Humanities

First-year Common Core courses seek to engage students in the challenges and pleasures of humanistic works through close reading of a broad range of texts: literary, historical, and philosophical. They are not survey courses; they try, rather, to focus on the methods and habits of analyzing and experiencing exemplary texts. Improvement in students' skills in writing, frequently through special tutorial sessions, constitutes an essential goal of these courses.

The 200-level Collegiate courses in humanities seek to extend humanistic inquiry beyond the scope of the Common Core. A few of them also serve as parts of special degree programs. All of these courses are open as electives to students from any Collegiate Division.

Courses

Common Core Sequences

110-111-112. Readings in World Literature. This course examines the relationship of the individual and society in literary texts from across the globe. Text studied range from a picaresque novel (Lazarillo de Tormes) to Toni Morrison, from Montesquieu to James Baldwin, from Kafka to the Chilean Maria Luisa Bombal, from Flaubert to Philip Dick. In the autumn quarter, the class surveys prose works from the Renaissance to the 1980s, in which individuals learn (or struggle) to situate themselves in a society that is often unaccepting of individuality. The theme for this quarter is alienation. In the winter quarter, students consider the problem of evil through an analysis of authors as diverse as Shakespeare, Conrad, Dostoevsky, O'Connor, and Su Tong. In the spring quarter, student have the choice between ten to twelve courses in World Literature. Although more specific in their conception ("Theater and Literature," "Myth and Reason," "Poetry," "Gender and Literature," "Children's Literature," and so on), these courses do not represent an introduction to a specific concentration. Writing is an important component of the sequence; students work closely with a writing tutor and participate in weekly writing workshops. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

115-116-117. Philosophical Perspectives on the Humanities. This sequence studies philosophy both as an ongoing series of arguments, mainly but not exclusively concerning ethics and knowledge, and as a discipline interacting with and responding to developments in the natural sciences, history, and literature. Papers are assigned throughout the course to help students develop their writing and reasoning skills. Readings may vary slightly from section to section, although the year is organized around several common themes. The autumn quarter focuses on Greek conceptions of ethics and epistemology, primarily through analysis of Platonic dialogues, but readings may also come from Aristotle and the Greek dramatists. The winter quarter focuses on questions and challenges raised by the intellectual revolution of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, with readings from Montaigne, Bacon, Descartes, Pascal, Galileo, and Shakespeare. The spring quarter focuses on modern moral philosophy, and on the relation of philosophy to literature, with readings from Hume, Kant, Diderot, among others. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

120-121-122. Greek Thought and Literature. This sequence approaches its subject matter in two ways: generically and historically. First, it offers an introduction to the methods of humanistic inquiry in three broadly defined areas: history, philosophy, and imaginative literature. The works of Herodotus and Thucydides are studied as examples of historiography; the dialogues of Plato exemplify philosophy; imaginative literature is exemplified by Homer's epic poetry, the tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, and the comedies of Aristophanes. Second, the sequence is concerned with ancient Greek culture as a system of related activities and
attitudes. By following the creative phases of Greek culture in roughly chronological order, beginning with Homer and ending with Plato, we aim at understanding what ancient works meant to their original authors and audiences and how each work reflects the specific conditions of its composition. We study exemplary texts and cultural development in ancient Greece because of the Greeks' unique influence upon the history of civilization in the Western hemisphere. Importantly, this is also a class in how to write an effective essay. We place considerable stress on how to construct an argument, how to reason cogently with a philosophical or literary text. Because the course is cross-disciplinary, we consider how to ask literary questions of a historical text, philosophical questions of a literary text, and the like. The course is not conceived of at all as a prerequisite for a prospective classics major, though it does introduce students to great classical texts; it is meant to be a course in humanities, sharing with other courses in the core sequence an interest in exploring the spirit of human greatness. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

