PHIL 380:01 Special Topics in Philosophy
Sex, Crime, and Knowledge:
The Work of Michel Foucault
Fall, 2002
Dr. McWhorter
Assignments and Grading
Precis - 10%
Annotations (x3) - 15% total
Group Work Bibliography - 5%
Book Review - 15%
Group Presentation - 5%
October 10 Exam - 20%
Term Paper, broken down as follows:
1. Proposed Topic - 1%
2. Working Bibliography - 4%
3. Refined Thesis and Outline - 5%
4. Polished Term Paper - 20%
September 3: Precis
Each student will submit a precis of pages 36-73 of Foucault's
A History of Sexuality, Volume 1. A précis is an
abridged, condensed version of the original piece of writing.
The goal of a précis is quite literally to 're-present'
the essay in a shortened form. Hence, a précis does not
evaluate, provide interpretation, nor add any material to the
essay. Keep only what is essential. For philosophical articles,
such essential features will include, but not necessarily be restricted
to:
(i) the thesis of the article,
(ii) any theories or principles relevant to the thesis
(iii) any arguments essential for arriving at the thesis.
- Submit your precis in the following style:
- Each précis is to be typed and double spaced.
- Your name and pledge should appear at the end of the précis.
- All direct quotations are to be in quotation marks and followed
by page reference in parentheses. Nothing else requires citation,
since the entire précis is a rewriting of the original
article cited in the title. Avoid relying on quotations--an acceptable
précis composed primarily of quotations is extremely difficult
to pull off.
- Write in the author's voice--you are providing a condensed
version of the article, not a report of what the author says--eg.
Write: "Minds are non-physical thinking substances."
rather than "Descartes holds minds are non-physical thinking
substances" or "The author thinks minds are non-physical
thinking substances."
- Maintain the order and organization of the original article
as much as possible. Reorder or reorganize only in those cases
in which such reorganization more clearly presents the essential
line of argument.
- Group Projects:
On September 17, each student will be assigned to one of
four groups to do a "reception study" of Foucault's
work among specified groups of North American scholars. The four
groups are as follows: (1) the North American Left, (2) North
American Feminist Theorists, (3) North American Continental Philosophers,
and (4) Queer Theorists. The purpose of the project is to familiarize
students with the history of North American Foucault scholarship
and, at the same time, acquaint them with some of the ways in
which professional scholarship actually works. Students will
have to identify the main scholars and principal texts of the
group under study, analyze those texts, and make a presentation
to the class to inform others about the ways in which Foucault's
works have been received and used. By the end of the four class
presentations, every student should have a solid knowledge of
the current state of Foucault scholarship in North America. Due
dates for components of this project and details for each are
as follows:
- September 17 Group Meeting: Class will meet
in Boatwright Library Computer Classroom. Students will work
in their groups to make a preliminary bibliographic list of pertinent
scholarship. This preliminary list will serve as the basis for
each student's bibliographic work henceforth.
- September 24, October 1,
October 3 Annotations: As students build their own versions
of their Reception Study bibliographies, they will select three
articles or book chapters to annotate. The first will come from
the list composed in class on September 17. The next two should
come from the individual student's own bibliographic list. The
three annotations should cover articles published in three different
years so as to give a sense of changes in reception of Foucault's
work. An annotation consists of a full bibliographic reference
at the top of the page and a careful summary of the article's
thesis and main arguments. It is not as detailed as a precis,
and it may contain some assessment of the value of the article
for the project at hand. Annotations should be at least one typed,
double-spaced page and no more than three typed, double-spaced
pages long. Students must submit as many copies of each annotation
as there are members in their group.
- October 3
Bibliography: Each student will submit a full bibliography
of all material he or she found relevant to the group's work,
and enough additional copies for all group members to have one.
Students will be graded on the basis of how thorough their individual
bibliography is. Bibliographies may be many pages long, but a
minimally acceptable bibliography will contain at least twelve
entries, including at least four books, at least four journal
articles, and at least one reference obtained from an online
data base. Each reference should be complete and submitted in
standardized format. Additionally after each reference, a student
should include 1-2 sentences explaining why that reference is
likely to be pertinent to the group project.
- October 8
Group Meeting: Students will have read the annotations
and bibliographies prepared by the other members of their group
and will spend the class period discussing the material to assess
its relevance to an overall understanding of the reception of
Foucault by the scholars under study.
- October 24 Book Review:
Each student will submit a five-to-seven-page typed,
double-spaced review of one book chosen from the group bibliography.
Students in each group should confer prior to selecting a book
to review, because each student must read a different book! The
review, like the annotations, should set out the book's thesis
and main arguments and additionally should contain a critical
evaluation of those arguments. Students must submit enough additional
copies of the review for all members of their group to have one.
- October 31
Group Meeting: Students will have read the book reviews
prepared by the other members of their group and will spend the
class period discussing the material's relevance to an overall
understanding of the reception of Foucault by the scholars under
study. Additionally, the group will begin a discussion of how
best to present their work to the class as a whole and what material
it is most important for other class members to read.
- November 14: Each
group will submit a proposed reading assignment for the whole
class.
November 19 and 21 Group Presentations:
On these days the groups will summarize the reception
of Foucault's work by the scholars they studied and guide the
class through the material they assigned. The North American
Left and the Feminist Theorists will present on November 19,
and the Queer Theorists and American Continentalists will present
on November 21. Each group will have 40 minutes. Every member
of the group must play some role in the presentation, although
not everyone has to have a speaking role.
-
- October 10 Exam:
Specifics of this exam will be posted here at least a
week prior to the exam date.
-
- Term Paper
November 5 Proposed Topic: Each student must submit
a paragraph describing the topic to be researched for the term
paper. This statement should be as specific as possible, and
it must be typed and double-spaced.
- November 21 Working Bibliography: Each student
must submit a working bibliography listing all material that
might conceivably be relevant to the topic proposed. This bibliography
must consist of no less than 50 entries, including at least five
books and at least five articles. Direct downloads from web searches
are not acceptable. All bibliographic entries must be in standard
format.
- December 3 Refined Thesis and Outline: Each
student must submit a refined thesis statement of no more than
two sentences; this statement should clearly articulate the conclusion
that the student expects to reach based on the arguments that
will be presented in the term paper. Additionally, each student
should submit a working outline of the entire term paper. The
outline should be as detailed as possible and should include
at least three major sections with clear descriptions of the
arguments to be made in each one. A refined bibliography should
be attached.
- December 13 Term Paper: The full term paper,
including final bibliography, is to be submitted by 4:30 p.m.
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