SEMESTER AT SEA COURSE SYLLABUS University of Virginia, Academic Sponsor

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1 SEMESTER AT SEA COURSE SYLLABUS University of Virginia, Academic Sponsor Voyage: Fall 2014 Discipline: Special Topics in Literature ENSP 2559: Political and Other Memoirs: The Odyssey and Voyages of [Self] Discovery Lower Division Faculty Name: Nancy Y. Bekavac Credit Hours: 3; Contact Hours: 38 Pre-requisites: None COURSE DESCRIPTION: We will begin with The Odyssey, the account of a ten year Semester at Sea in which the hero, a veteran of the Trojan War, confronts challenges from monsters to sirens in his voyage home to re-establish his kingship. A foundational tale of Western culture, it will frame our reading of other narratives of travel in which the adventures only some at sea teach us important lessons about the narrator and the societies he/she encounters. Some, like Che Guevara s Motorcycle Diaries (2003), recount actual travels through South America; others, like Nelson Mandela s Long Walk to Freedom (1994) and Jacobo Timerman s Prisoner Without a Name, Cell Without a Number (1981), are more metaphorical journeys of personal reflection during political crisis. Students will be responsible for reading The Odyssey, background texts on politics and leadership, and selected memoirs selected from the list for the class, One of which will form the basis of a short paper and one of which will form the basis of a longer paper or project, to be presented in class. Students will also keep a journal shared with the class of observations based on the work during the semester in class and in shore visits we make. They will be asked to reflect on which aspects of history, culture, economics, personal development, or politics they value most and to present their conclusions to the class in a final project. Note: This class will also involve viewing a number of films, and those films are to be regarded as a modern legacy of the oral tradition of the epic poem that is, they are popular, demotic (in the language of the popular culture), dramatic and non-literary even if derived from literary sources. To the extent possible, reflections on the films should be considered as viable sources for themes and issues presented in the papers. COURSE OBJECTIVES: Students will consider, in a political context, the model of leadership presented in the epic poem of the voyage of Odysseus. This wily, brave and determined leader played a critical role in the triumph of the Greeks over the Trojans. His model of leadership influenced not only the Greeks and the Romans, but, through the classical education of the European elites from at least the Renaissance onward, spread his image throughout the world. Homer s tale is not, strictly speaking a memoir (although he tells his adventures in the first person in some of the books), which is a nonfiction tale told by the person who had the adventure. Rather, it is an epic, one which many authors have tried to emulate (James Joyce, Derek Wolcott). Most of the memoirs we will read are written in the first-person, with a slightly different emphasis from an

2 autobiography. As Wikipedia puts it, an autobiography tells the story of a life, while memoir tells a story from a life. Throughout our readings we will encounter historical persons, some of them famous as leaders, and one of the purposes of the course is to use the texts we have to reflect upon leaders and leadership. Another objective, of course, is to bring you closer to the countries and cultures we will encounter by reading books by those who are immersed in those cultures and whose formative experiences have been shaped by, and have shaped, those cultures. A very important part of this course requires that you select two books from the list below - - in addition to the Odyssey on which to write. One of these books you will concentrate on for your presentation and one of these books MUST BE MEMOIRS OF COUNTRIES WE WILL VISIT ON THIS TRIP. So, for example, while we have books that deal with South Africa and Argentina (previously scheduled for visits but now eliminated from the itinerary), you may only choose ONE book from either of those countries. Because the point of the paper/presentation is a personal reflection and discussion, choosing the best known books will not necessarily yield a better result than choosing a relatively obscure one. It is the quality of the work that will count the most. REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS AUTHOR: Homer, translated by Robert Fagles (Intro Bernard Knox) TITLE: The Odyssey PUBLISHER: Penguin Classics ISBN #: DATE/EDITION: 1997 AUTHOR: John Reed TITLE: Ten Days That Shook the World PUBLISHER: Penguin Books ISBN #: DATE/EDITION: 2007 AUTHOR: Mikhail Gorbachev TITLE: On My Country and the World PUBLISHER: Columbia University Press ISBN #: DATE: 2000 AUTHOR: Nelson Mandela TITLE: Long Walk to Freedom PUBLISHER: Back Bay Books ISBN #: DATE: 1995 AUTHOR: George Orwell TITLE: Homage to Catalonia

