Syllabus for 4/20 through 4/24

YANN MARTEL’S NOVEL CAPTURES our search for meaning: What is true, and what is real? The main character, a young man from Pondicherry, India who is forced to move with his family to Canada, questions everything he knows and believes via a desperate contest for survival. Pi, therefore, must re-examine life as he knows it, from the most mundane (brushing your teeth) to the most sublime (God’s plan for humanity). As you read, pay attention to the assumptions we make about what is true in life. How does Pi’s search for answers parallel your search for purpose and meaning in life? How does Pi’s experiences give us a model for Jung’s individuation process? Annotate for these answers as you read.

MONDAY: GREY DAY/OFFICE HOURS

• Today is a grey day, and you can meet with me during Zoom office hours 12:50 and 1:50 pm.

• Check Canvas for the link to Zoom.

TUESDAY: BLUE DAY / No class

• Finishing your one page paper analyzing Achilles’s individuation process. What would Jung say about this iconic mythological figure? Submit these to Canvas by class tomorrow.

WEDNESDAY: GREEN DAY

• We will start with a zoom meeting. Check Canvas for that link.

• I will cover some introductory material on the novel, especially background.

• Moving on to a journal entry: What, if any, was your religious upbringing? Do you practice a religious faith, and if so, what and why? If not, why not? Do you believe in God? What are your religious beliefs? We will spend 10 minutes writing, and then will discuss, for at least 10 minutes,

• Homework: Read chapters one through four in the novel. Use the audio; it is excellent!

THURSDAY: BLUE DAY / no class

Click on the image to access this video.

• This weekend you will be watching and keeping notes on a documentary on Islam.

FRIDAY: GREEN DAY

• FOR CLASS: Zoom discussion: Pi believes that animals in a zoo are no worse off than animals in the wild. Do you agree with him?

• HW: Watch and keep notes on the above documentary. You will turn these in on Wednesday for class. Read up through and including chapter 16

Life of Pi Audio Files

Click on the iimage above to access audio files for Yann Martel’s novel.

Syllabus for 4/13 through 4/17

WE SEE IN THE ILIAD’s END an unusual peace brokered between the Greeks and the Trojans, as Achilles releases Hector’s corpse to Priam for funerary rites and cremation. Why does Achilles take this step—something he specifically vows he will not do—and what does it mean to Homer’s audience? If Achilles is a conflicted hero—how is he conflicted? What would Jung say about Achilles, and how he is conflicted? This week we wrap up the Greeks and move on to a modern Jungian novel, Life of Pi.

MONDAY: GREY DAY/OFFICE HOURS

• Today is a grey day, and you can meet with me during Zoom office hours 12:30 and 1:30 pm.

• Check Canvas for the link to Zoom.

TUESDAY: BLUE DAY / No class

• Remember, you will be starting Life of Pi this weekend. Pick up either a paper copy or an e-book. I will share out the audio for the text.

WEDNESDAY: GREEN DAY

• We will start with a zoom meeting. Check Canvas for that link.

• We will then turn toward Achilles. In what way is Achilles a conflicted person, and what mythical lessons should we take from this ancient Greek hero?

• We will briefly revisit the Odyssey, where Odysseus visits Achilles in the underworld. Who is this version of Achilles? Does it make sense that this is what happens to him after death?

• Homework: Finish reading book 24 of the Iliad.

THURSDAY: BLUE DAY / no class

FRIDAY: GREEN DAY

• BEFORE CLASS: begin your analysis of Achilles by reading the following articles:

  "Jung and his Individuation" by the Journal Psyche
  "Individuation and the Self"  by Martin Schmidt, of The Society of Analytical Psychology

• FOR CLASS: Zoom discussion….What are the conflicts at the very heart of Achilles ego?  Consider his example from multiple perspectives: Achilles the Hero, the Son, the Father, the Child of Divinity, and so on. While discussing, consider how Jung's concept of individuation applies to Achilles. 

• HW: Two page paper on Achilles and Homer’s lesson for modern Americans.

Syllabus for 4/6 thru 4/10

WELCOME TO QUARTER FOUR. This week we’re wrapping up Homer’s Iliad by taking a closer look at Achilles. What’s the lesson of the war for the Greeks? We know they are punished by the gods for their violent , reprehensible behavior journeying home. What is the lesson for the Trojans? Their piety and bravery is repaid by the burning of their city, killing of children, and enslavement of wives. What is the lesson for Achilles? He wins his kleos, but loses his beloved friend Patroclus, and will not live to see his homeland again. What, then, is the lesson of Homer’s Iliad?

