EXPLORING HUMAN EXPERIENCE
CORE 102:01 & 03
Dr. McWhorter
Spring, 2002
Details of assignments and grading
are available online. Please note that this semester students
have an important choice to make about how their course grade
will be calculated, so it is important to consider the options
early in the semester.
The following texts are available for purchase in the university bookstore.
The Gospel According to St. Matthew
King, Why We Can't Wait
Nietzsche, On the Genealogy of Morals
Rich, Adrienne Rich's Poetry and Prose
Achebe, Things Fall Apart
Darwin, On Evolution
Kenzaburo, Oe
Voltaire, Candide
Marx, Selected Writings
Markandaya, Nectar in a Sieve
Bulgakov, The Master and Margarita
PLEASE NOTE: Each student is expected to bring a copy of the
text to be discussed to every class meeting.
UNIT FOUR: Order and Subversion
January 7:
The Gospel According to St. Matthew, 1-27. (King
James Version, chapters 1-14.) Questions for reflection include:
What sort of group is Jesus organizing in these chapters? What
is the group's purpose? In what sense is Jesus subverting and
in what sense is he fulfilling the law? In these chapters who
sees Jesus as a subversive?
January 9:
The Gospel According to St. Matthew, 27-56. (King
James Version, chapters 15-28.) Homework
#1 Due! Questions for reflection include: What was Jesus trying
to teach the people? Why were these teachings and Jesus' organization
considered dangerous by the Jewish and Roman authorities? What
events lead up to Jesus' execution? Why was Jesus executed?
January 10:
This is not a class day, but: In conjunction with
the Core course, the Marsh Art Gallery is sponsoring an exhibition
of the work of Jessie Oonark. The exhibit will open with a reception
at 6:30 p.m. in the gallery, followed at 8:00 p.m. by a performance
by the Inuit Aqsarnit Drum Dancers and Throat Singers. All Core
students are encouraged to attend this opening. The show
will be open for viewing from January 11 through February 24.
Students may view the exhibit at any time when the gallery is
open, but please note that viewing this exhibit is necessary in
order to complete Homework
#7, which is due on February 8.
January 11:
King, Why We Can't Wait, viii-45. What is the historical
setting of the events to be described in this book? What is the
philosophy of non-violent direct action? Why does King think action
must be taken at this time? What relations do you see between
King's ideas and actions and The Gospel According to St. Matthew?
(You can read more about non-violent direct action at the website
of the Center for Non-Violent
Social Change.) (It would be a very good idea to look ahead
a few days to homework
assignment #2 and begin working on it now.)
January 14:
King, Why We Can't Wait, 46-99. Why did King decide
to go to jail? What criticisms did he make of religious leaders
from his jail cell? Why did the movement leaders decide to allow
children to march and be arrested? Was this decision right?
January 16:
King, Why We Can't Wait, 100-143. What was King
really fighting for? Did he succeed? (Photos
of Birmingham demonstrations can be viewed online.) Homework
#2 Due!
January 18:
Nietzsche, On the Genealogy of Morals, 13-23. Questions
for reflection include: When Nietzsche was a boy, what did he
think was the source or origin of evil? Why did the study of philology
change his mind? What is his philological analysis of evil's origin?
How does his view of the origins of morality differ from the view
of Paul Ree?
January 21:
Nietzsche, On the Genealogy of Morals, 24-56. Questions
for reflection iclude: What are the ancient meanings of the words
'good' and 'bad'? How have those meanings shifted over time and
why? Homework #3 Due!
January 23:
Nietzsche, On the Genealogy of Morals, 24-56. Questions
for reflection iclude: What does it mean to say that concepts
have genealogies? Optional
Paper #1 Due!
January 25:
NO CLASS: Dr. McWhorter is speaking at Wittenberg College.
This would be an excellent day to go to the Marsh Gallery and
view the Oonark exhibit in anticipation of Homework
#7 due on February 8.
