In a culture of the here and now, how then shall we live?
This semester we will continue to address the theme of the program in our common readings and common events, once again coming at it from a variety of perspectives. We will be taking a distinctly Latin American approach to our theme at the beginning of the semester reading short stories by Jorge Luis Borges and Gabrielle García Márquez and attending the US premiere of La Pasión Según San Marcos at the Boston Symphony Orchestra in February. La Pasión was composed Prof. Osvaldo Golijov of the Department of Music at Holy Cross. In February we will be reading two essays by Orlando Patterson on the Black experience in the US in the 20th century. The second essay, ``American Dionysus,'' will be paired with Euripides The Bacchae, the classical Greek tragedy about the god Dionysus. We will continue to explore American culture on our trip to Washington, D.C., at the end of March. In our last common reading, Virginia Woolf's To the Lighthouse, we will take a more reflective, internalized approach to our theme.
On the statistics side of the course, we will continue to work through
our text, building on the work of the first semester and developing
several new statistical concepts. The statistics material will
alternate with two case studies: the first concerns attempts in the
19th century to use statistical methods to quantify differences
between people of different races, and the second investigates the use
of statistics to define and quantify IQ. The primary reading in both
sections of the course is The Mismeasure of Man by Stephen
J. Gould. We will supplement Gould considerably when we discuss IQ.
The Classroom
In class we will continue to mix formats as we did during the first
semester. We will begin the semester with the same groups that we
finished with in the fall and switch groups once during the
semester.
FYP Journals
Once again you will be asked to keep and academic journal. To
reiterate: This is not a personal diary or log of classroom activities,
but rather a place for you to reflect on discussions and activities
related to the program or current events on and off campus in light of
the program. You might use it to continue a discussion we began in
class, to react to a lecture or film you saw, in connection with the
program or in another context, or to make connections between the
class material and material from other classes. You should think of
this as a public document, which I will be reading and which you
should be willing to show to members of the class. I will often
suggest topics for journal entries. In addition, you will be required
to write entries on a number of the common events, which will be
determined as the semester progresses. As a general rule, you must
make at least two journal entries each week. I will collect the
journals once a week, usually on Mondays, and will make written
comments and pose questions for further thought. I will be reading
your journals for content and not style. Nonetheless, you should take
care with your writing as others will be reading it on occasion. An
overall evaluation of your journal will be part of your final grade,
but I will not grade individual entries.
Assignments and Grading
The assignments during the semester will include the FYP journals, 2 papers of 3-5 pages concerning the common readings (due Friday, February 2, and Friday, March 2), individual statistics assignments, collaborative statistics assignments based upon the group-work in class, and a final paper/project based on the material on IQ. There will also be quiz on Friday, February 12, and an in-class mid-term exam on Wednesday, March 28. Reports on your final paper/project will presented during scheduled final exam period. There will be no in-class final exam.
Note that the Class Participation component includes attendance at
co-curricular events. There will be an average of one event per week.
It is strongly recommended that you attend as many of the events as
possible. Attendance is mandatory at the events that are central to
the program or to this class. The co-curricular events will be
discussed in class. A list of events that have been scheduled is
given at the end of the syllabus.
| Class Participation and Journal | 15 % |
| Individual and Group | 20 % |
| Statistics Assignments | |
| Quiz | 5 % |
| Mid-term Exam | 15 % |
| Short Papers | 25 % |
| Final Paper/Project | 20 % |
| Total | 100 % |
Texts
The following texts are required texts for the course. These are
available in the College Bookstore in the Hogan Campus Center.
Additional material may be placed on reserve in the Science Library on
the first floor of Swords Hall.
Common Readings:Texts for To understand or not to understand, what are the questions?:
- Labyrinths; Selected Stories and Other Writings by Jorge Luis Borges, James E. Irby & Donald A. Yates (Editors), 1988, W.W. Norton & Company.
- Leaf Storm and Other Stories by Gabriel Garcia Marquez Gregory Rabassa (Translator), 1979, HarperCollins.
- Rituals of Blood : Consequences of Slavery in Two American Centuries by Orlando Patterson, 1999, Basic Books.
- Euripides V : Electra, the Phoenician Women, the Bacchae (The Complete Greek Tragedies) by Euripides, David Greene (Editor), Richard Lattimore (Editor),1969, University of Chicago Press.
- To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf, 1990, Harcourt Brace.
There will be a number of handouts, particularly in the second half of the semester. These will include the following three essays which will be read in conjunction with the second half of The Mismeasure of Man. Additional readings will be selected from responses to these three essays.
- Statistics by David Freedman, Robert Pisani and Roger Purves. Norton, 3rd Edition, 1998.
- The Mismeasure of Man by Stephen J. Gould, 1996,
- ``How Much Can We Boost IQ and Scholastic Achievement?'', Arthur R. Jensen, Harvard Education Review, Vol. 39, No. 1, Winter 1969.
- ``I.Q.'', Richard Herrnstein, The Atlantic Monthly, XXX 1971.
- ``Race, Genes and I.Q.-An Apologia,'' Charles Murray and Richard J. Herrnstein, The New Republic, October 31, 1994.
Schedule of Readings, Papers and Exams
The common texts should be read by the first day they are discussed in class. Particular readings in Statistics will be assigned weekly.
Schedule of Events and Activities:
This schedule is as of January 16, 2001. There will be additions to the schedule as the semester progresses.