MONDAY: BLUE DAY

• You should have read and annotated books 21 and 22 by class tomorrow.
  

TUESDAY: GREEN DAY

• We are meeting on Zoom at 12:50. Link is on this week’s Canvas syllabus.

• We will start with a discussion of Achilles and Hector’s battle. How close does Achilles come to destroying not only the Trojans, but nature and the gods themselves? The ancient Greek audience sees his menis as justified…do we? Is it fitting that Achilles is only able to kill Hector with Athena’s subterfuge? Does this make Achilles defeat of Hector less meaningful?

• Class will break from zoom to read the following article by Prof. Reeve.

• HW: Read book 23 of the Iliad.

WEDNESDAY: BLUE DAY

• Read book 23.

• Our last novel will be Life of Pi by Yan Martel. If you don’t own a hard copy, please order an e-book version. We will start it next week.

THURSDAY: GREEN DAY

• We are meeting on Zoom at 12:50. Link is on this week’s Canvas syllabus.

• Why does Achilles agree to return Hector’s body? We will start with a zoom discussion.

• We will finish by reading the following article comparing the Iliad and the Ramayana.

• HW: Next week we will finish Homer’s Iliad and we will start Life of Pi. No homework over the weekend.

FRIDAY

• No school for Good Friday, Passover, Easter.

Office Hours on Zoom

ON GREY DAYS, my office hours are 12:50-1:50 pm. When you use the following zoom link, you will be added into a waiting room, and I will meet with students individually. Generally, we can talk as long as you like, but if there is another student waiting, I will attempt to limit conferences to five minutes. 

You can access the Zoom meeting by checking announcements in our canvas course. As always, I will NOT publish these zoom links publicly.

Syllabus for 3/30 through 4/3

GREETINGS, ONLINE SCHOLARS! Our administration is attempting to make online learning more manageable for all of us, creating a split-day schedule. In a typical week, our English class falls on GREEN days, and except for shortened weeks, we will run class twice a week. BLUE days are when your other classes meet. And GREY days are set aside for longer term projects, and office hours where you can communicate with teachers (via email, phone, video-conferencing). To help you manage this schedule, I will keep our calendar as it has been both here on Squarespace and on Canvas. 

MONDAY: NO CLASSES

• No classes will meet today. Teachers are conferencing with the Administration and making adjustments to their courses to fit with the new schedule the Administration has created

TUESDAY: OUR FIRST GREY DAY

• The English Department will keep office hours on GREY days from 12:50-1:50. I will either be responding to email live, or be hosting a live Q&A via Zoom, or possibly both.

• HW: You should have read book 18 already in Homer's Iliad.

WEDNESDAY: OUR FIRST BLUE DAY (Periods EB-4)

• On Blue Days, you will working primarily working on Early Bird through periods four.

• There will NOT be additional homework assignments on these days. Neither will we have planned, classroom activities.

• You MAY work on assignments from your other classes on these days, but that’s up to you. Schedule your day as it works best for you.

THURSDAY: OUR FIRST GREEN DAY (Periods EB, and 5-9)

• Complete the short writing assignment on Canvas.  Carefully re-read the description of Achilles' shield in book 18, lines 515-661. What does the god Hephastus place upon Achilles' new shield, and why is this imagery significant?

• At 12:50, our class will meet for a Zoom, classroom wide discussion about communities in crisis. Students can access that meeting via the link I emailed to your student account, or on the Canvas syllabus.

• In our Zoom meeting, I will cover expectations for using this software (private chats, backgrounds, and eating are out; sitting upright, camera at eye-level are in). 

• You will use the second part of “classtime” to continue reading through Homer's Iliad. We will read only the last part of book 20, lines 315-525  (Achilles facing Hector in battle the gods interferring with the conflict). NOTE: We are skipping book 19.

• HW: Read and annotate books 21 and 22.

FRIDAY: Second Grey Day

• From 12:50 to 1:50 today I will be available to take any questions about 3rd quarter grades. You should only reach out for a conference if you see a missing assignment in the canvas gradebook AND if you believe your grade is lower than it should be.

