WESTH 1001-01 Western Thought I, Fall 2013 Kevin Dyck, Kansas City Art Institute The following schedule

is intended to help students anticipate the reading and writing assignments. The instructor will make an effort to keep the schedule as long as it remains feasible and reasonable. If changes are made with regard to written assignments they will be announced on the class website (http://midwesternthought.weebly.com). Other changes may be made by announcement in class. M Aug 26 WAug 28 M SEP 2 *** W Sep 4 M Sep 9 W Sep 11 M Sep 16 W Sep 18 M Sep 23 W Sep 25 M Sep 30 W Oct 2 M Oct 7 W Oct 9 M Oct 14 W Oct 16 Intro Sophocles LABOR DAY NO CLASSES Sophocles + Get Q/R #1 guidelines Aristotles Poetics Aristotles Poetics ***Quiz/Response #1 due Plato + Get Q/R #2 guidelines Plato Plato ***Quiz/Response #2 due, + Get Paper #1 guidelines Plato/Epictetus Epictetus Plato ***Paper #1 due, +Get Midterm Exam Study guide Shakespeare Shakespeare Shakespeare ***Midterm Exam + Get Q/R #3 guidelines

M Oct 21 Descartes W Oct 23 Descartes M Oct 28 Descartes ***Quiz/Response #3 due W Oct 30 Aristotles Ethics/Politics M Nov 4 Aristotles Ethics/Politics + Get Paper #2 guidelines W Nov 6 Aquinas M Nov 11 Hobbes/Machiavelli (no readings) W Nov 13 Locke M Nov 18 Locke ***Paper #2 due W Nov 20 Hume + Get Final Exam Study Guide M Nov 25 Hume W NOV 27 *** THANKSGIVING NO CLASSES M Dec 2 W Dec 4
M Dec 9 W Dec 11

Kant Kant
Kant

**Final Exam

READINGS All readings will be available online at: http://midwesternthought.weebly.com. GOALS This class is focused primarily on texts from antiquity through the Enlightenment (18th century). By the end of the course, students should be familiar with some of the central ideas, values, stories, and theories of important Western thinkers, especially with regard to (1) religion and the philosophy of religion; (2) how humans might discover reality and what constitutes reality (epistemology, metaphysics, philosophy of science, human nature); (3) the power of art and literature, particularly tragic and comic plays; (4) ethics and politics. Western Thought classes use some difficult texts, and the class should serve to practice reading comprehension. Furthermore, becoming familiar with the ideas in the texts requires vocal and written practice, and a large part of the grades will depend upon written work, both in assignments and exams. The course should help improve thinking and writing skills as well as familiarize students with a set of ideas. DISCUSSIONS The familiarity with theories and issues requires some practice, and class discussions are very important for honing the use of important concepts as well as for developing reasoning skills, broadening or revising views, expressing convictions, and discovering our own inconsistencies, shortcomings, or unrecognized aptitudes. Students will be expected to be exploratory and encouraged to be brave in expressing opinions, interpretations and criticisms. At the same time, nobody will be badgered or forced into embarrassing positions. As an instructor I aim to invite critical argument while maintaining respect for all students, opinions, and different styles of learning. I will occasionally require preparation work for discussions, and sometimes this will need to be submitted in written form. These tasks will fulfill part of the participation grade, but wont be measured by the same standards for writing as the three critical essay assignments (see below). EXAMS The midterm and final exams will consist mainly of questions that require written answers, sometimes in the form of short explanations, but also longer evaluative essays designed to achieve the goals expressed above. If discussions and written assignments show negligence with regard to the readings, quizzes may become necessary, but I hope this will not be the case. GRADES Final grades will be calculated according to the following weights: Participation (discussion and preparation): Quiz/Responses: 3 x 8 = Paper #1: Midterm Exam: Paper #2: Final Exam:

