| LIT 230 – 201 CLS 230 – 201 HON 270 – 201 1 course unit Term: Summer 2021 Time: 2:00-4:45pm TWR Room: Bliss Annex Prerequisites: None |
Prof. G. Steinberg Office: Bliss 216 Office Phone: (609) 771-2106 Office Hours: by appointment only (remote) E-mail : gsteinbe@tcnj.edu |
TEXTBOOKS:
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- Homer, The Odyssey, trans. Robert Fagles (Penguin, 1999), ISBN 9780140268867
- Aeschylus, The Oresteia, trans. Robert Fagles (Penguin, 1984), ISBN 9780140443332
- Virgil, The Aeneid, trans. Robert Fagles (Penguin, 2008), ISBN 9780143106296
- Ovid, The Metamorphoses, trans. Rolfe Humphries (Indiana, 1955), ISBN 9780253033598
- The Song of Roland, trans. and ed. Glyn Burgess (Penguin, 1990), ISBN 9780140445329
- Dante, The Divine Comedy Vol. I: Inferno, trans. Mark Musa (Penguin, 1984), ISBN 9780142437223
- Luïs Vaz de Camões, The Lusíads, trans. Landeg White (Oxford, 2008), ISBN 9780199539963
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COURSE DESCRIPTION. The official catalogue description of the course is available in PAWS.
Until World War I, Virgil’s Aeneid was probably the most cited text after the Bible in western European and American culture, but after the two world wars in the 20th century, Virgil’s reputation took a nose-dive. It’s interesting to think about both why Virgil held such sway over European culture for so long and why his reputation so quickly declined in the 20th century. In this course, we use Virgil as the central, pivotal figure and look at how earlier texts led up to Virgil, as well as how later texts were influenced by him. Along the way, we talk a lot about war, law, individuality, moral values, and heroism. Among texts that we are likely to read (in whole or in part) are Homer’s Odyssey, Aeschylus’s Oresteia, Virgil’s Aeneid, Ovid’s Metamorphoses, The Song of Roland, Dante’s Inferno, and Camões’s Lusíads.
When the College went through a curriculum revision several years ago, the vast majority of undergraduate courses were “transformed” from 3-credit to 4-credit (1-unit) learning experiences. While most of the classes continued to meet for only 3 academic hours per week, it was understood that the “transformed” courses offered a depth of learning with additional learning tasks unfolding in the equivalent of a fourth hour, including, sometimes, an actual additional hour of class interaction. As the equivalent of the fourth hour in this course,
F) students are assigned additional learning tasks that make the semester’s learning experience more deeply engaged and rigorous, and no other additional classroom space is needed.
GOALS. In terms of my goals for this course, I want you to
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- to appreciate the literary achievements of the ancient Greeks and Romans, as well as of their heirs,
- to acquire perceptual habits and conceptual lenses conducive to the appreciation of specific media, genres, and styles of literature,
- to engage in the analysis and interpretation of texts in their concrete historicity – that is, in their diverse philological, historical, aesthetic, cultural, and theoretical contexts,
- to practice comparative literary and historical analysis,
- to read critically, interpret responsibly, write and speak with clarity and grace, reason intelligently, and argue thoughtfully and persuasively, and
- to enlarge the body of literature that you have read by becoming familiar with texts from other times and cultures, written in languages other than your own, texts within – and on the margins of – a variety of literary traditions.
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More officially, this course contributes to the following goals for the School of Humanities & Social Sciences and the English Department:
#1 Written Communication
#5 Critical Analysis and Reasoning: Ability to critique the arguments of others in the discipline and the construction of one’s own arguments in the discipline, using data/evidence are a focus of instruction and/or the ability to analyze linguistic and cultural patterns
#7 Interpret Language and Symbol
#8 Intercultural Competence: The development of understanding of other cultures and/or subcultures (practices, perspectives, behavior patterns, etc.)
#12 Students will be able to demonstrate familiarity with a range of critical, generic, and literary traditions (including recent theoretical approaches) that shape – and are shaped by – literary discourses and texts of particular periods or movements
#14 Students will be able to identify historically specific elements relevant to a particular text
#15 Students will be able to read a literary work and characterize its main aesthetic, structural, and rhetorical strategies in an argumentative, thesis-driven essay or in a writing workshop
REQUIREMENTS. This course has the following graded assignments:
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- a total of 8 response papers (altogether worth 20% of your final grade),
- PAPER 1 and PAPER 2 (worth 20% and 30%, respectively), and
- a comprehensive final exam (30%).
