Assignments

Due Dates and Links

Sat. September 25:
Argument Analysis Essay

Mon. October 4 – Sun. October 10:
Live Like a Confucian Week

Mon. October 18 – Sun. October 24:
Live Like an Aristotelian Week

Wed. October 27:
Midterm Debate: Cancel Ancient Philosophy?

Sat. October 30:
Comparative Analysis Essay

Mon. November 8 – Sun. November 14:
Live Like a Daoist Week

Mon. November 22 – Sun. November 28:
Live Like a Stoic Week

Mon. December 6:
Final Debate: Which Life is Best?

Sat. December 18:
Comparative Analysis Essay

Course Work

Readings: For most M/W class sessions, there will be assigned readings. These should be read before class and you should be ready to access them in class as well. Readings will be available electronically, linked from the course site and available in Perusall (see section on Perusall). Students will be expected to annotate and comment on the texts regularly, and to interact with other students’ comments and questions. There will sometimes be optional readings as well, which will provide more depth or background and additional perspectives on the material.
Exercises: For each unit, there will be several immersive exercises designed to help you get some experience putting philosophical approaches to living well into practice. The format for doing these will vary — some will be in-class, others will involve daily journaling — and some but not all will require turning in a brief written reflection.
Essays: There will be three essays in this course: a paper in argument analysis and two papers on a topic that involves comparative philosophical analysis. All essays will be turned in via Google Docs.
Dialogue sessions: On Fridays, there will be peer-led dialogue sessions, led by one of our student Dialogue Fellows. Some of these will be based on material discussed in class during the week and others will involve independent activities. Students are expected to attend and participate in their dialogue section each week.
Attendance and participation: Students are expected to attend all plenary lecture, breakout, and dialogue sessions, and to be ready to participate, particularly in the breakout and dialogue sessions. Your professors reserve the right to “cold call” people who have not raised their hands.