CPLT 150: Values and Ethics in Literature

Transcription

1 CPLT 150: Values and Ethics in Literature Dr. Professor I will answer s within 24 hours.) Welsh Humanities Bldg. 912 Virtual Office Hours MW Academic Bulletin Description Analysis and interpretation of literary texts from a range of cultures and eras that address questions of personal and societal values, moral principles that guide human behavior, decisionmaking, and definitions of what constitutes a good life. Comment [USC1]: This sample is based on a successful course syllabus and justifications from a DED proposal approved during This course will be offered via 100% asynchronous online delivery. Note that the instructor clearly outlines the learning outcomes and course assignments/assessments. In addition, she provides a schedule of activities and time estimates to demonstrate that a typical student will spend at least 2100 minutes during the semester per credit hour working on the course (e.g., 2100 x 3 credit hours = 6300 total minutes for this course). Full Course Description This course is a foundational overlay course intended to satisfy University core requirements in Values, Ethics, and Social Responsibility (VSR) and Aesthetic and Interpretive Understanding (AIU). This course is open to all undergraduates seeking to fulfill core curriculum requirements for graduation, including students participating in Palmetto College or Back to Carolina. Students will learn to analyze and interpret literary texts that address questions of personal and societal values, i.e., moral principles that guide human behavior; decision-making; and defining and leading a good life. Values we will encounter and analyze include compassion, justice, community, love, self-discipline, integrity, loyalty, commitment, self-discovery, happiness, and responsibility. As we focus on these diverse writers values-based discourse, we will explore the effects of literature on our own responses to ethical challenges and explorations. Learning Outcomes The student who successfully completes CPLT 150 will be able to: Analyze literary texts, noting style, period, composition, and context of the work Discuss specific artistic periods as related to the course texts with regard to history, development, and major practitioners Describe the thematic content of texts, with particular focus on authors treatment of ethical and moral issues Identify the source and function of values Compare the values, norms, and ideals in selected works of world literature and discuss the development of values-focused discourse in these works Demonstrate an understanding of the importance of values, ethics, and social responsibility for the self and for contemporary society as discussed and brought out in literary texts Reflect on how values shape decision-making, both within literary texts and in the societies they describe, as well as how values influence personal and community ethics and decision-making Relate course discussions of values, ethics and responsibilities to students own capacities to address ethical and social challenges. Comment [USC2]: Learning outcomes are clearly defined, measurable and comparable to learning outcomes for a similar face-to-face course at this level.

2 Required Readings: Eileen Chang, Lust, Caution, (on Blackboard) Carlos Fuentes, The Two Shores (on Blackboard) Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Faust, selections (on Blackboard) Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter from a Birmingham Jail ( Mary Lavin, Happiness (on Blackboard) Aldo Leopold, Land Ethic ( Marguerite de Navarre, Heptameron, Tales 12 and 24 (on Blackboard) Plato, Excerpts from The Republic; Apology (on Blackboard) Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Matryona s House ; Excerpts from his Nobel Lecture (on Blackboard) Leo Tolstoy, Excerpts from What is Art ; The Death of Ivan Ilych (on Blackboard) Vergil, The Aeneid, Book IV (on Blackboard) Weekly Schedule: Each week will introduce a new text (or texts) associated with a particular value. In preparation for Monday s lecture (found on Blackboard), you should read the text listed on the syllabus. Monday s lecture will focus on background information about the text, author, and literary period, and how it relates to the value of the week. After watching Monday s lecture and completing the reading, you should reflect on the questions listed on the Blackboard site and respond to them in your Blackboard group discussion by Wednesday at 5 pm. By Thursday at 5 pm, you should have read your group members posts and responded to at least three. This online discussion will then prepare you to write you individual blog post by Friday at midnight. By Monday at noon, you should respond to at least two blog postings. In order to complete all of the weekly assignments, you will spend about 9 hours per week on the course material for a total of approximately 1 hours of course-related activities using Blackboard, discussion boards, and blogs, and reading and reflecting on the texts. A chart of weekly responsibilities/deadlines follows: Monday/Tuesday: Read assigned text(s) for week. Watch lecture online. Wednesday 5 PM: Blackboard initial post. Thursday 5 PM: Blackboard responses. Friday midnight: Individual blog post. Monday noon: Blog post responses. Read/prepare next text. Assessments (see detailed instructions for each component below): Careful preparation and informed participation (on class Blackboard discussion board each week) (20%) Blog postings (20%) Midterm examination (20%) Final examination (20%) Final project (20%) Please note that instructions for posting to Blackboard or your blogs are found on the Blackboard site. If you have any trouble, be sure to contact your instructor for help. Comment [USC3]: Note that students are expected to devote approximately 9 hours per week (6300 minutes during the semester) to the course. Comment [USC4]: Here the instructor specifies how each type of assignment counts towards the course grade.

