Category Archives: syllabus

Drafing the Syllabus

I used to mock the overly extended syllabus – five to six pages of nonsense. And here I am creating one. In between all of the things I am required to include, meaning multiple college policies, and the things I wish to include, basically what the course will cover, I am up to to five pages.

I think such lengthy syllabuses are unnecessary, superfluous, and [insert a synonymous adjective in here].

After I am done outlining all sorts of objectives, prerequisites, and legal business, I get to the actual coursework. This is fine, but as I am breaking down the workload over a weekly schedule I find that this semester has entirely too many holidays. Unfortunately the class I am working on now falls on a Monday, which happens to be the day of the week that incurs the most breaks. In between Labor Day, Veterans’s Day and Thanksgiving (I know it is not on a Monday, but I suspect many will miss class), I will have to finagle everything in much less time than I originally intended.

I am also required to give at least one in-class lengthily writing assignment that I had not previously allotted time for. I chose a midterm as it is the least intrusive. As a student in English courses I very much disliked in-class finals, so I don’t think I want to impart that on anyone else.  I *thought* my Monday syllabus was all done, but I wasn’t taking into consideration the in-class assignment, so I have to move things around some more. I could in theory teach the day of the midterm, but again, as a student I absolutely hated it when the professor taught the same day as an in-class exam. My brain just didn’t want to deal with it. So back to planning.

This in-class writing business takes away another class period, and further shortens my teaching time. Mind you, I am not necessarily looking for extra teaching time. I swear I don’t actually like creating more work for myself. Really, I promise I don’t. What? Don’t look at me like that!

I just happened to pick a rather ambitious reading selection and I want to make sure my students actually understand the material before I send them on their merry way.  If they come out of this with nothing else, I want them to be able to briefly summarize the main points of these works, or at the very least adequately recognize the works should they be referenced elsewhere. Ideally I would like them to start questioning things they take for granted, and use the lessons from the book we are reading to further analyze their lives and surroundings. Some will do all of the above, others will do some, and some will do none. I understand.

After I manipulate the schedule around like a jigsaw puzzle, I have to include my disclaimer on plagiarism. I warn them they will earn a fail on the material plagiarized, and I will be obliged to inform the dean of students. I remind them that the entire process is exceedingly cumbersome on both our ends, so it would be in everyone’s favor if they simply refrain from doing it.

All of that took five pages. And I am exhausted.

Syllabus 2

The second syllabus was a lot easier to create. The first took some time as I had too many ideas. But then I realized I am teaching multiple classes, so I can spread this out. You can read the first syllabus here if you like. Thank you to those who emailed me with suggestions as to how best to teach those works. I hope you do so again (especially with the Coleridge!)

This is my reading list for the second class. This time I actually included links where to find the books. Even though I plan on ordering them through the bookstore on campus, there are currently some paperwork issues that hopefully get resolved in the next month. The links are really for my own reference, so feel free to ignore them.

Beyond Good and Evil by Fredrich Nietzsche
Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Faust  by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Prometheus Unbound by Percy Bysshe Shelley
Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus
Orpheus and Eurydice by Gregory Orr

I want to start with the Nietzsche since it pretty much sets the tone for the remaining works, and understanding his points will help to decipher the overarching theme I am building.

As I go into Rime of the Ancient Mariner I want to analyze the almost neurotic obsession the mariner has with repentance. Despite his seemingly pathological urge to retell his story doing so does not give him reprieve. Arguably he relives it each time he tells it, making matters worse. What are the forces driving his obsession?

After the Mariner learns his lesson on morality, I want to explore Faust, evincing that that the dichotomy between good and bad isn’t actually very clear at all. There is more to life than a pure delineation of what should be done, and even though we are told to believe there are consequences in transgression, and there may well be, even said consequences and outcomes aren’t immediately identifiable as will be gleaned from the ending of the work.

The supernatural aspect which mystifies all humans is apparent in all of these works, and the underlying theme is its tie to power. In Prometheus Unbound this power takes on yet another form, nature. Much like the Mariner seemingly conquers the albatross, and Faust yearns for supernatural knowledge, Prometheus attempts to harness nature.

While the Mariner’s act of killing the albatross is almost pathetic, Faust magnificently, albeit unnaturally, obtains a series of desires, and Prometheus perfects the process as he further strives to harness natural power, but simultaneously selfishly and altruistically, and thus lending him the most success. Being selfish in itself is not bad, which is a fixed way of interpreting everything. I want to explore the different shades of overreaching, of wanting more, and how they can be read differently than in basic polarized terms.

What all this boils down to is personal motivation as each character seeks that which he feels will render the most satisfaction, whether it be repentance, knowledge, or power. Camus, in the Myth of Sisyphus, grapples with the opposite question: what if life is meaningless? What if there is nothing else? Wanting what you can’t have simply leads to constant disappointment, so why want? Well, Sisyphus didn’t jump off the mountain, he just kept rolling his rock. Life is what you make of it.

