Here are a few places on the net you might find helpful as you get into reading this Anthony Burgess classic.
-Of course, it's never a bad idea to be in touch with the basics on sites like Wikipedia and Sparknotes, which offers a nice contextual consideration of the book's larger forces, though your knowledge needs to move well beyond these limited sites.
-As Alex and his droogs(friends) navigate the futuristic, repressive, and totalitarian state, they communicate through a combination of English and Nadsat, the latter a fictional creation for the book. There are many glossaries of Nadsat on the web, but this one is probably the best.
-For anyone interested, here's the official Anthony Burgess site.
-Here's a good interview with Stanley Kubrick, the film's director, on A Clockwork Orange. And here are some excerpts from Anthony Burgess' autobiography on the novel and its translation to film.
Happ reading! In as much as anyone can feel happy reading this book, that is.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Sunday, September 21, 2008
The Grand Inquisitor: Some Links
Some things you may want to read to enhance your understanding, or perhaps employ as a reference in your essay. Or maybe just read for fun.
Antanas Maceina offers an interesting commentary on the metaphysical in The Grand Inquisitor here: http://www.lituanus.org/1969/69_2_03.htm
A straight-up summary for those who could use a refresher as you write the essay. Just don't confuse any of this as original analysis or insight. Since it's not, there's no reason to quote anything Ann Fremantle writes here: http://web.pdx.edu/~tothm/religion/Summary%20of%20The%20Grand%20Inquisitor.pdf
Might be a good idea to check out the Dostoevsky Research Station. Look at the Critical Essays section and other links posted below.
"The Legend of the Grand Inquisitor: The Utopian as Sadist" by Gordon Beauchamp, originally published in Humanitas
That's just a few to get you started. Don't forget to use the English Database page in our library system to check out many other pieces of scholarship on our readings, especially JSTOR, as we saw in class the other day.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
The Stranger: Some Links
Here are some places on the web to visit that will fortify your understanding and analysis of Albert Camus and The Stranger.
Resources and critical thought on Camu's life work at the Albert Camus Society UK
The Swarthmore site features a nice collection of essays including Camus' own treatise on absurdim, "The Myth of Sysiphus," as well as a host of other topics that intersect with our class discussions/assignments. Read the student essays with a discriminating eye, though.
video for "Killing an Arab" by The Cure, a song inspired by and focused on Meursault.
Resources and critical thought on Camu's life work at the Albert Camus Society UK
The Swarthmore site features a nice collection of essays including Camus' own treatise on absurdim, "The Myth of Sysiphus," as well as a host of other topics that intersect with our class discussions/assignments. Read the student essays with a discriminating eye, though.
video for "Killing an Arab" by The Cure, a song inspired by and focused on Meursault.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Texts for Fall
For your shopping purposes, here are the details on our books for the Fall semester. The 3rd item listed in the 13# ISBN.
Camus, Albert . . . The Stranger . . . 9780679720201 . . . Vintage/Random House
Dostoevsky, Fyodorv . . . The Grand Inquisitor . . . 9780872201934 . . . Hackett Pub.
Marquez, G. G. . . . Chronice of a Death Foretold . . . 9781400034710 . . . Vintage/RH
Burgess, Anthony . . . A Clockwork Orange . . . 9780393312836 . . . Norton
Euripides . . . Medea and Other Plays . . . 9780140441291 . . . Penguin
Ruszkiewicz, John . . . SF Writer (4th Edition) . . . 9780132334587 . . . Prentice Hall
Camus, Albert . . . The Stranger . . . 9780679720201 . . . Vintage/Random House
Dostoevsky, Fyodorv . . . The Grand Inquisitor . . . 9780872201934 . . . Hackett Pub.
Marquez, G. G. . . . Chronice of a Death Foretold . . . 9781400034710 . . . Vintage/RH
Burgess, Anthony . . . A Clockwork Orange . . . 9780393312836 . . . Norton
Euripides . . . Medea and Other Plays . . . 9780140441291 . . . Penguin
Ruszkiewicz, John . . . SF Writer (4th Edition) . . . 9780132334587 . . . Prentice Hall
Monday, August 11, 2008
Fall Syllabus/Policies
First Year Seminar
The Art of the Crime
CC101, Sections: 05, 21
Jordan Hall 303
T/TH 9:35-10:50, 11-12:15
Robert Stapleton
rstaplet@butler.edu
office: JH212
hours: M/T/W: 1-2
Course Description
Stories are traditionally designed to embrace the heroic qualities of the protagonist. In this classical archetype, an everyperson undergoes a journey that transforms their character into one who will later benefit humanity. While we may find the narrative of good triumphing over evil emotionally fulfilling, it is ultimately a two-dimensional fantasy. The human condition is more often a dynamic struggle, and sometimes good people do bad things. In this course, we will examine the role of criminal activity in literature and storytelling. We will discuss the moral nature of characters and ask at what point, if any, they sacrifice redemption. We will consider the roles of law and religion in determining a collective morality. And we will seek the place where violence resides in our hearts and minds. Semester two will look at crime noir and true crime.
Required Texts
The Stranger, Albert Camus
A Clockwork Orange, Anthony Burgess
The Grand Inquisitor, Fyodor Dostoevsky
Medea and Other Plays, Euripides
Chronicle of a Death Foretold, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
SF Writer/4th Ed., Ruszkiewicz, Seward and Hairston
Liberal Arts Objective
Our initial objective is to interrogate the boundaries of redemption for characters engaged in criminal activity. In doing so, we will inspect the framework of religious, ethical, and legal values that define those boundaries. More importantly, though, this investigation will begin to shed light on the root system for the values and ethics we carry into the world everyday. A Liberal Arts education seeks to have students locate themselves in society as independent thinkers and responsible citizens. Training our collective focus on compromised individual behaviors against dominant value systems will beg clarity and meaning for each of us as enlightened writers, scholars, and humans.