3 Blackboard Group Discussions: Every week you will be required to post to our class discussion board. Questions about the value and the text(s) for each week will be posted for you to respond to. Since this course is 100% online, your attendance will be monitored through your participation in the group discussions and your blog posts. Failure to regularly participate in the discussion boards will negatively affect your grade. Please contact me early in the semester if you think you will have difficulty completing the requirements of the course. As noted above, your first post should be by Wednesday at 5pm and you should then comment on at least three other comments by Thursday at 5pm. Comment [USC5]: Only required assignments and activities count towards the 6300 minute total. If the discussion board posts were optional, they could not be counted. Discussion Board Grading Criteria Since the main discussion in this course takes place online, it is important that you take the time to respond carefully and thoughtfully to the discussion questions and then to read your classmates answers and respond to them. Careful reflection will help you to engage with the texts in a deeper manner and develop your thoughts about them. When composing replies, you can also consider the following: provide an alternative perspective share stories about your own experiences ask questions to further the discussion post additional resources (websites, books, articles) discuss why you agree or disagree with something (remember to stay courteous as you do so!) The grading rubric for discussion board posts and replies will be posted on Blackboard. Comment [USC6]: Descriptions of each assignment category explain the kinds and amount of work students will do for each assignment. Blog Postings: Your blog posting should reflect on the text and values of the week and respond to the instructor s lecture and to the prompts posted each week by the instructor. Be sure to read over the discussion board posts and incorporate your classmates comments into your post as you reflect on the role the value of the week plays in your life. The blog post should be posted by Friday at midnight. By Monday at noon, you should have responded to at least two blog postings. The grading rubric for blog postings and responses will be posted on Blackboard. Midterm and Final Exams: The midterm and final exams will be based on the texts, course lectures, and group discussions. The format will be short answer and essays with questions focused on background information about the texts and authors, questions about the texts themselves, and questions about how the value is associated with the text. You will be expected to compare the values, norms, and ideals in the works of world literature we have discussed this semester and discuss the development of values-focused discourse in these works. Additional details about each exam will be posted on Blackboard. Final Project: Using the medium of your choice (see below), describe how a certain value (or values if you prefer) has been influential in your life and your surroundings. You may wish to reflect on a particular ethical challenge you have faced and how you responded. Be sure to address how the discussions we have had this semester connect to how you lead your life and how you hope to treat and be treated by others in your community. You may convey this information in one of the

4 following manners (and remember to be sure that the medium you choose can be shared with the class through Blackboard!): PowerPoint presentation, video, collage using glogster.com, or screenplay. After the projects are due, you will visit and comment on at least four of your classmates projects. Additional instructions and the grading rubric for the final project will be posted on Blackboard. Course Grade Determination Your letter grade for this course will be determined by the following percentages: % = A 87-89% = B % = B 77-79% = C % = C 70% or below = F ACADEMIC SUCCESS I will be contacting you via the address you have in Blackboard. If you primarily use another account, you should make sure that the Blackboard account is linked to that address. It is your responsibility to ensure that your accounts work properly in order to receive mail. If you are having trouble with this course or its material, you should contact me via to discuss the issues. As a student in this course you also can get help from: The Student Success Center: The Academic Centers for Success: Support for Blackboard and Technology As a student in this course, you also have access to support from University Technology Services for Blackboard and computer issues. Blackboard Support: Technical Support from University Technology Services: or call ACADEMIC INTEGRITY University policy regarding academic responsibility (Student Affairs Policy STAF 6.25) states It is the responsibility of every student at the University of South Carolina Columbia to adhere steadfastly to truthfulness and to avoid dishonesty, fraud, or deceit of any type in connection with any academic program. Any student who violates this rule or who knowingly assists another to violate this rule shall be subject to discipline. Students who commit an act of academic dishonesty may receive a failing grade on the assignment or in the course. More information regarding this policy can be found in the Carolina Community: USC Student Handbook and Policy Guide at STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES Students with disabilities are encouraged to contact the instructor to discuss the logistics of any accommodations needed to fulfill course requirements. In order to receive reasonable

5 accommodations from the instructor, students must be registered with the Office of Student Disability Services. Any student with a documented disability should contact the Office of Student Disability Services to make arrangements for appropriate accommodations at or Comment [USC7]: This statement identifies provisions and resources for students with disabilities.