123-124-125. Human Being and Citizen. "Who is a knower of such excellence, of a human being and of a citizen?" As both human beings and citizens, we are concerned to discover what it means to be an excellent human being and an excellent citizen, and to learn what a just community is. This course seeks to explore these questions and related matters, and to examine critically our opinions about them. To this end, we read closely and discuss critically seminal works of the Western tradition, selected partly because they richly reveal the central questions and partly because, read together, they force us to consider different and competing ways of asking and answering questions about human and civic excellence. The diverse and even competing excellences of which we are capable, to which we are drawn, and among which we may have to choose make it impossible for us to approach these great writings as detached or indifferent spectators, especially as these books are both the originators and the most exacting critics of our common opinions: opinions by which we explicitly or implicitly guide our lives. Thus we seek not only an understanding of certain enduring questions, but also a deeper appreciation of who we are, here and now, all in the service of a more thoughtful consideration of our lives as human beings and citizens. This course also aims to cultivate the liberating skills of careful reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Reading list (1997-98): Plato, Apology of Socrates; Homer, Iliad; Genesis; Sophocles, Antigone; Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics; Augustine, The Confessions; American documents; Kant, Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals; Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

140-141-142. Reading Cultures: Collecting, Traveling, and Capitalist Cultures. Introducing students to methods of literary, visual, and social analysis, this course addresses the formation and transformation of cultures across a broad chronological and geographic field. Our objects of study range from the Renaissance epic to contemporary film, the fairy tale to the museum. Hardly presuming that we know definitively what "culture" means, we examine paradigms of reading within which the very idea of culture emerged and changed. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

140. Reading Cultures: Collecting. This quarter focuses on the way both objects and stories are selected and rearranged to produce cultural identities. We examine exhibition practices of the past and present, including the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition and the University's own Oriental Institute. We read Ovid's Metamorphoses, The Arabian Nights, and collections of African-American folk tales. We conclude by considering modernist modes of fragmentation and reconstellation in Cubism, T. S. Eliot's The Waste Land, and Orson Welles's Citizen Kane.

141. Reading Cultures: Traveling. Focusing on the literary conventions of cross-cultural encounter, this quarter concentrates on how individual subjects are formed and transformed through narrative. We investigate both the longing to travel and the trails of displacement. We read several forms of travel literature, from the Renaissance to the present, including Columbus's Diario, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa the African, Basho's Narrow Road to the Deep North, and contemporary tourist literature.

142. Reading Cultures: Capitalist Cultures. This quarter works toward understanding the relation (in the modern and post-modern periods) between economic development and processes of cultural transformation. We examine literary and visual texts that celebrate and criticize modernization and urbanization. Beginning with Baudelaire's response to Paris in his prose poems, we then concentrate on novels that address economic, social, and cultural change in the 1930s, including Abdelrahman Munif's Cities of Salt, and Richard Wright's Native Son. As the quarter concludes, students develop projects that investigate the urban fabric of Chicago itself.

150-151-152. Perspectives on Language in the Humanities. This course considers fundamentals of language and the relationship of language to other aspects of humanistic studies. The autumn quarter concentrates on language and philosophy; winter quarter on language and history, and language and literature; and spring quarter on language and society. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

150. Language and Symbolic Systems. It is sometimes claimed that language is the essential property that sets human beings apart from other animals. In this quarter we explore some of the fundamental properties of human language in readings from philosophy and linguistics, as well as treatments of language issues in literary texts.

151. Language and History: Text and Context. In this quarter we turn to "objects" created with language: texts. The primary readings are texts that combine historical, literary, and mythical elements. Topics for discussion include the esthetic use of language that makes a text "literary" and, more generally, the classification of texts into genres; prose versus poetry; oral versus written literary traditions; history versus myth; and problems of translation.

152. Language and the Construction of Identity. The final quarter examines the social meaning of language use: how we identify ourselves to others by choosing one form of language or another. The choice available to a speaker may be among one or another dialect of a given language (which identifies the speaker as belonging to a particular social class, region, ethnicity, and so on); within a single conversation, the choice may be between distancing, formal language and informal, intimate language; or (in a bilingual or multilingual society) the speakers may have two or more separate languages to choose from. Such issues of identity are explored in literary and autobiographical readings.

