WEEK 1
Jan. 15 – Welcome. Syllabus. House of Life. Ptah-hotep (Fordham, sofiatopia).
Jan. 17
Pyramid Texts
Osirian Revolution
Eloquent Peasant / Excerpt
Negative Confessions / Scroll / Text
Amenemope
Proverbs
WEEK 2
Jan. 22
Hinduism
Bhagavad Gita
Gandhi’s Gita
Hind Swaraj
===
Buddhism
Dhamma
Thich Nhat Hanh
Jan. 24 – WORKSHOP #1. Due at beginning of class. Two paragraph treatment of a primary source that (1) provides a scholarly summary of significant claims made by the primary author, and that (2) responds to the claims by reflecting upon how the claims would affect a person’s approach to life, knowledge, or reality and whether you think the effects would be helpful or not. In every case, please say why. The following guidelines will be used for grading purposes:
• When possible, students should select texts that they think will add value to their approach to life.
• Paragraphs should be at least 200 words each.
• Scholarly summary should come before commentary.
• Commentary should begin with a paragraph break.
• Any quotes that will be considered in the commentary should be introduced in the scholarly summary.
• Scholarly summaries should include at least three direct quotes from the primary texts.
• Direct quotes should be enclosed in quote marks.
• Quote marks should always be accompanied by a parenthetical citation.
• Parenthetical citations should include the name of the author, a very brief reference to the URL, and numbers for page, chapter, section, or paragraph when indicated by the primary text. Example: “It is good to put them in your heart (but) woe to him who neglects them” (Amenemope, Sofiatopia.org, Ch.1: 03-04).
WEEK 3
Jan. 29
Confucius
-Great Learning (classics.mit.edu)
-Analects (YellowBridge)
see Bks. 2, 7: after Foust 2012 (The Dial); also see 12.1, 17.6: after Shirong Luo 2012
-Doctrine of the Mean (nothingistic.org)
Mencius (nothingistic.org)
Xunxi (excerpts)
Jan. 31
Preface: Confucius and the Rectification of Names
Laozi: Dao de Ching
Chuang Tzu (nothingistic.org)
Zhou Dunyi
–overview
–image
–Tongshu
Afterword: Hindu Self and Buddhist No-self
WEEK 4
Feb. 5 – WORKSHOP #2. Due at beginning of class. Two paragraphs that (1) provide a scholarly summary of significant claims made by the primary author, and that (2) respond to the claims by reflecting upon how they would affect a person’s approach to life, knowledge, or reality, etc. Please review guidelines from Workshop #1.
Feb. 7
Popol Vuh
Prof Notes: May be slow loading
Christenson Translation: Click on “English Translation” to get a free pdf
Dekanawidah
-Iroquois Constitution (Fordham)
-Franklin on Canassatego
Black Elk
Deloria
Anzaldua
-Borderlands / La Frontera (The Homeland, Aztlan)(How to Tame a Wild Tongue)
-keywords: Coatlicue / Nepantla / la Facultad / nahual / mestiza / mestizaje
WEEK 5
Feb. 12
Plato (@ Perseus)
-Alcibiades (@ Sanderson Beck)
-Phaedrus (@ Adelaide)
-Symposium (@ Adelaide)
-Republic (See esp. Bk IV @Adelaide)
Feb. 14 – WORSHOP #3. Due at beginning of class. Two paragraphs that (1) provide a scholarly summary of significant claims made by the primary author, and that (2) respond to the claims by reflecting upon how they would affect a person’s approach to life, knowledge, or reality, etc. Please review guidelines from Workshop #1.
WEEK 6
Feb. 19
Aristotle
-Four Causes, Nature (Metaph 5.2 @ adelaide)
-First Mover
-On the Soul (2.1 @ adelaide)
-Ethics (nothingistic.org)
Feb. 21 – Topics in the Aristotelian tradition:
al-Kindi
Averroes
Maimonides
Aquinas
MacIntyre
Laurence Thomas
WEEK 7
Feb. 26 – WORKSHOP #4. Due at beginning of class. Two paragraphs that (1) provide a scholarly summary of significant claims made by the primary author, and that (2) respond to the claims by reflecting upon how they would affect a person’s approach to life, knowledge, reality. Please review guidelines from Workshop #1.