6 Course Schedule Week Topic Assignments Time on Task First day of Introductions Read the Course Introduction class/weekend prior to first full 30 week of classes Week One: Literature and Values Week Two: Compassion We explore two key writers who have treated the connections between literature and values, and we look at a framework for analyzing ethics and action. We begin with Tolstoy s 1886 Death of Ivan Ilych, the text that sparked individual assessment among the Virginia convicts through its portrayal of the importance of compassion for one s fellow human beings and the psychological and societal devastation caused by its absence. Lecture: Course Introduction 30 Discussion Board: Introduce yourself Introductions Total 105 Text readings: Plato, The Republic, excerpts. (Athens, 4 th century BCE). Leo Tolstoy, What is Art, excerpts. (Russia, 1897). On Blackboard. Week One Lecture the Week One forum. One module Blog Post Response 30 Week One Total 440 Text reading: Leo Tolstoy, The Death of Ivan Ilych (Russia, 1886). On Blackboard. Week Two Lecture the Week Two forum. Comment [USC8]: Note that the course schedule clearly lays out units (by week), types of assignments and activities to be completed, and the estimated amount of time for each. Two module Blog Post Response 30 Week Two Total 440

7 Week Three: Justice Martin Luther King, Jr. s 1963 Letter from a Birmingham Jail was written as the civil rights leader had been jailed for his participation in marches and sit-ins against racism and segregation. Text reading: Martin Luther King, Letter From Birmingham Jail (US, 1963). Text can be found at this site: icles_gen/letter_birmingham.ht ml Week Three Lecture the Week Three forum. Three module Week Four: Community Aldo Leopold s Land Ethic, which formed part of his 1948 environmental classic A Sand County Almanac, advances some of the same concerns as Dr. King s letter, but with an ecological focus. Week Three Total 440 Text reading: Aldo Leopold, The Land Ethic, in A Sand County Almanac (US, 1949). Text can be found at this site: en/landethic.html Week Four Lecture the Week Four forum. Four module Week Four Total 440 Week Five: Marguerite de Navarre s 1558 Heptameron contains Text Reading: Marguerite de

8 Love Week Six: Self-Discipline the French author s brief tales of love, loyalty, deception, power, and danger. In both Tales, the author addresses different kinds of love, as she questions what love can endure and the forms it can take. Membership in a community requires some degree of self-discipline; we will consider whether a leader has a particular responsibility to maintain selfdiscipline for the good of the society s/he heads. In his first-century epic The Aeneid, the Roman writer Vergil explained through his portrayal of the lovesick Lydian queen Dido the negative effects on a society when a nation s ruler loses this crucial sense. Navarre, Heptameron: Read Tale 12 and Tale 24 on Blackboard Week Five Lecture Discussion Board Questions: Please answer the questions in the Week Five forum Individual Blog Post: Please respond to the question posted in the Week Five module Blog Post Response 30 Week Five Total 440 Text reading: Vergil, The Aeneid, Book 4 (Rome, 1 st century BCE). On Blackboard. Week Six Lecture the Week Six forum. Six module Week Seven: Synthesis Synthesis is a word from ancient Greece that means "to put together." This week we are going to try to bring together many of the threads and ideas we've been working on over the past six weeks. For this Week Six Total 440 Text Reading: Dante, The Divine Comedy: Cantos 1, 5, and 26

9 purpose, we will be using Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy as a springboard for our synthesis. It is one of the world's most extraordinary works of literature. Dante's works have influenced Western artists, philosophers, and theologians, and even inspired a modern video game. It is an examination of human actions, responsibilities, consequences, and rewards from a variety perspectives and personal narratives. Because of this, it can help us synthesize the themes and issues we have considered over the past six weeks of class. Week Seven Lecture the Week Seven forum. Seven module Week Seven Total 440 Mid-Term Exam Conducted on Blackboard Test Availability: Monday Oct. 13 at 8:00 AM until Wednesday, Oct. 15 at 5:00 PM Exan Total Fall Break No Classes or Assignments Week Eight: Integrity Plato wrote the The Apology in the 4th century BCE. It is a powerful work of literature, despite Plato's conflicting views of art (remember our first week and Plato's less than positive thoughts about art in The Republic). The word "apology" comes from the original Greek apologia - meaning "speaking in defense". And in this work, Plato gives Socrates an opportunity to do that. Text Reading: Plato: The Apology on Blackboard Week Eight Lecture

