Director Francine M. McCarthy, Earth Sciences Assistant Professor Michael Driedger Participating Faculty David W. Atkinson (English Language and Literature), Brian Crick (English Language and Literature),Corrado J.A. Federici (Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures), Peter Landey (Music), Ingrid Makus (Political Science), William Mathie (Political Science), Francine McCarthy (Earth Sciences), Thomas M. Mulligan (Management, Marketing and Human Resources), Mary Frances Richardson (Chemistry), Angus A. Somerville (English Language and Literature) |
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Administrative Assistant Barb Alexander 905-688-5550, extension 4752 MacKenzie Chown C331 http://www.brocku.ca/greatbooks The Centre for Great Books/Liberal Studies provides an opportunity for the exploration and discussion of those questions which arise when education is directed towards the freedom of the fully examined life. Questions of human nature and purpose and of our relationship to the natural order, for example, are examined primarily through analysis and discussion of the great works of human reason and imagination. The program seeks to develop the skills and habits of inquiry, analysis, argument and expression needed for a rigorous treatment of these questions. The program is made up of a set of closely related core courses that are intended to provide an integrated liberal education, to be cumulative and to furnish the basis for an intellectual community of students and faculty. The Great Books/Liberal Studies Program must be either combined with a major in another discipline or as a minor. Students combining Great Books/Liberal Studies with a major concentration in Mathematics or Science will usually be exempted from the Science context requirement and may petition for exemption from the second language requirement. The focus of the program is the Great Books core seminars (GBLS 1F90, 2P70, 2P93, 2P94, 3P90, 3P93, 4P10) that meet, when possible under the guidance of two faculty leaders, twice weekly. Leaders for this seminar are drawn from a variety of disciplines and faculties of the University. The other courses in the Great Books/Liberal Studies Program are intended both to provide for a kind of learning not possible in the seminar itself and also to enhance the quality and rigour of the inquiry and discussion that the seminar is intended to engender. Each student in the program is assigned a faculty adviser for regular and incidental consultation. Students in year 4 are required to prepare a major essay on some aspect of Great Books/Liberal Studies, relating it to work in their other major, under the guidance of a faculty member. A non-credit series of lectures supplements the Great Books/Liberal Studies Program. The lectures will illuminate the works and issues addressed in the program from a variety of perspectives. Students also attend concerts, art exhibitions and dramatic productions. Students are expected to attend the lectures and cultural events, since these constitute an integral part of the Great Books/Liberal Studies Program. Great Books Seminars The Great Books Seminars (GBLS 1F90, 2P70, 2P93, 2P94, 3P90, 3P93, 4P10) are open to all students, but students majoring in and those taking a minor in Great Books/Liberal Studies will have first access. Students who complete GBLS 1F90, 2P94, 3P90, 4P10, and one and one-half credits from GBLS 1P93, 2P70, 2P99, 3P00, 4P01-4P07, 4V00-4V09 are deemed to have satisfied the Social Science context requirement. |
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Students in the Centre for Great Books/Liberal Studies are required to complete one credit in a language other than English. Students completing the program to earn the Bachelor of Science degree are not required to do so but it is strongly recommended. Where one-half credit courses are used to satisfy this requirement, both half credits must be in the same language. Greek or Latin recommended. |
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Years 1, 2 and 3 of the Honours program, as a single major, are now closed
Combined Honours
Combined Pass
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In co-operation with the Faculty of Business, the Centre for Great Books/Liberal Studies offers a combined major leading to a BA (Honours) in Great Books/Liberal Studies and Business. This program is designed to provide students with the skills and knowledge demanded for successful leadership in business and a critical understanding of the intellectual forces that have shaped and still shape the world within which that leadership must be exercised. The program is intended for students with career interests involving business leadership and policy making, lifelong learning, social issue management or the management of creative organizations. Year 1
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In co-operation with the Department of History, the Centre for Great Books/Liberal Studies offers a combined major program in Great Books/Liberal Studies and History, especially for students wishing to combine a study of change over time with a focus on the literary and cultural achievements of the past. A variety of combinations are possible; the following program is suggested for students interested in cultural history.
