As always, even after the syllabus has been posted, be aware that assignments may change. HONS 1101 students are always encouraged to pay attention to emails from professors and to listen and make note of any changes as they are announced in class.
HONS1101 printable syllabus for Fall 2024
Origins – Cosmologies
Marduk and Tiamat-
Tuesday, August 27, 2024
Read before class:
- Enuma Elish, Tablet IV, Course Packet (henceforth CP) 1-3
- Enuma Elish (excerpt), Norton Anthology of World Literatures, Vol. A (henceforth “Norton”) 29-32
- Genesis, chapter 1, The Bible
- Hesiod, Theogony and Works and Days, Norton Anthology of World Literatures, Vol. A (henceforth “Norton”) 34-42
- Hymns from the Rig Veda, CP 4-5
Pre-history and patriarchs
Abraham and the 3 strangers. Oil on Canvas, Willem van Herp (circa 1613-1677)-
Thursday, August 29, 2024
Read before class:
- Genesis, chapters 2-4, 6-9, 12, 15-18, 21-22, 37, 39-45 Bible
Exodus, Covenant, Law
Moses and the Red Sea. 3rd century fresco, Synagogue, Dura Europos-
Tuesday, September 3, 2024
Read before class:
- Exodus, chapters 1-15; 19-24 32:1-34:10 Bible
- Deuteronomy, chapter 4 Bible
- Semna Stele, Norton 879-881
Buddhism
Buddha Sarnath Deer Park 4th century C.E-
Thursday, September 5, 2024
Read before class:
- Deer Park Sermon, CP 6-7
- Fire Sermon, CP 8
- Parable of the Arrow, CP 9-11
- The Doctrine of No-Self, CP 12-16
- The Jataka, Norton 1294-97, 1300-1303
Homer
Achilles, rendered in marble by George Rennie, 1826-
Tuesday, September 10, 2024
Read before class:
- The Iliad, Norton 232-55, 272-89, 296-307, 318-24
Paper 1 due
Israel: Monarchy and prophecy
The coronation of David. Paris Psalter, Byzantine 10th century MS-
Thursday, September 12, 2024
Read before class:
- 1 Samuel, chapters 1-3, 8-10, 12, 16-18 Bible
- 2 Samuel, chapters 7, 11-12 Bible
- Amos Bible
- Isaiah, chapters 1-2, 6, 9-11 Bible
Confucius
Scholar by waterfall Ma Yuan, c. 1200-
Tuesday, September 17, 2024
Read before class:
- Analects, Sources of Chinese Tradition, Vol. I (hereafter SCT) 41-63
Bhagavad Gita and Upanishads
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Thursday, September 19, 2024
Read before class:
- Chhândogya Upanishad CP 17-19
- Bhagavad Gita, Norton 1276-94
Confucianism and Legalism
Xunzi-
Tuesday, September 24, 2024
Read before class:
- Mencius, SCT 114-129
- Xunzi, SCT 165-183
- Han Feizi, SCT 199-203
Doaism and Mohism
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Thursday, September 26, 2024
Read before class
- Mozi, SCT 69-76, sections 16, 26, 27, 39
- Daodejing, SCT 77-94, sections 1-4, 9-11, 13, 18, 19, 22, 29, 37, 38, 42, 43, 48, 56, 57, 65, 67, 70, 80, 81
- Zhuangzi, SCT, 95-96, 101-107, 109-111
What is real? Philosophy before Socrates
Pythagoras-
Tuesday, October 1, 2024
Read before class:
- Thales, Introductory Readings in Ancient Greek and Roman Philosophy 2nd edition (hereafter AGRP) 1-2, numbers 1-5,
- Xenophanes, AGRP 8-9, numbers 1-11
- Heraclitus, AGRP 9-13, numbers 1, 2, 10, 12, 18, 19, 21, 26, 27, 33, 34, 44, 45, 49, 50, 58, 59, 66
- Parmenides, AGRP 14-17, numbers 1, 3, 6-8
The Babylonian Exile and Biblical Wisdom Literature
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Thursday, October 3, 2024
Read before class:
- 2 Kings, chapters 24-25, Bible
- Jeremiah, chapters 1, 19, 20, 31:31-34 Bible
- Isaiah, chapters 40-45, 49-50, 52:13-53:12, Bible
- Ecclesiastes, Bible
- Psalms 22, 23, 137, Bible
Paper 2 due
The Meaning of History
Acropolis at sunrise-
Tuesday, October 8, 2024
Read before class:
- Herodotus, Histories, Norton 881-87
- Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War, CP 20-28
- Sima Tan and Sima Qian, SCT 278-82, 370-72
Midterm exam
Greek Tragedy
Medea & her golden chariot, as depicted by Germán Hernández Amores (around 1887 -- oil on canvas)-
Thursday, October 10, 2024
Read before class:
- Euripides, Medea, Norton 756-90
Fall Break – No Classes
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Tuesday, October 15, 2024
Second Temple Judaism
Maccabees - Illuminated Manuscript, Leiden, The Netherlands-
Thursday, October 17, 2024
Read before class:
- Ezra, chapter 1, Bible
- Nehemiah, chapters 1, 2, 8, 13, Bible
- Ruth, Bible
- 1 Maccabees, chapters 1-2, Bible
- 2 Maccabees, chapters 6-7, Bible
- Daniel, chapters 7, 12 Bible
Plato
The Death of Socrates, by Jacques-Louis David Metropolitan Museum of Art-
Tuesday, October 22, 2024
Read before class:
- Euthyphro, Apology AGRP 52-70
Plato
The Cave-
Thursday, October 24, 2024
Read before class:
- Apology, Crito AGRP 70-85
- Republic, selection from Books 2 and 3, CP 29-32
- Republic, Book 5, AGRP 183-93
Plato
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Tuesday, October 29, 2024
Read before class:
- Republic, Book 5-7, AGRP 194-210
Paper 3 due
Aristotle: On knowing and the known
Aristotle, marble portrait bust, Roman copy (2nd century) of a Greek original (c. 325 B.C.E.) in the Museo Nazionale Romano, Rome-
Thursday, October 31, 2024
Read before class:
- Posterior Analytics, AGRP 266 Book 1 section 2, first 5 paragraphs; 269-70 Book 2, section 19
- Physics, AGRP 271-72 Book 2 section 1; 274 Book 2 section 3 first 5 paragraphs
- De Anima, AGRP 288-89 Book 3 section 4
- Metaphysics, AGRP 291-92 Book 1 section 1
Aristotle: What is the best way to live?