10 the Week Eight forum. Eight module Week Nine: Loyalty Issues of loyalty to oneself and one s community, however the latter may be defined, surface in the Mexican writer Carlos Fuentes story The Two Shores. The narrator of the story, a Spaniard captured by Mayans at the time of the Spanish conquest of Mexico in the sixteenth century, serves as a translator for the Spanish military conqueror Cortez but knowingly mistranslates Cortez s words to his defeated enemy. Fuentes story thus examines the issue of personal responsibility through the prism of language and its power to influence world events. Week Eight Total 440 Text reading: Carlos Fuentes, The Two Shores, in The Orange Tree (Mexico, 1992). Available for purchase at SC Bookstore, amazon.com, etc. Also on reserve at Thomas Cooper Library. Week Nine Lecture the Week Nine forum. Nine module Week Ten: Commitment Eileen Chang, a twentieth-century Chinese writer who herself lived through the Japanese occupation of China during World War II, tells a story of political and personal commitment in Lust, Caution (1979). Her main character questions an initial commitment to assassinate a collaborator when personal feelings complicate the picture. Text reading: Eileen Chang, Lust, Caution (China, 1979). Available for purchase at SC Bookstore, amazon.com, etc. Also on reserve at Thomas Cooper Library. Week Nine Total 440

11 Week Ten Lecture the Week Ten forum. Ten module Week Eleven: Self-Discovery Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust tells the story of a scholar, Faust, who is so obsessed with the search for knowledge that he is willing to enter into a pact with the devil to further his goals. A love story and a tale of temptation and redemption, Goethe s text is one of the world s great works of literature. Week Ten Total 440 Text reading: Excerpts from Johan Wolfgang von Goethe s Faust: Prologue in Heaven, Night, Outside the City Gate, Study (Germany, 8, revised ). Excerpts can be found at the following site: hes-faust/e-text/ Week Eleven Lecture the Week Eleven forum. Eleven module Week Twelve: Happiness The Irish writer Mary Lavin s 1969 short story Happiness addresses issues of happiness, again by looking at language and how words meanings are malleable depending on circumstances. The narrator s mother claims despite a difficult life Week Eleven Total 440 Text reading: Mary Lavin, Happiness (Ireland, 1968). On Blackboard.

12 always to be happy, a term that is misunderstood and rejected by the other characters in the story as untrue until the narrator s own insight changes her mind at the end of the tale. Week Twelve Lecture the Week Twelve forum. Twelve module Week Thirteen: Responsibility The Russian writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn, a survivor of the Soviet gulag (prison camp) system who came to be seen as the conscience of his nation, wrote the short story Matryona s House (published 1963) to laud the values of a simple peasant who fulfills her responsibilities and exemplifies the best of her community in the face of a repressive Soviet state system. We will also examine and discuss excerpts from Solzhenitsyn s 1970 Nobel Prize Lecture, in which he claims that the writer has a responsibility to improve the world by promoting values through his literature. Week Twelve Total 440 Text readings: Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Matryona s House, Nobel Lecture (Russia/Soviet Union, 1963, 1970). On Blackboard. Week Thirteen Lecture the Week Thirteen forum. Thirteen module Week Thirteen Total 440 Week Fourteen Final Project Final Projects Due on 0 total minutes

13 Blackboard for work on project completion Instructor Response 70 Final Totals for the Semester Minutes per week (13 x 440) 5720 Minutes for final project (student to content) 0 Minutes for final project (student to instructor) 70 Total Minutes for semester Comment [USC9]: This total represents the combined estimated amount of time for all course learning activities combined: studentcontent, student-student, and studentinstructor showing that the coure meets or exceeds the minimum of 6300 minutes for a 3- credit course.

