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Approaches to Interdisciplinary Studies in the Arts & Humanities

[HUMA 5300]

Professor Rainer Schulte

Email: Schulte@utdallas.edu
Tel. 972-883-2092

Spring 2006

Textbooks for HUMA 5300

Spring 2006
Instructor: Rainer Schulte
Title of Seminar:
“Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Arts & Humanities”

Bernstein, L. The Unanswered Question.

Kuhn, Thomas. The Structure of Scientific Revolution. (2nd ed.)

Schulte/Mitchell. Continental Short Stories: The Modern Tradition. W.W. Norton

Huizinga, J.J. Homo Ludens. ISBN 0-807046817 (pbk)

Richard Florida. The Rise of the Creative Class. (Paperback if available)

Daniel H. Pink. A Whole New Mind. ISBN 1-57322-308-5

Peter Burke. New Perspectives on Historical Writing. Pennsylvania State Univ.

ISBN 0-271-00834-2 (pbk)

Erich Auerbach. Mimesis

James Paul Gee. What Video Games Have to Teach us About Learning and
Literacy

C.P. Snow. The Two Cultures

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Addressing the Humanities

Interpretation as Translation
Translation and Reading
Comparative Approaches: Formation of General Statements
Multiple Translations
Multiple interpretations of verbal, musical, and visual texts
Horizontal Reading
Communication as Translation
The Interpretive Perspectives
The Dimensions of Literacy in the 21st Century
Verbal, visual, musical literacy
Forms of verbal, visual, and musical expressions
The New Media
Promotion of Scholarship and Research in the Humanities
The Role of the University Presses
The Scholarly Monograph
The Scholarly Journal
Websites
Databases
The Ethical Dimension
The Aesthetic Dimension
The Study of the Future
The Concept and Function of a Discipline
Resources for Research in the Humanities
Humanities Centers and Institutes
Scholarly and artistic Associations
Archival Libraries
Museums
Library of Congress, Bibliothèque Nationale, etc.

Syllabus and Assignments

Throughout the semester, as needed, bibliographical information and

additional texts to be used for seminar discussions will be provided by the
instructor, either in the form of photocopies, or on computer disks, or on the
Webct.
At the beginning of each seminar session, there will be a short report on
scholarly journals to be prepared and presented by students. In addition,
students will give presentations on scholarly monographs and articles.
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It should be noted that all the essays, articles, and monographs that will
be read during the semester are interrelated, so that discussions will not be
restricted to one text during a seminar session. Rather, a continuous interaction
among the various verbal, visual, and musical texts will occur.

Library Orientation
One of the Seminar sessions conducted, by Linda Snow, will take place in
the UTD Library. Ms. Snow will introduced students to the main research
sources for the studies of the humanities. Date TBA

Key Words
Ambiguity
An inexhaustible network of relationships
Field of possibilities
Indeterminacy
Works in movement
Interpretation and performance
Interpretation as Dialogue
Comparative Approaches
Resonances and echoes
Changes of perceptions
Changes of Sensibility
New vocabulary
Concept of Models
Linear way of thinking
Nonlinear Way of thinking
Paradigm
Cultural Literacy
Associative Thinking
Conceptual Frames
Complexity
Adaptability
Versatility/ Pluralism
Flexibility
Fluidity
Mobility
Innovation
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Session I General Orientation

Handouts
Syllabus (on Webct)
Reading Lists
How To Books
Suggestions for Book Reports
Reference Journals (Hard copy)
Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Culture” (Full text on internet)
First page with underlines (Hard copy)
Vladimir Nabokov. “Good Readers and Good Writers” (Electronic copy)
Aaron Copland (Hard copy)
Robert Con Davis-Undiano. “Back to the Essay” (Hard copy)
Latin American Texts: (Hard copy)
Rubén Alonso Ortiz. “The Hot Center of Thunder”
Horacio Quiroga. “The Decapitated Chicken”
Fernando Sorrentino. “There is a Man in the Habit of …
(English and Spanish text)
Juan Tovar. “Location of the Heart”
Dalton Trevisan. “The Corpse in the Parlor”

Assignment
Vladimir Nabokov. "Good Readers and Good Writers"
Robert Con Davis-Undiano. “Back to the Essay”
Frankel. “Why the Humanities”
Schulte. “Translation and Reading”
Exercise: Ralph Waldo Emerson Essay. “Culture”
(Translation of an English text. Full text of essay on Internet)
Check the underlined words in the OED

Session II Aspects of Interpretation

Discussion of Nabokov, Robert Con-Davis Undiano, Frankel, Schulte
How to translate from English to English: Emerson Essay
Discussion of Seminar requirements

Assignment
Latin American Short Stories
How to prepare a general statement regarding a multiplicity of texts
Exercise: Preparation of Emerson translation: First paragraph of Essay
Methodological Orientation: Auerbach. Mimesis

O. Paz. “Translation: Literature and Letters”

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Session III Approaches to the Reading of a Text

Discussion of Emerson translations
Identifying general characteristics of Latin American Stories
(Reference Orientation: Erich Auerbach, Mimesis, and Schulte
“Translation and Reading.”

