Wednesday, February 1

Starter 2.1 Thoughts on Religion and Science  

Philosophize:   Are religion and science compatible?  Can they work together to illuminate meaning in our lives?  Or do they contradict each other?

The Scientific World View:  What Makes Us Human?

In groups, make a T-chart.

Commonalities between Religion and Science

Areas where you see tension between them

SHARE OUT.

Stephen Jay Gould's "NOMA" Non-overlapping Magisteria

Read Gould's original article (linked) for more depth of information!

Non-overlapping magisteria (NOMA) is the view advocated by Stephen Jay Gould that science and religion each represent different areas of inquiry, fact vs. values, so there is a difference between the "nets" [1] over which they have "a legitimate magisterium, or domain of teaching authority," and the two domains do not overlap.[2] He suggests, with examples, that "NOMA enjoys strong and fully explicit support, even from the primary cultural stereotypes of hard-line traditionalism" and that it is "a sound position of general consensus, established by long struggle among people of goodwill in both magisteria."[1] Still, there continues to be disagreement over where the boundaries between the two magisteria should be.[3]

Quote from Gould:  "Our failure to discern a universal good does not record any lack of insight or ingenuity, but merely demonstrates that nature contains no moral messages framed in human terms. Morality is a subject for philosophers, theologians, students of the humanities, indeed for all thinking people. The answers will not be read passively from nature; they do not, and cannot, arise from the data of science. The factual state of the world does not teach us how we, with our powers for good and evil, should alter or preserve it in the most ethical manner"

READ: The Meaning of Life in a Formula

JOURNAL 2.1:  Response to NOMA and the “Skeptic”: React to the idea of “Non-overlapping Magisteria” and/or Michael Shermer’s article.  Identify a specific passage in the article and agree or disagree with it.

Finished early?  Read Into the Wild (don't forget pre-write!)

Tuesday, January 31

Starter 1.31:  How do religion and other forms of spirituality give meaning and purpose to human life?

Watch Rick Warren's TED Talk"A Life of Purpose"

1. How does his faith give him purpose?
2. Are his arguments convincing?
3. Even if you are not religious, what can we learn from his example?

JOURNAL 1.31 TED TALK EXPLORATION:  

Are You There God? Playlist

Explore 2-3 different talks (depending on length)

IN COMP BOOKS, for EACH talk:

1.  Briefly summarize the main points of the talk.

2.  REACT What stood out to you about this talk?  Did you agree or disagree?  Why?

(A-ha; Say What?; I wonder...)

SHARE OUT:  Speed dating

If you watched the same talk, discuss how you felt about it.

If you watched different ones, summarize and share take-aways.

Read: Into the Wild (plus prewrite for next meeting)

Monday, January 30

Announcements

• Change of due dates for Into the Wild (see Lit Circle Guidelines)
• Mark, Colin, Jason Clark, Oakley, Maddie, Sabina:  Trade books with me, please and thank you.
• In order to get full credit for each lit circle, you must COME PREPARED, having done the prewrite.
• Honors: Please turn in The Stranger and the reflection/synthesis. (Izzy, Kate, Quinn: let's reschedule for this week!).  Also, grab a copy of A Tale for the Time Being.

Lit circle meeting #1

Lit Circle Groups

Questions for the Week

• How do religion and other forms of spirituality give meaning and purpose to human life?
• How does science?
• Are religion and science compatible or at odds?

"The Creation" by Eduardo Galeano

1. Illustrate the passage.

2. Make an interpretive claim about the passage

3.  Discuss:  What questions is Galeano answering?  How does this passage relate to the questions of the week?

Thursday, January 26

SEMINAR: Harold and Maude

SEMINAR GROUPS

When you are not in seminar, work on your post-write and/or read Into the Wild and work on pre-write.


TURN IN YOUR SEMINAR PREP!!!

Honors:  Turn in The Stranger and the post-write.

Seminar Post-write (due Friday midnight)

1.  Reflection/Self-Assess

• Reflect on the outcome of the seminar.  Consider your own performance and the seminar overall.  How did you do personally and how did the group do collectively?   Based on the rubric, what grade do you deserve on the seminar?
• React to your peers’ ideas (be specific) and the meaning you all constructed together.  Was there anything that enlightened you?  Something you particularly disagree with?  How did your thinking about the film change as a result of this seminar?

2.  Synthesis

• Make an interpretive claim about the film and support it with evidence.  Your claim may be something you develop further from your seminar prep, or it may be a new idea that you acquired during the seminar.  Write 2-3 paragraphs in support of your claim.
• RESOURCES ON MAKINGS CLAIMS
• Handout
• Powerpoint

Here is a link to some movie quotes that you may want to integrate into your synthesis.

