Vettori (pp. 1-4); The Prince, Dedication, Chs. 1-3 (pp. 5-14), 8-9 (pp. 27-34), 15-19 (pp. 47-63)
W Sept. 11 Machiavelli, Discourses I, Preface (pp. 82-84), Chs. 17-18 (pp. 124-129),
27 (pp. 132-133), 42 (p. 139), 58 (pp. 154-158); II, Preface, Chs. 1-3 (pp.
158-172); III, 1, 3 (pp. 189-195), 9 (pp. 198-200), 31 (pp. 208-211)
F Sept. 13 More, Utopia, Preface, pp. 52-115 (top)
M Sept. 16 More, Utopia, pp. 115-160; response paper #1 due
W Sept. 18 Luther, Selections, pp. 489-500 (The Ninety-Five Theses), pp. 42-85
(The Freedom of a Christian); Melchert, pp. 306-311
Wednesday night
dinner (
A Man for All Seasons (historical drama about Sir Thomas More's opposition to the divorce of King Henry VIII and the events leading to More's execution in 1535--a classic film from 1966)
F Sept. 20 Luther, Selections, pp. 403-485 (An Appeal to the Ruling Class of German Nationality)
M Sept. 23 Luther, Selections, pp. 363-402 (Secular Authority: To What Extent It Should Be Obeyed)
W Sept. 25 Cardinal Sadoleto's
letter to the senate and people of
F Sept. 27 Debate #1: Monday group.
First version of essay #1 due: 5 p.m. , Saturday, Sept. 28
M Sept. 30 Michelangelo
Plenary lecture (Viking Theater): Jonathan Hill
W Oct. 2 Michelangelo: discussion
F Oct. 4 Shakespeare, Othello, Acts 1-2
[Recommended: performance of Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors at Guthrie Theater, Sept. 28-Nov. 3]
M Oct. 7 Shakespeare, Othello, Acts 3-5
W Oct. 9
Melchert, pp. 311-320; Scientific
Background to Modern Philosophy, pp. 33-44, 53-86 (Copernicus, Galileo);
response paper #2 due
Plenary lecture (Viking Theater): Rick Fairbanks, Dept. of
Philosophy, Associate Dean for Humanities
Wednesday night dinner (
F Oct. 11 Scientific Background to Modern Philosophy, pp. 45-52, 109-118 (top),124-132 (Bacon, Boyle, Huygens)
M Oct. 14 Melchert,
pp. 322-333; Descartes, Meditations 1-2 (pp. 339-344)
W Oct. 16 Melchert, pp. 333-339, 360-363; Descartes, Meditations 6 (pp. 354-360)
F Oct. 18 MIDTERM EXAM
Sat. Oct. 19-Tues., Oct. 22 FALL BREAK
W Oct. 23 Rembrandt
Plenary lecture (Viking Theater): Jonathan Hill
F Oct. 25 Rembrandt: discussion
Second version of essay #1 due: 5 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 26
M Oct. 28 Milton, Paradise Lost,
Books I-II
W Oct. 30 Milton, Paradise Lost, Books III-IV; arguments to Books V-VIII
F Nov. 1 Milton, Paradise Lost, Book IX; arguments to Books X-XII;
debate #2: Wednesday group.
[Recommended: talk on Mozart's Requiem Mass by Alice Hanson,
Dept. of Music, Sun., Nov. 3, 3:00 p.m., place to be announced]
M Nov. 4 Behn, Oroonoko
Tues. Nov. 5 Field trip to St. Agnes Catheral (in St. Paul) to hear Mozart's Requiem Mass (6:00-11:00 p.m.)