14 Justification for Distributed Delivery Offering CPLT 150 is a new course that does not duplicate existing offerings. Intended as a foundational overlay course to satisfy Carolina Core requirements in Aesthetic and Interpretive Understanding (AIU) and Values, Ethics, and Social Responsibility (VSR), this course teaches students to analyze and interpret literary texts that address questions of personal and societal values. The course syllabus and learning outcomes have been approved by the Carolina Core specialty teams in both AIU and VSR, certifying that the course s content, approach, and level of difficulty is appropriate to fulfill the university s core curriculum standards in these areas. In the complex, multicultural world we now inhabit, students need training to evaluate situations from moral and ethical standpoints and to draw on an awareness of past discussions of the types of problems they face. But not all students can come to their local campus to immerse themselves in studies of language, literature, and ethical thought. Offering this course via distributed delivery will make it available to all undergraduates seeking to fulfill core curriculum requirements for graduation, including students participating in Palmetto College or Back to Carolina who might otherwise not have the opportunity to complete such a course. Students seeking to return to college study but limited by job and familial constraints, students who are enrolled at regional campuses that do not offer similar courses, and on-site students who are unable to take all their courses in traditionally-offered time slots need the option of viable Humanities courses that will satisfy core curriculum requirements and prepare them for productive contributions to society. The course will be taught by faculty and instructors from USC s Program in Comparative Literature (CPLT), housed in the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, which is South Carolina s only full undergraduate and graduate-degree-granting CPLT program. With highly qualified faculty from fields including Chinese, Classics, French, German, Russian, and Spanish, the CPLT program is uniquely placed to offer this course. Identification of Provisions for Student-Professor, Student-Student, and Student-Content Interactions: Student-Professor Interactions: The students will watch the professor s lectures online and will interact with the professor through the weekly discussion board (the professor will prepare weekly prompts and post comments to student postings). The professor will also provide individual feedback on students discussion board postings, blog postings, and final projects using grading rubrics (rubrics will be posted on Blackboard). Student-Student Interactions: Students will comment on each other s discussion board postings (3 responses per week), blog postings (2 responses per week), and final projects (4 responses). These responses are required assignments and will be graded by the professor using rubrics (to be posted on Blackboard). Student-Content Interactions: Students will engage with course content by completing weekly reading assignments; viewing weekly lectures; writing discussion board postings in response to questions about the reading; writing blog entries that synthesize their reflections about the reading with material learned in lecture, discussion and readings; completing midterm and final examinations; and composing a final project. Comment [USC10]: SACS accreditation standards require that distributed-learning courses be of equivalent rigor and quality as similar courses offered via traditional delivery. Because this is a new course that has not ever been offered in a traditional classroom, the instructor demonstrates that it meets the standards set for all Carolina Core courses. If this proposal were for an online version of an existing face-to-face course, the instructor might instead show that the proposed course uses the same or similar learning outcomes as the traditional version of the course. Comment [USC11]: In these paragraphs, the instructor lists key benefits of offering the course online. Comment [USC12]: Note that as long as the total for all activities is at least 6300 minutes and there is a reasonable balance of different kinds of interactions, the number of minutes in each of the three categories may vary, depending on the nature of the course and the instructor s teaching style. Comment [USC13]: Student-professor interactions may include recorded lectures (when the lecture incorporates an opportunity for students to ask questions or receive feedback from the instructor), instructor participation in and moderation of discussion boards, individual feedback on student assignments, virtual class or individual meetings or review sessions, etc. Virtual office hours may count towards this total, but the amount should reflect the number of minutes *each* student would typically attend not the combined total of minutes the instructor spends. Comment [USC14]: Group discussions, student responses, peer review assignments, collaborative projects, and other direct interactions among students count towards this category. Comment [USC15]: Time that students spend reading course material, viewing PowerPoint presentations or lectures (lectures that do not include a venue for students to ask questions or receive feedback from the instructor count in this category rather than as student-professor interactions), completing quizzes or writing assignments, completing examinations, conducting research, or preparing papers or projects count towards this category.

15 Explanation of Delivery Technology to be Used: The materials for the course, lectures, discussion boards, and blogs will all be found on the Blackboard site for the course. Each week, the professor will record the PowerPoint lecture using Adobe Presenter and post it on Blackboard for students to view. The students will participate in weekly discussions on the discussion board and make weekly posts on their personal blogs. Blackboard will include links to learning materials and relevant online educational sites. Description of Provisions for ADA Compliance: The professor will meet with a designer at the Center for Teaching Excellence to ensure that the course materials posted on Blackboard incorporate basic accessibility features. The course syllabus includes an accessibility statement that encourages students with disabilities to register with the Office of Student Disability services; should a student with a registered disability enroll in the course, the professor will work with the Office to make any additional accommodations appropriate to that student s needs. Comment [USC16]: The instructional design team at the Center for Teaching Excellence can advise faculty on how to incorporate basic accessibility features into course materials. Course syllabi should also include a statement referring students who need additional disability-related accommodations to the Office of Student Disability Services.