Assignment
Richard Florida. The Rise of the Creative Class.
Texts by Aichinger, Kafka, Benn, etc. in Continental Short Stories
The technique of horizontal reading continued

Session IV Interpretive Perspectives

The technique of horizontal reading
Aichinger: “The Bound Man”
Key concepts of Florida Monograph
Exercise. Preparation of abstract (book or article)

Assignment
Beginning reading of Bernstein. The Unanswered Question
(Charles Ives) Chapter 5: “The Crisis of the 20 th Century”
Exercise: Preparation of an abstract either book or article
Aaron Copland: “What to Listen for in Music”
Camus: “The Myth of Sisyphus” (Philosophical essay)
Design of research for Camus: “The Myth of Sisyphus”

Session V
Discussion of writing an abstract
Dissertation Abstracts
Introduction to Bernstein Chapter 5
Copland Essay

Assignment
Huizinga. Homo Ludens
Exercise: Annotation
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Session VI The Concept of Play in Culture

Discussion of writing an Annotation
Huizinga (Report on Caillois)

Assignment
L. Bernstein. The Unanswered Question continued.

Session VII Multiple Interpretations

Musical and visual interpretations
Background References for visual interpretation
Studies related to visual interpretations
Rudolf Arnheim. Visual Thinking
Philip Yenawine. How to Look at Modern Art
David Fin. How to Look at Photographs
James Monaco. How to Read a Film
John Berger. Ways of Seeing

Tonal and atonal music

Discussion of multiple interpretations of a musical text
J.S. Bach. Italian Concerto; Beethoven. Sonata
Erich Auerbach. Mimesis (continued)

Session VIII Multiple Translations and Interpretive Perspectives

Various examples of multiple translations and critical approaches
Jacques Barzun. “Food for the NRF”

Assignment
Peter Burke. New Perspectives on Historical Writing
C.P. Snow. The Two Cultures

Session IX The Concept of Associative Thinking

Multiple Historical Perspectives (Burke)
Exercise: M.A. and Ph.D. Proposals

Assignment
Daniel H. Pink. A Whole New Mind. ISBN 1-57322-308-5
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Session X Research in the Arts & Humanities

Discussion of Pink Book

Scholarship and Research in the Age of Technology

Scholarly Publishing
Electronic references:
The History Highway: A Guide to Internet Resources.
(Excerpts provided by the instructor)

Assignment
Kuhn, Thomas. The Structure of Scientific Revolution. (2nd ed.)
Stanley Fish. “Being interdisciplinary is so very hard to do”

Session XI Forms of Expression in the Arts & Humanities

Discussion of Kuhn Study
The Evolution of a discipline and the concept of interdisciplinarity

Session XII The Concept of Future Oriented Research

Concept of monograph; textbook; anthologies.
The function of the scholarly journal
Futurology
Edward Cornish. Futuring: The Exploration of the Future

Session XIII The Conceptual Framing of Research

Student Reports
The construction of databases in the Humanities
The exploration of a specific concept
“Futurology”
Beginning to set up a “Guide to Internet Resources in the Humanities”
Exercise: Research one important electronic database for the humanities
or interdisciplinary studies.
Student presentations of various projects or scholarly monographs

Session XIV
Student Reports
General summary of main concepts and an outlook on the future of the
Humanities
The Concept of a Discipline and Interdisciplinarity
Discussion of scholarly articles related to the concept of interdisciplinarity
Article: Swoara and Morrison. “Interdisciplinarity and Higher Education”
Schaefer. “Still Crazy After All These Years”
Bloom. “Our Listless Universities”
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Requirements
Active participation in seminar discussions is very important
Preparation of paragraphs
Preparation of exercises
Reports on scholarly journals in the Arts & Humanities
Presentation of book review: the recreation of thought processes
Creative or scholarly project or short essays

This is a tentative outline of topics to be discussed during the semester, subject to change according to
student orientation and needs.