200. Judaic Civilization I: The Bible and Its Early Interpreters (=Hum 200, JewStd 200). This course provides an overall introduction to the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), with specific attention to its literary, religious, and ideological contents. The diversity of thought and theology in ancient Israel is explored, along with its notions of text, teaching, and tradition. Revision and reinterpretation is found within the Bible itself. Portions of the earliest postbiblical interpretation (in Philo, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and selected Pseudepigrapha) are also considered. M. Fishbane. Autumn.

201. Judaic Civilization II: Rabbinic Judaism from the Mishnah to Maimonides (=Hum 201, JewStd 201). Study of the primary texts in the development of classical and medieval rabbinic Judaism from roughly 70 C.E. to the twelfth century. The course centers around selections (in translation) from the Mishnah and tannaitic midrash, the Babylonian Talmud, Geonic and Karaite writing, the Judaeo-Arabic and Hebrew literature of Andalusia, and Maimonides' legal and philosophical compositions. Topics include different conceptions of the Hebrew Bible and its interpretation; the origins and development of the Oral Law; relations between Judaism and both Christianity and Islam; sectarianism; rationalist and antirationalist trends in rabbinic thought; and the emergence of secular pursuits in the rabbinic tradition. J. Stern. Winter.

202. Judaic Civilization III: Varieties of Modern Jewish Experience (=Hum 202, JewStd 202). This course offers a view of some paradigmatic Jewish life experiences since Emancipation and the troubled entrance of Jews into mainstream Western society. Possible discussions focus on the papers of Rahel Varnhagen with commentary by Hannah Arendt on assimilation; Franz Kafka on assimilation or alienation; Freud and some interpreters on psychoanalysis; (3) Theodor Herzl and others on Zionism as the repudiation of Jewish life in the diaspora; (4) and being Jewish in America, as portrayed by Henry Roth on the trauma of immigration and Saul Bellow on the price of success; and (5) Holocaust testimonies. M. Krupnick. Spring.

207. St. Augustine's Confessions (=Fndmtl 276, Hum 207, Id/Met 390, RelHum 294, SocSci 207). This course consists of a close reading of the text in English translation along with On the Freedom of the Will and The Teacher. We study Augustine's conceptions of philosophy and belief, focusing on his notion of the philosophical life and on his concept of the will. We then relate these conceptions to the ways Augustine clarifies and criticizes the culture in which he matured, as he writes about the practices that shaped education, friendship, marriage, sexuality, family, and political vocation. We also devote attention to Augustine's rhetoric and how it influences his search for wisdom and happiness. W. Olmsted. Autumn.

208. Milton's Paradise Lost (=Fndmtl 219, Hum 208, Id/Met 319). This course is based on a close reading of Milton's Paradise Lost with emphasis on the poem's redefinition of heroic virtue and on the text's engagement with issues of family, politics, history, psychology, and theology. W. Olmsted. Winter.

212. Myths and Symbols of Evil (=Fndmtl 223, Hum 212, RelHum 223). This course examines in depth Martin Buber's Good and Evil and Paul Ricoeur's Symbolism of Evil. There are a few brief lectures, but emphasis is on seminar discussion and student participation. A. Carr. Winter.

214. Rhetorical Theories of Legal and Political Reasoning (=Hum 214, Id/Met 324, LL/Soc 224, SocSci 224). This course uses Plato's Gorgias to raise the question of whether practical thinking is possible and considers responses to this question by such writers as Aristotle, Cicero, and Machiavelli. We study the methods and concepts that each writer uses to defend the cogency of legal, deliberative, or more generally political prudence against explicit or implicit charges that practical thinking is merely a knack or form of cleverness. W. Olmsted. Autumn.

