Please realize that even after the syllabus has been finalized, assignments and other specifics may change. HONS1101 students are always encouraged to watch the Announcements section of the course’s blackboard site and their emails, and to listen and make note of any changes as they are announced in class.
HONS1101 printable syllabus for Fall 2021
Please note that dates for tests and exams will be announced in class.
Origins – Cosmologies
Marduk and Tiamat-
Tuesday, August 31, 2021
Read before class:
- Enuma Elish, The Norton Anthology of World Literature, Fourth Edition (henceforth Norton) 29-34
- Enuma Elish, Tablet IV, Course Packet (henceforth CP) 1-3
- Genesis, chapter 1, The Bible
- Hesiod, Theogony and Works and Days, Norton 34-42
- Extracts from the Rig Veda, CP 4-7
- The Great Hymn to Aten, Norton 24-28
The human condition
Endiku & Gilgamesh slaying the Bull of Heaven (a modern clay impression from an ancient cylinder seal - Neo-Assyrian, 8th/7th century B.C.)-
Thursday, September 2, 2021
Read before class:
- Genesis, chapters 2-4, 6-9 Bible
- The Epic of Gilgamesh, Norton: 89-93 (Introduction); 93-98 (Tablet I lines 1-215); 102-104 (Tablet II lines 74-146); 137-41, 144-45 (Tablet XI lines 1-47, 99-182, 282-330)
- Stela of Taimhotep, Norton 86-88
- Egyptian Love Poems, Norton 70-75
Patriarchs and Exodus
Moses and the Red Sea. 3rd century fresco, Synagogue, Dura Europos-
Tuesday, September 7, 2021
Read before class:
- Genesis, chapters 12, 15-18, 21-22, 37, 39-45, Bible
- 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 9, 2021
Read before class:
- Deer Park Sermon, CP 8-9
- Fire Sermon, CP 10
- Parable of the Arrow, CP 11-13
- The Doctrine of No-Self, CP 14-18
- The Jataka, Norton 1294-97, 1300-1303
Homer
Achilles, rendered in marble by George Rennie, 1826-
Tuesday, September 14, 2021
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 16, 2021
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
Gita and Upanishads
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Tuesday, September 21, 2021
Read before class:
- Katha and Chhândogya Upanishads CP 19-27
- Bhagavad Gita, Norton 1276-94
Confucius
Scholar by waterfall Ma Yuan, c. 1200-
Thursday, September 23, 2021
Read before class:
- Analects in Sources of Chinese Tradition, Vol. I (henceforth SCT), 41-63
Confucianism and Legalism
Xunzi-
Tuesday, September 28, 2021
Read before class:
- Mencius, SCT 114-129
- Xunzi, SCT 165-183
- Han Feizi, SCT 199-203
- The Sunzi, SCT 213-221
Paper 2 due
Doaism and Mohism
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Thursday, September 30, 2021
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 5, 2021
Read before class:
- Thales, Introductory Readings in Ancient Greek and Roman Philosophy 2nd edition (henceforth AGRP) 1-2, numbers 1-5,
- Anaximander, AGRP 2-3, numbers 1,2; Fragment, CP 28
- 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
- Democritus/Leucippus, AGRP 30-34, numbers 1, 2, 12-15, 18-21
The Babylonian Exile and Biblical Wisdom Literature
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Thursday, October 7, 2021
Read before class:
- 2 Kings, chapters 24-25, Bible
- Jeremiah, chapters 1,7,11, 19, 20,26, 30-31,39, Bible
- Isaiah, chapters 40-45, 51, 61, Bible
- Ecclesiastes, Bible
- Psalms 22, 27, 51, 62, 137, 147, Bible
Fall Break – No Classes
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Tuesday, October 12, 2021
The Meaning of History
Acropolis at sunrise-
Thursday, October 14, 2021
Read before class:
- Herodotus, Histories, Norton 881-87
- Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War, CP 29-37
- Sima Tan and Sima Qian, SCT 278-82, 370-72
- 1 Kings chapters 3-12 Bible
Greek Tragedy
