HR101: Minds and Bodies
Spring Semester 2008
Click
here for the course syllabus.
| Prof. Robert Epstein English Department Office: Donnarumma 120 Phone: ext. 2787 Homepage: http://faculty.fairfield.edu/repstein E-mail: repstein@mail.fairfield.edu Office hours:
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Prof. Olivia Harriott Department of Biology Office: Bannow 220 Phone: ext. 2740 E-mail: oharriott@mail.fairfield.edu Office hours:
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DESCRIPTION AND GOALS
Much of intellectual history has addressed the problem of the relationship between the mind (or soul, or spirit) and the body. In this class, we will study some of the various ways in which this problem has been imagined. The focus is informed by the academic disciplines of the instructors; the emphasis of the syllabus is therefore on genetics and literature. The course will be divided into three units, the first introducing the principles of genetics and some fundamentals of the so-called “mind-body problem,” the second on the biology and artistic representation of sex and gender, and the third on race and intelligence debates as well as artificial intelligence.
The class will meet on Mondays and Thursdays at 2:00 in Canisius 15. About half way through the 100-minute class, we will divide into to groups for smaller discussions, with half the students going across the hall to Canisius 9.
REQUIREMENTS
The most essential component of the course is class attendance and participation. All students are required to read closely the assignment for each class meeting and to attend class prepared to discuss it.
An essay will be assigned on each of the three units of the course. Each will be approximately 5-7 pages in length, and each will count for 25% of your grade. There is no final exam; instead, at the time designated for the exam, we will meet as a class in Canisius 15, and students in teams of two will make 10-minute class presentations exploring any topic covered in the course. Students are free to make use of the electronic media available in the classroom, including a laptop computer, projection screens, Internet access, and digital video. These presentations count for an additional 15% of the grade for the course.
The final 10% of the grade will be determined by class attendance
and participation. Included in this portion will be additional, ungraded writing
assignments, including brief "response papers" on the assigned readings.
Essays are due at the beginning of class on the days indicated on the syllabus.
Late papers will be penalized by half a letter grade per day. All submitted
papers should follow the Modern Language Association (MLA) guidelines for formatting
a paper. These guidelines can be found in the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research
Papers, 6th ed., which is available in the Reference Section of the library
and in the Writing Center.
ACADEMIC HONESTY
In essays as well as research papers, any source that you use must be fully cited. The source must appear in the list of works cited at the end of the essay, and each source must be cited on every occasion that you make use of its words or ideas. This is true if the source is your primary source (for instance, a play that you are interpreting) or a critical source (an analysis of the work published elsewhere), and it is true if the source is printed or electronic, including internet sources. Follow the MLA style of in-text citation.
The failure to fully cite sources within your submitted work is a form of plagiarism. Plagiarism is the appropriation of ideas, data, work, or language of others and submitting them as one’s own to satisfy the requirements of a course. Plagiarism constitutes theft and deceit. Special care should be taken, when cutting and pasting materials or when paraphrasing, to cite sources correctly and to use quotation marks around exact words from source materials. Actions that result in plagiarism may be intentional or unintentional. Consequently, students must understand the concept of plagiarism. When reading, processing, or using materials from any source, appropriate documentation is always essential.
Resources such as the library (ext. 2178) and the Writing Center (www.fairfield.edu/writingcenter) are available on campus to assist you in your academic endeavors. You are encouraged to take advantage of these resources.
TEXTS
The following required texts are available at the Fairfield Bookstore:
Other readings will be made available through electronic links or handouts. A number of films and videos will be screened on Campus Cable. For those without access to Campus Cable, the films will be available on reserve in the library.