Prohibition and permission
Bachelor's degree
In Maynard (USA)
Description
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Type
Bachelor's degree
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Location
Maynard (USA)
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Start date
Different dates available
Explore where the prohibitions and permissions that occur in every day life come from, why they exist, and what gives them force. For example: food—you are only willing and able to eat a subset of the world's edible substances. Marriage—some marriages are prohibited by law or by custom. This course addresses questions of prohibition and permission using psychological sources and literary works from ancient to modern. Texts include works by Shakespeare, Melville, Mary Rowlandson, and Anita Desai. Students give group and individual oral presentations.
Facilities
Location
Start date
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Reviews
Subjects
- Works
Course programme
Lectures: 2 sessions / week, 1 hour / session
Recitations: 1 session / week, 1 hour / session
The core goals of the course are:
Each year we pick a unifying theme for the spring course. This year's theme is "Permission and Prohibition." The title was given to us by a previous Concourse student, who told us that this was a traditional Islamic view. If something was not explicitly forbidden, it was implicitly permitted. We will explore this theme in several ways:
This is a HASS-CI (Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences Communication Intensive) course. Like other communications-intensive courses in the humanities, arts, and social sciences, it allows students to produce 20 pages of polished writing in four assignments, with one required revision. It also offers a variety of possibilities for oral expression, through presentations of written work, student-led discussion, and oral reports. The class has a low enrollment that ensures maximum attention to written and oral communication.
Please see assignments for detailed instructions for the written work.
Each student will give two oral reports, format (i.e. single or team presentation) depending on class enrollment. The first (10 minutes maximum) will initiate discussion in a recitation by presenting information about the day's reading, discussion questions, illustrations as appropriate, and a brief handout, including a bibliography. The handout will be submitted for a grade. The second presentation takes place during the class in Ses #24 when the research papers are due and will summarize your thesis and main points. You will submit it as an abstract, attached to your research paper.
You are expected to be in Lecture and Recitation. Part of your grade will be based on class participation (see below).
The final for this course will consist of take-home essays on topics tied closely to the texts that you are reading.
For the final grade, you will be evaluated on the basis of:
Topics and research summaries due in Ses #22
Conferences in Ses #22
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Prohibition and permission