TEXTS AND IDEAS: ANTIQUITY AND THE 19TH CENTURY

Tentative Syllabus – subject to change

Morse Academic Plan: MAP-UA 404 Section 040
New York University, Fall 2013

Teaching Staff

Professor Friedrich Ulfers
Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures

Office: 19 University Place, Rm 329 Drop-in Office Hours: Mon. 4:00-6:00

Teaching Assistants:

Susanne Fuchs (sf1363@nyu.edu) Office: 19 University Place, room 336 Office Hours: TBA
Jonathan Kassner (jk3218@nyu.edu) Office: 19 University Place, room 336 Office Hours: TBA

Class Times & Locations

Lectures: Mon & Wed. 2:00 pm – 3:15 pm 12 Waverly Place, G08 (Auditorium)

Recitations: Thurs (sec. 041) 8:00 am – 9:15 am GODD B07 Kassner

Thurs (sec. 044) 11:00 am – 12:15 pm KJCC BSMT Kassner

Thurs (sec. 045) 3:30 pm – 4:45 pm KJCC BSMT Fuchs Thurs (sec. 046) 4:55 pm – 6:10 pm GCASL 375 Fuchs

Assigned Texts

Sophocles, Antigone in Sophocles I, University of Chicago

The Oxford Study Bible, Oxford University Press
Plato, Symposium, Hackett
Marx, Communist Manifesto, Norton Critical Edition
Darwin, Origin of Species (includes The Descent of Man), Norton Critical Edition
Nietzsche, The Birth of Tragedy, Cambridge University Press (contains both Birth of Tragedy and “On Truth and Lying in a Non-Moral Sense”)
Freud, The Interpretation of Dreams, Perseus Distribution
Thomas Mann, Death in Venice, Norton Critical Edition
Franz Kafka, Metamorphosis and Other Stories, Simon & Schuster

Assigned page numbers for all readings correspond to the editions specified above. It is not recommended that you use other editions that may contain different translations & pagination.

Grading Policy:

Final grades will be comprised of the following components:

* First response paper of 4 pages length is worth 15% of final grade.

* Midterm examination is worth 20% of final grade.

* Second response paper of 5 pages length is worth 15% of final grade.

* Third response paper of 6 pages length is worth 20% of final grade.

* Final examination is worth 20% of final grade.

* Attendance and participation in recitation is worth 10% of final grade.

Attendance Policy: Attendance at all lectures is mandatory and attendance will be taken at every meeting. You are allowed two unexcused absences from lecture; subsequent unexcused absences will adversely affect your participation grade. Attendance is also mandatory at all recitations. You are allowed one unexcused absence from recitation; subsequent unexcused absences will adversely affect your participation grade. Attendance at lectures and recitations accounts for 50% of your participation grade, verbal participation in recitation accounts for the other 50%.

Attendance Roster: An attendance roster will be circulated shortly after the beginning of each meeting. If you do not arrive at class early enough to sign the roster as it circulates throughout the room, you will be recorded as absent. Nobody will be allowed to sign the attendance roster at the end of class. If you leave lecture after signing the attendance roster but before the lecture is completed without first seeking permission, your name will be struck from the attendance roster for that day. Speak with your T. A. before class if you need to dismiss yourself early.

Excused Absences: Absences from lecture or recitation can only be formally excused by a note from a medical professional or by documented proof of some legal or religious responsibility that made it impossible for you to attend class. A note from a dean will suffice in this respect; a note from your parents will not. It is your responsibility to furnish your teaching assistant with appropriate documentation. If you are aware of a potential conflict, discuss it with your T. A.

NYUClasses: Announcements and supplementary study materials will frequently be posted on NYUClasses. You should check NYUClasses at least once a week for such materials. Additionally, important announcements will occasionally be emailed to you through NYUClasses’s email server. You must check your registrar-issued “nyu.edu” email account to receive such notices.

