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CS92PROD
Great Books Unbound
COL 150
Fall 2016
Section: 01   02   03  

Taught by three College of Letters professors, this course combines a weekly lecture with twice-weekly discussion seminars and writing workshops to showcase the vitality of an interdisciplinary education in the humanities. Focusing on enduring themes of human interest, we will learn to think across periods and places from the ancient world to the present day, while developing our understanding of and appreciation for literary, historical, and philosophical modes of thinking. As we investigate how different works and disciplines address these themes, we will continually ask ourselves what it means for a book to be classified as "great" and what counts as a "great book." Indeed, the texts we select for study will all be chosen to allow us to interrogate how and why they may (or may not) have been included in the pantheon of great books. Together, we will challenge ourselves to establish the significance of these books on their own terms, as we also interpret them in a manner relevant to our own lives.

The themes we will explore this semester are: identity; the animal; society; transcendence. The authors and texts for study will include Sappho, Virginia Woolf's A ROOM OF ONE'S OWN, THE MARTYRDOM OF PERPETUA, W.E.B. DuBois' THE SOULS OF BLACK FOLK, Peter Singer, Franz Kafka's METAMORPHOSIS, BEOWULF, Jean-Jacques Rousseau's REVERIES OF A SOLITARY WALKER, THE LIFE OF SYMEON THE HOLY FOOL, Plato's PHAEDRUS, and Rumi's MASNAVI.
Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: HA COL
Course Format: Lecture / DiscussionGrading Mode: Credit/Unsatisfactory
Level: UGRD Prerequisites: None
Fulfills a Major Requirement for: None
Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available

Last Updated on MAR-28-2024
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