King s Scholar: Western Thought and Civilization 4901G

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KING S SCHOLAR: WESTERN THOUGHT & CIVILIZATION 4901G FALL/WINTER 2018-2019 Dr. Graham Broad Department of History Office: Faculty Bldg. 108 Office Hours by Appointment 519 433-0041 ext.

1 KING S SCHOLAR: WESTERN THOUGHT & CIVILIZATION 4901G FALL/WINTER Dr. Graham Broad Department of History Office: Faculty Bldg. 108 Office Hours by Appointment ext gbroad@uwo.ca Dr. C. Clausius Dept. of English, French, and Writing Coordinator Foundations/King s Scholar Office: Labatt Hall 207 Office Hours by Appointment ext cclausiu@uwo.ca Professor Jeremy Greenway Rhetoric and Writing Specialist Office: South Annex 152 Office Hours by Appointment ext jgreenwa@uwo.ca Textbooks: Experience Humanities, 8th edition Friedrich Nietzsche, The Portable Nietzsche Thomas Mann, Death in Venice Sigmund Freud, Civilization and its Discontents Elie Wiesel, Night George Orwell, Animal Farm J.M. Coetzee, Waiting for the Barbarians Additional material will be posted on OWL King s Scholar: Western Thought and Civilization 4901G Course Description: Western Thought and Civilization: The 20 th Century to Contemporary An interdisciplinary exploration of the social structures and literary-cultural expressions of Western thought from the turn of the 20 th century to the present time. It incorporates four elements: 1) engagement with primary historical, literary, philosophical texts/ideas; 2) training in public speaking and critical argument; 3) exposure to music, art, architecture, etc.; 4) a Research Project reflecting students interests. Prerequisite(s): Western Thought and Civilization 3901G and all King s Scholar progression requirements Extra Information: Extra Curricular Activities (King s) NOTE: Students are responsible for ensuring that their selection of courses is appropriate and accurately recorded, that all course prerequisites have been successfully completed, and that they are aware of any anti-requisite course(s) that they have taken. Unless you have either the requisites for this course or written special permission from your Dean to enroll in it, you may be removed from this course and it will be deleted from your record. This decision may not be appealed. You will receive no adjustment to your fees in the event that you are dropped from a course for failing to have the necessary prerequisites. ELECTRONIC STUDY SPACES: Experience Humanities is supported by a web site at As well, throughout the year you will access various sites both cultural and historical. In order to create an experience as diverse as possible and to offer you a wide spectrum of voices and opinions, Youtube videoes of films, documentaries, interviews, etc. will enlarge the scope of the course.