221. Spinoza: Ethics,

Politics, and Religion (=Fndmtl 215, Hum 221, Id/Met 315). Spinoza has been acknowledged as one of the founders of the modern tradition of constitutional democracy, the mode of interpretation that came to be known as the higher criticism, and an ethical mode that can be and has been reinvestigated as a more sophisticated form of psychoanalysis. Furthermore, Spinoza is careful to distinguish but also indicate the mutually supportive relations among the ethical, political, and religious enterprises. These various concerns, among others, are explored through the reading of his Ethics and his Theological-Political Treatise. D. Smigelskis. Autumn.

228-229. Problems in Gender Studies (=Eng 102-103, GS Hum 228-229, Hist 180-181, Hum 228-229, SocSci 282-283). PQ: Second- or third-year standing and completion of a Common Core social science or humanities course or the equivalent. This two-quarter interdisciplinary sequence is designed as an introduction to theories and critical practices in the study of feminism, gender, and sexuality. Both classic texts and recent reconceptualizations of these contested fields are examined. Problems and cases from a variety of cultures and historical periods are considered, and the course pursues their differing implications for local, national, and global politics. Topics might include the politics of reproduction; gender and postcolonialism; women, sexual scandal, and the law; race and sexual paranoia; and sexual subcultures. D. Nelson, Staff, Autumn; L. Auslander, Staff, Winter.

230-231-232. Medieval Jewish History I, II, III (=Hum 230-231-232, MdvJSt 380-381-382). PQ: Consent of instructor. This three-quarter sequence deals with the history of the Jews over a wide geographical and historical range. First-quarter work is concerned with the rise of early rabbinic Judaism and development of the Jewish community in Palestine and the eastern and western diasporas during the first several centuries C.E. Topics include the legal status of the Jews in the Roman world, the rise of rabbinic Judaism, the rabbinic literature of Palestine in that context, the spread of rabbinic Judaism, the rise and decline of competing centers of Jewish hegemony, the introduction of Hebrew language and culture beyond the confines of their original home, and the impact of the birth of Islam on the political and cultural status of the Jews. An attempt is made to evaluate the main characteristics of Jewish belief and social concepts in the formative periods of Judaism as it developed beyond its original geographical boundaries. Second-quarter work is concerned with the Jews under Islam, both in Eastern and Western Caliphates. Third-quarter work is concerned with the Jews of Western Europe until the time of the first crusade. N. Golb. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

234. The World of the Biblical Prophets (=Hum 234, JewStd 234). This course offers an in-depth analysis of the biblical prophets. Each prophet is set in historical time and within a particular societal context, and against this background a profile of the man is drawn. What was he like as a social reformer and religious thinker? What did he say no to in society and organized worship? And to what did he say yes? How was his message received, and what influence did it have in its day? Finally, are the prophets merely historical figures, curiosities of antiquity, or do they speak to us in our own age? H. Moltz. Autumn.

235. The Radicalism of Job and Ecclesiastes (=Fndmtl 246, Hum 235, JewStd 235). Both Job and Ecclesiastes dispute a central doctrine of the Hebrew Bible, namely, the doctrine of retributive justice. Each book argues that a person's fate is not a consequence of his or her religio-moral acts and thus the piety, whatever else it is, must be disinterested. In brief, the authors of Job and Ecclesiates, each in his own way, not only "de-mythologizes," but "de-moralizes" the world. The students read the books in translation and discuss their theological and philosophical implications. H. Moltz. Spring.

238. Childhood as Modernity in Modern Korean Literature (=Hum 238, Korean 240). This course provides an introduction to twentieth-century Korean literature, as well as a knowledge of modern history, by exploring the theme of modernity in conjunction with a notion of childhood. By reading "autobiographical fiction" that is narrated by children, we discuss the idea of childhood interiority. We relate the education of youth with historical development and focus on such gender issues as the role of the "new woman" and changing sexual ethics in urban centers. H. Koh. Winter.

240. Introduction to Russian Literature II: 1850 to 1900 (=Hum 240, Russ 256/356). This is a survey covering the second half of the nineteenth century. Major figures studied are Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Leskov, Saltykov-Shchedrin, and Chekhov. Representative works are read for their literary value and against their historical, cultural, and intellectual background. All readings in English. Class discussion is encouraged. N. Ingham. Winter.