Weekend Homework:

Read Into the Wild for Monday’s first literature circle and complete pre-write for the meeting

Wednesday, January 25

Film Screening:  Harold and Maude

Harold and Maude Seminar Prep

Think of a film as a text.  Annotate it as you watch, analyze, look for evidence.  Refer to the specifics of the film in seminar!

AFTER THE MOVIE….Prepare answers to some or all of the following questions, using evidence from the film to support your answers.  Print out your seminar prep and bring it with you to the seminar.  

1. Is Harold and Maude an existentialist film?  

2. What are the roots of Harold’s angst and alienation?  How do his ideas about happiness and meaning evolve as a result of his relationship with Maude?  How does his character change?  

3. Has Maude has achieved Eudaimonia at the end of her life (deathbed question)?  Would Aristotle see her as having cultivated virtue and the Golden Mean?  Or do you see her as an existentialist?

4. What message is this movie trying to transmit?  What might it be trying to teach us about Happiness and Meaning?  How does it impact you personally?   Is it rhetorically effective for you?   

5.  Identify 2-3 impactful quotes from the film and explain their literary significance.

Tuesday, January 24

BUSINESS

• Turn in 1984
• Turn in yesterday’s work (Q’s on Aristotle reading)
• Honors: Turn in The Stranger and the Book Club Reflection/Synthesis (Izzy, Liam, Kate, Quinn make-up?)
• Next Honors book due March 2
• If you were absent for the film, you have through the weekend to make up Journal 1.20.
• Sign out Into the Wild if you haven’t already.

Starter 1.24:  What is your personal definition of “a life well-lived”?  At the end of your life, what do you hope to be able to look back and say?

LECTURE:  Aristotle’s Philosophy of Happiness and Meaning

JOURNAL 1.24 Reflections on Aristotle’s Philosophy:

After the lecture and reading, how are Aristotle’s ideas on Happiness and a Meaningful Life resonating with you?  What do you reject?  What questions does it raise for you?  

Harold and Maude Seminar Preview

• Film meets philosophy:  Intertextuality!!!  
• The film is a cult classic from the 1970’s starring Bud Cort and Ruth Gordon with an original soundtrack by Cat Stevens.
• We will watch the film with attention to the philosophical lenses we have been studying: existentialism and Aristotle’s Eudaimonia.
• You will annotate the film and answer seminar prep questions before Thursday’s seminar.
• After the seminar, you will write a reflection and a synthesis.  The synthesis entails several paragraphs of analysis with evidence based on a literary claim drawn from the seminar themes.

Into the Wild Literature Circle Guidelines (first 60 pages due Monday; note prep guidelines)

WORK TIME

• Journal 1.24
• Catch up all journals
• Finish and turn in the Aristotle Q's from yesterday
• Read Into the Wild and work on Literature Circle prewrite assignment

Monday, January 23

Dear students: Although an existentialist might say that my soul has no destination, my physical person has still not fully recovered from the Earthly ailments caused by the microorganisms that inhabit my bodily vessel. (Plus, as I rolled my rock up the mountain, I lost my voice screaming into the vast empty expanse of the indifferent universe.)


1. Finish Film:  Stranger than Fiction

Take notes on existential themes you see in this movie.  Try to capture quotes that might fit with those themes.  (*Note the terms on the board)

2. JOURNAL 1.20: Make an interpretive claim (in the literary style that we practiced) that connects this film to existentialism.  Write a TEA paragraph that supports the claim with evidence from the film.

Terms/ideas to consider:

• Meaninglessness
• Existential crisis
• Existence precedes essence
• The absurd
• Absurd hero
• Angst
• Alienation
• Freedom/Free will
• Acceptance of one’s own absurd condition
• Authenticity

Questions to consider:

• Is Harold Crick an absurd hero?
• What does Ms. Eiffel represent?  How might Harold becoming aware of her voice relate to existentialism?
• How does Harold’s angst impact his perspective on his own life?
• What or who might Dustin Hoffman represent? (think about his advice to Harold about pancakes AND to accept his death...)
• What might this film be saying about living an authentic life?
• HONORS:  How does Stranger than Fiction relate to The Stranger? In what ways are Meursault and Harold Crick similar?

3. Synthesize the reading: Background Knowledge Aristotle's Eudaimonia

***If you have not done this reading yet due to absences or forgetfulness, please spend your time doing so before/as you answer these questions.

Solo or with a partner, answer the following questions on a piece of paper or a Google doc. Share the doc with Jessica and be sure both partners' names are on it.

1. Define "Eudaimonia."  Google it beyond this reading.  Does this Google search add to your definition?  How might Aristotle's definition of happiness differ from the way Stanford researcher Jennifer Aaker defined it in the very first reading we did in this project? (see JOURNAL 1.11 on "The meaningful life is a road worth traveling") 

2. According to Aristotle, what makes humans different than the other forms of nature?  What does this difference have to do with the purpose of our existence and our pursuit of happiness?