2 KING S SCHOLAR: WESTERN THOUGHT & CIVILIZATION 4901G FALL/WINTER Requirements Value Due Date Participation 10% ACTIVE participation in weekly seminar discussions; asking thoughtful questions based on close reading of the material and/or watching Youtube videos, viewing art sources, and listening to music selections; responding to others ideas and reactions. Integrated Curatorial Assignment 10% Jan. 30, You will be evaluated on the degree to which you have understood not just the basic ideas of the work, but also its implications both historically and culturally. Guidelines on OWL. Eloquentia Perfecta Assignment 10% Feb. 13, 2019 IRP Proposal Presentation 10% Feb. 27, 2019 Your proposal presentation must include a clear thesis describing the main idea, a provisional outline of your argument with supporting points, and some material from external scholarly sources. Your presentation must be clear, concise, and precisely timed. Term Test 10% March 13, 2019 IRP Final Essay 25% April 6, 2019 Final Exam 25% During official exam period. Essay Instructions: All written work must conform to standard English language practice. That is to say, correct spelling and grammar are critical to the clarity of expression as well as the confidence and persuasiveness of your argument. As well, your written work will be expected to include such structural principles as a thesis, a body of evidence drawn from the text(s)/work(s) under discussion, and in the research paper from both primary and secondary sources. All essays and assignments (unless otherwise stated) must conform to ONE of the following: MLA, APA, or Chicago. You must be consistent in your use of one of these conventions. You may also access much of this information at a very useful site at Purdue University Essays are due on the specified due date and are submitted via the course OWL site. All work will be run through Western s Turnitin system as well. Policy for Late Assignments: Please read the Policy on Accommodation for Medical Illness, Religious Holidays, etc. at this link: Extensions are granted for medical/compassionate reasons only BEFORE the essay is due. As well, late essays will likely not receive the benefit of comments and corrections. All accommodation requests for work worth 10% or more require that the student inform the instructor and subsequently submit appropriate documentation directly to the Academic Dean s office. Once the petition and supporting documents have been received and assessed, appropriate academic accommodation shall be determined by the Dean s Office in consultation with the student s instructors. Please also note the following departmental regulations. 1. A penalty of one mark per day (including weekends) will be assessed for late essays beginning the first day after the deadline. 2. No essays will be accepted after the 7 th day. 3. Essays submitted after the 7 th day will only be accepted on medical grounds for which written proof must be provided to the Office of the Academic Dean. Please see information on the required Medical Certificate. 4. No essay will be accepted after the last day of classes unless (3) applies. Make-up Tests: Students who miss a test due to illness MAY be offered the opportunity of taking the test as soon as possible after the scheduled writing, but only after consultation with and permission of the instructor. For any test worth 10% or more students MUST supply a medical note. Please read carefully the accompanying policies at the end of this syllabus regarding Religious Accommodation, Student Conduct, etc. This is important information. 2 of 7

3 KING S SCHOLAR: WESTERN THOUGHT & CIVILIZATION 4901G FALL/WINTER Week & Dates 4901G: Although 4901Z is a Distance Course, we strongly encourage students to set aside a specific time each week for the course readings and assignments. To get the most out of the learning experience, students should follow the requirements on a weekly schedule as set out below. Readings, lecture notes, links to external sites will be provided about a week in advance. As a 4 th year course, some degree of flexibility is desirable. Readings may change in response to how our discussions develop. Experience Humanities Readings and Youtube lectures. Experiential Learning and Music/ Art History links. Assignment and Test Dates WEEK 1 Jan. 9 Introduction to the 20 th Century. The Age of Manifestos: (GB) F.T. Marinetti, The Futurist Manifesto iles/manifesto_futurista.pdf Thorstein Veblen, The Theory of the Leisure Class (1899) 2-12; eclass.pdf Frederick Winslow Taylor, Principles of Scientific Management (1911) Chapter Two rogress/text3/taylor.pdf Dada, Surrealism: Marcel Duchamp, Salvador Dali, Max Ernst, René Magritte, Frido Kahlo. Excerpts: Tristan Tzara Dada Manifesto (1918) André Breton Manifesto of Surrealism (1924). Experience Humanities (EH) Ch. 20 The Age of Early Modernism: Be sure to familiarize yourself with the Key Cultural Terms at the end of each chapter. In this way, you will accumulate a working vocabulary throughout the year, which will serve you well in your various assignments. Important too, be sure to return to the Preview Questions at the beginning of each chapter and read carefully the Summary at the end of each chapter in order to consolidate your knowledge. Finally, read the Legacy section in order to see how these historical aspects are still relevant today. These sections usefully illustrate how you can make these connections in your own daily life. Music Component: The music you will be responsible for is accessible through UWO s Naxos Music Library. The music component accompanies the course throughout the year. Since music cannot be learned through a single exposure, students are expected to access the music site and play the music frequently, even as background music as you work or work out or walk along the street. This is the only way to begin to appreciate, understand, discern and above all learn to enjoy the various musical styles throughout time. Art History Links: small sampling only. Web Gallery of Art: Olga s Gallery: Artcyclopedia: malism.html Other useful sites: British Museum: The Louvre in Paris: The Met in New York: The Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History: Centre Pompidou in Paris: ons/the-works Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam: All major world cities have important collections. WEEK 2 Jan. 16 Friedrich Nietzsche: Thus Spoke Zarathustra in The Portable Nietzsche (CC) Nietzsche: Watch on Netflix BBC s Modernist Revolution in Art: Impressionism to Postimpressionism and Abstraction to Cubism to Expressionism