January 28:
Nietzsche, On the Genealogy of Morals, 57-67, 72-82,
84-88, 95-96. Homework
#4 Due! According to Nietzsche, how does it come about that
people start punishing other people? What effects does punishment
have? How does punishment contribute to the creation of "an
animal with the right to make promises" (p. 57)?
January 30:
Nietzsche, On the Genealogy of Morals, 97-98, 116-163.
What does Nietzsche mean when he says, "All great things
bring about their own destruction through an act of self-overcoming"?
How has Christianity brought about its own destruction, according
to Nietzsche? In what sense are all great movements self-subversive?
February 1:
Rich, "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers," "Snapshots
of a Daughter-in-Law," "Planetarium," "Diving
into the Wreck," and "The Phenomenology of Anger,"
from Adrienne Rich's Poetry and Prose. (These are pages
4, 9-13, 38-39, 53-59.) Questions for today include: What should
we pay attention to when we read poetry? What makes a piece of
writing a poem rather than a narrative or descriptive paragraph?
What is the relation between poetry and emotion? Homework
#5 Due!
February 4:
Rich, "Love Poems" (nos. 1, 3, 6-12, 17, 21),
"Sources," "Poetry: I," and "Final Notations,"
from Adrienne Rich's Poetry and Prose. (These are pages
77, 78, 79-82, 84, 86, 101-114, 123, 160-161.) What do these poems
have to say or imply about freedom? What does Rich mean when she
writes, "The rules break like a thermometer"? What is
"it" in "Final Notations"? Homework
#6 Due!
February 6:
Achebe, Things Fall
Apart, 3-125. Optional
Paper #2 Due! What is Okonkwo's greatest fear? How does that
fear shape his life and the lives of those around him? What is
the significance of Ekwefi's story of the Tortoise?
February 8:
Achebe, Things Fall Apart, 129-209. Homework
#7 Due! Questions for today include: How do the white men
change life for the central characters in this book? What role
does Christianity play in the changes that occur? To whom do the
white missionaries appeal? Ultimately, what really falls apart?
February 11:
Summation Day: Unit Four.
UNIT FIVE: Contingency and Destiny
February 13:
Darwin, On the Origin of Species, 160-175 in On
Evolution. You can read On
the Origin of Species in its entirety online. Questions
for today include: What is "natural selection"? In what
sense do living beings struggle to survive? How does that struggle
bear upon natural selection? Optional
Paper #3 Due!
February 15:
READING QUIZ!
February 18:
Darwin, On the Origin of Species, 175-215 in On
Evolution. Homework
#8 Due! Questions for today include: What is the difference
between natural selection and sexual selection? How does each
affect variation? What is divergence of character? How does variation
contribute to extinction? What does it mean to speak of "survival
of the fittest"?
February 20:
Darwin, The Descent of Man, 242-276 in On Evolution.
You can read The
Descent of Man in its entirety online. You can learn a
lot more about evidence for and theories of human
evolution online.Questions for today include: What is the
biological basis of morality? What role does morality play in
evolution? What role does intellect play in evolution? What role
does beauty play?
February 22:
Darwin, On the Origin of Species and The Descent
of Man, 160-215 and 242-276 in On Evolution. Questions
for today include: What are the major components of Darwin's theory?
What does this theory tell us about our place in the natural world?
What implications does it have for religion, ethics, governmental
policy, industry, and ecology? What does this theory say about
human freedom? Homework
#9 Due!
February 25:
Kenzaburo, Oe, entirety. Homework
#10 Due! Questions for today include: What sort of person
is Bird? What does he value? What sort of future does he want
for himself? How free is he to decide his own future? Is the decision
that he makes at the end of the novel the right one? Why or why
not, and in relation to what principles or values?
February 27:
Kenzaburo, Oe, entirety. Questions for today include:
Has Bird chosen to give up his freedom and sacrifice his dreams?
