CORE 2007 - Persp on Individual

Institution:

Fairleigh Dickinson University-College at Florham

Subject:

Description:

Within the Western World we traditionally begin with the self in antithetical relationship to all others. In Perspectives on the Individual, we begin with a discussion of the human genome. Next, Margaret Atwood, in her novel "The Handmaid's Tale" depicts a society of the future in which the individual is no longer valued. The formative force for the individual of friendship and loss is encountered in the "Epic of Gilgamesh." With Plato's "Crito" and "Apology" we explore the development of the individual as dissenting thinker. Along with Plato, the Sermon on the Mount marks a new stage of moral understanding: the greater importance to the self of that inner conviction which underlies external behavior. Buddhist readings explore alternative approaches to self. Selections from Pico della Mirandola's "Oration on the Dignity of Man" and slides of Renaissance paintings introduce us to Renaissance understandings of the value of the individual. Wordsworth's "Tintern Abbey" and "Ode on the Intimations of Immortality" serve as a focus on the self as changing and developing through life. With Freud, the course takes a new turn; students are asked to consider such challenges to the sense of self as the struggle between instinctual drives and the requirements of civilization. Tillie Olsen's "Tell Me a Riddle" asks students to deal with the ways the structure of society may repress the individuality of women or allow it to grow. We next read "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" and consider his lifelong search for self through shifting commitments to the cause of human autonomy. The course concludes with Elie Wiesel's "Night," a depiction of an effort in time to totally destroy the self. Specific readings may change from time to time. [1/31/2002]

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.fdu.edu

Phone Number:

(973) 443-8500

Regional Accreditation:

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Semester

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