FALL 2004
MLS 675: ECONOMICS IN LITERATURE
COURSE SYLLABUS
GENERAL INFORMATION
CLICK HERE FOR STUDENTS AND STUDENT WORK
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Emphasizing ethical approaches to the analysis of human ways of making a living, this course examines the representation economic phenomena in selected literary and philosophical texts from antiquity to the present. Giving special attention to critical representations of commercial life, the course undertakes a characterization of its underlying social forms as well as the specification of how these ethically consequential forms tie in with problems of poverty, unequal distributions of wealth and income, overconsumption, depletion of natural resources, conflict and social instability.
TEXTS
Patrick Murray, ed., Reflections on Commercial Life: An Anthology of Classic Texts from Plato to the Present (Routledge) ISBN 0-415-91196-6
Charles Dickens, Hard Times (W.W. Norton/Norton Critical Edition), ISBN 0-393-95900-7
John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath (Penguin/Viking Critical Library), ISBN 0-14-024775-0
MLS 675 Course Pack (containing a variety of readings not included in the anthology)
ONLINE RESOURCES
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
World Bank, Global Poverty Monitoring
U.S. Census Bureau: World Population "Clock"
U.S. Census Bureau: World Population Past and Future
United Nations: Social Indicators
United Nations: Income and Economic Activity Indicators
United Nations Population Information Network
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
1) Two Essays (25% each)
The essay exercises will ask students to read closely, analyze, and comment on a
particular passage from one of the texts studied and/or a theme/issue
related to the readings, lectures, or class discussions. The first essay will be written in class (see Class Schedule below). The second essay will be a take-home paper (see Class Schedule for deadline). Essays will be graded
on the basis of relevance, clarity, analytical
depth, use of evidence, persuasiveness of arguments, and constructive engagement of the material under examination. For other
criteria used in the grading of essays (see "Grading
of Essays and Other Written Work"). Essay length should be around 5 pages, approx. 1,250-1,500 words. See also the instructor's writing guidelines.
2) Term Project and Presentation (25%)
All students will be required to undertake and complete a term project. The project can be a paper (approx. 10-15 pp.), a creative work (short story, play, or set of poems), an original art work (performance piece, painting, drawing, photography, music, sculpture, etc), a film, documentary, website, etc. ALL PROJECTS MUST INVOLVE RESEARCH, PERSONAL REFLECTION, AND CRITICAL TREATMENT OF SOME ASPECT OF COMMERCIAL LIFE. All works must be clearly relevant and related to the class materials and must be created during and for the specific purposes of the course. Students will make an in-class presentation describing and/or performing their projects at the end of the semester (see Class Schedule below). All projects must be approved by the instructor in advance (see Class Schedule below). Students choosing to write a paper must follow the guidelines provided by the instructor (see also . For further information on the writing and grading of essays see Writing Guidelines for Graduate Students, Grading Standards and Procedures, and Grading of Essays and Other Written Work.
3) Participation and Other Performance (25%)
In addition to other grades, the instructor will assess and grade each student's
overall accomplishment, development, and involvement in the course. This grade
will take into account aspects of a student's performance such as class participation,
preparation, contributions, effort, attentiveness, interest, improvement, responsibility,
etc.
4) Other Policies
Make-Up Work
Make-ups/extensions for a missed deadline will only be given in cases of documented serious illness or other valid, non-frivolous excuse such as documented participation in official University sports or academic/service events (it will be up to the instructor to determine and decide on the acceptability of an excuse).
Attendance and Class Conduct
All absences and late arrivals, regardless of the reason, will be taken
into account in the attendance measurement (notice that the policy described
here has a built-in margin of tolerance before it begins to affect the course
grade). The attendance measurement will be calculated as the percentage of total
class time attended. The course grade may
not exceed the percentage of total class time attended (i.e. if a student attended
only 75% of the total class time, the course grade may not be higher than 75
or C). Notice also that, at the discretion of the instructor, any student missing
more than 30% of the total class time may fail the course. Problems such as repeated lateness arriving to class, inattentiveness, or disruptive
behavior will adversely affect the class participation grade. Problematic behavior
of this sort can also result, at the discretion of the instructor and with the
advice of the Dean, in more severe penalties, including failing the entire course.
Academic Honesty
All students in the class are expected to observe the University's guidelines
on student conduct as described in Creighton University's Student Handbook (see "Code of Conduct," and especially the section on "Academic Misconduct" dealing with problems of plagiarism, cheating, etc.). All work submitted under
a student's name must be personal and original and must be created during and
for the specific purposes of the course. Cheating in exams, engaging in plagiarism,
misrepresentations of authorship, omission of credits or other acknowledgment
of outside sources (including other students' papers, fraternity/sorority files,
internet materials, books, periodical articles, and other printed or published
matter), as well as other forms of academic dishonesty will result in failing
the given assignment or, at the discretion of the instructor, the entire course.
Grading
All aspects of the course will be graded on a 100-point scale where 90-100 = A, 80-89 = B, 70-79 = C, 60-69 = D, 0-59 = F. Notice that, in general, graduate students need a B average to maintain good standing in their programs. For further information on grading see documents entitled "Grading Criteria for Graduate Students " and "Grading of Essays and Other Written Work." At the discretion of the instructor, a normative curve may be applied to the grades at the end of the term. The course grade will be calculated according to the following formula:
| Two Essays | 50% |
| Term Project and Presentation | 25 % |
Participation and Other Performance |
25% |
Total |
100 % |
CLASS SCHEDULE
All reading must be completed before the day when it is scheduled for discussion. Study questions for selected topics may be accessed through the corresponding links below.
Thu Aug 26
Thu Sep 02
Thu Sep 09
Thu Sep 16
Thu Sep 30
Thu Oct 07
Thu Oct 14
Thu Oct 21
Thu Oct 28
Thu Nov 18
Thu Nov 25
Thu Dec 02
Thu Dec 09
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Last updated: 12/17/2004