FALL 2009
Senior
Perspective Course
SRP, ENG , PHL 435: LITERATURE,
PHILOSOPHY, AND ECONOMICS: CRITICAL REPRESENTATIONS OF COMMERCIAL LIFE
GENERAL INFORMATION
COURSE DESCRIPTION
How do we make a living? What do we do and how do we organize ourselves to provide for our necessities? How do we relate to others and the natural environment in the quest for survival and economic advancement? What are the advantages and benefits of our way of life? What are the costs and consequences of that way of life? How does human nature affect our economic behavior? How has human nature been shaped by economic necessities and environmental constraints over the course of time? How do prehistoric adaptations to economic and other realities continue to affect modern humans and their way of life? Are ethical questions and religious ideals relevant to matters of economic survival and the hard realities of the material world? Are some ways of making a living better than others? How do we evaluate them? Are commerce and market capitalism the best economic systems that humanity can devise? What may be the most appropriate criteria for judging economic success or failure? These and other questions are explored in this course from the perspective of literary, philosophical, religious/ethical, scientific and other texts and materials.
Required Materials
Texts (available at University Bookstore)
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 (other editions are fine as long as they are complete unabridged texts)
John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath (Penguin/Viking Critical Library), ISBN 0-14-024775-0 (other editions are fine as long as they are complete unabridged texts)
Films (on Reserve for 4-hour and overnight checkout at the Reinert Alumni Library -- may also be purchased or rented from commercial outlets)
A Beautiful Mind (2001), dir. Ron Howard, starring Russell Crowe and Jennifer Connelly, based on Sylvia Nassar's biography of John Forbes Nash (Reinert Library call number PN1995.9B55B438 2002).
Wall Street (1987), dir. Oliver Stone, starring Michael Douglas & Charlie Sheen (Reinert Library call number PN1995.9.S87 W355 2007).
The Matrix (1999), dir. Andy & Larry Wachowski, starring Keanu Reeves & Carrie-Anne Moss (Reinert Library call number PN1995.9S26M38 2001).
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 Population Information Network
Bureau of Economic Analysis, US Dept of Commerce
Federal Reserve, US Flow of Funds Accounts
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
1) TWO TAKE-HOME EXAMS (25% each, total 50%). Each exam will feature one or more essays questions asking students to discuss a specific issue or comment on the possible significance and implications of selected textual passages, images or other materials. Essays will be graded on the basis of relevance, clarity, analytical depth, and insight into the material under examination. For standards used in the grading of the essays see Grading Standards and Procedures, and Grading of Essays and Other Written Work.
2) TERM PROJECT AND PRESENTATION
(25%)
Each student will design, undertake, and complete a term project which may be a paper (5-10
pages of interpretation, analysis and/or research); creative writing (short story, play, or set of poems -- also 5-10 pages); an original art work (painting, sculpture, drawing, instrumental and/or vocal music composition and performance, play skits or other dramatizations, dance choreography and performance, collage, film, live or recorded performance pieces,
etc.); or other (including documentaries, websites, field research/interviews, etc.). Students may also propose projects in media and forms not listed here. All work must be
clearly relevant and related to the class materials. All works must be created
during and for the specific purposes of this course. Each student will make
a 5-10 minute in-class presentation describing and/or performing his/her project
(see Schedule below for presentations' date). All projects must be
approved by the instructor in advance--students will submit a brief, one-paragraph
proposal describing the topic, medium/materials, and ideas to be explored in
the project (see schedule
below for deadlines for the proposal). Projects may be undertaken individually or in groups (group projects need to be substantial and extensive enough to justify the participation of two or more people). Students choosing to write a formal paper must read and follow the guidelines provided by the instructor and adopt the MLA, APA, or Chicago formatting styles.
For further information on the writing and grading of essays see Grading
Standards and Procedures, and Grading
of Essays and Other Written Work. In general, all projects should feature the following:
a) Addressing of a specific problem or problems (past, present or future) of the economic practices of commercial societies.
b) Objective research into the facts involved in the specific problem under analysis (all projects must include a bibliography of works or sources consulted)
c) Significant personal reflection on the nature and implications of the problem examined.
d) Constructive reasoning regarding possible solutions to the problem analyzed.
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
Deadlines: 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 academic, service or sports events (it will be up to the instructor to determine and decide on the acceptability of an excuse). Otherwise, students must meet all deadlines specified in the syllabus.
Attendance Policy: An attendance measurement will be calculated equal to the percentage of total class time attended. The course grade may not exceed that percentage (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. All absences, regardless of the reason, are taken into account in the calculation of the attendance percentage.
Academic Honesty and Class Conduct Policy: All students in the class are expected to observe the University's guidelines on student conduct as described in the Code of Conduct and Creighton University's Student Handbook (especially the section on "Academic Honesty Policy" dealing with problems of plagiarism, cheating, etc.). All work turned in for credit in this course must be personal and original, produced during the course of the semester and for the specific purposes and according to the guidelines of the given assignments. Any misrepresentations, concealments, or distortions of source, origin, collaboration or authorship of such materials will be considered forms of academic dishonesty and will result in failing the given assignment or, at the discretion of the instructor, the entire course. Problems such as repeated lateness arriving to class (or departing early), inattentiveness, or disruptive behavior will adversely affect attendance and/or the class participation grade. Seriously disruptive behavior can also result, at the discretion of the instructor, in more severe penalties, including failing the entire course.
Email Communication: The University considers a student's Creighton email address the official means of communication with faculty and administrators. All students are responsible for checking their email messages as they might contain important and time-sensitive information relevant to the course, including notifications on changes to reading and other assignments, deadlines, class cancellations or reschedulings, etc. A student who prefers to receive email at a different address must inform the instructor.
Special Needs or Accommodations: Any student requiring special arrangements or other accommodations, due to disabilities and or other special circumstances, is encouraged to request such arrangements from the instructor and the Office of Disability Accommodations.
Grading
All aspects of the course will be graded on a 100-point scale where 90-100 =
A, 87-89 = B+, 80-86 = B, 77-79 = C+, 70-76 = C, 60-69 = D, and 0-59 = F. For
further information on grading see documents entitled "Grading
Standards and Procedures" 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 Exams | 50% |
| Term Project and Presentation | 25% |
|
Participation and Other Performance |
25% |
|
Total |
100% |
SCHEDULE
CLICK UNDERLINED LINKS BELOW AND READ THE TEXTS AND STUDY QUESTIONS BY THE DATE INDICATED. MATERIALS NOT LINKED TO THIS SYLLABUS ARE AVAILABLE IN THE TEXTBOOKS, THE LIBRARY, OR BLUELINE (blueline.creighton.edu)
Wed Aug 26
Wed Sep 02
Wed Sep 16
Wed Oct 07
Wed Oct 14
| Recommended Further Reading |
Last updated: 10/08/2009