FIRST YEAR SEMINAR
FALL 2006
The
two-semester First-year Seminar, through the reading of a series of core texts common
to all sections, introduces every in-coming student to crucially important
intellectual, artistic, and cultural ideas which serve, in turn, as a strong
basis for a liberal arts training as it develops in subsequent years at the
college. Yet the course is not meant to be a mere survey of background
material. Rather, frequent writing assignments and an intimate seminar format
among peers encourage an active debate over ideas for which there is no
foregone conclusion. Seminar reading and discussions are supplemented by a
mandatory series of guest lectures, panel presentations and films.
The seminar's current
yearlong theme is "What is
Enlightenment: The Science, Culture and Politics of Reason." Though
17th - 18th Century European Culture is the main focus, the course also looks
back to the Ancient World and to non-European thought in the first half; and,
in the second half, will look forward to the modern era where many assumptions
of the Enlightenment have fallen under severe critical scrutiny. The Fall
Semester syllabus includes:
·
Augustine: Confessions
·
Austen: Mansfield Park
·
Classical Chinese
Philosophy - Selections
·
Defoe: Robinson Crusoe
·
Descartes: Discourse on Method
·
Diderot: “Supplement to
Bougainville’s Voyage” & selections from The Encyclopedia in Political Writings
·
Equiano: Narrative of His Life
·
Galileo: Discoveries and Opinions of Galileo
·
Ibn Tufayl: The Story of Hayy bin Yaqzan
·
Locke: Second Treatise on Civil Government
·
Plato: The Republic
Authors to be considered
in the Spring Semester may include: Kant, Hume, Rousseau, Mary Shelley, Paine,
Mary Wollstonecraft, Darwin, Marx, Nietzsche, Freud, and Achebe. By way of an engaged encounter with the
above texts, a number of critical problems will emerge that pertain to the
formation of modern intellectual disciplines. For instance, scientific method,
psychology, political theory, economics, and the novel were all new ways of
knowing the world that came into being during "the long eighteenth
century". Not only did the concepts of equality and individual liberty
represent a radical departure from the past, but the rise of global exploration
and empire influenced scientific and political thought as well.
Students
are encouraged to pursue the development and articulation of their own point of
view on the core reading. The spirit of First-year Seminar is best exemplified
by the observation that in our daily lives we frequently encounter (and
ourselves invoke) concepts drawn from the selected texts; without a first-hand
knowledge of those concepts and a critical and historical framework in which to
understand them, we risk having others define them for us. First-year seminar
is designed to be the cornerstone of your introduction to rigorous, individual
learning at Bard.
REGISTRATION FOR FIRST YEAR SEMINAR:
You will receive a separate
registration card for First Year Seminar on which you will list your top five
choices. We will place you in the highest available option, and send a note in
campus mail by Friday, September 1st letting you know which section
you are in. Each seminar is limited to
16 students. Please be sure to read the entire coursebook before making your
choice, paying particular attention to the schedule of classes you are hoping
to take. Schedule
of sections