HON 250 - The Humanistic Tradition

Course Description
Course Readings
Class Policies & Procedures

Course Synopsis
Academic Honesty Policy
ADA Policy

Course Description

Purpose: 

The Humanistic Tradition examines great works of the period from the Renaissance through the Enlightenment.  It is said in contemporary academic circles that humanity has entered of late upon a new stage history, usually identified as Post-Modernity. Although there is considerable debate as to what exactly constitutes Post-Modernity, there is general agreement that Modernity began with the Renaissance and its deliberate and decisive break with the Middle Ages.  By probing the origins of the Renaissance and the triumph of its various initiatives in the Enlightenment, we hope to better understand the context of our own times and its effort to free itself from the clutches of Modernity.

            We shall begin by contemplating the works of the early Italian Humanists, most notably Petrarch and Boccaccio, who laid the foundations for modern literature.  To the extent that ancient Athens exemplifies the ideal city of the Classical World as actualized in practice, Renaissance Florence will be compared with her as the civic ideal of the Renaissance. We shall not fail to give consideration to the emergence of the Creative Artist (sometimes referred to as the “Renaissance Man”) as a model soul-type, examining the music and architecture of the Renaissance as well as the fine arts of sculpture and painting, especially the works of Raphael, Leonardo, and Michelangelo.  Castiglioni’s portrayal of the courtier as Aristotle's magnanimous man and Pico della Mirandola's representation of the scholar as cosmic philosopher will be scrutinized. To balance these strains of cloying idealism due attention will be given to Machiavelli’s shocking political realism and Montaigne’s philosophical skepticism.

            Our study of the Enlightenment will begin with the originators of early modern science. Some attention will be paid to the current claims that Leonardo was the forerunner of modern empirical science.  But we will pay conventional honor to Bacon, who dedicated his great literary ability to overthrowing the stranglehold of scholastic philosophy.  His compelling vision of the future provides the first true work of science fiction.   We will then turn from England to France, where the intriguing personality of the satirist Voltaire and the concomitant ascendancy of the Counter-Cultural Intellectual as the noblest of human types will be discussed, as will the work of the Encyclopedists (whose project is only now nearing completion with the creation and universal acceptance of the Internet). Art, music, and architecture during this period will also be surveyed.  Finally, the self-critiquing nature of the Enlightenment will be represented in the work of Rousseau and the German philosopher, Kant.

            As the Enlightenment was very involved in the establishment and clarification of methods of inquiry, let us suggest that our own method will be largely one of comparison and contrast.  We will compare Renaissance thinkers with those ancient authors who inspired them.  Along the same lines, we will compare Enlightenment artists and intellectuals with the Renaissance figures who preceded them.  Central to our activities will be the creation of a Renaissance-style Utopia online, which we shall leave as a legacy to future classes. Our daily manner of proceeding will be to mimic the salons of the Enlightenment with their devotion to serious discourse, equal contribution, and openness to novel and sometimes discomforting ideas, as expressed through memorable witticism and civil repartee.  We should emerge from the course with a stronger sense of the Modern Self, as opposed to the Ancient Soul, and a greater understanding of the spiritual and intellectual crisis of our times.

Class Policies and Procedures

Attendance Policy: Class time will be used for lectures, student presentations, and discussion. Attendance is mandatory. All excused absences are to be confirmed in advance of the class meeting either by note or email. The email subject title must be "HON-250-02 attendance-<dd/mm> <Lastname>"*. Absences must present a rationale. Confirmation of an excused absence will be made by the instructor by email prior to the class meeting. Without a prior confirmation, the absence counts as unexcused. Only one unexcused absence is permitted during the semester. If, for any reason, a student misses a class where he/she is scheduled for a presentation that absence is counted as unexcused. Each unexcused absence over the maximum allowable will deduct 1/2 letter grade from the final course grade.

* Do not employ brackets "<>" in the subject line of the email.  They indicate that you must add information. Please leave them off.

Assignments: Students may expect a wide variety of assignments, some quite surprising. Assignments must be completed and ready to hand in either before the due date or when the class commences on the due date, not during class. Otherwise the assignment is late and will be devalued accordingly. Some assignments, indicated beforehand, cannot be submitted late without failure.

Journal: Each student will keep a reading journal online. For each class session, the student will be given a reading and writing assignment. The written assignment will be emailed to the instructor prior to the class with the subject title "HON-250-02 assignment-0xx <Lastname>". If something prevents the written assignment from being emailed, a disk copy is to be handed to the instructor at the start of the class. The journal entries will be posted on the student's personal web site on a single journal web page in the order in which they were assigned. The web site must be updated each weekend. It is important that these assignments be done individually, without the employment of outside references (that includes any of the standard digests and commentaries -- Cliff Notes, Monarch Notes, etc. -- which shall be construed as plagiarism).

Class Notes: At the beginning of each class, two students from each section will be assigned to take notes. These students need not actively participate in class discussion, though they may do so if they choose. After class, the two students are expected to consult on the notes and are encouraged to work together online. The students are required to submit identical sets of notes to the instructor by email before the next class session. Class notes need to be submitted with the subject title "HON-250-02 notes-<dd/mm> <Lastname>". These notes will be posted on the class web site for review. If, in the opinion of one partner, the other fails to contribute substantially to the notes, the other may submit individually. If the instructor received two different sets of notes, the instructor will evaluate them both and determine which, if either, is the official set of notes and which of the two students is to receive credit. He may not give credit to both.

Discussion/Message Board: Students are required to participate weekly in the online discussion. In general, it is a wise strategy to respond to any prompt that this instructor or the instructor of the other course may provide, but responding seriously to student questions is valid.  Light-weight responses will receive no credit and will be publicly ridiculed.  Inappropriate comments or flames will be discarded with a severe reprimand.

Fine Arts Web Page: Within one week of completing an in-class presentation, each philosophe must create and deliver for posting to this site a web page on the artist, composer, sculptor, or architect.  The web page must contain a several paragraph discussion of an individual work of art and a short biographical sketch of the creator.  The discussion must be original work, and it must be accompanied by a picture or musical link taken from the web.  All textual material gleaned from the Internet for the biographical sketch must be attributed with a link to the page from which it was copied.  Any picture or music file must be likewise attributed.

Collaborative Project: Each student will be assigned to a  group for the purpose of completing a group project. The class project will consist of creating a Renaissance-inspired utopia online. Students will be responsible for filing individual reports on their contributions and evaluating participation within the group as well as evaluating the work of other groups. 

Examinations & Grading: There will be no midterm examinations and one final comprehensive take-home written essay. There may also be an accompanying identification examination, requiring students to identify passages from specific texts and to name the authors.  Identification questions may extend to fine arts productions.  Journal entries, contributions to the class web site, various papers and presentations, and participation in discussion will be factored into the overall grade. Indeed, quality participation in discussion will count heavily towards the final grade.  Points will be accumulated, although the class grading curve will be unavailable until the final week of the term. Accordingly, it will be difficult to know precisely where an individual student stands. Students wishing to know what points they have accumulated may consult the instructor privately. The instructor will notify any students who may be receiving grade of C or lower for a midterm grade prior to midterm and will provide counseling for  those students shortly thereafter.

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