Medea & her golden chariot, as depicted by Germán Hernández Amores (around 1887 -- oil on canvas)-
Tuesday, October 19, 2021
Read before class:
- Euripides, Medea, Norton 756-90
Paper 3 due
Second Temple Judaism
Maccabees - Illuminated Manuscript, Leiden, The Netherlands-
Thursday, October 21, 2021
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 6-8, Bible
- Daniel, chapters 1-3, 7, 12 Bible
Plato
The Death of Socrates, by Jacques-Louis David Metropolitan Museum of Art-
Tuesday, October 26, 2021
Read before class:
- Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, AGRP 52-85
Plato – Republic
The Cave-
Thursday, October 28, 2021
Read before class:
- AGRP 152-83 Books 1-4
- CP 38-41 selections from Books 2 and 3
Plato – Republic
-
Tuesday, November 2, 2021
Read before class:
- AGRP 183-210, 230-37 Books 5-7,10
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, November 4, 2021
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 9, 2021
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 42-45 Book 8 chapters 2-5
- Politics AGRP 345-47 Book I section 2, Book III section 7; 349-51 Book IV section 11
Paper 4 due
Rome: from republic to empire
Vercingetorix Throws Down His Arms at the Feet of Julius Caesar (Oil on Canvas, Lionel Noel Royer, 1899)-
Thursday, November 11, 2021
Read before class:
- Livy: The History of Rome, CP 46-58; On Mucius, CP 59; On Cincinnatus, CP 62-63
- Polybius, Histories, CP 64-66
- Augustus, Res Gestae Divi Augusti, CP 64-66
- Tacitus, Annals CP, 67-70
- 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
Roman Epic
The Meeting of Dido and Aeneas
Oil on Canvas, Sir Nathaniel Dance-Holland (The Tate Museum, London)-
Tuesday, November 16, 2021
Read before class:
- Vergil, Aeneid, Norton 926-47, 974-88, 1014-25
- Ovid, Metamorphoses, Norton 1036-42, 1053-68
Roman Philosophy
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Thursday, November 18, 2021
Read before class:
- Lucretius, On the Nature of Things, AGRP 396-97section 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.
- Epictetus, The Handbook, AGRP 444-53 sections 1,2, 5, 6, 8-16, 22, 23, 31, 33, 41, 44, 48, 49, 51, 53,
- Marcus Aurelius, Meditations AGRP 453-58
- Sextus Empiricus, Outlines of Pyrrhonism, AGRP 465-68 Book 1 sections 1, 3, 4, 6, 10-12; 471-72, 475 Book 3 sections 3, 32
Han Dynasty
A Ming period (1368-1644) portrait of Sima Qian-
Tuesday, November 23, 2021
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
Thanksgiving Holiday
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Thursday, November 25, 2021
Christianity – Gospels
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Tuesday, November 30, 2021
Read before class:
- The Gospel According to Luke, Bible
- The Gospel According to John, chapters 1-3, Bible
Paper 5 due
Christianity: Paul
St. Paul, from the Grotto of St Paul in Ephesus c. 500-
Thursday, December 2, 2021
Read before class:
- First Letter to the Corinthians, Bible
- Letter to the Galatians, Bible
Paper 6 due
Christianity, Judaism, and philosophy
Philo-
Tuesday, December 7, 2021
Read before class:
- Philo, “On Creation,” CP 71-76
- Justin Martyr, excerpt, CP 77
- Justin Martyr, Second Apology, Readings in World Christian History, (henceforth WCH) 39-43, sections 6, 8, 10, 12-15
- Tertullian, excerpts, CP 77-78
- Origen, excerpt, CP 78
- Origen, “On First Principles,” WCH 73-76
- The Second Treatise of the Great Seth, WCH 53-57
- Plotinus, selections, AGRP 480, 495-502
Christians and The Roman Empire
Catacomb gravestone of Firmia Victora 2nd-3rd century-
Thursday, December 9, 2021
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 79
- Justin Martyr, on eucharist CP 80-81
- Celsus, On the true logos, CP 82-83