English 287:  Great Books

Course Schedule -- Part 2

Fall 2003

29 Oct (W):  There will be a quiz today over Tartuffe.

31 Oct (F):  Begin your reading of Voltaire's Candide.  Come to class having read Chapters 1 through 9 (pp. 1-21)

There is a Study Guide to Candide.  You should make use of it as you are reading this tale.  If you print it off, remember that you can't explore the links without being online.  (So be prepared to return online to check these out.  At least some of them are essential for clarity.  [Others are supplementary, for those who are interested in exploring issues further.])

3 Nov  (M):  Come to class having read Chapters 10 through 19 (pp. 22-42) of Candide.

5 Nov (W):  Continue with Candide:  have read Chapters 20 through 23 (pp. 42-65).

7 Nov (F):  Finish Candide (Chapters 24 through 30 -- pp. 66-87).

Be sure to read the concluding chapter carefully in the light of the Study Guide.

10 Nov  (M):  There will be a quiz today over Candide.

12 Nov (W):  Today we begin reading Goethe's Faust.  Goethe's poetic drama occupied him for decades, and was published in several stages.  We are reading only the most famous of these, formally titled Faust, Part One of the Tragedy (and popularly known as simply Faust, or Faust, Part I).  Page references for the reading assignments in this schedule are to the translation by David Luke:  Goethe, Faust Part One (Oxford World's Classics paperback, 1988).

In this edition there are some very valuable endnotes starting on p. 149.  And asterisk (*) in the text alerts you to the presence of one of these, which will then be back-referenced by line number.  You may decide that it is better to consult these after you have read a section, and then to review the passage to which they are appended.

• Begin by getting acquainted with the poet.  Read one mini-biographical sketch and one slightly more comprehensive (but still brief) one.
• Then read the synopsis of the poem by Alice B. Fort & Herbert S. Kates.
• Come to class having read the following sections of the drama:

2. Prelude on the Stage [pp. 4-9]
3. Prologue in Heaven [pp. 9-12)]
4. Night [pp. 15-27]
5. Outside the Town Wall [pp. 27-37]
6. Faust's Study (I) [pp. 27-47]

[Why didn't we begin with 1. Dedication {p. 3} ?  You may if you wish, but it may make more sense to read after you've finished the main work!]

14 Nov (F):  Continue your reading in Faust Part One.  

• Work your way through the first few pages of David Luke's introduction to his translation (Oxford World Classics), pp. ix-xx.

[Luke's Introduction -- taken in full -- is fascinating, but also a bit overwhelming for someone who is gaining a first acquaintance with the poem.  Feel free to read further in it -- or not -- as you find it useful or interesting.]

• Come to class having read the following sections of the poem:

7. Faust's Study (II) [pp. 47-62]
8. Auerbach's Tavern in Leipzig [pp. 62-72]
9. A Witch's Kitchen [pp. 72-81]
10. A Street [pp. 81-84]
11. Evening [pp. 84-88]
12. A Promenade [pp. 88-89]
13. The Neighbor's House [pp. 90-95]
14. A Street [pp. 95-96]

17 Nov  (M):  Come to class finished your initial reading of Faust:

15. A Garden [pp. 97-101]
16. A Summerhouse [pp. 101-102]
17. A Forest Cavern [pp. 102-107]
18. Gretchen's Room [pp. 107-108]
19. Martha's Garden [pp. 108-112]
20. At the Well [pp. 112-114]
21. By a Shrine inside the Town Wall [pp. 114-115]
22. Night.  The Street outside Gretchen's Door [pp. 115-119]
23. A Cathedral [pp. 120-121]
24. Walpurgis Night [pp. 122-133]
25. A Walpurgus Night's Dream or The Wedding of Oberon and Titania [pp. 134-140]
26. A Gloomy Day.  Open Country [pp. 140-142]
27. Night.  In Open Country [p. 142]
28. A Prison [pp. 142-148]

18 Nov (W):  In class we will continue our discussion of Faust.  

Check the Message of the Day for which sections to reread in preparation for this discussion.

