Humanities 110

Introduction to the Humanities

Syllabus | Fall 2020

Coming Up

Introducing the Humanities: Egyptians, Israelites, and Achaemenids

Mon 31 Aug

Assignment
  • Christina Riggs, “Forty Centuries,” in Egypt: Lost Civilizations (London: Reaktion Books, 2017), pp. 33-57, 191-192.
  • Christina Riggs, excerpt from “Four Little Words,” in Ancient Egyptian Art and Architecture: A Very Short Introduction (New York: Oxford University Press, 2014), pp. 3-18
  • Gallery: Narmer Palette and Great Pyramid
Lecture: TBA
Tom Landvatter

Wed 2 Sep

Assignment
  • “The Tale of the Eloquent Peasant,” in The Tale of Sinuhe and Other Ancient Egyptian Poems, ed. Parkinson, pp. 54-88
  • Charles Freeman, “Egypt, the Gift of the Nile, 3200-1500 BC,” in Egypt, Greece and Rome: Civilizations of the Ancient Mediterranean, second ed. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004), pp. 40-62
Lecture: "Speaking Ma’at, Doing Ma’at, Making Ma’at"
Nathalia King

Fri 4 Sep

Assignment
  • “The Tale of Sinuhe,” in The Tale of Sinuhe and Other Ancient Egyptian Poems, ed. Parkinson, pp. 21-53
Lecture: "Egypt and its Others: Death as Return in The Tale of Sinuhe"
Kritish Rajbhandari

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Course Logistics

REQUIRED TEXTS

  • Aeschylus. The Oresteia. Trans. Robert Fagles. New York: Penguin, 1977. 
  • Aristophanes. Lysistrata. Trans. Sarah Ruden. Indianapolis: Hackett, 2003.
  • Berlin, Adele, and Mark Zvi Brettler, eds. The Jewish Study Bible: Tanakh Translation. 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014.
  • Curd, Patricia, ed. A Presocratics Reader: Selected Fragments and Testimonia. Trans. Richard D. McKirahan. Indianapolis: Hackett, 2011.
  • Herodotus. The Histories. Trans. Aubrey de Selincourt. London: Penguin, 2003.
  • Hesiod. Works and Days and Theogony. Trans. Stanley Lombardo Indianapolis: Hackett, 1993.
  • Homer. The Iliad. Trans. Richmond Lattimore. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1961.
  • Miller, Andrew M., ed. Greek Lyric: An Anthology in Translation. Indianapolis: Hackett, 1996.
  • Parkinson, R. B., ed. and trans. The Tale of Sinuhe and Other Ancient Egyptian Poems, 1940-1640 B.C. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009.
  • Plato. Republic. Trans. C. D. C. Reeve. Indianapolis: Hackett, 2004.
  • Plato. Symposium. Trans. Alexander Nehamas and Paul Woodruff. Indianapolis: Hackett, 1989.
  • Plato. The Trial and Death of Socrates. Trans. G. M. A. Grube, rev. John M. Cooper. 3rd ed. Indianapolis: Hackett, 2000.
  • Thucydides. History of the Peloponnesian War. Trans. Rex Warner. New York: Penguin, 1954.

Additional assigned texts are available on e-reserves accessible via links embedded in the syllabus below. You will need your Reed username and password to access these texts. Please bring a copy of the day’s reading assignment to class each day. The library has on reserve a limited number of the required books, as well as multiple copies of a course packet containing the electronic readings.

CONFERENCE ASSIGNMENTS

Humanities 110 is a yearlong course, and students are expected to remain in the same conference throughout the year. In cases of absolutely unresolvable schedule conflicts, students may petition for a change of conference time. Petitions (in the form of an email) should be addressed to the course Chair, Paul Hovda, including an explanation of the conflict and why it cannot be resolved. Students granted a change of conference time will be assigned to new sections based on available slots and the student’s schedule; requests to move into a particular conference generally cannot be honored. 

PAPERS AND WRITING ASSIGNMENTS

Four course-wide papers will be assigned in the fall semester, due at the times designated on the syllabus. Individual conference leaders may assign additional writing. If the due date for an assignment conflicts with a religious holiday or obligation that you wish to observe, please consult with your conference leader. 