4 KING S SCHOLAR: WESTERN THOUGHT & CIVILIZATION 4901G FALL/WINTER Nietzsche: Genius of the Modern World. This is a thorough and clear introduction to the fundamentals of Nietzsche s thought. Modernism in Music: Impressionism, Atonality, and Primitivism: Debussy Prélude à l Après midi d un faune (Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun) (1894). Maurice Ravel Jeux d eau (Fountains) (1901) and La Valse (The Waltz) (1920). Arnold Schoenberg: excerpt from Pierrot Lunaire Op. 21 (1912). Igor Stravinsky: excerpt from The Rite of Spring (1913). Ragtime: Scott Joplin various pieces. WEEK 3 Jan. 23 Decadence and the Eve of the Great War Thomas Mann Death in Venice (1912). (CC) Jan Feb. 1-3: Mozart s Marriage of Figaro at Don Wright Faculty of Music. War and Expressionism: Personal and Political: Edvard Munch Die Brücke: Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, Erich Heckel Anti-War: Max Beckmann, Otto Dix, Käthe Kollwitz. Forensic Painting and Nightmare Puppets: Egon Schiele and Oskar Kokoschka WEEK 4 Jan. 30 The Great War and the Making of the Modern World (GB) Excerpts: Paul Fussell The Great War and Modern Memory The Liberal Order Woodrow Wilson s Message to Congress 2 April 1917: ar_message_to_congress Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points EH Chap. 21 The Age of the Masses and the Zenith of Modernism: Cubism and Futurism: Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, Fernand Léger, Umberto Boccioni, Gino Severini, Giacomo Balla, Luigo Russolo Integrated Curatorial Assignment due. WEEK 5 Feb. 6 Eloquentia Perfecta: (JG) (2 hrs.) The Bolshevik Challenge (GB) VI Lenin A Turn in World Politics Feb. 3: Film viewing in Kenny Theatre: Jane Austen and English neo-classicism. 4 of 7

5 17/jan/31.htm VI Lenin War and Revolution /may/14.htm G. Orwell, Animal Farm 1948 WEEK 6 Feb. 13 Orwell, continued (GB) Freud, Civilization and Its Discontents (1929) (CC) Freud: Be sure to watch BBC s Freud: Genius of the Modern World. It s extremely helpful in explaining the basic concepts. Eloquentia Perfecta Assignment due. READING WEEK Feb WEEK 7 Feb. 27 IRP Presentations: Existentialism and its Roots (CC) Martin Heidegger: Selections from Being and Time (1927) Jean Paul Sartre: Selections from Being and Nothingness (1943) Albert Camus: Selections from The Myth of Sisyphus (1942) Existential Art, Abstract Expressionism, Minimalism: (CC) Samuel Beckett: one or two later short plays (OWL). Alberto Giacometti, Jean Dubuffet; Joseph Beuys Minimalists such as Frank Stella, Agnes Martin. Watch material on two useful sites: The School of Life and Eric Dobson s lectures: Heidegger s main concepts at sgra7xtu and at RhtR0imY Sartre s philosophy at RhtR0imY and at 3kvofvyg Camus ideas at XvgbDr3M Music/Art and Politics Olivier Messiaen: Quartet for the End of Time (1941). Arnold Schoenberg: A Survivor from Warsaw (1947). Minimalism in Music: Post-war Movements: Stockhausen: Gesang der Jünglinge ( ). Penderecki Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima (1960). Phillip Glass: Einstein on the Beach (1975) John Adams: Nixon in China (1987). Steve Reich: Different Trains (1988). IRP Presentations WEEK 8 March 6 Fascism, National Socialism, and the Second World War (GB) The Holocaust Elie Wiesel Night (1956) Hannah Arendt: Brief excerpts from The Origins of EH Chap. 22 The Age of Anxiety and Late Modernism Watch Conspiracy (Frank Pierson, Director, 2001; 90 mins.). This film is available on HBO, itunes, and Dr. Broad March 2 or 3: Visit to Toronto ROM and 2 exhibits at the AGO: 1. Impressionism in the Age of Industry: Monet, Pissarro, and more. 5 of 7

