CLA 320

Syllabus Spring 2015

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Instructor

Dr. Victor A. Leuci

• Office: Newnham Hall 37
• Work Phone: 573-592-5324
• Home Phone: 573-815-9333 (not after 10pm)
• E-mail: victor.leuci@westminster-mo.edu
• Home Page: click here
• Office Hours: MW noonish to 1pm (or by appointment) from Jan 12 to May 1, 2015
• Our Classroom: CSC 306

Text

McGuire, Meridith B. Ritual Healing in Suburban America. New Brunswick, NJ:Rutgers University Press. 1988. Print

On "Reserve" may include the following

National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)'s web site (click here)

American Medical Association's web site (click here)

Philostratus. The Life of Apollonius of Tyana.

selections from Aelius Aristides. The Sacred Tales.

selections from Greco-Roman medical & pharmocological works, e.g. The Hippocratic Corpus, Galen, Rufus, Soranus, Pliny the Elder, and Dioscorides

selections from the Greek Magical Papyri

selected passages from Greek & Latin literature (e.g. the Athenian plague as reported by Thucydides)

Shrines of Asclepius

Reading assignments for the various guest lectures.

Selected readings about Egyptian & Babylonian medicine/religion/magic

Objectives

This course will examine, from a multi-disciplinary perspective, various approaches to healing--the medical, the miraculous, and the magical--from the Greco-Roman world and from the modern world to see the role they played in individuals and communities lives and the interrelationships between these various approaches to healing. This course will also expect the students to understand and apply, in a critical fashion, pertinent scholarship from various scholarly fields to the ancient (and modern) material. With over 62% of the American population having used complementary and alternative medicine (based on a National Center for Health Statistics survey in 2002) and with the increased popularity of various "non-medical" approaches to healing among various religions (e.g. 43% of Americans using complementary and alternative approaches listed prayer as one approach they used--same 2002 survey), the students will "form intelligent judgements about and rational responses to" a "complex issue," namely, healing, "they will confront as citizens in the 21st century" (New Foundations Document, p. 21)

Relationship to the General Education Curriculum: Tier III

• When appropriate and feasible, professors from other disciplines will be asked to participate.
• Selected readings from various disciplines will be required for all (e.g. Sociology, Religion, Anthropology, Psychology, Biology)
• Additional selected readings from various disciplines will be required for the individual student projects & presentations
• Class discussion based on the selected interdisciplinary readings and student presentations will facilitate student understanding and comprehension of these various disciplines and the value they bring to the plays themselves and their role within society—both the Greco-Roman and 21st century.
• Prerequisite: one of the following: LAT 101 or 102 or 203 or GRE 101 or 102 or CLA 215 or 227 or 228 or PHI 212 or 221 or POL 112 or 205 or REL 101 or 102 or SCA 111 or 115

Writing Intensive Option

Different types of writing will be part of the course: critical summaries, research papers, and a final. The critical review and the research paper will be revised on the basis of a conference with me. The critical review or the research paper must be revised on the basis of conferences with a tutor at the Writing Lab. A critique and conference after the completion of a writing assignment may also occur. In general, participants in the class should highly consider using the services of the Writing Lab and especially the Lab tutors, who can be of tremendous assistance.

• To study and apply the conventions of writing in a discipline
• To use process as an approach to writing (e.g., defining and narrowing a topic, researching, note taking, organization, drafting, conferencing, revising, editing, etc.)
• To use writing as a means of learning course material
• To use writing as a way of developing critical thinking skills.

Note: when turning in the final copy of a paper, the draft with comments by me and/or the writing lab tutor must be turned in at the same time -- it goes without saying that the "suggestions" noted on the draft must be incorporated in the final version of the paper for it to count as revised.

Format

The course will consist of discussion, student presentations and some lectures. The class may occasionally be divided into small groups to treat discussion topics that will most often be based on readings from ancient authors.

Grading & Workload

Plus/Minus: The grading scale is:

• A (93% or above), A- (90-92.9)
• B+ (87-89.9); B (83-86.9); B- (80-82.9)
• C+ (77-79.9); C (73-76.9); C- (70-72.9)
• D+ (67-67.9); D (63-66.9); D- (60-62.9);
• F (below 60%)

Workload: Since this is a 3 hour class, expect to spend 9 hours a week, on average, preparing for class, attending class, writing papers, and studying for exams. The exact amount per week will vary depending on what we are doing that week (see the worksheet in Moodle for more details).

Research Paper: 200 points; 3300-6000 words in length. Check on-line assignments page

Outline & Bibliography: for Research Paper: 25 points. Check on-line assignments page

Mid-term and Final: 50 points each; 1200-1800 words in length (the lowest score will be dropped). Check on-line assignments page

Critical Review: 25 points; 600-900 words in length. Check on-line assignments page

Presentation: 50 points; based on the research paper to be presented the last several weeks of the semester.

Class Participation: 50 points; will also include posts in class discussion folder im Moodle.

Honor Code

All students and faculty must adhere to the Honor Code; please see the Student Life Handbook for the full description of the Honor Code--p. 21 in the Student Life Handbook gives a short definition:

"No Westminster student shall commit any act of academic dishonesty in order to advance her or his own academic performance, or to impede or advance the academic progress of others,"

but the sections on plagiarism and cheating are especially important (see Honor Commission Constitution, Article IX).

College-Wide Policies and Procedures:

check pdf in Moodle or the Student Life Handbook for the following: ADA/Equal Access Policy, Policy on Harassment and Discrimination, College Duty, Emergency Procedures.

Papers

Content: The critical review should be a "critical" review, i.e. it should review the key points and present some of the key evidence of the material as well as provide a critique of the material. The mid-term and final are both take-home "exams"—you will be given the topics to choose from about one week before they are due. They should have good examples from our class resources with appropriate in-text citations. The research paper should make appropriate use of primary and secondary evidence to address the topic chosen.

Formatting::

• Header:: start with a simple heading at the top of the page giving your name, course number, the nature of the assignment (e.g. Mid-term), a word count, etc.
• Title of a critical review: should be the full bibliographic entry for the material covered.
• In-text Citations: for citations follow a standard format such as MLA 7th edit, APA 6th edit, or Chicago Manual of Style — but note that I prefer italicizing titles, etc. to underlining. There will be a post in the discussion folder with examples for your aid.
• Spacing & Font: you may use any font, point size, or line spacing that you want--within reason--though single-spaced will save paper

Submission:: A paper copy is due at the beginning of the class period (failure to turn in a paper copy will result in a two letter grade deduction for that paper unless there are extenuating circumstances). An electronic copy of each paper is also required and should be submitted within 24 hours of the due date for the paper copy; note that there is a four letter grade deduction for failure to submit an electronic copy. The research paper will also be turned in to a turnitin drop box in Moodle.

Attendance

Regular attendance and participation are essential for the success of the whole class. More than two unexcused absences will be considered excessive, and no make-up work will be accepted for unexcused absences. Each unexcused absence past two will result in a deduction of 4 points from the total number of points one has at the end of the semester. If you are ill, e-mail me before class, if possible, or as soon as you are able.

Assignments

The assignments at the link on the menu bar are not "set-in-stone," and may vary depending on how each class period goes. The syllabus will be updated as needed.