Fall 2018 - HUM 325 D100

The Humanities and the Natural World (4)

Class Number: 7622

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Sep 4 – Dec 3, 2018: Tue, 1:30–5:20 p.m.
    Vancouver

  • Exam Times + Location:

    Dec 10, 2018
    Mon, 3:30–6:30 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:

Re-Thinking the Animal and the Natural World

The conceptualization of categories of “the human” and “the animal” dates back to the foundations of Western philosophy, providing a template for 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, this 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 entails for the contemporary moment. Although our focus will be on literature and philosophy, our readings and discussions will also include interdisciplinary perspectives from animal studies, indigeneity, and ecocriticism.


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 dualism between “the animal” and “the human” through philosophical and literary texts.
  3. Demonstrate an understanding of the historical construction of “bestiality,” which consigns animals and humans alike to mastery and exploitation.
  4. Demonstrate an understanding of contemporary debates on animal ethics.
  5. Demonstrate an understanding of different perspectives about the natural world (Western, African, Asian, and Indigenous thought).
  6. Gain familiarity with interdisciplinary methodologies in animal studies.
  7. 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 (includes a short presentation) 10%%
  • Animal project 15%%
  • Short paper (5 pp) 15%%
  • Term paper (8 pp) 30%%
  • Exam 1 & 2 30%%

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

Peter Atterton and Matthew Calarco, Animal Philosophy, Bloomsbury, 2004.
ISBN: 0826464149

Anon., Renard the Fox (Tr. Patricia Terry), U of California P, 1992.
ISBN: 0520076842

Franz Kafka, The Complete Stories, Schocken, 1995.
ISBN: 0805210555

J.M. Coetzee, Disgrace, Vintage, 2000.
ISBN: 0099289520

John Vaillant, The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival, Vintage, 2011.
ISBN: 0307397157

Readings on interdisciplinary perspectives in animal studies and ecocriticism; a selection of Aesop’s Fables; excerpts from philosophy, from Plutarch to Hume; selections from Eduardo Kohn’s How Forests Think and Agamben’s The Open. [via 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