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Your final grade will be based on the following scale: A = 93%-100%, A- = 90%-92%, B+ = 87%-89%, B = 83%-86%, B- = 80%-82%, C+ = 77%-79%, C = 73%-76%, C- = 70%-72%, D+ = 67%-69%, D = 60%-66%, and F = below 60%. This scale is absolute. Because the response papers are in a sense a form of extra credit built into this course from the start, I do not give extra credit assignments at the end of the semester to help students raise their grade even a whisker. So, even if, at the end of the semester, you are just .0001 points away from an A-, your final grade will be a B+.
PROFESSOR’S AVAILABILITY. My office is Bliss Hall 216, but my office hours this term are by appointment and remote only. You may contact me by email (gsteinbe@tcnj.edu) to arrange a virtual or phone “meeting.” You may also call my office phone (609-771-2106) and leave a message (if I do not answer), but email is by far the best way to get in touch with me.
ATTENDANCE. This course is being taught in a “flex” format (because of the coronavirus pandemic). Students may “meet” synchronously online during the scheduled time for our class on each of the regular class days of the semester (unless otherwise noted in the course schedule below), or they may meet in person physically in the classroom. For in-person attendance, instructions will be emailed to you before the first class meeting. Whether attending in person or online, you are expected to attend all class meetings. The links for joining the synchronous online class meetings are available in Canvas under “Zoom.” If you have technology issues or needs during the semester, please contact the IT Helpdesk at (609) 771-2660 or helpdesk@tcnj.edu.
Please note: If you attend remotely, I am going to require you to keep your camera on for the class’s Zoom meetings. If you have a good and pressing reason that you need to keep your camera off, let me know before class. Otherwise, please keep your camera on. It’s virtually impossible to have a vital discussion when only some people have their camera on.
In general, I will not take or record attendance for our class meetings, but regular attendance is a virtual necessity for successful completion of class. Class activities will constitute important, useful preparation for your graded work. If you miss a class, you will essentially lose out on that day’s contribution to your preparation, since it is never really possible to reproduce or recapture the dynamics and flow of a missed class meeting (even if you get notes from someone). If, however, you positively must miss a class, I expect you to find out what you missed and to come fully prepared – without excuses – to the next class meeting. For information on the College’s attendance policy, please go to https://policies.tcnj.edu/?p=77.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY. Academic dishonesty is any attempt by a student to gain academic advantage through dishonest means, to submit, as his or her own, work which has not been done by him/her or to give improper aid to another student in the completion of an assignment. Such dishonesty would include, but is not limited to, submitting as his/her own a project, paper, report, test, or speech copied from, partially copied, or paraphrased from the work of another (whether the source is printed, under copyright, or in manuscript form). Credit must be given for words quoted or paraphrased. The rules apply to any academic dishonesty, whether the work is graded or ungraded, group or individual, written or oral. TCNJ’s academic integrity policy is available on the web at https://policies.tcnj.edu/?p=130.
ACCOMMODATIONS. The College of New Jersey prohibits discrimination against any student on the basis of physical or mental disability or perceived disability. The College will also provide reasonable and appropriate accommodations to enable students with disabilities to participate in the life of the campus community. If you require special accommodations, I will make every reasonable effort to accommodate your needs and to create an environment where your special abilities are respected. For more information, please go to https://policies.tcnj.edu/?p=145 and https://arc.tcnj.edu/.
DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION. We are all enriched by greater diversity, and we all bring different perspectives to this class. I want to create a learning environment that supports diversity and honors your identities and perspectives (including your race, gender, class, sexuality, religion, mental and physical health, differing abilities, politics, etc.). If you go by a name and/or set of pronouns that differ from those that appear in your official records, please let me know. If you feel that your performance in class is being impacted by experiences related to your identity outside of class, please don’t hesitate to talk to me. If something is said or posted in class (by anyone, including me) that makes you feel uncomfortable, targeted, misunderstood, or disparaged as a person, please talk to me about it. I will expect our whole class (including me) to strive always to honor every form of diversity. To see TCNJ’s official diversity statement, please go to https://diversity.tcnj.edu/campus-diversity-statement/.
FINAL EVALUATION. As required by the College’s Final Exam/Evaluation Policy (https://policies.tcnj.edu/?p=266), this course has a final evaluation in the form of a final exam that is comprehensive and integrative in nature and counts for at least 15% and not more than 50% of your final grade.