I want to end the term with Orpheus and Eurydice, but looking at it from a different perspective than the work I have done with it thus far. I want to look at Eurydice in terms of personal growth. While this work keeps in line with the supernatural theme I seem to have inadvertently developed, that will not be the focus here. Despite her surroundings, I will focus on her quest for more in traditional sense. I also want to look at the difference between static and dynamic characters. How does Eurydice betray such an analysis? How is she dynamic in a circular sense, and how does the idea of repetition through time change her in increments?

I feel like I should add something else. Like there is a work missing.

As for the papers, I am a little more sure this time about what I want to do. A short 3-4 page paper on Nietzsche. A 5-6 page paper on either Faust and Nietzsche, or Faust and Prometheus. A 7-8 page research paper on any other work that they haven’t written on already.

Now I just need to work out the calendar piece of things. I am trying not to front load or back load too much, but I also don’t want to crush them during midterms week. Thankfully, unlike the previous course this is a Wednesday night class, so I don’t have to worry too much about holidays messing up my schedule. For the Monday night class I realized, after having devised the calendar, that I will be missing several weeks due to holidays.

I will get it right one of these times.

Syllabus 1

I am working on my syllabuses. At first it was unbelievably overwhelming. I couldn’t figure out which book to use for what class, or how many books to use, etc. After the initial panic I decided it would be best if I focused on one course at a time. This is my reading list so far (which I intend to read in the following order):

American Gods by Neil Gaiman
A World of Ideas (ed. Lee A. Jacobus) – an anthology
The Personal and the Collective Unconscious by Carl Jung (Jacobus)
The Allegory of the Cave by Plato (Jacobus)
Morality as Anti Nature by Friedrich Nietzsche (Jacobus)
The Origin of Civil Society by Jean Jacques Rousseau (Jacobus)
The Four Idols by Francis Bacon (Jacobus)
Why the Rich are Getting Richer and the Poor, Poorer by Robert Reich (Jacobus)
Masculinity by Germaine Greer (Jacobus)
The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir (I need to find an electronic copy of this)

While it might appear that the anthology is my primary text, it is really Gaiman’s novel that will be the main focus, with the remaining excerpts and short pieces all centering on how they relate to American Gods, and in multiple cases, to each other.

Gaiman’s novel is a commentary on modern American society, however his poignant observations can easily apply to all societies and civilizations; even as he sardonically criticizes the American lifestyle, he delves even deeper into the timeless realm of overall human nature.

From here I want to go into Jung and identify archetypes – which are easily spotted in the novel. I figured this would be an easy introduction to Jung, and provide a different way of looking at the characters.

Then I want to draw a parallel between the ways in which Gaiman portrays his citizens and Plato’s Cave allegory. The passivity most of them express when their ways are not only threatened but completely overturned is the same kind of acquiescence those in the cave exhibit. Who is the philosopher?

While it appears that Gaiman favors the old gods over the new, modern and  materialistic gods, upon closer reading it seems his commentary is against any blind faith that robs people of free will, and quite in line with Nietzsche’s notion that life ends where “the kingdom of God beings,” and in American Gods, this kingdom is modern day America.

Nevertheless, when asked to fight against this unrighteousness, this usurpation of basic freedoms, everyone in the novel refuses. The reasoning behind this docile behavior is best depicted by Rousseau’s ideas of the social contract that can be traced within The Origin of Civil Society – people believe society functions best when certain personal rights are willingly abjured. They are partly right, in that conflict is avoided, safety is begotten, and peace prevails. But at what price? And what happens over time as more and more basic rights are forfeited?

Yet people don’t see things as they should, they don’t see the light in the cave, because there are several hindrances to understanding basic human nature, which Bacon outlines quite nicely in his Four Idols.

Bacon’s idea that most people don’t actually wish to think too deeply, or analyze their surroundings, including their lot in life, ties in with Reich’s theory of why the disparity between the haves and the have nots is constantly growing. The side stories within American Gods espouses this disproportion of socioeconomic status, providing a glimpse into the reasons for its existence and perpetuation.

Lastly, the last two excerpts to be read will be used to better understand character motivation, namely of Shadow, Wednesday, and the ever present Laura, looking at why they stand in for every man and woman, and how basic human nature along with social indoctrination propels them into the actions they take. I also want to compare and contrast the concept of masculinity between Shadow and Wednesday, along with the feminine equivalent of Laura and The Queen of Sheba. How do their respective roles pigeonhole them into the parts they play? Who adheres to the societal norms? And what are the consequences?

Next week I will be meeting with two English professors (who actually know what they are doing), to go over all of this, and gage the feasibility/coherence of my thought process and reading choices.

As for the assignments, I am unaware of the quantity I should assign for this type of class. Right now I am thinking two short papers (4-6 pages), and one long research paper (6-8 pages), but I feel that may be a bit much. I don’t know. This is all yet to be determined.

In the meantime I will be working on the next syllabus.