W Nov. 6 Mozart: discussion; response paper #3 due
F Nov. 8 Melchert, pp. 364-389; Hobbes (handout)
Plenary lecture (Viking Theater): Ed Langerak
M Nov. 11 Locke, Second Treatise of Government II, 1-5 (pp. 7-30), 8-9 (pp. 52-68), 19 (pp. 107-124); Declaration of Independence (handout)
W Nov. 13 Rousseau, Discourse on the Origin of Inequality (pp. 33-81); On the Social Contract I, Ch. 1-9 (pp. 141-153)
F Nov. 15 Debate #3: Friday group
M Nov. 18 Swift, Gulliver's Travels, Parts I-II (Part III recommended)
W Nov. 20 Swift, Gulliver's Travels, Part IV; A Modest Proposal (handout)
Wednesday night dinner (Valhalla), 5:45-6:45 p.m.; film (Viking Theater), 7:00-9:30 p.m. (repeated on Thursday, Viking Theater, 8:30-11:00 p.m.): Candide, comic operetta, music by Leonard Bernstein (1989)
F Nov. 22 Voltaire, Candide
First version of essay #2 due: 5 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 23
M Nov. 25 Melchert, pp. 401-429, 431-467; Kant, What Is Enlightenment? (pp. 1-6)
Plenary lecture (Viking Theater): Ed Langerak
W Nov. 27-Sun., Dec. 1 THANKSGIVING BREAK
M Dec. 2 Hume (handout); Kant, Fundamental Principles, Sect. 1 (pp 11-24)
W Dec. 4 Kant, Fundamental Principles, Sect. 2 (pp. 25-57)
F Dec. 6 Austen, Pride and Prejudice, Chs. 1-30
M Dec. 9 Austen, Pride and Prejudice, Chs. 31-61
W Dec. 11 Conclusion; second version of essay
#2 due at class time
Th Dec. 12 Reading day; Great Con talent show in Sun Room, 5:45-8:00 p.m.
FINAL EXAM: Friday, December 13, 9:00-11:00 a.m.
GRADING: class and course participation = 10%; 3 response papers = 15%; 2 essays = 30% (15% each); midterm exam = 20%; final exam = 25%
REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS:
Austen, Jane, Pride and Prejudice (Penguin Classics, 1997) 0-14-043426-7
Behn, Aphra, Oroonoko and Other Writings, edited by Paul Salzman (Oxford World's Classics, 1994) 0-19-283460-6
Calvin, John & Sadoleto, Jacopo, A Reformation Debate, edited by John C. Olin (Baker Book House, 1966) 0-8010-2390-4
Kant, Immanuel, Kant's Foundations of Ethics (What Is Enlightenment? and The Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Morals), translated by Leo Rauch (Agora Publications,
1995) 1-887250-03-4
Locke, John, Second Treatise of Government, edited by C. B. MacPherson (Hackett, 1980) 0-915144-86-7
Luther, Martin, Selections from His Writings, edited by John Dillenberger (Random House-Anchor, 1958) 0-385-09876-6
Machiavelli, Niccolò, Selected Political Writings, edited and translated by David Wootton (Hackett, 1994) 0-87220-247-X
Milton, John, Paradise Lost; Paradise Regained, edited by Christopher Ricks (Signet Classics, 2001) 0-451-52792-5
More, Thomas, Utopia, edited and translated by David Wootton (Hackett, 1999) 0-87220-376-X
Rousseau, Jean-Jacques, The Basic Political
Writings (Discourse on the Sciences and the Arts; Discourse
on the Origin of Inequality (plus notes); Discourse on Political Economy;
On the Social Contracts), translated by Donald A. Cress (Hackett, 1987) 0-87220-047-7
Shakespeare, William, Othello (Penguin Classics, 2001) 0-14-071463-4
Swift, Jonathan, Gulliver's Travels (Penguin Classics, 2001) 0-14-043734-7
Voltaire, Candide, translated by David Wootton (Hackett, 2000) 0-87220-546-0
The Scientific Background to Modern Philosophy: Selected Readings, edited by Michael R. Matthews (Hackett, 1989) 0-87220-074-4
Michelangelo, by Anthony Hughes (Phaidon Press, 1997) 0-7148-3483-1
Rembrandt, by Mariët Westermann (Phaidon Press, 2000) 0-7148-3857-8
Already owned: Melchert, Norman, The Great Conversation: A Historical Introduction to Philosophy (Mayfield Publishing, 4th ed., 2002) 0-7674-2038-1
Groups for Discussion Questions and Debates
Monday group: Berntson, Laura; Braun, Lindsey; Copeland, Adam; Favero, Rachel; Fawbush, Joseph; Frantz, Diana; and Garnaas-Holmes, Dan.
Wednesday group: Gervais, Kerry; Gorder, Kristina; Heringer, Seth; Leitner, Sara; Ljung, Elin; Loome, Noah; Madson, John; and Oneal, Erin.
Friday group: Paulson, Ben; Raecker, Matt; Reader, Christiana; Reed, Lindsey; Smith, Jared; Spencer, Noel; Thurnblad, Tessi; and Webber, Andy.
Ed Langerak's Homepage | Personal and Family | Course Syllabi | Talks and Papers | Colleagues | Curriculum Vitae
langerak@stolaf.edu
Date Last Modified: 8/10/03