DISABILITY ACCOMMODATIONS

If you have a documented disability requiring accommodations, please contact Disability Support Services. Notifications of accommodations on exams, papers, other writing assignments, or conferences should be directed to your conference leader. Notifications of accommodations regarding lectures can be directed to the chair of the course, Paul Hovda. You are advised to consult with your conference leader about how your accommodations might apply to specific assignments or circumstances in this course. 

RESOURCES FOR SUPPORT

Coming soon.

Schedule of Readings and Lectures

Week 1

Introducing the Humanities: Egyptians, Israelites, and Achaemenids

Mon 31 Aug

Assignment
  • Christina Riggs, “Forty Centuries,” in Egypt: Lost Civilizations (London: Reaktion Books, 2017), pp. 33-57, 191-192.
  • Christina Riggs, excerpt from “Four Little Words,” in Ancient Egyptian Art and Architecture: A Very Short Introduction (New York: Oxford University Press, 2014), pp. 3-18
  • Gallery: Narmer Palette and Great Pyramid
Lecture: TBA
Tom Landvatter

Wed 2 Sep

Assignment
  • “The Tale of the Eloquent Peasant,” in The Tale of Sinuhe and Other Ancient Egyptian Poems, ed. Parkinson, pp. 54-88
  • Charles Freeman, “Egypt, the Gift of the Nile, 3200-1500 BC,” in Egypt, Greece and Rome: Civilizations of the Ancient Mediterranean, second ed. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004), pp. 40-62
Lecture: "Speaking Ma’at, Doing Ma’at, Making Ma’at"
Nathalia King

Fri 4 Sep

Assignment
  • “The Tale of Sinuhe,” in The Tale of Sinuhe and Other Ancient Egyptian Poems, ed. Parkinson, pp. 21-53
Lecture: "Egypt and its Others: Death as Return in The Tale of Sinuhe"
Kritish Rajbhandari

Week 2

Mon 7 Sep

Campus closed

Labor Day

Wed 9 Sep

Assignment
Lecture: “Religion and Art in Ancient Egypt”
Pancho Savery

Fri 11 Sep

Assignment
Lecture: TBA
Jonathan Winnerman (UCLA)

Week 3

Mon 14 Sep

Assignment
Lecture: TBA
Tom Landvatter

Wed 16 Sep

Assignment
Lecture: “Familiar and Strange: Love Poetry of the New Kingdom”
Dustin Simpson

Fri 18 Sep

Assignment

Note: the lecturer advises that you begin watching the lecture before beginning the reading for today.

Lecture: “Empire of All Kinds: Achaemenid Persians in Egypt and Beyond”
Margot Minardi

Fri 18 Sep

FIRST PAPER DUE

Due Friday, September 18, at 5:00 PM to your conference leader.

Week 4

Mon 21 Sep

Assignment
Lecture: TBA
Tom Landvatter

Wed 23 Sep

Assignment
Lecture: "Babble"
Jan Mieszkowski

Fri 25 Sep

Assignment
Lecture: TBA
Gail Sherman

Week 5

Mon 28 Sep

Assignment
  • Exodus, chapters 1-15, plus introduction to Exodus from The Jewish Study Bible
Lecture: “A People in Between: Exodus and the Israelites at the Crossroads of Empire”
Margot Minardi

Wed 30 Sep

Assignment
  • Exodus, chapters 15-35; 40.16-34
Lecture: TBA
Laura Leibman

Fri 2 Oct

Assignment
  • Esther
Lecture: TBA
Gail Sherman

Week 6

Archaic Greece and the Rise of the Polis

Mon 5 Oct

Assignment
  • Homer, The Iliad, Books 1-6 (focus on 1, 2, 6)
Lecture: "The Oral Tradition in Homer: the Extended Simile as an Analysis of Action"
Nathalia King

Wed 7 Oct

Assignment
  • Homer, The Iliad, Books 7-12 (focus on 9, 11)
Lecture: TBA
Elizabeth Drumm

Fri 9 Oct

Assignment
  • Homer, The Iliad, Books 13-18 (focus on 15, 16, 18)
Lecture: “The Languages of Violence”
Jan Mieszkowski

Week 7

Mon 12 Oct

Assignment
  • Homer, The Iliad, Books 19-24 (focus on 19, 22, 24)
Lecture: "Love is a Battlefield"
Jay Dickson

Wed 14 Oct

Assignment
  • Hesiod, Works and Days and Theogony
Lecture: "Goddesses and Gods"
Michael Faletra

Fri 16 Oct

Assignment
  • “Archilochus” in Greek Lyric: An Anthology in Translation, pp. 1-12
  • “Tyrtaeus” in Greek Lyric: An Anthology in Translation, pp. 13-19
  • “Solon” in Greek Lyric: An Anthology in Translation, pp. 64-76
  • “Hipponax” in Greek Lyric: An Anthology in Translation, pp. 104-106
Lecture: TBA
Sonia Sabnis

Sat 17 Oct

SECOND PAPER DUE

Due Saturday, October 17, at 5:00 PM to your conference leader.