RESPONSE PAPERS. In the course of the term, you are required to write 8 short, informal papers (2 pages each) on the readings for class. You may choose which readings you want to respond to, as long as you have completed 8 response papers by the end of the term.
You should write your response paper before the class meeting at which we discuss the reading assignment covered in your paper. You should submit each response paper by “sharing” it with me as a Google Doc before class on the reading’s assigned day. Be sure to grant me “editing” or “suggesting” status when you share the Google Doc with me (so that I can comment directly on the paper).
For each response paper, choose one of the following topics and analyze the reading assignment for the day with respect to the topic you’ve chosen:
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- World View. What kind of world does the text portray? What are the fundamental elements or principles of the text’s fictive world? Is the world a benevolent place or a dark, dangerous hell-hole without hope? Is the world logical and stable (κόσμος) or random and unstable (χάος)? Does the text seem to view/portray the world in a basically positive or a basically negative light? How does the text’s portrayal of the world relate to that of previous reading assignments in class?
- Human Nature. How does the text portray humanity? What are the fundamental nature and characteristics of humanity in the text’s world? Does the text seem to view/portray humanity in a basically positive or a basically negative light? How does the text’s portrayal of humanity relate to that of previous reading assignments in class?
- Values. What are the fundamental values of the text? Does the text value hard work, honesty, wealth, breeding, loyalty, physical prowess, outward beauty, love, intelligence, humility, learning, action, duty, honor, (self-)discipline, individual freedom, community, and/or patriotism? How and where do the characters manifest such values? How and where are they rewarded for good values (or punished for bad)? How does the text define such values as duty, honor, love, and loyalty? How do the text’s values relate to those of previous reading assignments in class?
- Morality. What standard does the text use to determine what is moral? Is morality based on personal standards (such as integrity), social standards (such as duty), or civic standards (such as patriotism)? To define a moral human being, does the text primarily focus on personal qualities and merit, communal expectations and norms, or political affiliations and ideologies? How do the text’s standards for morality relate to those of previous reading assignments in class?
- Gender. How are men and women portrayed in the text? What seems to be the attitude of the author toward men and women? What are the characteristics of a good man in the text? a good woman? a bad man? a bad woman? What does the text imply or say about what roles are appropriate for each gender? How does the text’s treatment of gender relate to that of previous reading assignments in class?
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Response papers will be graded Pass/Fail. I ask you to type and double-space them (so that they are easier for me to read), but they need not be a perfect, polished product. Rather, response papers should be just what their name says – a response. Think about one of the topics above in relation to the reading; then, write a response. Don’t worry about answering every question under the topic. In fact, focus on the one question that seems most interesting to you, and be as specific as you can, getting down as much as you can, as quickly as you can. Treat response papers more like a journal entry than like a formal paper. I don’t want a five-paragraph theme. Rather, I want an exploration – as detailed and specific as possible – of the reading assignment for the day. But don’t focus too narrowly on just one scene or passage from the text. Try to generalize about the text and then look at specific examples from all over to support your generalization. Normally, as long as you submit a response paper of suitable length, detail, and thoughtfulness (and as long as you submit it before class on the day of the reading assignment), you will receive all the points that the response paper is worth (i.e., 100% = A++).
The purpose of the response papers is
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- to verify that you are doing the readings for class,
- to help you in your preparation for class discussion,
- to help me see where you’re struggling with the readings for class,
- to help you develop your intellectual independence and your confidence as a reader of texts from another time and culture, and
- to help you explore the relationships among the texts that we’re reading.
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You may submit more than 8 response papers in the course of the term (to make up for any response papers that do not receive a grade of Pass), but no matter how many extra response papers you submit, you will not receive credit for more than 8. You may not submit more than one response paper for a single class meeting, nor may you submit a response paper for a day that you are absent from class – absolutely no exceptions. (NOTE: Even if you do not submit a response paper on a particular day, you should still come to class prepared to discuss the response paper topics in relation to the reading assignment, since we will focus on these topics in our in-class discussions all term; in other words, the response paper topics above are a great guide for your class prep every single day.)
