Mosaic: Humanities Seminar II 852

Fall 2014
Richard Ninness
ninness@temple.edu
Office Hours: MWF 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. and by appointment
Mosaic 852 is the second half of a year-long course designed to introduce students to
some of the fundamental concepts of human civilization. Through the use of primary
texts spanning almost 3,000 years students will gain a better understanding of key ideas
and values of people in the past and how these have come to shape the world we all now
share. The second semester explores themes of power, science, and economics and might
be thought of as having the overall themes of The Texture of Reality or How do we
use complex systems to both understand and shape the world in which we live.
The Intellectual Heritage Program, which runs the Mosaic courses, has indentified
five main things that students should be able to do, or to do better, by the time they
complete both Mosaic classes. These competencies are officially stated like this:
By the end of Mosaic II, students should be able to:
1. Read in its entirety an unfamiliar and problematic written text (theoretically,
historically, or culturally challenging)
2. Recognize abstractions, large ideas, and implications associated with difficult
written texts
3. Make connections across disciplines, history and cultural boundaries
4. Construct positions, arguments, and interpretations through textual analysis and
evaluation
5. Produce thoughtful writing that reflects persuasive position and the conventions
of academic discourse
We will explore primary texts from a variety of traditions in an effort to help you
reach these goals or improve your skills. Mosaic II is designed to build on the skills you
used in Mosaic I and help you be successful in other GenEd courses and the courses that
make up your major. Furthermore, in a time of a hyper-connected world, Mosaic II might
be your most important course. Everybody expects you to be expert in your major. It is
your ability to be creative and innovative which will make you competitive beyond
university. Mosaic II can also be seen as an institutional approach to this challenge. In
this course, you will be asked to make connections between texts, to think about larger
issues, to question conventional views, and then to present your view.
The texts will be studied as windows into the worlds of their individual creators.
Each will be examined for its major themes and expressive content. Study of these
diverse texts will also be used as means to help us understand aspects of the various
cultures which produced them, and the relevance of these works to contemporary
cultures. Our goal is to grasp both the statement being made by the writer as well as the
significance of the work to contemporary and later audiences. This will be accomplished
through an understanding of both content (what the author is saying) and form or style
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(how he or she is saying it).