Week 8

Mon 19 Oct

Assignment
  • “Sappho” in Greek Lyric: An Anthology in Translation, pp. 51-63
Lecture: TBA
Lena Lencek

Wed 21 Oct

Assignment
Lecture: “‘Bound in a Single Fate’: Perspectives on Equality in Athenian Media”
Nathalia King

Fri 23 Oct

Assignment
  • Presocratics Reader: Xenophanes (pp. 31 -38); Heraclitus (pp. 39-54); Parmenides (pp. 55-65)
Lecture: TBA
Troy Cross

Week 9

Mon 26 Oct

Assignment
  • Aeschylus, The Oresteia: “Agamemnon”
Lecture: "The Beginnings of Tragedy"
Jay Dickson

Wed 28 Oct

Assignment
  • Aeschylus, The Oresteia: “Libation Bearers” and “Eumenides” 
  • Gallery
Lecture: TBA
Gail Sherman

Fri 30 Oct

Assignment
  • Herodotus, Histories, 1.1-12, 1.25-94, 1.107-140, 1.201-216
Lecture: “Oracular History and Athenian Empire”
Margot Minardi

Week 10

Mon 2 Nov

Assignment
  • Herodotus, Histories, 2.1-64, 2.113-120, 2.142-151, 2.164-182, 3.30-66, 3.67-82
Lecture: TBA
Ariadna García-Bryce

Wed 4 Nov

Assignment
  • Herodotus, Histories, 7.8-57, 7.101-104, 7.138-140, 7.201-238, 8.40-99, 9.114-122
Lecture: "Look to the End”
Jay Dickson

Fri 6 Nov

Assignment
Lecture: TBA
Laura Leibman

Week 11

Mon 9 Nov

Assignment
  • Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War, ​1.1-22, 1.31-55, 1.66-88, 1.139-146, ​2.34-65
Lecture: TBA
Michael Breen

Wed 11 Nov

Assignment
  • Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War, 3.36-50, 3.69-85, 5.83-116, 6.8-24
Lecture: “Thucydidean Thought”
Peter Steinberger

Fri 13 Nov

Assignment
  • Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War,​​ 6.1-41, 6.88-93, 7.1-18, 7.49-87
Lecture: Panel: Jan Mieszkowski, ”Spectacular History,” Mary Ashburn Miller, Alex Montgomery, “Thucydides in Our Time”

Sat 14 Nov

THIRD PAPER DUE

Due Saturday, November 14, at 5:00 PM to your conference leader.

Week 12

Mon 16 Nov

Assignment
  • Aristophanes, Lysistrata
Lecture: TBA
Laura Leibman

Wed 18 Nov

Assignment
  • Plato, “Euthyphro,” “Apology,” and “Crito” in Trial and Death of Socrates, pp. 1-54
Lecture: "A Kind of Gadfly"
Pancho Savery

Fri 20 Nov

Assignment
  • Plato, Republic, 1-2
Lecture: “Who is Cephalus?”
Peter Steinberger

Sat 21 Nov

Thanksgiving Break

November 21 – November 29

Week 13

Mon 30 Nov

Assignment
  • Plato, Republic, 3-5
Lecture: “Sex, Gender and the Power(s) of Philosophy”
Tamara Metz

Wed 2 Dec

Assignment
  • Plato, Republic, 6-7
Lecture: TBA
Paul Hovda

Fri 4 Dec

Assignment
  • Plato, Symposium, 1-44
Lecture: “House Party”
Jan Mieszkowski

Week 14

Mon 7 Dec

Assignment
  • Plato, Symposium, 45-78
Lecture: TBA
Troy Cross

Thu 10 Dec

FOURTH PAPER DUE

Due Thursday, December 10, at 5:00 PM to your conference leader.