3 PUBLISHER: Harcourt Inc. ISBN #: DATE: 1980 AUTHOR: Mary Robinson TITLE: Everybody Matters PUBLISHER: Bloomsbury USA ISBN #: DATE: Reprint 2014 AUTHOR: Che Guevara TITLE: The Motorcycle Diaries PUBLISHER: Ocean Press ISBN #: DATE: 2003 AUTHOR: Jacobo Timmerman TITLE: Prisoner Without a Name, Cell Without a Number PUBLISHER: University of Wisconsin ISBN #: DATE: 2002 AUTHOR: Ken Bugul TITLE: The Abandoned Baobab PUBLISHER: University of Virginia Press ISBN #: DATE: 2008 AUTHOR: Derek Walcott TITLE: Omeros PUBLISHER: Farrar, Straus & Giroux ISBN #: DATE: 1992 AUTHOR: Lech Walesa TITLE: The Struggle and the Triumph: An Autobiography PUBLISHER: Arcade Publishing ISBN #: DATE: 1994 TOPICAL OUTLINE OF COURSE Depart Southampton- August 23: A1- August 25: The Odyssey as epic. Read Bernard Knox, Introduction and Books 1 and 2 in Fagles. Auden, Introduction to The Portable Greek Reader, concentrating on his discussion of

4 the Greek hero. Read Introduction and through p. 62 of John Reed, Ten Days That Shook the World. Read Gorbachev, pp Read Weber, Politics as a Vocation, pp (ER). View Reds. A2-August 27: Read Gorbachev, pp Read Reed, pp Read Robert K. Massie passage on the equestrian statue of Peter the Great, Massie pp (ER); Joseph Brodsky, A Guide to A Renamed City (ER); Pushkin, The Bronze Horseman (ER); Harrison Salisbury excerpt (ER). Review assignment sheet for field work project. Attend screenings of Battleship Potemkin in preparation for the visit to St. Petersburg. St. Petersburg: August 29- September 2 FIELD WORK: Class trip to view the equestrian statue of Peter the Great, tour the Cathedral, brief discussion in the square. This and the paper for September 3 are a required part of the course and can count for up to 20% of your grade, so do be prompt, attentive and take notes. A3- September 3: Discussion of Books 3 and 4 in Fagles (from this point on, references to Book refers to the Books in The Odyssey). Discussion of trip to St. Petersburg. Read Gorbachev, pp In class presentations of Field Work assignment. A4- September 5: Read Books 5 7. Read Gorbachev, pp ; Walesa, pp.. Read Weber, Politics as a Vocation, pp (ER). Putin, Address to the Russian Duma, March 18, 2014 (ER) Hamburg: September 7-11 A5- September 12: Read Books 8-9. Read Gorbachev, pp ; Walesa, pp.. Discussion re onshore experiences in Poland and Germany. Antwerp: September Le Havre: September A6-September 20: Read Book 10; read Malraux Anti-Memoirs pp. (ER) A7- September 22: Read Book 11: read Robinson pp. ; view film, Ulysses 1967 (film of the James Joyce novel re-creating a day in Dublin as an analogy to The Odyssey uneven but fascinating) Dublin: September A8- September 28: Read Book 12; Read Robinson, pp.. Discussion of Dublin onshore experiences. Read Introduction in Homage to Catalonia; read pp. 1 22; pp Read Auden, Spain (ER). View film Land and Freedom (1995) A9- September 30: Read Books Read Orwell, pp. ; read Orwell, Animal Farm excerpt (ER)