Your goals for the course are to become both better readers and better writers.
You will be able to analyze the texts in order that you understand both content and form,
to read the texts critically so that the insights contained in them become clear to you, and
to synthesize those ideas into a fresh statement that tells me that you truly grasp the
significance of the works, in both their historical context and in your world today. You
must be able to clearly express your ideas about the texts both verbally during class
discussion and in writing in formal papers. And along the way you will gain a better
understanding of the shape, content, and chronology of world intellectual tradition and a
few of the people who played a role in shaping it. Also keep in mind that I am a historian
and will bring some of that baggage with me when we approach the material.
Requirements and Expectations:
Attendance:
Attendance is required and essential to do well in this course. You must attend
class regularly, punctually, and thoughtfully prepared to engage the text for the day. You
must bring the text we are reading to each class with you, because we will do a lot of
close reading and there are a lot of quizzes. The fundamental nature of this class requires
that you participate actively and energetically by keeping up with the reading, putting
significant effort into your papers, and taking part in class discussions. This means
asking questions, taking notes, responding to the comments of others, and being an alert
and respectful listener. There is also lots of group work. In just about every class, you will
discuss issues in a group for debate.
Attendance will be taken at all sessions. You are allowed three unexcused
absences. If personal or medical emergencies keep you out of class longer, you should
consider withdrawing from the course. Even if an absence is excused, make-up work is
required. Missing more than three classes will begin to affect your final grade with
each subsequent absence causing more damage. Students are at all times responsible
for readings and assignments due. If you have to miss a class, you must be prepared for
the next one. If you anticipate attendance being a problem, this is not the course for you.
If there is an issue which requires you to miss a class, please come to see me sooner
rather than later.
Grading:
This course is writing heavy and reading very heavy. For example, on September
8, we will have read 238 pages in the Iliad and an assignment is due. Along with being
hard working, a student needs to be open and flexible. Furthermore, the work has to be
yours. If I discover plagiarism in any assignment, you will receive a zero. There will be
three papers (60%). There will be more specific information about these assignments as
they approach. For all three papers, you will turn in a paper on Monday. Before then, up
to Saturday at 5:00 p.m., you can send me a rough draft or just ideas. For the first two
papers, I will grade the paper, return it next Monday, and you have until Friday to turn in
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the rewrite. For the rewrite, provide the old paper and the new paper with your changes
underlined. For the third paper, there is no rewrite. There are also Iliad homework (5%)
and an Iliad exam (5%). There are also throughout the semester lots of pop quizzes
(20%). There are 14 of those. You can use your book. I will take the 10 best quizzes.
Participation amounts to 10% of the grade which is mostly coming to class. I do not put
grades on blackboard.
10% Participation
5% Iliad Questions
5% Iliad Exam
20% Quizzes
60% Three Papers (each 20%)
Papers
I am not a fan of rubrics. For your paper, you need an intro with a strong
argument. Every word in the body serves your argument. Then finish the paper with a
conclusion. The Iliad and Utopia papers are four pages long. The Galileo paper is two
pages long. You may write more but never less. You also need a title page. Please no
creative spacing. Use font size 12, double space, and you need normal margins.
Office Hours
I hold office hours three times a week on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Im struggling
to write my second book and can be found in Media Services looking at microfilm from
4:00 to 5:00 p.m. Often if you know in advance that you want to meet with me, we can go
to Saxbys. The coffee is on me.
Students with Disabilities:
Are strongly urged meet with me early in the semester. Please visit the Temple
University Disability Resources and Services website at www.temple.edu/disability. Or
call the DRS office at 215-204-1280 (TTY 215-204-1786).
Academic Freedom and Student and Faculty Rights:
The University has adopted a policy on Student and Faculty Academic Rights and
Responsibilities (Policy# 03.70.02) that is intended to protect both students and faculty.
You may read it in its entirety at http://policies.temple.edu/getdoc.asp?
policy_no=03.70.02
Some Additional Resources:
Mosaic Writing Tutors are located in Anderson 215 (The Mosaic lounge). The
Mosaic writing tutors wait around in the Mosaic lounge for students who need help with
their Mosaic papers. They are very helpful, although, of course, you must put in some
effort beforehand and afterward to get anything out of them. They do not tell you what
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hoops to jump through in order to get a better grade; they give advice on writing better
papers. For information on hours and appointments, please see the IH/Mosaic website.
The University Writing Center (www.temple.edu/writingctr/) is located in
Tuttleman 201. Like the Mosaic writing tutors, they are available both on a drop-in basis
and by appointment for individualized help with paper writing. The coaches here are
more involved in the technical aspects of writing a good paper and less Mosaic-specific
when it comes to content.
Texts:
The following texts are all available in campus bookstore in the SAC. Use the
editions named. Not only were these the editions used to make this syllabus, but I
demand them for citing in the papers and discussion will go more smoothly if we all have
the same translation and the same page numbers to which to refer.
These books can be bought in the bookstore as well as online:
Galilei, Galileo. Sidereus Nuncius or The Sidereal Messenger. Trans. and intro.
Albert van Helden. University of Chicago Press, 1989. ISBN: 0226279030.
Homer. The Iliad. Trans. and ed. Stanley Lombardo. Hackett, 1997. ISBN
0872203522.
Jacobs, Jane. The Death and Life of Great American Cities. Vintage, 1992.
ISBN 067974195X.
Machiavelli, The Prince. Hackett Publishing Co.; New edition (March 1995)
ISBN 0872203166
Marx, Karl, Communist Manifesto, International Publishers, 1948, ISBN 978-07178-0241-8
More, Thomas, Utopia, Trans. and ed. Clarence Miller, Yale University Press,
2001, ISBN 978-0-300-08429-0
You must get my edition of the book! Be careful if you order from a seller on
Amazon or somewhere else, it is your responsibly to make sure the edition is the
correct one.
For the sections on Jenners Vaccination Against Smallpox, and Marxs Capital, I
will provide the necessary material on Blackboard.
Schedule of Classes and Reading Assignments:
Date Discussion Topics and Reading Assignments Writing Assignments in Bold
(I reserve the right to make changes to the syllabus.)
August 25
August 27
August 29