6 Totalitarianism (1951) has a DVD available for loan. 2. Photography: First World War Listen to Winston Churchill We Shall Fight on the Beaches (speech to the House of Commons 4 June 1940, 2.5 mins.) =MkTw3_PmKtc Their Finest Hour (speech to the House of Commons, 18 June 1940, 5 mins.) =bfqtccbb8ku WEEK 9 March 13 The Cold War and the Nuclear Age: (GB) Excerpts from John Hershey, Hiroshima The New Yorker, 31 August /hiroshima The Russell-Einstein Manifesto (1955) Albert Wohlstetter The Delicate Balance of Terror Foreign Affairs January 1959) or 01/delicate-balance-terror Mid-century Social Movements: (GB) Simone de Beauvoir: Selections from The Second Sex (1949) Martin Luther King: Letter from Birmingham Jail (1963) r_birmingham.html Rachel Carson, Selections from Silent Spring (1962) Watch Duck and Cover (Civil Defense Film, 1951, 9 mins.) Xu-5jw60 Watch Martin Luther King I have a Dream (17 mins.) qnnklfys Watch a debate between two of the 20 th century s most influential thinkers - Noam Chomsky and Michel Foucault at O5cYxc2w (1 hr.) To prepare you, check out The School of Life on Foucault at TeNTZtGU John Cage and Fluxus Cage: Sonatas and Interludes, Sonata V (1946). Students will look at the "Table of Preparations," showing the performer how to "prepare" the piano. Cage: 4'33" (1952) You will watch a BBC orchestra performance. Fluxus works by Nam June Paik, Morton Feldman, George Brecht. Video: Cage interviewed ( as64y) Abstract Expressionism: Arshile Gorky, Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning Midcentury American Jazz and Bebop: Listen to: Charlie Parker, Confirmation (1954) Ella Fitzgerald Blue Skies (1958) Miles Davis, So What (1959). March 13: Term Test. WEEK 10 March 20 Structuralism and Deconstruction: (CC) Selections from Saussure, Derrida, Barthes, etc. Watch the following to set the stage for our discussions: Derrida: 6 of 7

7 nhr2dqts WEEK 11 March 27 Transgression and Power (CC) J.M. Coetzee Waiting for the Barbarians (1980). EH Chap. 23 The Contemporary World: Globalization, Terrorism, and Postmodernism: WEEK 12 April 3 Transhumanism, AI, New Optimists, and Old Pessimists (GB) Neil Postman discussed in Megan Garber, Are We Having Too Much Fun Atlantic ve/2017/04/are-we-having-too-much-fun/523143/ Vernor Verge, The Coming Technological Singularity (1993) 1/vinge.singularity.html Excerpts: Langdon Winner, Are Humans Obsolete? (2003) Stephen J. Gould, The Good People of Halifax (2001) Watch Steven Pinker, The Surprising Decline of Violence (TED talk) at er_on_the_myth_of_violence April 6: IRP due. Exam during exam period TBA. 7 of 7

King s Scholar: Western Thought and Civilization 3901F

King s Scholar: Western Thought and Civilization 3901F Dr. Robert Ventresca Labatt Hall, 202 Office Hours: Mon. 12:30-1:30 (and by appointment) 519-433-3491 ext. 4370 rventres@uwo.ca Dr. C. Clausius Coordinator