20 Nov (F):  There will be a quiz over Faust.

Continued class discussion of Faust.

Check the Message of the Day for which sections to reread in preparation for this discussion.

24 Nov  (M):  Continued class discussion of Faust.

Check the Message of the Day for which sections to reread in preparation for this discussion.

Out-of-class Essay #2 due under my office door (Denison 210) by 5:00 p.m.   

See the topic options and guidelines for this writing assignment.

26 Nov (W):  No Class:  University holiday.

28 Nov (F):  No Class:  University holiday.

1 Dec (M):  Today we begin our final reading for the semester, Robert Pirsig's novel Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance:  An Inquiry into Values.

• Begin by reading the back of the book jacket, and then Pirsig's "Introduction to the Twenty-fifth Anniversary Edition" (pp. xi-xiv in our Perennial Classics paperback edition).
• Come to class having read Chapters 1 through 6 of the novel (pp. 1-76).

Our edition comes equipped with "A Reader's Guide to ZAMM... (pp. 430-449).  The third part of this (pp. 447-448) offers 10 Questions for Discussion.  

• You might want to have a look at the first 3 even as you start the novel.  They might be worth returning to and reflecting on as you continue.
• When you've gotten to the break in p. 8, look at #5.  Here's something to give some thought to right now, and then to keep in mind as you read further. 
• Save #4 until after you've finished Chapter 3.  This can't be fully thought through until one has finished the novel.  But it's good to start thinking about it now.
• #6 and #7 would be good to reflect on when you finish today's reading.  They'd be good to look at again when you start the reading for Wednesday.

3 Dec (W):  Come to class having read Chapters 7 through 13 of ZAMM (pp. 77-152).

• Question #8 (p. 448) is really 3 questions.  For the first, you might want to look back to pp. 30, 86-88.  The other 2 are things to be thinking about from now on, if you haven't been doing so already.
• Question #9 is good to have in mind as you recall what you've been reading so far, and get ready to embark on today's assignment.
• Avert your eyes from the remaining 2 questions until next week -- after you've finished the novel.. 

5 Dec (F):  There will be a quiz over the first half of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.

To be prepared for this quiz, you will need to have completed Chapters 14 through 17 of ZAMM (pp. 153-213).

8 Dec (M):  Press on, press on:  have read Chapters 18 through 24 of ZAMM (pp. 214-295).

10 Dec (W):  ... and on, and on:  have read Chapters 25 through 28 of ZAMM (pp. 296-362).

12 Dec (F):  ... to the end, and a bit beyond:  

• Have read Chapters 26 through 423 of ZAMM (pp. 363-423).  
• Take a breather.  
• Take in Questions #10 (p. 448) and #11 (p. 449) -- but do this after you've finished the nove.
• Then read Pirsig's "Afterword" (pp. 424-430).
• Take another breather.
• Then, if you're up to it, and interested, have a look at "A Conversation with the Author" (pp. 442-446) -- and, if you're still game, the Introduction to "A Reader's Guide to ZAMM..." (pp. 431-442), which discusses the process he went through in writing, and struggling to find a publisher, for his book..

If you're interested in following up on Pirsig, you'll find some leads in our page Links relating to Robert Pirsig's Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.

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Final Examination

The prep sheet for the Final Exam will be posted at the beginning of Dead Week.

Students should attend the final exam session scheduled for their section of the course.  In special circumstances, I will consider requests to take the exam during the session scheduled for the other section of the course.  Both sessions of the final exam will take place in our regularly scheduled classroom, Eisenhower 016.

15 Dec (M) from 11:50 to 1:40 -- Final Exam for the 10:30 MWF section

16 Dec (T)  from 11:50 to 1:40 -- Final Exam for the 11:30 MWF section

  Suggestions are welcome.  Please send your comments to lyman@ksu.edu .

   Contents copyright © 2002 by Lyman A. Baker. 

Permission is granted for non-commercial educational use; all other rights reserved.

  This page last updated 22 October 2003.