3. For Aristotle, how do we live a happy and meaningful life?  What might this involve?  Give specifics.

4. Explain the Golden Mean.  Use the table on the last page of your reading to help you understand it.  Look up any words on the table that you don't already know; annotate the meaning and add it to your vocabulary!

5.  What might an existentialist say to Aristotle's theory of a meaningful life?

4. If you finish all of that, read Into the Wild

If you have not signed out a copy, please do so in the book on the table.  Don't forget to write your book number next to your name!

Our first Literature Circle meeting will be next Monday, at which time the first 60 pages along with some written prep will be due.  Please review the Lit Circle Guidelines to note the pre-write assignment.

Friday, January 20

Film Screening:  Stranger than Fiction

Take notes on existential themes you see in this movie.  Try to capture quotes that might fit with those themes.  (*Note the terms on the board)

JOURNAL 1.20: Make an interpretive claim that connects this film to existentialism.  Write a TEA paragraph that supports the claim with evidence from the film.

Terms/ideas to consider:

• Meaninglessness
• Existential crisis
• Existence precedes essence
• The absurd
• Absurd hero
• Angst
• Alienation
• Freedom/Free will
• Acceptance of one’s own absurd condition
• Authenticity

Questions to consider:

• Is Harold Crick an absurd hero?
• What does Ms. Eiffel represent?  How might Harold becoming aware of her voice relate to existentialism?
• How does Harold’s angst impact his perspective on his own life?
• What or who might Dustin Hoffman represent? (think about his advice to Harold about pancakes AND to accept his death...)
• What might this film be saying about living an authentic life?
• HONORS:  How does Stranger than Fiction relate to The Stranger? In what ways are Meursault and Harold Crick similar?

Thursday, January 19

Starter 1.19: Journal for 10 minutes in response to the following poem.  Or write a poem back.  Or just react.  In light of everything we have been studying lately, where does this poem hit you?

Mary Oliver, The Summer Day

 Who made the world?

 Who made the swan, and the black bear?

 Who made the grasshopper?

 This grasshopper, I mean--

 the one who has flung herself out of the grass,

 the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,

 who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down--

 who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.

 Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.

 Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.

 I don't know exactly what a prayer is.

 I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down

 into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,

 how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,

 which is what I have been doing all day.

 Tell me, what else should I have done?

 Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?

 Tell me, what is it you plan to do

 with your one wild and precious life?

Mini-workshop on making interpretive claims about literature

1.  Make an interpretive claim about the Mary Oliver poem.  Write it on the whiteboard.

2.  What makes for a good claim about  literature/film/art, etc?

• It states your conclusions/interpretations about the work. Whatever the claim, you must be able to support it with evidence.
• It doesn’t just state the obvious; it expresses an interpretation that reasonable people could disagree with.
• It is specific and focused without being so narrow that there is insufficient evidence.
• It generally expresses one main idea.  If compound ideas are stated in a thesis, the relationship between them is very clear.
• Try to use sophisticated phrasings beyond "This poem is about...."

And, as ever, good claims ....

• debatable
• are specific and focused
• avoid stating the obvious
• are clearly and eloquently stated
• avoid the first person (AVOID “I think, I believe, My opinion is, etc.”)
• can be supported with sufficient evidence

3.  Examples

• “Slip of the Tongue” by Adriel Luis examines how minority women have been oppressed by society’s unrealistic expectations of feminine beauty.
• In The Outsiders, Cherry Valance represents the obligation felt by some members of the upper class to help those less economically fortunate than themselves.
• In “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer,” Walt Whitman uses structure and imagery to contrast the scientist’s perception of the night sky with his own poetic perception.
• In Guernica, Picasso shows us the horrors and senselessness of the collateral damage brought about by indiscriminate bombing as a tactical strategy.
• Montana 1948 is an allegory for America’s pursuit of its "manifest destiny"; it describes the way in which the Indian minority was exploited and abused in the process of America’s westward expansion (-Tucker Leavitt)

4. Revise your claims about "The Summer Day" on the whiteboards and share out.

HONORS: Let’s talk literature!

TO-DO

1. JOURNAL 1.19: Existentialism Review
2. Finish your Creative Expression mini-project from yesterday.  If you drew a picture, add some words.  If you wrote a poem, add a little drawing.  How can you express your understanding of existentialism symbolically?  When you are finished, tape it to the board!
3. Reading for Monday:  Background on Aristotle’s Eudaimonia
4. Into the Wild:  If you would like to get a jump on the book, sign one out and begin reading the first chunk for your first literature circle meeting on January 30.  Here is a preview of the literature circle experience.
5. Honors: Seminar Reflection/Synthesis for The Stranger. See syllabus for description.