1 FRESHMAN SEMINAR On Being Human FRSEM-UA 630 Fall 2018 EPICS 4.1 : THE ODYSSEY, THE AENEID, PARADISE LOST, MOBY DICK Silver 618 Thursday 9:30 12:00 Professor Gilman Department of English 244 Greene Street 405 Voice: 212.998.8852 Email eg4@nyu.edu Office Hours: M-W 2-3 and Th 1-3 The question of what it means to be human is the fundamental concern of all works of literature. Lyric poetry focusses closely on the interior life of the individual, as a kind of snapshot or psychological x-ray the poetic example of a selfie. Drama opens up the wider social and familial perspective on individual identity by exploring the relationships among an ensemble of actors in a theater, asking what it means both to act and to act. The epic, by contrast, sets the human protagonist on a global stage, in its very amplitude opening a wide expanse of time and place and history. Its fundamental question: what does it mean to be a human in the world? Beginning with Homer, the epic has figured in the west not only as the most ambitious literary work an author could attempt, but as a work that by its scope and depth comes to define the culture that produces it and the place of the individual within that culture. The Odyssey is the first work in western literature to focus on an exceptional individual understood in relation to the history of the Trojan War, to his wanderings, to the non-human, to his family and home, and to the gods. Here we find the origin of the ἥρως hero, the ancient Greek word that that we still find indispensable in describing the achievements of the extraordinary humans we would all like to emulate. In Augustan Rome, at the moment of the foundation of the Empire, Virgil rewrites Homer in order to create a foundational political mythology of the Roman state, celebrating its origins as the inheritors of Greek culture and imagining its imperial future, but not without a critical awareness of its darker side that casts a long shadow over the subsequent history of imperialism. Virgil s influence in the middle ages and the Renaissance is profound. Just as, in the epic, heroes do battle against each other, so Milton will take on his great predecessor in Paradise Lost, pursuing Things unattempted yet in prose or rhyme. Milton s ambition will be not merely to
2 imitate his pagan predecessor but to outgo him in writing the definitive epic from a higher Christian vantage point. What has been lost in this retelling of the Genesis story is the paradise Adam and Eve enjoyed in Eden, of course. But Milton is writing at a moment following the failure of the English revolution he had himself furthered by acting as its chief defender before the world, and following the restoration of the monarchy that promptly put him under house arrest. The echoes of both these writers reverberate in Moby Dick, a whale of a book and arguably our own national epic and a book (also arguably) still unsurpassed as the great American novel. Melville s Captain Ahab is the descendant of the Homeric epic seafarer and, in his demonic greatness and ferocious desire, of Milton s Satan. The epic journey from Greece to Rome, via England, to New Bedford, Massachusetts will take us from the imperial vision of the ancient world to the nascent American empire of the mid-19 th century, allowing us to chart an historical course by which we can arrive at a greater understanding of our own time. The focus of the seminar will be on a careful study of these four texts, supplemented by briefer related readings. Moby Dick will be followed by Melville s Benito Cereno and Bartleby the Scrivener the.1 in the title of the course.
3 REQUIRED TEXTS: Homer, The Odyssey, tr. Emily Wilson Virgil, The Aeneid, tr. Allen Mandelbaum (Bantam) John Milton, Paradise Lost, ed. David Scott Kastan (Hackett) Herman Melville, Moby-Dick, ed. Parker and Hayford (Norton Critical ed.) Herman Melville, Melville s Short Novels, ed. Dan McCall (Norton Critical ed.) COURSE REQUIREMENTS: The class will be conducted as a seminar rather than a lecture, which means that students will be evaluated on the basis of attendance, preparation, and active participation as well as on written work. Three 6-8 page papers (each worth 20% of the final grade). Paper due-dates are marked with an * Attendance and participation (10%) A final exam date tba (30%) COURSE POLICIES: Students will be held to highest standard of academic integrity. Proven incidents of plagiarism or academic dishonesty will be referred to the College for disciplinary action. Assignments turned in late will be penalized. As this seminar meets only once a week, any absences beyond two will incur a penalty except in cases of a documented medical problem or urgent family issue. Observing a religious holiday will count as one of your maximum of two absences. Students with special needs should see me at the beginning of the term about accommodations.
4 SEMINAR SCHEDULE: WEEK TOPIC 1 Introductory: Homer, Virgil, and the epic 2 The Odyssey, Books 1-12 3 The Odyssey, Books 13-24 4 * The Aeneid, Books 1-6 5 The Aeneid, Books 7-6 Paradise Lost, Books 1-4 7 Paradise Lost, Books 5-8 8 Paradise Lost, Books 9-12 9 * Moby-Dick, first third 10 Moby-Dick, middle chapters 11 Moby-Dick, last third 12 Melville, Bartleby the Scrivener 13 * Melville, Benito Cereno 14 Conclusion and review Final exam: tba
5 NYU Grading Scale: A Excellent 4.0 A- Excellent 3.7 B+ Good 3.3 B Good 3.0 B- Good 2.7 C+ Satisfactory 2.3 C Satisfactory 2.0 C- Satisfactory 1.7 D+ Minimum Passing Grade 1.3 D Minimum Passing Grade 1.0 F Failure 0.0 IF Incomplete-Failure 0.0 IP Incomplete-Passing 0.0 I Incomplete 0.0 P Passing 0.0 Note that grades of A and A- will be earned by students who have done really excellent work throughout. The average grade for this course falls between a B and a B- http://www.nyu.edu/registrar/transcripts-certification/grades-information.html