Humanities 411

Fall 2011 Syllabus

Each section of the course will be comprised of about 10-15 students and 3 faculty members from various disciplines. Participants will take turns hosting the class. In the first week, we will have a brief organizational meeting in the Vollum Lecture Hall to give everyone a chance to get acquainted.

Books are available in the bookstore. A few copies of each text will be on reserve in the library.

Requirements

The requirements of the course are attendance and active participation. You are expected to be present and prepared at every session, although illness or family emergencies will be taken into consideration. At the end of the semester, you will be given a questionnaire about the readings. Completion of this form is a requirement for course credit.

Schedule

August 30

Organizational Meeting, 7 pm, Vollum Lecture Hall

September 6

Zeitoun, Dave Eggers
(Monday classes don’t meet this week because of Labor Day)

September 13

Freakonomics, Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner

September 20

Whole Earth Discipline, Stewart Brand

September 27

Logicomix, Apostolos Doxiadis & Christos Papadimitriou

October 4

The Road, Cormac McCarthy

October 11

The Invisible Wall, Harry Bernstein

Fall Break

No reading

October 25

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot

Film showing: Sunday, Oct. 30th, VLH, 7-9pm

The Lives of Others, dir. Donnersmarck

November 1

The Lives of Others (film), dir. Donnersmarck

November 8

The Honor Code, K. Anthony Appiah

November 15

Faust in Copenhagen, Gino Segré

November 22

Thanksgiving week. No classes, except for the Monday section, which reads Faust in Copenhagen

November 29

Fun Home, Alison Bechdel