PAPER 1. How does Virgil reflect on the figure of Homer’s Odysseus in Book 3 of the Aeneid? How does Virgil use his portrayal of Ulysses in Book 3 to revise and “correct” Homer’s portrayal of Odysseus? How does he use his portrayal of Aeneas in the book to revise and “correct” Homer? What does Virgil criticize about Homer’s sense of the heroic (as seen in Homer’s hero)? In a paper of 3-5 pages, argue a clear and specific thesis about Virgil’s reflection on the figure of Odysseus. NOTE: You need not use outside sources for this paper (that is, sources other than the texts of Homer and Virgil); in fact, I would strongly encourage you not to use outside sources. But if you do use any other sources, you must cite them appropriately. If you only use Homer and Virgil, you need not include a “Works Cited” page with your paper, but indicate book and line numbers in parentheses after quotations (or whenever you make specific references to the texts).
Your paper will be evaluated according to the following criteria:
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- Does the paper have a clear and specific thesis? Does the thesis offer an interesting perspective or “hook” that is provocative without being gimmicky or offensive?
- Does the paper’s analysis progress logically, with a clear, consistent focus? Does the paper have a coherent overall organization that relates all the ideas of the paper together in support of the thesis (rather than simply providing a list of random observations without relation to one another or to the thesis)? Does the paper have appropriate transitions to aid the reader in seeing and following the logic of the paper (rather than weak transitions, such as “The first…,” “Another…,” and “Also…”)?
- Does the paper provide relevant, concrete evidence (including brief quotations) and logically persuasive reasons for every assertion?
- Does the paper show sensitivity to the concrete historicity of the literary works under consideration (rather than treat them as timeless museum pieces or reflect on them anachronistically)?
- Does the paper exhibit confidence and insight when analyzing literary works or passages not discussed in class?
- Does the introduction to the paper offer an interesting, helpful preview of the content, logic, and organization of the paper?
- Is factual information in the paper accurate?
- Is the writing in the paper clear, effective, interesting, and appropriate to an academic setting?
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PAPER 2. Dante (in Inferno 9.76-81) and Camões (in The Lusíads 2.27-28) both use the image of frogs to describe characters who scatter before a threat. Write a paper of 3-5 pages in which you argue a clear, specific thesis about how the two authors use this image characteristically in the contexts of their works. Look at how the two images compare and contrast in context and details. Think about how each author’s use of the image fits with the themes and characteristics that are central to his text. How is each author’s use of the image emblematic of that author? NOTE: You need not use outside sources for this paper (that is, sources other than the texts of Dante and Camões); in fact, I would strongly encourage you not to use outside sources. But if you do use any other sources, you must cite them appropriately. If you only use Dante and Camões, you need not include a “Works Cited” page with your paper, but indicate book and line or stanza numbers in parentheses after quotations (or whenever you make specific references to the texts).
PAPER 2 will be evaluated according to the same criteria as PAPER 1.
COURSE SCHEDULE. This schedule is subject to change at the discretion of the professor. Changes in the schedule made after the start of the semester will be in red. The assignments below represent the bare minimum that you should read.
| Date | Assignment |
| T Jun 15 | Introductions Homer, Odyssey, Books 1-2, 4 |
| W Jun 16 | Homer, Odyssey, Books 5-6, 9-10 |
| R Jun 17 | Homer, Odyssey, Books 11-13, 21-23 |
| T Jun 22 | Aeschylus, Agamemnon and The Eumenides |
| W Jun 23 | Virgil, Aeneid, Books 1-2 |
| R Jun 24 | Virgil, Aeneid, Books 4, 6 |
| T Jun 29 | Virgil, Aeneid, Books 8, 10, 12 |
| W Jun 30 | Ovid, Metamorphoses, Books 1, 3-4 |
| R Jul 1 | Ovid, Metamorphoses, Books 6, 10, 13 |
| F Jul 2 | PAPER 1 DUE in Canvas by midnight |
| T Jul 6 | Ovid, Metamorphoses, Books 14-15 Song of Roland, #1-#71, #79-95, #104-125 |
| W Jul 7 | Song of Roland, #125a-186, #273-298 Dante, Inferno, Cantos I-V |
| R Jul 8 | Dante, Inferno, Cantos VIII-X, XIII, XV, XVII-XVIII |
| T Jul 13 | Dante, Inferno, Cantos XXI-XXIII, XXVI, XXXII-XXXIV |
| W Jul 14 | Camões, The Lusíads, Cantos 1-3, 5 |
| R Jul 15 | Camões, The Lusíads, Cantos 7-9 |
| COMPREHENSIVE FINAL EXAM DUE by midnight | |
| PAPER 2 DUE in Canvas by midnight |