Teaching Assistants: The teaching assistants (also called “preceptors”) are your primary contact for all questions concerning course policy and content. If you have questions of any sort, please direct them to your T. A. before approaching Prof. Ulfers. Your T. A. will also grade all of your written and oral work, lead recitation discussions, and determine your final grade for the course in close consultation with Prof. Ulfers.

Class conduct: Turn off cell phones before the beginning of class. It is expected that students will not eat or leave trash in the classroom. Wait until the professor has announced that lecture is over before gathering your belongings to leave. If you arrive late or have permission to leave early, create as little disturbance as possible. Do not talk with your neighbors during lecture.

COURSE CALENDAR: LECTURE AND READING SCHEDULE

It is expected that students will complete assigned readings before relevant lectures. Unless otherwise instructed, you are expected to read the entire text, less introductions and prefaces.

Wed., Sept. 4 Introduction: The either/or

[No assigned reading this week.]

[No recitations this week. Recitations begin next week]

Mon., Sept. 9 Introduction: The both/and

Wed., Sept. 11 Sophocles, Antigone

[Recit: Welcome & Introduction. Discussion of texts begins next week]

Mon., Sept. 16 Sophocles, Antigone

Wed., Sept. 18 Sophocles, Antigone

[1st response paper questions distributed in lecture today]

Mon., Sept. 23 The Book of Genesis (The Oxford Study Bible)

Wed., Sept. 25 The Book of Genesis (The Oxford Study Bible)

Mon., Sept. 30 NO CLASS

Wed., Oct. 2 The Book of Job (The Oxford Study Bible)

FIRST RESPONSE PAPER DUE IN CLASS TODAY, OCT. 2

Mon., Oct. 7 Plato, Symposium

Wed., Oct. 9 Plato, Symposium

Mon., Oct. 14 Fall Break – NO CLASS

Wed., Oct. 16 MIDTERM EXAMINATION IN CLASS TODAY

Mon., Oct. 21 Introduction: Kant, Hegel and the Heraclitean Turn

Wed., Oct. 23 Marx, Communist Manifesto

Mon., Oct. 28 Marx, Communist Manifesto

Wed., Oct. 30 Darwin, Origin of Species (Chaps. III, IV, XIV)

Mon., Nov. 4 Darwin, Descent of Man (Chap. XXI)

Wed., Nov. 6 Nietzsche, “On Truth and Lying in a Non-Moral Sense”

[2nd response paper questions distributed in lecture today]

Mon., Nov. 11 Nietzsche, “On Truth and Lying in a Non-Moral Sense”

Wed., Nov. 13 Nietzsche, The Birth of Tragedy (see selections below*)

Mon., Nov. 18 Nietzsche, The Birth of Tragedy (see selections below*)

Wed., Nov. 20 Freud, The Interpretation of Dreams (see selections below**)

SECOND RESPONSE PAPER DUE IN CLASS TODAY, NOV. 20

Mon., Nov. 25 Freud, The Interpretation of Dreams (see selections below**)

Wed., Nov. 27 Mann, Death in Venice

[3rd response paper questions distributed in lecture today]

[THANKSGIVING BREAK – NO RECITATIONS THIS WEEK]

Mon., Dec. 2 Mann, Death in Venice

Wed., Dec. 4 Kafka, The Metamorphosis

Mon., Dec. 9 Kafka, The Metamorphosis

Wed., Dec. 11 Final Lecture: Summation

THIRD RESPONSE PAPER DUE IN CLASS TODAY, DEC. 11

FINAL EXAMINATION DATE TO BE CONFIRMED

Notes on selected pages for assigned texts:

* Birth of Tragedy:

Pp. 3-21, 26-28, 36, 41-45, 50-51, 59-95, 98, 100-104, and 113-116

** Interpretation of Dreams:

Chapter II: “The Method of Interpreting Dreams: An Analysis of a Specimen Dream” (read all)

Chapter VI: “The Dream-Work” (read sections A, B, C, D, and I)

Chapter VII: “The Psychology of the Dream-Process” (read section F)