10% 24% 15% 16% 15% 20%

KCAI ATTENDANCE POLICY Consistent attendance is critical to learning, growth, and academic success; therefore, students are expected to attend all class meetings. While the Institute recognizes there may be times when a student cannot attend, there are no excused absences. If students wish to make up work in exceptional circumstances such as death in the family, serious medical conditions, hospitalization, or observance of religious holidays, the student must provide appropriate documentation to the Vice President for Enrollment Management/Student Achievement (VPEMSA). In addition, the student must complete all assigned work and/or meet additional requirements as determined by the instructor. Instructors will notify students of their attendance requirements as part of the course syllabus which should be distributed on the first day of class. Students must be present for all regularly scheduled examinations and submit complete assignments when they are due, unless alternative arrangements are made in advance. An absence from a regularly scheduled class is defined by a student not attending at class time and/or missing a significant portion of class time (as defined by the instructor). If absences meet or exceed 15 percent of the class meetings in one semester (2 classes for a course meeting once a week, 4 classes for a course meeting twice a week, 8 classes for a course meeting four times per week), the student will be subject to a reduced final grade. If absences reach 20 percent of the class meetings in any one semester (3 classes for a course meeting once a week, 6 classes for a course meeting twice a week, 12 classes for a course meeting four times per week), the student will fail the course. The instructor will inform the department chair, the Vice President for Enrollment Management/Student Achievement and the Registrars Office if a students absences meet 15 percent or 20 percent of the class meetings. The VPEMSA will send notification to the student that the final grade may be reduced due to absences (absences=15%) or that a failing grade (F) will be assigned for the class (absences=20%). First Day Attendance Policy: Attendance at the first class meeting of the semester is mandatory for all students. If a student fails to attend the first class meeting of the semester, his or her enrollment in the class may be forfeited so that the first student on the wait-list for the class may be enrolled. KCAI DISABILITIES ACCOMMODATIONS POLICY Students who have documented disabilities and are eligible for accommodations must provide documentation of the disability to Kathy Keller, Disabilities Coordinator in the Academic Resource Center before accommodations can be provided. Disability Services: KCAI will provide services and accommodations as mandated by the Americans with Disabilities Act and section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. Students requesting accommodations based on disability status should provide KCAI with appropriate documentation. The documentation must be in written form from a licensed healthcare professional or educational professional who is qualified to diagnose the disability and recommend specific accommodations. Documentation must be within three years of being current. KCAI has the right to require a student to supplement the documentation if it is determined that the information in the initial documentation is incomplete, inadequate, or if the qualifications of the healthcare provider or professional are in question. The documentation should state the specific disability and include recommended accommodations with a rationale, if needed. All documentation will be kept

confidential. Students with documented disabilities are encouraged to provide documentation whether or not they opt to have accommodations in place so that if a specific need arises, an accommodation can be put in place in a timely manner. Accommodations are not made on a postfacto basis. Accommodations are not put in place unless requested by the student. All requests are confidential. Send documentation to Katherine Keller, Disabilities Coordinator. E-mail: kkeller@kcai.edu. Phone: 816.802.3485 KCAI ACADEMIC DISHONESTY POLICY Academic Dishonesty is defined as follows: A. The copying of another students work or the use of unauthorized notes and materials during examinations; B. Plagiarism, or the presentation of either the written or visual work of others (including that of other students), as ones own. Plagiarism is a serious offense in the academy, as well as illegal in the context of our nations copyright law. As such, it is important to know what plagiarism is in both ones studio as well as in ones liberal arts work. According to the Modern Language Association, plagiarism is the wrongful act of taking the product of another persons mind, and presenting it as ones own. In other words, plagiarism is the use of not just words but ideas borrowed from someone else without crediting the source. Students are required to learn the arts standard, the Chicago Manual of Style guidelines for citing sources referenced in their own work, and must follow them carefully in their research and writing projects. All academic dishonesty is taken as an offense against the Institute and may result in sanctions. Academic Dishonesty Procedures can be found in Sections 8.23 and 8.24 in the Student Handbook, pages 42-44, http://www.kcai.edu/sites/default/files/pdf/2012_13_KCAIHandbook.pdf. Cheating/Unauthorized Assistance: It is inappropriate for students to provide or receive unauthorized assistance during an examination or for other assignments. For example, the use of cheat sheets, copying from another individuals examination, paper or other assignments is in violation of the KCAI Academic Dishonesty policy.