Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Fall 2016 - WL 301W D100

Advanced Composition (3)

Class Number: 7474

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Sep 6 – Dec 5, 2016: Thu, 1:30–5:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Exam Times + Location:

    Dec 16, 2016
    Fri, 3:30–6:30 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Prerequisites:

    45 units including nine units in World Literature.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Examines scholarly and other professional styles of writing about literature, focusing on representative genres, approaches and practices through a selected topic in world literature. Writing.

COURSE DETAILS:

In the mid-twentieth century, at the center of the enclosed garden known as the Humanities, from its pedestal suddenly fell humanism. Or rather it was pushed. Some saw it as an ideological delivery system for coercion. Others a code word for politicized atheism. At any rate, off they ran scot-free of the humanist totem. Today, humanism is something of an embarrassment, hovering between unselfconscious do-goodism and blatant speciesism, so most ignore it more or less politely. The students in this course will join me in sleuthing through the history to find out what humanism was, where it went wrong and whether it can be recuperated for today’s world. We’ll pursue three axes of inquiry into the concept: 1) definitional excursions; 2) historical accretions; and 3) non-European versions. The term-long quest is intended to bring students to the point of deciding for themselves where they stand along the range of antihumanist, humanist and posthumanist positions.  The course will unfold as a collective inquiry into our topic. Early in the term, each student will take responsibility for a discrete chunk of the edifice of humanism and study it from definitional, historical and cultural standpoints with the aim of producing a 12- to 15-page research paper. By the end of the term, the work students present orally and in writing will form a mosaic vision of this most venerated and vilified of concepts. Students will be evaluated on each of several stages in the planning, writing, oral presentation and rewriting process.

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

Students successfully completing this course can expect to:  
-               Acquire an in-depth grasp of the history of European humanism and that of at least one other tradition.
-               Learn to exploit library and research resources.
-               Master the techniques of writing an academic essay at the advanced undergraduate level.
-               Gain experience in orally presenting and evaluating arguments in an advanced undergraduate academic environment.           

Grading

  • Research paper proposal 10%
  • Oral report on RPP 5%
  • Revised proposal and annotated bibliography 20%
  • Final essay draft 15%
  • Revised final essay and oral report 35%
  • Participation 15%

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

A coursepack will be available for purchase and on reserve through the Library. Note: The SFU bookstore may not carry enough copies of required texts. Students are urged to purchase their books beforehand.  
 -          The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 7th ed. MLA, 2009
-          Dabashi, Hamid. The World of Persian Literary Humanism.  Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press (November 20, 2012) ISBN-13: 978-0674066717.
-          King, Margaret L. Renaissance Humanism: An Anthology of Sources.  Indianapolis, in: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc. (March 14, 2014) ISBN-13: 978-1624661112
-          Kraye, Jill. The Cambridge Companion to Renaissance Humanism. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press; 1st edition (February 23, 1996). ISBN-13: 978-0521436243.

RECOMMENDED READING:

Davies, Tony. Humanism. London: Routledge; 2 edition (March 26, 2008) ISBN-13: 978-0415420655.

Registrar Notes:

SFU’s Academic Integrity web site http://students.sfu.ca/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating.  Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.

Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the University community.  Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the University. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the University. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS