Humanities House

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Tim Duket, instructor (e-mail duket@bc.edu, office Gasson 102, phone 552 3316, hours M-F, 9-10 a.m.)

 Duket Home Page

HP courses and syllabuses page
 

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Virtual Purgatory

Run of the Charles Canoe Race

Web Pages HQ

Web Pages HQ

Web Pages HQ

This seminar fulfills University Core requirements in writing, philosophy, theology and the social sciences in a unique way. Participants are expected to be the driving force behind their experience in the western cultural tradition course.   The course is designed to achieve the overall goals of the core as envisioned by the University Core Development Committee. 

It is a double course as well. That is to say, it is six credit hours.   Fully forty percent of a student's academic effort should be applied towards the seminar. Since the group meets less than four hours each week, much of that effort will be outside class, in private study and preparation as well as, hopefully, in stimulating discussions over lunch and late at night. Participants - instructor as well as students - have a responsibility to each other to assume ownership of and responsibility for the course in all its aspects.

The second semester course is a continuation of the first. It resumes with Virgil, The Aeneid  and is organized around Dante's grand synthesis in his Divine Comedy.   The first semester introduced the first attempts Greeks and Hebrews made to answer key questions about human life: what is justice? what is the relationship between human and the divine? They also developed the means to formulate answers (tragedy, prophecy, philosophy, history).  The second semester explores the subsequent syntheses of these formulations attempted in various Roman and Christian periods and contexts.  

Course Requirements (conventions)

1. Examinations. There will be a two hour final examination at the end of the semester; one-third of final grade.

2. Dialogue.  Class preparation, attendance and participation are an equal factor with essays and exams in each student's final grade.

3. Writing.  The last one-third part of the grade in this course will be one for writing and composition. There are essay assignments every two weeks, 5-7 compositions in all.  At the end of the semester, each student may be asked to submit a final portfolio of compositions (this is subject to time constraints). The portfolio should be submitted in a form that orders the essays in some type of evaluative format or other taxonomy, including the student's own rationale for presenting her semester's work. These can be submitted electronically (with exceptions). Even if not required in a given year, the portfolio is a good final writing exercize.

4. Academic Integrity. Adherence to the university standards for academic integrity. "Academic integrity is central to the mission of higher education. Please
observe the highest standards of academic integrity in this course. Please review the standards and procedures that are published in the univeristy catalog and on the web, at: (http://www.bc.edu/offices/stserv/academic/resources/policy/#integrity). Make sure that the work you submit is in accordance with university policies. If you have any questions, please consult with me. Violations will be reported to the Deans' Office and reviewed by the College's Committee on Academic Integrity. This could result in failure in the course or even more severe sanctions." Dean's Office (Deans Ourida and Burns), January 13, 2005.

5. E-mail and the www. This syllabus will be available on a course web page linked to the web site of the instructor. The course calendar will be updated frequently. It is everyone's responsibility to consult this page. All changes to the syllabus on the web supersede earlier versions of the syllabus and all other written handouts. The seminar will also use numerous links on the web as part of the course. Particular links of importance will be to web resources developed by the instructor himself and by the Arts and Sciences Honors Program.  There is a link to the King James Version of the Bible among others. Students  make constant use of the electronic resources of this university. The Arts and Sciences Honors Program itself maintains an active web page (Humanities House) accessible through InfoEagle. This site should be bookmarked and consulted frequently to enable a student to keep pace with the Honors Program outside the seminar itself.  Students will continue to use and maintain individual web sites.

6. Personal web page for seminar use. Students are expected to develop a minimal web page by Firday January 21. We will visit all established websites on the first day of class, January 19. Step-by-step instructions can be found at our website Headquarters.

7. Information Literacy. Students in all honors seminars should have achieved certification in Information Literact by the start oif second semester. To reach this level of competency, complete the online certification course called Ithaca now available for each HP student in WebCT.

  Chartres Cathedral

Honors Program Web Resources:
The Book of Revelation through the eyes of John Steczynski of Fine Arts
Dante