Required of first-year students and selected transfer students. A continuation of Freshman Studies I, this course is designed to help students refine their abilities as readers, writers, and thinkers. As in Freshman Studies I, instructors stress close reading, cogent discussion, and clear writing. Regular class sessions are again supplemented by lectures and performances by Lawrence faculty members or by visiting scholars or artists.

Works:

Obedience to Authority, by Stanley Milgram

Battle of Algiers, a film directed by Gillo Pontecorvo

Bully for Brontosaurus, selected essays by Stephen Jay Gould

Collected Fictions, selected stories by Jorge Luis Borges

Rite of Spring, a ballet with music by Igor Stravinsky and choreography by Vaslav Nijinsky

Graded Elements:

Discussion / Lecture Summaries 15%

Paper 1 (3-5 pages) 10%

Paper 2 (5-7 pages) 20%

Paper 3 (3-5 pages) 15%

Re-write of paper 1 10%

Midterm Exam 15%

Final Exam 15%

Schedule:

Obedience to Authority, by Stanley Milgram

M 1/2 Introduction and overview of Milgram’s book

W 1/4 Chapters 1-5: see Milgram Handout #1 for discussion questions – Paper #1 assignment distributed

F 1/6 Lecture by Professor Matt Ansfield

M 1/9 Chapters 6-9: see Milgram Handout #2 for discussion questions - Lecture summary #1 due

W 1/11 Chapters 10-15 and the appendices

Battle of Algiers (discussion topics subject to change)

F 1/13 Attend one of the screenings of the film in the Warch Cinema prior to our first discussion. Come prepared to discuss your initial impressions of the film.

M 1/16 MLK Day, no class

W 1/18 Lecture by Professor Martyn Smith - Paper #1 due (3-5 pages) – watch the film again on your own after hearing the lecture and before our next discussion.

F 1/20 Discuss the lecture - Lecture summary #2 due

Topics for discussion:

· The story (history) told by Pontecorvo’s film

· Colonialism and independence

· Violence, terrorism, and torture

· The role of women

M 1/23 Topics for discussion:

· The appearance of the film – B&W

· The characters/actors: Is there a protagonist? Who is it?

· The use of the camera: angles, close-ups, panoramas, …

· The soundtrack (narration, music, …)

· Does this film make a political statement?

Bully for Brontosaurus, by Stephen Jay Gould

W 1/25 Read essays #11 (Life’s Little Joke) and #29 (An Essay on a Pig Roast)

F 1/27 Midterm Exam

M 1/30 Read essays #9 (Not Necessarily a Wing) and #4 (The Panda’s Thumb of Technology)

W 2/1 Lecture by Professor Bart De Stasio, Read essay #34 (The Face of Miranda)

F 2/3 Read essays #18 (To Be a Platypus) and #12 (The Chain of Reason versus the Chain of Thumbs) - Lecture summary #3 due

M 2/6 Read essays #8 (Male Nipples and Clitoral Ripples), #3 (The Creation Myths of Cooperstown), and #31 (The Streak of Streaks)

W 2/8 Read essays #25 (The Godfather of Disaster) and #14 (Red Wings in the Sunset)

F 2/10 READING PERIOD, no class

Collected Fictions, by Jorge Luis Borges

M 2/13 Read Man on Pink Corner (p. 45) and The Circular Ruins (p. 96) - Paper #2 due (5-7 pages)

W 2/15: Lecture by Professor Madera Allan; Read Borges and I (p. 324), The Ethnographer (p. 334), and Pierre Menard, Author of The Quixote (p. 88)

F 2/17 Read The Library of Babel (p.112) and The Garden of Forking Paths (p. 119) -

Lecture summary #4 due

M 2/20 Read Death and the Compass (p. 147) and The South (p. 74) - Re-write of paper #1 due

W 2/22 Read The Gospel According to Mark (p. 397) and The Book of Sand (p. 480)

F 2/24 Read August 25, 1983 (p. 489), The Story from Rosendo Juàrez (p. 358), and The Aleph (p. 274)

M 2/27 In collaboration with your partner(s), prepare a 7-9 minute presentation on your assigned story:

Rite of Spring, by Igor Stravinsky (discussion topics subject to change)

W 2/29 Watch the Joffrey Ballet’s reconstruction of Nijinsky’s choreography for the Rite of Spring before coming to class. Be prepared to discuss specific reactions to the ballet … the music, the choreography, the costumes, the set/backdrop, the story so far as you can perceive one, etc.

F 3/2 Lecture by Professor Julie McQuinn - Paper #3 due (3-5 pages). After the lecture, listen to the entire ballet again at least twice before Monday’s discussion.

M 3/5 Discuss the lecture - Lecture summary #5 due

W 3/7 The Score: Before coming to class spend some time exploring the Keeping Score website.

F 3/9 Wrap up discussion of RoS and review for the final exam

Sa 3/12 3:00-5:30 PM Final Exam