Spring 1998

What? TRADITIONS AND CULTURES 104: The Trickster

Who? J. Douglas Canfield, Regents' Professor: office 442 ML; hours 3:30-5 MTWTh, or by appointment. 621-7404. Assisted by: Paul Burkhardt and Karen Wyndham.

When? MW 2-2:50 (check Schedule of Classes for Friday discussion sections).

Where? 311 Modern Language Building (check as above for sections)

Why? This course was originally designed as an alternative to sequential humanities courses used to fulfill the old requirement in "Western Civilization." It now is an option for the "List 2" General Education requirement, and it will be an option for the new Core Curriculum First Tier requirement. This "pilot" course is taught with the understanding that it will be accepted by all colleges for current (and hopefully future) General Education requirements in humanities/traditions and cultures. In short, it is a "wild card." If your advisors have any questions, please have them contact Susan Steele, Associate Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, in the Office of Undergraduate Education, fifth floor of the Administration Bldg.

This course operates under the following current and proposed guidelines: Fundamental to the aims of Traditions and Cultures, List 2, is the awareness that we are historical beings, shaped by the experience and acts of our predecessors, and that in turn we shape the lives of those who follow us. The courses in this area examine Western Civilization as a collective heritage of ideas, values, and literary and artistic expressions, but also as a continuous process that adapts that heritage to social, political, scientific, and economic changes and experiences.

Courses in Tier One must engage in a rigorous exploration of fundamental knowledge that emphasizes interdisciplinary and cross-cultural analysis and should teach critical thinking, emphasizing the assessment, evaluation, and critique of culture.

Endemic to "Western" as well as other cultures, The Trickster works sometimes to subvert, sometimes to reinforce cultural values.

Texts:

Homer, The Odyssey (Harper).

Terence, The Comedies (Penguin).

Boccaccio, The Decameron (Penguin).

Molire, Tartuffe and Other Plays (Signet).

Euripides, Medea and Other Plays. (Penguin).

Chaucer, Canterbury Tales, an interlinear trans. (Barron's).

The Celestina, trans. Lesley Byrd Simpson (California).

Aphra Behn, Sir Patient Fancy (photocopy if text unavailable).

Daniel Defoe, Moll Flanders (Dover).

Mark Twain, Huckleberry Finn (Dover).

Joel Chandler Harris, Uncle Remus (Penguin).

Leslie Silko, Storyteller (Little Brown).

Gloria Anzaldua, Borderlands/La Frontera (Aunt Lute's).

Syllabus:

W 14 Jan: Introduction.

F 16 Jan: Odyssey 1-4.

M 19 Jan: MARTIN LUTHER KING HOLIDAY

W 21 Jan: Odyssey 5-12.

F 23 Jan: Odyssey 13-16.

M 26 Jan: Odyssey 17-20.

W 28 Jan: Odyssey 17-24.*

M 2 Feb: Terence, Phormio (in Comedies).

W 4 Feb: Chaucer, The Miller's Tale (in Canterbury Tales)*

M 9 Feb: Boccaccio, Decameron, 3rd Day.

W 11 Feb: Decameron, 7th Day.*

MW 16-18 Feb: Molire, Don Juan (in Tartuffe and Other Plays).*

MW 23-25 Feb: Euripides, Medea.*

M 2 Mar: Chaucer, Prologue to The Wife of Bath's Tale (in Canterbury Tales).

W 4 Mar: Chaucer, The Wife of Bath's Tale.*

MW 9-11 Mar: Celestina.*

MWF 16-20 Mar: SPRING BREAK

MW 23-25 Mar: Behn, Sir Patient Fancy.*

MW 30 Mar-1 Apr: Defoe, Moll Flanders.*

MW 6-8 Apr: Twain, Huckleberry Finn.*

Th 9 Apr: Showing of My Little Chickadee in ML 210, 6:30-8:30 P.M.

F 10 Apr: Showing of My Little Chickadee in ML 210, 4-6 P.M.

M 13 Apr: My Little Chickadee. Also showing of Elmer Gantry in ML 210, 4-6:30 P.M.

T 14 Apr: Showing of Elmer Gantry in ML 210, 6:30-9:00 P.M.

W 15 Apr: Elmer Gantry.*

M 20 Apr: Harris, Uncle Remus. Also showing of Silko film in ML 210, 4-5:30 P.M.

T 21 Apr: Showing of Silko film in ML 210, 6:30-8 P.M.

W 22 Apr: Silko film.

M 27 Apr: Silko, coyote stories from Storyteller, esp. "Coyote Holds a Full House in His Hand." Also showing of Zoot Suit in ML 210, 4-6:30 P.M.

T 28 Apr: Showing of Zoot Suit in ML210, 6:30-9 P.M.

W 29 Apr: Zoot Suit.

M 4 May: Anzaldua, Borderlands/La Frontera, first part. Also showing of Mindwalk in ML 210, 4-6:30 P.M.

T 5 May: Showing of Mindwalk in ML 210, 6:30-9:00 P.M.

W 6 May: Mindwalk.

*Take-home essays: For all take-home essays, I will give you a question or a topic that you will answer. DO NOT introduce your answer with grand generalizations (the "funnel-down" approach) but state your thesis as quickly and concisely as you can, then proceed to argue it logically, presenting evidence from the texts (citing pages). You will be judged on the QUALITY of your answer--of your argumentation and interpretation. We grade on a fifteen point system, from A-plus down to E-minus. Whatever it may mean to you, a C to us means "competent." A B means really "good." An A means truly "excellent." If your writing is not up to university-level, we will suggest you visit The Writing Center for help. In the word "writing" I include not only your ability to argue but to construct correct sentences. Questions are given at Wednesday lecture. Answers are due as the price of admission to discussion sections. Late papers, without prior, legitimate excuse, can receive a grade no higher than a D. Zeros do not compute (that is, you must submit every essay, or you will not have run the course). Restrict yourselves to approximately 500 words (answer limited to 1 page if typed [font no smaller than 12cpi, margins no smaller than .5"], 2 if hand-written). Remember, get right down to answering the question; provide evidence from the "texts." We expect and grade on improvement, so the first quiz is worth 5.0%, the second 5.1%, the third 5.2%, etc., till the last is worth 6.0% for a total of 60.5%.

**Take-home final exam questions will be given at last lecture, one covering the ethnic Trickster material, the other the course as a whole. Approximately 2500 words (500 on the first question, 2000 on the second). Again, avoid vague generalizations and get right down to answering the question(s). Worth 29.5% (6.5% + 23%).

Plagiarism on papers is, of course, strictly forbidden. We are trying to teach you how to interpret cultural texts on your own. So we discourage you from going to the library to get help analyzing the texts (though you may want to get help with historical contextualizing). While you are encouraged to discuss the course with friends, your quiz answers must be your own.

Films will be shown before the lecture, in 210 Modern Languages, times in the syllabus; students who cannot or choose not to attend can either rent movies for private showings or check our copies out from the reserve desk in the library after the lecture on the film.

Final 10% of course grade is on quality of classroom discussion, including in lecture.

Quizzes are due by Friday (1) so you will have thought about the texts thoroughly and will therefore be ready to discuss them in detail and (2) so you will be free to get your reading done for Monday's lecture. We cannot stress enough how important that reading is. Because the lecture, however large, will still follow a Socratic format, that is, with questions and answers, we simply cannot succeed in our collective endeavor if you do not do the reading before class. Unlike other courses where you are perhaps invited only to listen and regurgitate, this course is predicated on your being involved in working out interpretations. Your progressive ability to do so is a sine qua non for your successful participation in a democracy.