Does he really have any choice or any freedom to give up in the
first place? What is the significance of the fact that he makes
a definite choice? Does it matter what the choice is for or against?
Optional Paper #4 Due!
February 29- March 8:
SPRING BREAK!
March 11:
Voltaire, Candide, 19-84. Homework
#11 Due! Questions for today include: Why does Dr. Pangloss
say this is the best of all possible worlds? If it is and must
be the best of all possible worlds, are people really free? How
would you characterize Voltaire's writing style?
March 13:
Voltaire, Candide, 84-144. Questions for today
include: What is optimism? Why does Candide repeat that we must
go and work in the garden?
March 15:
Summation Day: Unit Five.
UNIT SIX: Freedom and Subjection
March 18:
Marx, "Preface to A Contribution to the Critique
of Political Economy" and "Aliened Labor,"
in Selected Writings, 209-213 and 58-68. Questions for
today include: What sort of determinism does Marx espouse? How
much freedom do human beings have, on Marx's view? When the worker
is alienated, what is he/she alienated from? How can that alienation
be overcome? Optional
Paper #5 Due!
March 20:
Marx, "The German Ideology," in Selected
Writings, 102-121. You can read The
German Ideology online in its entirety. Questions for
today include: What is ideology? What ideology does Marx accuse
the Germans of his day of creating and perpetuating? What is the
function of ideology in general, according to Marx? What alternatives
to ideology are there? How does ideology work to limit freedom?
March 22:
Marx, "The German Ideology," in Selected
Writings, 121-142. Homework
#12 Due! Questions for today include: How does power affect
the pursuit of knowledge? How can students guard against distortions
in knowledge brought about by powerful economic forces?
March 25:
Marx, "The German Ideology," in Selected
Writings, 142-156. Questions for today include: What is the
relation between state and law and private property? How does
a state differ from a community? How much freedom do people have
as subjects of a state versus as members of a community? Optional
Paper #6 Due!
March 27:
Marx, "The Communist Manifesto," in Selected
Writings, 157-176. You can read The
Communist Manifesto online. Homework
#13 Due! Questions for today include: Who is the audience
for this piece of writing? What purpose is the manifesto designed
to serve?
March 29:
READING QUIZ!
April 1:
NO CLASS: Work on Project Proposals or Optional Papers.
April 3:
Markandaya, Nectar in a Sieve, 5-75. Questions
for today include: What is the theme of this novel? What sort
of relation does the narrator have with Nathan? Project
Proposal Due! Optional
Paper #7 Due!
April 5:
Markandaya, Nectar in a Sieve, 76-139. Questions
for today include: What impact does the economic situation have
on the family? What caused the death of Raja? Homework
#14 Due! Group assignments for Homework
#15 will be made today.
April 8:
Markandaya, Nectar in a Sieve, 140-189. Questions
for today include: Where has Murugan gone and why? What is the
meaning of death in this novel? Having finished it, what do you
think its main theme is? Project
Draft Due!
April 10:
Bulgakov, The Master and Margarita, 3-85. Optional
Paper #8 Due! Questions for today include: What are the various
story lines in the novel so far? What relations do they have to
each other? Why do you think Bulgakov narrates different stories
simultaneously? Should we read this book as an allegory, a satire,
a fantasy, or what? There is a very helpful
website on this book that might help you as you read and as
you prepare your homework assignments.
April 12:
Bulgakov, The Master and Margarita, 86-164. Homework #15 Due! Questions
for today will be set by students.
April 15:
Bulgakov, The Master and Margarita, 165-254. Homework #15 Due! Questions
for today will be set by students. Optional
Paper #9 Due!
April 17:
Bulgakov, The Master and Margarita, 255-335. Homework #15 Due! Questions
for today will be set by students. Complete
Project Essay Due!
April 19:
Summation Day: Unit Six.
April 22 & April 27:
Final Exams for Sections , respectively.
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