Alexander, National Archaeological Museum, Istanbul-
Tuesday, November 5, 2024
Read before class:
- Nicomachean Ethics AGRP 310-16 Book 1 sections 1-5, 7, 9; 317-21 Book 2 sections 1, 3, 6; 339-40 Book 10 section 7
- Nicomachean Ethics CP 33-36, Book 8 chapters 2-5
- Politics AGRP 345-47 Book I section 2, Book III section 7; 349-51 Book IV section 11
Roman Philosophy
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Thursday, November 7, 2024
Read before class:
- Lucretius, On the Nature of Things, AGRP 396-97 section 1 lines 1-75; 401-402 section 2 lines 1-60; 407-409 section 3 lines 670-865; 421-22 section 5 lines 1105-1205.
- Seneca, AGRP 426-27 “On the Happy Life” IX; 429-32 “Moral Letters to Lucilius,” letters 76, 66, 95; 439-41 “On Providence” sections 4.6-4.11, 5.7-5.9.
- Seneca “Epistle 47,” Norton 898-901
- Epictetus, The Handbook, AGRP 444-53 sections 1,2, 5, 6, 8-16, 22, 23, 31, 33, 41, 44, 48, 49, 51, 53
Rome: from republic to empire
Vercingetorix Throws Down His Arms at the Feet of Julius Caesar (Oil on Canvas, Lionel Noel Royer, 1899)-
Tuesday, November 12, 2024
Read before class:
- Livy: The History of Rome, CP 37-48
- Augustus, Res Gestae Divi Augusti, CP 49-51
- Vergil, Aeneid, Norton 926-47, 974-88, 1014-25
Han Dynasty
A Ming period (1368-1644) portrait of Sima Qian-
Thursday, November 14, 2024
Read before class:
- Introductory material, SCT 227-28, 283-84, 367-68
- The Springs and Autumns of Mr Lu, SCT 235-41
- Dong Zhongshu, SCT 292-310
- Ban Zhao, Admonitions for Women, SCT 821-24
Christianity – The Gospel According to Luke
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Tuesday, November 19, 2024
Read before class:
Christianity – The Gospel According to Luke
- The Gospel According to Luke, Bible
Paper 4 due
Christianity: Paul
St. Paul, from the Grotto of St Paul in Ephesus c. 500-
Thursday, November 21, 2024
Read before class:
Christianity – Paul
- First Letter to the Corinthians, Bible
- Letter to the Galatians, Bible
Christianity – The Johannine Community
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Tuesday, November 26, 2024
Read before class:
- The Gospel According to John, chapters 1-3, 13-17 Bible
- The First Letter of John, Bible
Thanksgiving Holiday
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Thursday, November 28, 2024
Christianity, Judaism, and philosophy
Philo-
Tuesday, December 3, 2024
Read before class:
- Philo, “On Creation,” CP 52-57
- Early Christian texts (Justin Martyr, Tertullian, Origen excerpts), CP 58-59
- Justin Martyr, Second Apology, Readings in World Christian History, (hereafter WCH) 39-43, sections 6, 8, 10, 12-15
- Plotinus, selections, AGRP 480, 495-502
Christians and The Roman Empire
Catacomb gravestone of Firmia Victora 2nd-3rd century-
Thursday, December 5, 2024
Read before class:
- Letter of Pliny to Trajan, WCH 23-24
- The Passion of Perpetua and Felicity, WCH 30-37
- The Letter to Diognetus, CP 60
- Justin Martyr, on eucharist (from First Apology). CP 61-62
- Celsus, On the true logos, CP 63-64