Introduction to course
Truth in the Humanities or how its my opinion wont work here.
Watch parts of Troy in class for comedy relief, watch Joseph Campbells
Power of Myth, answer questions and read Homer, Iliad books 1-4, pp. 182

September 3 Troy and Power of Myth in class, answer questions and read Iliad, books
5-8, pp. 83-142
September 5 Troy; Iliad, books 9-12, pp. 143-238
September 8

Continue reading
(September 8) All questions due in class. If you cant come to class,
turn in assignment early. No late work accepted. No excuses about
printer!
September 10 Discuss Iliad
September 12 Iliad, books 13-16, pp. 239-331 (First pop quiz; last pop quiz to be
announced)
September 15 Iliad, books 17-20, pp. 332-402
September 17 Iliad, books 21-24, pp. 403-492
September 19 Reading Day
September 22 No class, GSA conference
September 24 Discuss Machiavelli, The Prince
(September 24) Turn in Take Home Exam (What is important for a
hero in the Iliad?). No late work will be accepted. It is two pages
typed. You need an argument supported by concrete evidence from
poem.
September 26 More Machiavelli
September 29 Introduction: Galileo
Individual Meetings at Saxbys from 4-6:30 p.m. Bring argument and
outline and receive 20 points on quiz.
October 1
Galilei, Sidereus Nuncius or The Sidereal Messenger VII-31
Individual Meetings at Saxbys from 4-6:30 p.m. Bring argument and
outline and receive 20 points on quiz.
October 3
Reading Day
October 6
October 8
October 10

Sidereus Nuncius, 34-57

Sidereus Nuncius, 58-86
Sidereus Nuncius, 87-113

October 13

Jenner, Vaccination Against Smallpox as a Paradigm Shift?

(October 13) First Paper due (How does Machiavellis advice apply to
the Iliad?)
Introduction: More; Film: Man for All Seasons; More, Utopia, pp. 1-50
Reading Day

October 15
October 17
October 20
October 22

Utopia, pp. 51-95

Individual Meetings at Saxbys from 4-6:30 p.m. Bring argument and
outline and receive 20 points on quiz.
Utopia, pp. 95-135
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October 24

Individual Meetings at Saxbys from 4-6:30 p.m. Bring argument and

outline and receive 20 points on quiz.
Reading Day

October 27
October 29
October 31

Inside Job
Inside Job
Inside Job

November 3

Metropolis
Second Paper due on November 3 (Based on Sidereus Nuncius, why
was Galileo important? Put him in the context of his times.) You only
have to write two pages.
Marx and the Communist Manifesto
Marx, Capital

November 5
November 7

November 10 Marx, Capital

November 12 Marx, Capital
November 14 Reading Day
November 17 Introduction to Jacobs, Death and Life, 1 Intro, pp. 3-25
Turn in argument and outline for third paper in class
November 19 Death and Life chaps.2 and 3, pp. 26-74
November 21 No class, conference
November 24 Death and Life, chaps. 4-6, pp. 74-140
November 26-30 Fall Break
December 1
December 3
December 5
December 8

Death and Life, chaps. 7-8, pp. 143-186 Death and Life of Your Block
For extra credit, tape your block.
Death and Life, chaps. 15, and 20-22; For extra credit, tape your block.
For extra credit, tape your block.
Third Paper due on last day of class (What were Mores and Marxs
problems with capitalism? What were Marxs and especially Mores
solutions for the oppression of a capitalistic system?)