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In co-operation with the Department of Music, the Centre for Great Books/Liberal Studies offers a combined major program in Great Books/Liberal Studies and Music. This program is designed especially for students interested in the interdisciplinary study of music; students will have the opportunity to consider music within the context of the great philosophical, literary and scientific works of our cultural tradition.
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Great Books/Liberal Studies and Political Science (Honours only) |
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In co-operation with the Department of Political Science, the Great Books/Liberal Studies Program offers a combined major program in Great Books/Liberal Studies and Political Science. The Honours program is designed to furnish a liberal education especially for students with an interest in political philosophy, Canadian politics and law. Year 1
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Great Books/Liberal Studies can be combined with a concentration in Mathematics or Science. Students interested in this combination should consult the Director concerning their program and course selection. Students who complete the combined Honours program in Great Books/Liberal Studies and Physics may earn the BA or BSc degree depending upon whether the majority of their credits are in the Faculty of Mathematics and Science or the Faculty of Humanities. Students completing the program for the BA degree are deemed Humanities majors and are required to complete the language requirement as described above. Students completing the program to earn the BSc degree are not required to do so but it is strongly recommended. Context requirements for Great Books/Liberal Studies majors are deemed satisfied by successful completion of the program. |
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In co-operation with the Department of Physics, the Centre for Great Books/Liberal Studies offers a combined major program in Great Books/Liberal Studies and Physics. The Program will be of interest to students wanting to understand the most important ideas in the physical sciences within the context furnished through the reading and discussion of the major works of reason and imagination that have animated our cultural tradition. The program is flexible enough to accommodate students with varying interests. Year 1
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The Centre for Great Books/Liberal Studies also offers a Certificate in Great Books/Liberal Studies. It provides an overview for persons who may be interested in taking an integrated set of courses exploring several major scientific, philosophic and literary works but already have a degree in a different field or who do not wish to proceed to a degree. The admission requirements are the same as for the degree program. Prospective students should consult with the Director before beginning the certificate program. The Certificate is awarded upon completion of the following courses with a minimum overall average of 60 percent:
See "Certificate Requirements" under Academic Regulations. |
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Students in other disciplines can obtain a minor in Great Books/Liberal Studies within their degree program by successfully completing the following courses listed below with a minimum 60 percent overall average:
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Note that not all courses are offered in every session. Refer to the applicable term timetable for details. |
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Students must check to ensure that prerequisites are met. Students may be deregistered, at the request of the instructor, from any course for which prerequisites and/or restrictions have not been met. |
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Great Books Seminar I: The Individual and Society Important works of Western art, literature, philosophy, science and theology from the Greco-Roman world to the 20th century. Seminar, 3 hours per week. Introduction to the History of Art: from Prehistory to the Present (also offered as VISA 1F98) Critical survey of major styles in architecture, sculpture and painting from antiquity to the 20th century. Principal monuments, buildings or studio artifacts, their period characteristics, the artist's cultural role and the critical or theoretical trends that have influenced our reading of the history of art. Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week. Note: no studio work. Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade in VISA 1F90. Introduction to Logic and Critical Thinking Kinds of argument and their employment in everyday affairs as well as in science and the humanities. Topics include the syllogism, analogical arguments, arguments from authority, and inductive arguments. Instruction in the construction and analysis of arguments. Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week. Great Books World Tour Selections from the masterworks of world literature and thought, examining human nature from earliest times to the 20th century. Texts include selections from the Gilgamesh epic (perhaps the first written story), Plato, Confucius, Lady Murasaki's Tale of Genji (perhaps the first novel), Jonathan Swift, The 1001 Nights, Mao Zedong, Martin Luther King, Jr., Leacock, and short works by many Nobel Prize winners. Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week. Cultural Expressions Fieldtrips to concerts, exhibitions, plays and readings; discussions. Fieldtrips, seminar, 3 hours per week. Note: there is an additional field trip fee associated with this course to cover admission and possibly transportation to venues. Western Religious Thought (also offered as PHIL 2P20) Examination of the roots of the Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam: Who and what is God? What is our relationship to God? What are the ethical bases of monotheism? What is the nature of faith? Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week. Prerequisite: PHIL 1F90, 1F91, 1F92, 1F93 or 1F94 Religions of the World Development and character of major religious traditions and world views. Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week. Introduction to Argumentation and Rhetoric Fundamentals of rational persuasion. Classical dialectics and refutation, arguments that make special appeals such as ad hominem arguments, the different functions of linguistic communication, fallacies and the rules governing interpersonal dispute resolution. Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week. Prerequisite: GBLS 1P91 or permission of the instructor. Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade in GBLS 1P92. Order and Chaos in the Cosmos Important work of science, art, literature and philosophy addressing the origin and structure of the universe, and its association with the divine. Readings include selections from the Bible, Lucretius, Ovid, Thomas Aquinas, Galileo, Isaac Newton, Rene Descartes, Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking, and Carl Sagan. Seminar, 3 hours per week. Great Books Seminar II: Epics and Ethics Important works of art, literature, philosophy, science and theology from the ancient world until the 16th century. Seminar, 3 hours per week. Prerequisite: GBLS 1F90 or permission of the Director. Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade in GBLS 2F90. Ideas and Culture before 1850 (also offered as HIST 2P99) Major developments in European intellectual and cultural life such as the Renaissance, the Scientific Revolution, the Enlightenment, Romanticism, and the emergence of modern ideologies. Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week. Art in Revolution: 1750-1851 (also offered as VISA 2P90) Art's role and function within the paradigm shifts of the modern world, its relation to politics, social and cultural change. Neoclassicism and the principal movements leading up to the French Revolution and beyond, Romanticism, Realism and the Industrial Revolution. Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week. Prerequisite: VISA 1F98 (1F90) or permission of the instructor. Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade in VISA 2P90. Modernism, Modernity and Contemporaneity: 1851-1907 (also offered as VISA 2P91) Thematic examination of individuality, contemporaniety and progress in the context of the period's cultural, political and technological changes. Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week. Prerequisite: VISA 1F98 (1F90) or permission of the instructor. Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade in VISA 2P91. Elizabethan Shakespeare (also offered as ENGL 2Q92) Representative plays from the first half of Shakespeare's dramatic career emphasizing theoretical and cultural issues raised by the plays in the context of fin-de-siPcle Elizabethan England. Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week. Prerequisite: GBLS 1F90, one ENGL credit numbered 1(alpha)90 to 1(alpha)99 or permission of the instructor. Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade in GBLS (ENGL) 2F97. Jacobean Shakespeare (also offered as ENGL 2Q93) Representative plays from the second half of Shakespeare's dramatic career emphasizing theoretical and cultural issues raised by the plays in the context of the opening decade of James I's culturally divisive reign. Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week. Prerequisite: GBLS 1F90, one ENGL credit numbered 1(alpha)90 to 1(alpha)99 or permission of the instructor. Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade in GBLS (ENGL) 2F97. Shakespeare's Comedies (also offered as GBLS 2Q94) Representative comedies and tragicomedies emphasizing the variety of Shakespeare's comic modes, from the grotesque to the miraculous, and on theoretical approaches to the comic. Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week. Prerequisite: GBLS 1F90, one ENGL credit numbered 1(alpha)90 to 1(alpha)99 or permission of the instructor. Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade in GBLS (ENGL) 2F97. Shakespeare's Tragedies (also offered as ENGL 2Q95) Shakespeare's development of tragedy as a genre in the context of early modern aesthetic and cultural concerns. Attention to recent theoretical approaches. Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week. Prerequisite: GBLS 1F90, one ENGL credit numbered 1(alpha)90 to 1(alpha)99 or permission of the instructor. Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade in GBLS (ENGL) 2F97. Shakespeare's Problem Plays (also offered as ENGL 2Q96) Shakespeare's most theoretically and culturally challenging plays. Attention to such issues as generic hybridity and breakdown, parody and metatheater. Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week. Prerequisite: GBLS 1F90, one ENGL credit numbered 1(alpha)90 to 1(alpha)99 or permission of the instructor. Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade in GBLS (ENGL) 2F97. Shakespeare: the Non-Dramatic Verse (also offered as ENGL 2Q97) Study of the sonnets, "Venus and Adonis," "Rape of Lucrece," and other poems alongside representative selections of other late Elizabethan and early Jacobean poetry. Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week. Prerequisite: GBLS 1F90, one ENGL credit numbered 1(alpha)90 to 1(alpha)99 or permission of the instructor. Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade in GBLS (ENGL) 2F97. Ideas and Culture Since 1850 (also offered as HIST 3P00) Intellectual and cultural developments in Europe and North America during the late 19th and 20th centuries. Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week. Great Books Seminar III Important works of art, literature, philosophy, science and theology from the 16th through the 19th centuries. Seminar, 3 hours per week. Origins of Life Important works of science, art, literature, philosophy addressing the origin of life and the nature of our species' relationship with our planet. Readings include selections from the Bible, Aristotle, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Mary Shelley, Charles Darwin, Aldous Huxley, Stephen Jay Gould, E. O. Wilson, and Richard Dawkins. Seminar, 3 hours per week. Literary Criticism (also offered as ENGL 3P94) Literary criticisms from Aristotle to Brookes and Leavis emphasizing enduring literary critical problems. Lecutres, seminar, 3 hours per week. Prerequisites: two ENGL credits numbered 2(alpha)00 to 2(alpha)99 or permission of the instructor. Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade in GBLS (ENGL) 3F93. Aesthetics of Music (also offered as MUSI 3P95) Issues of meaning, beauty, value, and greatness in music through analysis of selected readings from Aristoxenus to the present. Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week. Prerequisites: MUSI 1F50; MUSI 2F90 or GBLS 2P94 or permission of the instructor. Medieval Literature and Culture (also offered as MLLC 3P97) Literature and culture of the Middle Ages in Europe. Works selected from among poetry, the epic and the romance. Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week. Prerequisite: one of FREN 2F03, GERM 2F90 (2F20), ITAL, 2F00, SPAN 2F00 or permission of the instructor. Note: given in English. Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade in MLLC 3P91. Renaissance Literature and Culture (also offered as MLLC 3P98) The Renaissance as transcultural phenomenon; historical and geographical parameters; social and political factors in its emergence and development; intellectual and aesthetic foundations as expressed in essential literary texts and essays. Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week. Prerequisite: one of FREN 2F03, GERM 2F90 (2F20), ITAL 2F00, SPAN 2F00 or permission of the instructor. Note: given in English. Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade in MLLC 3P92. Modern Narratives (also offered as MLLC 3P99) French, German, Italian and Hispanic 20th-century narrative writing. May include avant-garde, surrealist, existentialist, modernist and postmodernist issues. Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week. Prerequisite: one of FREN 2F03, GERM 2F90 (2F20), ITAL 2F00, SPAN 2F00 or permission of the instructor. Note: given in English. Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade in MLLC 3P93. Special Topics in Great Books/Liberal Studies Selected topics in Western or non-Western works of art, literature, philosophy, history, science and/or theology. Seminar, 3 hours per week. The Philosophy of Law (also offered as POLI 4P01) Traditional and contemporary accounts of law and their implications for issues of contemporary concern. Seminar, 3 hours per week. Restriction: open to GBLS (single or combined), INPE and POLS (single or combined) majors with either a minimum of 14.0 overall credits and a minimum 70 percent major average or approval to year 4 (honours). Ancient Political Theory (also offered as POLI 4P02) Premodern political philosophy examined in the works of Plato and Aristotle, emphasizing those features distinguishing ancient political science and philosophy from that of modernity. Seminar, 3 hours per week. Restriction: open to GBLS (single or combined), INPE and POLS (single or combined) majors with either a minimum of 14.0 overall credits and a minimum 70 percent major average or approval to year 4 (honours). Modern Political Theory (also offered as POLI 4P03) Modern political theory examined in selected texts. Topics may include historicism, consent, progress, equality or a selected author such as Rousseau, Kant, Hegel. Seminar, 3 hours per week. Restriction: open to GBLS (single or combined), INPE and POLS (single or combined) majors with either a minimum of 14.0 overall credits and a minimum 70 percent major average or approval to year 4 (honours). Politics and Tyranny (also offered as POLI 4P04) Comparative accounts of ancient and modern tyranny examined in light of the question: has political domination varied significantly in the Western tradition? Seminar, 3 hours per week. Restriction: open to GBLS (single or combined), INPE and POLS (single or combined) majors with either a minimum of 14.0 overall credits and a minimum 70 percent major average or approval to year 4 (honours). Shakespeare's Politics (also offered as POLI 4P05) Issues of justice; politics, law and morality; republican, monarchical and tyrannical government as explored in selected Shakespearean comedies, tragedies and histories. Seminar, 3 hours per week. Restriction: open to GBLS (single or combined), INPE and POLS (single or combined) majors until date specified in the BIRT guide. After that date open to English Plus, ENGL (single or combined) and HIST (single or combined) majors. Students must have either a minimum of 14.0 overall credits and a minimum 70 percent major average or approval to year 4 (honours). Philosophy, Politics and the Family (also offered as POLI 4P06) Family relations and their significance for the political community as both have been treated by ancient and modern political philosophers and by contemporary feminists and their critics. Seminar, 3 hours per week. Prerequisite: POLI 2P91 and 2P92 (2F90) or 2P93 (2P01 and 3P01) or permission of the instructor. Postmodern Political Theory (also offered as POLI 4P07) Perspectives on the postmodern condition in the works of selected 20th-century thinkers. Topics may include notions on the self; aesthetics and politics; reason and power; the construction of meaning. Seminar, 3 hours per week. Restriction: open to GBLS (single or combined), INPE and POLS (single or combined) majors with either a minimum of 14.0 overall credits and a minimum 70 percent major average or approval to year 4 (honours). Great Books Seminar IV Important works of art, literature, philosophy, science and theology from the 19th and 20th centuries. Seminar, 3 hours per week. Practicum in Great Books/Liberal Studies Independent study combined with teaching responsibility in Great Books Seminar I. Restriction: permission of the Director. Note: each participant will team teach for four weeks with a senior faculty member and complete a written assignment reflecting on the best pedagogical approach to the texts read, suggesting alterations and/or innovations which might enhance the learning process. Post-class discussion and analysis are central to the course. Enrolment by Application to the Director. Senior Essay and Workshop Discussion of Great Books/Liberal Studies and issues related to the preparation of a senior essay. Seminar, tutorial, two terms. Selected Problems in Political Theory (also offered as POLI 4V00-4V09) A particular writer, work or theoretical problem in political philosophy. Seminar, 3 hours per week. Restriction: open to GBLS (single or combined), INPE and POLS single or combined) majors with either a minimum of 14.0 overall credits and a minimum 70 percent major average or approval to year 4 (honours). Text and Context Topics in Literature and Intellectual History |
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2003-2004 Undergraduate Calendar
Last updated: June 26, 2003 @ 09:45AM