Go to Part
2 of the Course Schedule.English 287: Great Books
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20 Aug (W): Introduction to the course.
22 Aug (F): Check out these memos to make sure you really want to stay in the course.
Come to class having read Chapters 1-35 of Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.'s Cat's Cradle.
After you've done your reading, browse through our Study Guide to Chapters 1-35 of Cat's Cradle. See if there are some questions there that interest you. If you find that you were not asking these on your own as you read the selection, ask yourself what assumptions might have led me to frame them when I was reading it.
Note that you are not being asked to push for answers to all of the questions you find there! Instead, you should
- be thinking about how the novel is designed to raise these questions for an experienced reader (i.e., a reader who is "tuned in to" the kind of curiosity game the novel is inviting us to play);
- be aware that lots of these questions can only be answered down the line, as the novel proceeds (that is: their purpose is to structure our attention in certain ways, so that we are alert to how things we come across later work to certain active curiosities that are somehow thematically relevant to the larger purposes of the novel); and
- be speculating about
- what different answers might eventually turn out to be, and
- what difference these might make for the overall meaning of the novel.
It may be that some of these questions will invite you to reread some of the passages in the novel that you've read so far. If it strikes you that this would be fun and interesting to do, then do it, to the degree you have time.
25 Aug (M): Come to class having read Chapters 36-66 of Cat's Cradle.
Again, after you've finished the reading, have a look at the Study Guide to Chapters 36-66 of Cats Cradle.
Over the long weekend,
you should
You should also familiarize yourself with the Table of Contents of Robert Fagles translation of Homer's The Odyssey, so that you know what the various features of this edition are that are at your disposal. |
2 Sept (M): No Class University Holiday.
4 Sept (W): Come to class having completed your reading of Cat's Cradle. There will be a quiz over Cat's Cradle.
6 Sept (F): Come to class having read the first four books of The Odyssey. (This section is has come to be called "The Telemachiad," since it focuses on the delimmas of the absent Odysseus' son Telemachus, and his response to them. In our edition, these books have been provided with convenient titles, which are not [however] to be found in the ancient manuscripts: "Athena Inspires the Prince," "Telemachus Set Sail," "King Nestor Remembers," and "The King and Queen of Sparta.")
Before you begin your reading of each book, you should consult the questions in the Study Guide to Books 1-4 of The Odyssey, and keep them in mind as you read. When you are done, glance over the list again and see if you have any ideas upon some of them.
9 Sept (M): Come to class having read Books 5 through 8 of The Odyssey. (In this section of the epic, Odysseus is brought from his "suspension" in the cave of Calypso up to the occasion on which he himself will narrate the adventures that led to his being shipwrecked there. In our edition, these have been given the titles "Odysseus: Nymph and Shipwreck," "The Princess and the Stranger," "Phaeacia's Halls and Gardens," and "A Day for Songs and Contests.")
After you finish your reading of each book, you should consult the questions in the Study Guide to Books 5-8 of The Odyssey, and keep them in mind as you read. When you are done, glance over the list again and see if you have any ideas upon some of them.
11 Sept (W): Come to class having read Books 9 through 12 of The Odyssey. (This section of the epic is notable for its "folk tale" elements. In our edition, these books have been given the titles "In the One-Eyed Giant's Cave," "The Bewitching Queen of Aeaea," "The Kingdom of the Dead," and "The Cattle of the Sun.") There will be a quiz over the first half of The Odyssey (i.e., Books 1-12).
After you finish your reading of each book, you should consult the questions in the Study Guide to Books 9-12 of The Odyssey, and keep them in mind as you read. When you are done, glance over the list again and see if you have any ideas upon some of them.
13 Sept (F): For today, we will begin with the second half of The Odyssey, which tells of Odysseus' struggle to regain his status as King of Ithaca. You should aim to get through Books 13-16 by class today. (In our edition, these have been given the titles "Ithaca at Last," "The Loyal Swineherd," "The Prince Sets Sail for Home," and "Father and Son.") In class today, though, we will take a break from discussion and have a look at the first half or so Joel and Ethan Cohen's Oh Brother, Where Art Thou -- A Mississippi Odyssey (2000), starring George Clooney and John Turturro.
Meanwhile, after you finish your reading of each book, you should consult the questions in the Study Guide to Books 13-16 of The Odyssey, and keep them in mind as you read. When you are done, glance over the list again and see if you have any ideas upon some of them.
16 Sept (M): Come to class having read Books 17-21 of The Odyssey. (In our edition, these have been fitted with the titles "Stranger at the Gates," "The Beggar-King of Ithaca," "Penelope and Her Guest," and "Portents Gather.")
After you finish your reading of each book, you should consult the questions in the Study Guide to Books 17-21 of The Odyssey, and keep them in mind as you read. When you are done, glance over the list again and see if you have any ideas upon some of them.
18 Sept (W): Aim to finish The Odyssey. With Books 21-24, we reach the climax and denouement of the epic. (In our edition, these books have been dubbed "Odysseus Strings His Bow," "Slaughter in the Hall," "The Great rooted Bed," and "Peace.")
After you finish your reading of each book, you should consult the questions in the Study Guide to Books 21-24 of The Odyssey, and keep them in mind as you read. When you are done, glance over the list again and see if you have any ideas upon some of them.
20 Sept (F): There will be a quiz over the second half of The Odyssey. After that, we will wrap up our discussion of the epic.
23 Sept (M): In class today, we will view the second half of the film O Brother, Where Art Thou. For today, though, you should have read
For each of these, there is a series of questions to guide your reading and reflections. You will find them linked to in our Study Guide on Sophocles' Oedipus the King: Index to Resources.