5 Lisbon: October 1-2 In transit: October 3 Cadiz: October 4-5 A10- October 7: Read Books Read Orwell, pp.. Discussion on Portuguese, Spanish onshore experiences. Read Frantz Fanon excerpt pp. (ER) Casablanca: October 8-11 A11-October 13: Read Books Read Bugul, pp. : read Sheila Walker Obituary of Ousmane Sembene (ER); view Sembene film, Camp de Thiaroye (1988) A12- October 15: Read Book 19. Read Bugul, pp.. Read Fanon, Black Skins, White Faces excerpt (ER). Dakar: October A13- October 21: Read Books Discussion on Senegal experiences. Paper presentations TBA. A14- October 23: Read Book 22. Read Mandela, pp. ; Martin Meredith, Reinventing South Africa (ER) Takoradi: October Tema: October A15- October 29: Read Book 23. Discussion on African experiences. Read Mandela pp. ; read Coetzee, pp. (ER). Paper presentations TBA: A16- October 31: Read Book 24. Paper presentations TBA. Special evening session for oral reading. Study Day: November 2 A17-November 3: Re-read Weber on traditional authority, pp. (ER). General summary discussion on The Odyssey. View Black Orpheus (1959) A18- November 5: Read Perlman, Favela, Introduction and Ch. 1 (pp. 1-40) Reserve and ER. Read Richard Bourne, Lula of Brazil (ER). Note assignment sheet for specific issues to be researched on shore. Read Timmerman, Prisoner Without a Name, Cell Without a Number pp ; view City of God Rio de Janeiro: November 7-9 In-transit: November Salvador: November 12-14

6 A19- November 15: Discussion of impressions of Brazil. Read Timmerman pp.. View Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985). Paper presentations TBA A20- November 17: Read Guevara, Motorcycle Diaries, pp.. Read V. S. Naipul, Middle Passage (ER). Read Derek Walcott, Omeros pp. Study Day: November 19 A21-November 20: Read Wolcott, Omeros pp.. Paper presentations TBA Bridgetown: November A22-November 25: Discussion of experiences in Bridgetown. Reread Weber on Charismatic leadership (ER); view Motorcycle Diaries. Read Guevera, Motorcycle Diaries, pp. ; Fidel Castro, Prison Letters (ER) A23- November 27: Read Timmerman, Cuba, pp ; Guevera, (ER); Fidel Castro, Autobiography (ER) Havana: November 29- December 2: Study Day- December 3 A24-December 4 (A Day Finals): Paper Presentations TBA

7 FIELD WORK Field lab attendance is mandatory for all students enrolled in this course. Please do not book individual travel plans or a Semester at Sea sponsored trip on the day of our field lab. One of the key concepts of the course is the image of leadership and how it functions in the various countries we will visit. Our field lab for this course will occur during the first shore visit of the trip, so it is important that you read the first assignments and focus on the field lab assignment. Leadership in any culture or society is shaped by cultural expectations and norms, and in St. Petersburg we will encounter both a solid image a monumental equestrian sculpture of the founder of the city, Peter the Great as well as reflections of that figure through both 19 th century and 20 th century literature. You will note that the image itself was created at the order of another historic leader, Catherine the Great, as you will see on the inscription on the base. The figure of this statue actually designed and executed by a Frenchman at the behest of a German princess turned Russian autocrat resounds down the centuries. The assignment will be for you to look at the figure REALLY LOOK and reflect on what you see, what it tells us about the leaders represented and involved, how you respond to it and what you take the figures to represent. You should connect your response to The Bronze Horseman and the Brodsky essay, and also to the Weber typologies of leadership. This assignment is not only about Russian history and leadership, but is intended to model how you look, interrogate, evaluate and respond to other cultural monuments we will encounter, including war memorials, chapels, triumphal arches and other public monuments throughout the voyage. You will receive an assignment sheet before we go ashore. Do note, of course, that this aristocratic and historical image was never damaged by the Revolution of 1917 and, indeed, was carefully protected during the horrendous siege of then-leningrad for over two years of starvation and bombardment by Nazi forces in the Second World War. You will be required to write a short response paper for the class depending on class size, they may be presented during class time -- after our Russian visit based in you viewing and the reading materials. NOTE: This paper will count for as much as 20% of your final grade. METHODS OF EVALUATION / GRADING RUBRIC This class will require class participation as of the grade; obviously, if you don t attend, you can t participate, and so you will be penalized. There will be three components of class participation: Speaking up and contributing directly in class discussion 10% Participation in team question assignments (groups of students will be required to devise 3 5 discussion questions for each class, with the questions posted on line more than 2 hours in advance of the class meeting. An assignment sheet will be handed out to guide you 10% A daily journal posted to be shared with classmates and relating to the readings, the films, onshore experiences and other relevant matter 10% In addition, the Field Lab experience will constitute 20% of the grade, as will be explained in the assignment sheet. And there will be both (1) a short paper of 5-10 pages on one of the memoirs, counting for 20% of the grade and (2) a longer paper of pages focused primarily on one of the memoirs, counting for 30% of the grade. Note: Your topic for the longer paper must be