Feb. 28 – Topics in the Platonist tradition:
Philo
Plotinus: Notes | On Virtue | The Good
Augustine: Faith, Hope, Love | On Christian Doctrine
Ghazali: Happiness | Revival
Buber
WEEK 8
Mar. 5
Epictetus
Aurelius
Spinoza (Ethics @MTSU: see IV. “joy”)
Kant
Rawls
Mar. 7 – WORKSHOP #5. Due at beginning of class. Two paragraphs that (1) provide a scholarly summary of significant claims made by the primary author, and that (2) respond to the claims by reflecting upon how they would affect a person’s approach to life, knowledge, reality. Please review guidelines from Workshop #1.
SPRING BREAK
WEEK 9
Mar. 19
Epicurus
Marx: On Epicurus / On Feuerbach / On Capital
Bentham / Mill
Singer
Mar. 21
Schleitheim
Hobbes
Locke
Jefferson
Hegel
Douglass
WEEK 10
Mar. 26 – WORKSHOP #6. Due at beginning of class. Two paragraphs that (1) provide a scholarly summary of significant claims made by the primary author, and that (2) respond to the claims by reflecting upon how they would affect a person’s approach to life, knowledge, reality. Please review guidelines from Workshop #1.
Mar. 28
Kant Right / Mine
Hegel
-Husserl
-Heidegger
-Sartre
Freud
-Lacan
-Zizek
WEEK 11
Apr. 2
Peirce (Fixation of Belief / How to Make our Ideas Clear / Evolutionary Love)
James (The Will to Believe)
Dewey (Democracy and Education)
Habermas
PLEASE NOTICE SCHEDULE CHANGES BELOW
Apr. 4 – POSTPONED TO APRIL 9: WORKSHOP #7. Due at beginning of class. Two paragraphs that (1) provide a scholarly summary of significant claims made by the primary author, and that (2) respond to the claims by reflecting upon how they would affect a person’s approach to life, knowledge, reality. Please review guidelines from Workshop #1.
WEEK 12
Apr. 9 – SEE WORKSHOP #7
Apr. 11
WEEK 13
Apr. 16
Instead of the scheduled workshop we will have a Class Visit. For students who attend class, the grade for WORKSHOP #8 will be a duplicate of your best grade from other workshops. Students who miss class should turn in Workshop #8 on Apr. 23.
Apr. 18 – NO CLASS
WEEK 14
Apr. 23
Farmer, Sr. (TSHA)
Thurman (Jesus and the Disinherited)
King (Letter from Birmingham Jail)
Apr. 25 – WORKSHOP #9 Due at beginning of class. Two paragraphs that (1) provide a scholarly summary of significant claims made by the primary author, and that (2) respond to the claims by reflecting upon how they would affect a person’s approach to life, knowledge, reality. Please review guidelines from Workshop #1.
WEEK 15
Apr. 30
Rand
Marcuse
Davis
Foucault
Butler
May 2 – Review Discussion for Final
WEEK 16
MAY 7, FINAL WORKSHOP, Four pages (mindful of previous guidelines).
• Pose a philosophical question (?)
• Present one page answering the question from one text that we surveyed this semester.
• Present a second page answering the question from another text that we surveyed this semester.
• Present a third page evaluating the comparative worth of the two answers presented so far. Which do you most agree with, disagree with, why?
• Present a fourth page answering the question for yourself. What is your answer to the question, and why?
• Please remember “best practices” from previous exercises.
MAY 9, FINAL TURN-IN OPPORTUNITY (first 20 minutes of class, late penalty waived)
HAVE A GOOD SUMMER!
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