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Phil 20a SyllabusPhilosophy 20A History of Western Philosophy: Ancient Greece Fall 2009
Instructor: Cynthia Kaufman Office: F21t Phone: 408.864.8887
Web address: www.faculty.deanza.fhda.edu/kaufmancynthia
Email address: kaufmancynthia@fhda.edu
Office Hours: Monday –Thursday 10:30-11:20 and by appointment
In this class we will study some of the major works in ancient Greek Philosophy. We will focus on a variety of issues that were dealt with by Philosophers in this period, including what it means to be a person, the relationship between people and society, how to lead a good life, and the nature of the material world. We will also look into how scholars have studied and evaluated these ancient texts and how they influence contemporary society. Much of the class time will be spent in small group discussions.
Readings:
Aristotle The Nicomachean Ethics
Plato Gorgias and The Symposium
Catherine Osborne Presocratic Philosophy
Course Reader (Purchase a voucher at the bookstore when you buy your books and pick up at De Anza College Printing Services.)
*You are welcome to find these texts on line, in the library , or purchase them used. You do not need to worry about which translation you use. If you use an on line version it will be your responsibility to bring to class appropriate printed pages.
Requirements:
· Students will be expected to come to class having completed all of the day's assigned readings and to participate in class discussions.
· There will be four short papers (two pages each). The first three papers will be turned in in two stages (rough and polished drafts). Both drafts must be turned in on time. These papers can be rewritten for the possibility of a higher grade.
· Students will be expected to answer daily study questions and to write approximately one page per week of reflection on the week's work. These are both due at the beginning of class. I will put the folders away after about 10 minutes and any work received after that point will be considered late.
Attendance and Classroom policies:
· I reserve the right to drop any student who misses more than three classes. You must process your own drop paper work to be sure you are dropped. Any student considering dropping should talk to me before doing so, I may be able to make accommodations to deal with major life crises.
· Do not have your cell phone on in class. If you have some sort of personal emergency that requires you to answer your phone in class, please clear it with me that day.
· Please do not use your computer for anything but note taking in class.
Grading:
Grading is on the following point system:
Group Work: 100 points
Daily Assignments: 100 points distributed as follows:
Questions: 50 points
Journal: 50 points
Papers: 200 points each 700-720 C-: 730-760 C: 770-790 C+: 800-820 B-: 830-860 B: 870-890B+: 900-920 A-: 930-1000A
*Any papers submitted electronically will automatically lose ten points.
DAILY ASSIGNMENTS:
Reflections: You will be expected to write a one-page reflection on something of relevance to the class each week. The writing does not need to be polished. I suggest that you begin by thinking of an idea that interested you and that you write about why the idea was interesting. The best reflection assignments are ones that draw out the significance of the idea and discuss its relevance to you.
Study Questions: You will also be asked to turn in answers to study questions every class meeting. These also do not need to be polished or typed.
The study questions and reflections may be done on two sides of one piece of paper. Please do not do both on one side. Each assignment should be labeled with the due date at the top of the page.
PAPERS:
The papers will take the readings as a starting point. You will have to decide on a specific topic related to what you found interesting in the readings. In all of the papers you will be expected to explain a major concept encountered in the reading and convince the reader to agree with your view on the idea.
Format:
* All papers must be typed. Rough drafts do not need to be typed.
* Double-space everything, including indented quotations.
* Underline or italicize titles of books.
* If a quotation is four lines or less, include it within the body of your essay and surround it with quotation marks.
* If a quotation is longer than four lines, indent the entire quotation ten spaces from the left and omit quotation marks.
* Never plagiarize. If you use ideas from a written source or from a friend, acknowledge your source. If you take a sentence directly from another source, identify it as a quote.
GROUP PARTICIPATION:
Group participation will be graded by the members of the group. You will grade each member of the group on the quality of their work in the following areas: 1- Preparation for class discussions, 2- Contribution to class discussions, 3- Attendance, 4- Facilitation of the group process (encouraging others to speak, keeping the discussions on track), 5- Peer critiques.
Students will only see the grades after they have been averaged.
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