• Next week, Monday and Wedensday are blue days, Tuesday and Thursday are green days. No school Friday for the religious holiday, so no grey days next week.

Zoom meetings

Need help connecting to zoom? Here’s a link to New Trier IT department’s student guide.

Looking for the link to the Zoom meeting? It’s in your school email, AND also appears on the Canvas syllabus.

Syllabus for 3/16 thru 3/20

WHAT ARE HOMER’S LESSONS ABOUT WAR AND LEADERSHIP? Take stock of the first half of Homer’s tale. How is the war going for the Greeks? Where do they stand in comparison to the Trojan and their allies’ defenses? From this point, we will see the tide turn against the Greeks, as Achilles’s fated return to battle occurs, and his divine wrath (menis) is unleashed upon Hector and his comrades.

MONDAY

• Course check-in: Written discussion response: of Jung’s personality types, which seems to describe you the most, and why? Just as we’ve been working with mythology, your response should combine a direct quote from Jung: A Very Short Introduction and detail from your personal experience.

• For class today: Read and annotate book 14.

• HW: Read pages 102-109 in Jung: A Very Short Introduction.

TUESDAY

• Course check-in: Taking a short quiz on book 14.

• For class today: Finish reading the chapter on Dreams from Jung.

• HW: Read and annotate book 15.

WEDNESDAY

• Course check-in: Short response to Jungian dream.

• For class today: Watch Jung: Wisdom of the Dream Pt. 3 and take notes.

• HW: Read and annotate book 16.

THURSDAY

• Course check-in: Submit notes from yesterday’s documentary

• For class today: Read the graphic autobiography on Jung (and Freud),

• HW: Read and annotate book 17.

FRIDAY

• Course check in: Take pictures of annotations relating to Zeus and Hera’s interactions over this week’s readings in Homer’s Iliad.

• For class today: Listen to book 18.

• HW: No homework over Spring Break. We will return to and finish Homer’s Iliad when we return from Spring Break, to remote-learning.

Remote Learning Next Week

Moving to Canvas, continuing our study of Homer’s Iliad

As we anticipated, we will run class next week from our canvas web page. The course syllabus and materials will shift to that platform effective as-of this posting (3/13/2020). I will likely have next week’s syllabus posted either Friday or Saturday in preparation for next week’s curricular activities.

Syllabus for 3/9 thru 3/13

WHEN READING HOMER'S ILIAD you should annotate both for the poem's theme in the scale of Greek civilization--be that loyalty, leadership, love, death, honor or what have you--but also the poem's meaning on a human scale. What would Campbell say about this myth's meaning? What would Jung say about Achilles's struggle between fate and honor? Your written, marginal notes should reflect the reader's dialogue with the text, not just about what's happening, but with meaning as well. Remember: writing is a form of thinking. Your written notes should reflect the reader's thinking. 

MONDAY

• No class because of late start schedule.

• HW: Read and annotate books 10-11. There will be a short reading quiz on Tuesday.

TUESDAY

• Short reading quiz. We will then turn our attention to a discussion of books 10 and 11. In book 10 we see the slaying of Dolon, as well as Zeus intervening to save Hector. Consider Agamemnon’s killing of Peisander: how does that connect to Zeus inspiring Hector into a meele/berserker killing spree? We see the death of Iphidamas, and how his brother Coon responds, and the wounding of Agamemnon. How does all this relate to the council of Achilles? After the slaughter that Diomedes, Odysseus, and Ajax ravage upon the Trojans, why does Homer describe Achilles speaking with Nestor? How, again, does that relate to the arguments of the council? How does all that impact Patroclus?

• HW: Read chapter 4: Psychological Types in Jung: A Very Short Introduction, pages 85-94, an overview of the eight psychological types.

WEDNESDAY

• Listening to Book 12 together. The Greeks are pushed back by the surging Trojans. Hector and Plydamas urge the Trojans on, who test Zeus’s support of them, who in turn does send a bird-sign of an Eagle with a scarlet snake. But how to interpret this sign? How are both the Greeks and the Trojans questioning the gods’ will?

• HW: Read the rest of Chapter 4 in the Jung text.

THURSDAY

• Reading book 13 together.

• HW: Read the remaining portion of the “Flood Myth” by Hesiod.

FRIDAY

• Reading book 14 together.

• HW: Read the first half of chapter 5 in the Jung text.