Summer 2017 - HUM 325 J100

The Humanities and the Natural World (4)

Class Number: 4740

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    May 8 – Aug 4, 2017: Sat, 9:30 a.m.–1:20 p.m.
    Vancouver

  • Prerequisites:

    45 units.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

A study of the humanistic, scientific, political, and ideological discourses deriving from concern with the natural environment. Using classic and contemporary sources, this course examines the interaction of humans with the non-human world, and includes such topics as human communities and nature, the immersion of the individual in nature, nature and the human habitat. Breadth-Humanities.

COURSE DETAILS:

The conceptualization of categories of ‘human’ and ‘animal’ dates back to the foundations of Western philosophy and has been central to the shaping of the idea of the modern subject and citizen. But what makes possible the separation between the human and the different species that populate our planet? What role do language and knowledge play in this conceptualization? What responsibilities do humans bear toward other species? Following Jacques Derrida’s speculations in The Animal That Therefore I Am, the course will analyze different representations of the animal in literature since antiquity alongside the theoretical work of philosophers ranging from Aristotle and Aquinas to Heidegger and Levinas. We will consider how figurations of the animal have often functioned as projections of fears and anxieties about the self onto other beings and the ethical implications that the conceptual reshaping of the human-animal relation entail for the contemporary. While our focus will be on literature and philosophy, interdisciplinary perspectives on animal studies and ecocriticism, with particular attention to the planetary crisis of the natural world, will be part of our readings and discussions.

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

At the end of the course, students will be able to demonstrate their proficiency in the following activities:  

1. Read and analyze Humanities texts creatively and to academic standards.
2. Demonstrate an understanding of the historical construction of the category of “the animal” in opposition to “the human” in philosophical and literary texts.
3. Demonstrate an understanding of the historical construction of “bestiality,” consigning animals and humans to mastery and exploitation.
4. Demonstrate an understanding of contemporary debates on animal ethics with respect to the history of human and non-human animal relations.
5. Gain familiarity with interdisciplinary methodologies in animal studies.
6. Write about Humanities texts analytically by becoming proficient in modeling interpretation, linking claims to evidence, developing a thesis, structuring a paper, and using sources effectively.

Grading

  • Attendance & participation 10%%
  • Group project 10%%
  • Short paper (6 pp) 20%%
  • Term paper (10 pp) 30%%
  • Midterm 30%%

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

Peter Atterton and Matthew Calarco, Animal Philosophy. Bloomsbury, 2004.
Anon., Renard the Fox (Tr. Patricia Terry). U of California P, 1992.
Franz Kafka, The Complete Stories. Schocken, 1995.
J.M. Coetzee, Disgrace. Vintage, 2000.
John Vaillant, The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival. Vintage, 2011.
A selection of Aesop’s Fables and La Fontaine’s Fables is available online.
(Readings on interdisciplinary perspectives in animal studies and ecocriticism will be available on Canvas)

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