8 approved by the instructor in advance to assure both relevance and feasibility. Further note: Depending on the class size and class discussion, both short and long papers may be presented to the class as a whole for discussion. RESERVE LIBRARY LIST AUTHOR: Harison Salisbury TITLE: The 900 Days: The Siege of Leningrad PUBLISHER: Da Capo Press ISBN #: DATE: 2000 AUTHOR: Max Weber (ed. H.H. Gerth and C. Wright Mills) TITLE: From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology PUBLISHER: Oxford University Press ISBN #: DATE/EDITION: 1958 AUTHOR: Jacobo Timmerman TITLE: Cuba PUBLISHER: Vintage Books ISBN #: X DATE: 1990 AUTHOR: Janice Perlman TITLE: Favela PUBLISHER: Oxford ISBN #: DATE: 2010 ELECTRONIC COURSE MATERIALS AUTHOR: W.H. Auden ARTICLE/CHAPTER TITLE: Introduction BOOK TITLE: Portable Greek Reader, VOLUME: DATE: 1997 PAGES: Entire introduction AUTHOR: Joseph Brodsky ARTICLE: A Guide to a Renamed City BOOK TITLE: Less Than One: Selected Essays DATE: 1987 PAGES: 69-94

9 AUTHOR: Pushkin ARTICLE/CHAPTER TITLE: The Bronze Horseman SOURCE: AUTHOR: Max Weber (ed. H.H. Gerth, C. Wright Mills) (Oxford) ARTICLE/CHAPTER TITLE: Politics as a Vocation VOLUME: From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology/ DATE: 1958 PAGES: AUTHOR: Richard Bourne TITLE: Lula of Brazil CHAPTER: A Tough Start in Life DATE: 2008 ISBN: PAGES: 1 23 AUTHOR: Jacobo Timmerman TITLE: Cuba CHAPTER: Excerpt from The Trip DATE: 1990 ISBN #: X PAGES: AUTHOR: Janice Perlman TITLE: Favela PUBLISHER: Oxford ISBN #: DATE: 2010 PAGES: 1-40 AUTHOR: Sheila Walker TITLE: Obituary of Ousmane Sembene SOURCE: The Guardian DATE: 2007 SOURCE: AUTHOR: Frantz Fanon TITLE: The Wretched of the Earth CHAPTER: PUBLISHER: Grove Press ISBN #: DATE: 2005 PAGES: TBA AUTHOR: Frantz Fanon

10 TITLE: Black Skin, White Masks PUBLISHER: Grove Press CHAPTER: DATE: 2008 PAGES: TBA AUTHOR: Martin Meredith TITLE: Nelson Mandela, A Biography CHAPTER: Reinventing South Africa PUBLISHER: St. Martin s Press ISBN #: DATE: 1997 PAGES: AUTHOR: Vladimir Putin TITLE: Address to the Russian Duma VOLUME: Kremlin.ru Archives DATE: March 18, 2014 PAGES: ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Films: Reds (1981) Battleship Potemkin (Serge Eisenstein 1925) Ulysses (1967} The Motorcycle Diaries (2004) Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985) Ramparts of Clay (1971) Campe de Thiaroye (1988) Land and Freedom 1995 Black Orpheus (1959) City of God (2002) HONOR CODE Semester at Sea students enroll in an academic program administered by the University of Virginia, and thus bind themselves to the University s honor code. The code prohibits all acts of lying, cheating, and stealing. Please consult the Voyager s Handbook for further explanation of what constitutes an honor offense. Each written assignment for this course must be pledged by the student as follows: On my honor as a student, I pledge that I have neither given nor received aid on this assignment. The pledge must be signed, or, in the case of an electronic file, signed [signed].

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