242. Madame Bovary and Anna Karenina (=Fndmtl 228, Hum 242). A close reading and discussion of two magnificent novels about extraordinary women. Both break the bonds of convention, love passionately, and die tragically. The novels are a reflection of the status of women in the nineteenth century, as well as a timeless comment on love, marriage, and society. Madame Bovary is one of the jewels of French literature, and Anna Karenina is one of the pinnacles of Tolstoy's literary art. E. Wasiolek. Autumn.

244. Dostoevsky and Conrad (=ComLit 370, Hum 244). Dostoevsky's presence in Conrad's work is everywhere, yet Conrad denied any influence and expressed his dislike of Dostoevsky's works repeatedly. The course addresses this paradox, as well the essential character of the work of both authors. The reading is by pairs: Conrad's Heart of Darkness and Dostoevsky's Notes from the Underground; Under Western Eyes and Crime and Punishment; The Secret Agent and The Possessed. E. Wasiolek. Spring.

256. Aristotle's Politics (=Fndmtl 256, Hum 256, Id/Met 316, LL/Soc 278). Special attention is given to the problems Aristotle thought important to consider and why they continue to be problems which are worthy of attention. Of particular interest is the manner in which politics is distinct from but interrelated with many other enterprises and the shaping of the inquiry as a deliberation which is meant to eventuate in choices by the readers. D. Smigelskis. Autumn.

258. The Federalist Papers (=Fndmtl 258, Hum 258, Id/Met 372, LL/Soc 279). This text is the first sustained commentary on the U.S. Constitution. It assumes that the Constitution is not self-interpreting. As such, it is read in its entirety as an introduction to the problems and possibilities of both the specifics talked about and the more generic features of a certain type of text. In addition, it is argued that much of what is provided, especially in the first fifty-one of the total eighty-four papers, is meant to be relevant to an appreciation of considerations appropriate to the making more generally of certain kinds of practical decisions. Context for these activities is provided as needed in the form of background data, as well as some other text of the same period that deal with the same kinds of problems and activities. D. Smigelskis. Spring.

262. Aristotle's Poetics and Arts of Storytelling (=Fndmtl 290, Hum 262, Id/Met 352). Courses about art are usually concerned with aesthetic and critical questions and rarely pause to consider questions about how to make works of art. Aristotle's Poetics would seem to be, in large part at least, about the latter with the primary focus being certain types of stories. The relation between aesthetic/critical and poetic strategies are discussed. In addition, the text we have is filled with ambiguities. Rather than being a liability, these ambiguities are an occasion to explore various possibilities of what a poetic enterprise might involve. Furthermore, various types of stories either mentioned by Aristotle or which are seeming counterexamples to what he says are also part of the course readings and class discussion. Finally, other articulations of "arts of storytelling" are used to better appreciate the multiple problems and possibilities involved in this kind of enterprise. D. Smigelskis. Spring.

274. Language, Power, and Identity in Southeastern Europe: A Linguistic View of the Balkan Crisis (=Anthro 274, Hum 274, LngLin 230, Russ 230). Language is a key issue in the articulation of ethnicity and the struggle for power in Southeastern Europe. This course familiarizes students with the linguistic histories and structures that have served as bases for the formation of modern Balkan ethnic identities and that are being manipulated to shape current and future events. The course is informed by the instructor's twenty years of linguistic fieldwork in the Balkans, as well as his experience as an adviser for the United Nations Protection Forces in the former Yugoslavia. V. Friedman. Winter.

276. Tolstoy (=Hum 276, Russ 276/376). This course is a close reading of selected works by Tolstoy as seen as artistic wholes and in the development of his ideological and moral views. The central text this year is War and Peace. All readings in English. N. Ingham. Winter.

299. Reading Course. PQ: Consent of instructor and senior adviser. Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.