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Humanities 1301, MC 2.

410
Fall 2005
Dr. Virginia L. Arbery
JO 5.704. Phone: 972-883-2152
Office hrs.: 12-1pm, MW.
virginia.arbery@utdallas.edu

Images of Exodus from Moses to King


This course undertakes the study of Exodus viewing it as the comprehensive myth that
informs the action of the West, one represented in literature and philosophy and
employed in rhetoric. The paradigm for the selected readings is both an external and
internal action, an insight into both spiritual and political transformation: Moses leading
the Israelites out of the slavery of Egypt through the wilderness and almost into the
Promised Land. The work of both Lincoln and Martin Luther King clearly outlines the
political theme of emancipation from slavery. Referring, of course to Moses, King
declares in “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop,” that he has seen the land of political and
social equality defined in the Declaration and promised by Lincoln. But the theme of
growth from the slavery of one’s own ignorance to a liberating self-knowledge is another
aspect to the centrality of the Exodus myth. The works in the middle of the course range
from trying to return home from the Trojan War in The Odyssey to trying to escape from
home in Huckleberry Finn. Both Vergil’s Aeneid and Dante’s Inferno offer compelling
versions of exile and homecoming or new beginnings. The hope is that the selected
works, the lectures, and the class discussions will lead to a life-long conversation with the
questions raised in the works of exile. Among the many enduring questions, perhaps this
one is the crux: what does an education in suffering have to do with personal and political
liberty?

Active attendance is essential for successful completion of the course. Arrival on time
and no exiting until the Professor has dismissed class are simple rules of courtesy.
Attendance will be taken daily, and three unexcused absences will result in failure for the
course. Only medical excuses will be considered. All work must be submitted on the date
due. Read the University Catalogue for the University policy on drop dates. Academic
honesty must be honored; therefore, plagiarism of any degree will not be tolerated.
Appropriate punitive action will be taken.

Email contact is no substitute for speaking to the Professor or the Teaching Assistant. It
is useful as a means of recording matters related to class procedures; however, nothing
really can take the place of conversation face to face. If you have a concern that you wish
to discuss, an idea you wish to explore, please arrange an appointment with your
Professor or teaching assistant.

Grading will be divided in the following manner: 50% on Midterm and Final Exam; 25%
on 2 short essays; 25% on short objective pop quizzes. Class participation will influence
borderline grades.
Texts and Readings: Works on the syllabus accessible on line or to be distributed in class
are noted by an asterisk. Texts are available at the UTD Bookstore. Use only the
translations or editions noted in the syllabus.

Assignments

F Aug. 19 Course Introduction

M Aug. 22 Exodus 1-20 Use BibleGateway.com;English


Standard Version)
W Aug. 24 Exodus 21-25, 31-34, 40; Numbers 13-14;
Deuteronomy 31-34.
F Aug. 26 Discussion

M Aug. 29 Homer’s Odyssey,(Richmond Lattimore, trans.)


Books I-IV
W Aug. 31 Odyssey, Books V-VIII
F Sept. 2 Odyssey, Books IX-XII

W Sept. 7 Odyssey, Books XIII-XVI


F Sept. 9 Discussion

M Sept. 12 Odyssey, Books XVII-XX


W Sept. 14 Odyssey, Books XXI-XXIV
F Sept. 16 Short essay due.
Tennyson’ s Ulysses*; Discussion

M Sept. 19 Plato’s Republic, Book 6


W Sept. 21 Plato’s Republic, Book 7
F Sept. 23 Virgil’s Aeneid (Robert Fitzgerald, trans.), Books I-
II

M Sept. 26 Aeneid, III-IV


W Sept. 28 Aeneid, V-VI
F Sept. 30 Aeneid, VII-VIII

M Oct. 3 Aeneid, IX-X


W Oct. 5 Aeneid, XI-XII
F Oct. 7 Midterm

M Oct. 10 Dante’s Inferno (A. Mandelbaum, trans.), I-VI


W Oct. 12 Inferno, VII-XI
F Oct. 14 Inferno, XII-XVII.

M Oct. 17 Inferno, XVIII-XXV


W Oct. 19 Inferno, XXVI-XXXIV
F Oct. 21 Discussion
2nd Short Essay due

M Oct. 24 Sir Gawain and the Green Knight I-II. (Marie


Borroff, trans.)
W Oct. 26 Sir Gawain, III-IV.
F Oct. 28 Shakespeare’s Tempest (Signet) Acts 1 and 2

M Oct. 31 Tempest Acts 3 and 4


W Nov. 2 Tempest Act 5 / Discussion
F Nov. 4 Cotton Mather’s Magnalia Christi Americana,* sel.

M Nov. 7 Mark Twain’s, Huckleberry Finn, Chapters 1-8.


W Nov. 9 Huck Finn (Norton Edition), Chpts. 9-13
F Nov. 11 Huck Finn, Chpts. 14-18

M Nov. 14 Huck Finn, Chpts. 19-23


W Nov. 16 Huck Finn, Chpts 24-29
F Nov. 18 Huck Finn, Chpts. 30-34

M Nov. 21 Huck Finn, Chpts. 35-40


W Nov. 23 Huck Finn, Chpts. 41-Chapter the Last

THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY

M Nov. 28 Abraham Lincoln’s “Temperance Address”* and


Martin Luther King’s “I’ve Been to the
Mountaintop”*

Final Exam: Wed., Nov. 30, 8 am for 9:00-9:50 class


Fri., Dec. 2, 8 am for 10:00-10:50 class

9:00-9:50 Class: Teaching Assistant: Miss Baomei Lin


Ph: 972-883-2062
Off: JO 5.410A
Email: bxl013200@utdallas.edu

11:00-11:50 Class: Teaching Assistant: Miss Megan Kuckelman


PH: 972-883-2062
Office: JO 5. 410A
meghan.kuckelman@student.utdallas.edu

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