Writing Assignments
You will be doing a considerable amount of writing, both formal and informal. We will write four to five formal essays and analyses in response to the course texts and ideas, including a research essay. You will also complete informal writing assignments and responses to the reading. All papers should be typed and double-spaced, MLA format.
Reading Assignments
You will be prepared to discuss all readings on their discussion day. Besides the assigned texts, there will be various handouts. Please keep in mind that there are only two possible methods of assessment: written and oral. I maintain that we all read and discuss aloud. But quizzes will be proffered if the discussion falters.
Attendance
The seminar is rooted in the notion that you, as members of the intellectual community, will be present and participating. This is not a lecture course. I will be eliciting oral and written responses from you always. As such, Participation is 20% of your grade: 10% determined for the first half of the course and 10% for the second half. Accumulating four absences will result in your grade being docked 5%, and each subsequent absence will cost your final grade an additional 1%.
Late Assignments
Quizzes, in-class assignments, homework, and informal writings will not be accepted late. Formal essays will be accepted late for a window of only one week, and for each day said paper is late, it will lose 10% of its original grade. For clarification, a paper is late if it is not submitted in class when I collect the assignment.
Grading
Attendance and Participation: 20%
Quizzes/Assignments: 20%
Presentation: 10%
3 Essays @ 10 each: 30%
Research Paper: 20%
Requests for Academic Accommodations
It is the policy of Butler University to make reasonable accommodations for students with properly documented disabilities. Written notification from Student Disability Services is required. If you are eligible to receive an accommodation and would like to request it for this course, please discuss it with me and allow one week advance notice. Otherwise, it is not guaranteed that the accommodation can be received on a timely basis. If you have questions about Student Disability Services, you may wish to contact Michele Atterson, Jordan Hall 136, ext. 9308.
Plagiarism
One important task of EN102 is for you to master integrating source material correctly and ethically into your own writing. You will have the opportunity to practice summarizing, paraphrasing, and directly quoting sources and then integrating the material into your own essays. The task will be for you to differentiate your original ideas from these sources. Recording source material as though it is your original idea constitutes plagiarism—whether intentional or not. All first-year seminar students will take the "Plagiarism Tutorial" on the Library's website as well as completing the "Plagiarism Quiz" on Blackboard. An essay plagiarized in part or in full will receive an F and may place a student in jeopardy of course expulsion. Repeated incidents of Academic Dishonesty could result in a student’s suspension from the University. Students should also refer to the Butler University Student Handbook (available online @ https://bumail.butler.edu/owa/redir.aspx?URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.butler.edu Student Life tab) for a full discussion of student rights and responsibilities regarding “Academic Integrity.”
The Art of the Crime
CC101, Sections: 05, 21
Jordan Hall 303
T/TH 9:35-10:50, 11-12:15
Robert Stapleton
rstaplet@butler.edu
office: JH212
hours: M/T/W: 1-2
Course Description
Stories are traditionally designed to embrace the heroic qualities of the protagonist. In this classical archetype, an everyperson undergoes a journey that transforms their character into one who will later benefit humanity. While we may find the narrative of good triumphing over evil emotionally fulfilling, it is ultimately a two-dimensional fantasy. The human condition is more often a dynamic struggle, and sometimes good people do bad things. In this course, we will examine the role of criminal activity in literature and storytelling. We will discuss the moral nature of characters and ask at what point, if any, they sacrifice redemption. We will consider the roles of law and religion in determining a collective morality. And we will seek the place where violence resides in our hearts and minds. Semester two will look at crime noir and true crime.
Required Texts
The Stranger, Albert Camus
A Clockwork Orange, Anthony Burgess
The Grand Inquisitor, Fyodor Dostoevsky
Medea and Other Plays, Euripides
Chronicle of a Death Foretold, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
SF Writer/4th Ed., Ruszkiewicz, Seward and Hairston
Liberal Arts Objective
Our initial objective is to interrogate the boundaries of redemption for characters engaged in criminal activity. In doing so, we will inspect the framework of religious, ethical, and legal values that define those boundaries. More importantly, though, this investigation will begin to shed light on the root system for the values and ethics we carry into the world everyday. A Liberal Arts education seeks to have students locate themselves in society as independent thinkers and responsible citizens. Training our collective focus on compromised individual behaviors against dominant value systems will beg clarity and meaning for each of us as enlightened writers, scholars, and humans.
Writing Assignments
You will be doing a considerable amount of writing, both formal and informal. We will write four to five formal essays and analyses in response to the course texts and ideas, including a research essay. You will also complete informal writing assignments and responses to the reading. All papers should be typed and double-spaced, MLA format.
Reading Assignments
You will be prepared to discuss all readings on their discussion day. Besides the assigned texts, there will be various handouts. Please keep in mind that there are only two possible methods of assessment: written and oral. I maintain that we all read and discuss aloud. But quizzes will be proffered if the discussion falters.
Attendance
The seminar is rooted in the notion that you, as members of the intellectual community, will be present and participating. This is not a lecture course. I will be eliciting oral and written responses from you always. As such, Participation is 20% of your grade: 10% determined for the first half of the course and 10% for the second half. Accumulating four absences will result in your grade being docked 5%, and each subsequent absence will cost your final grade an additional 1%.
Late Assignments
Quizzes, in-class assignments, homework, and informal writings will not be accepted late. Formal essays will be accepted late for a window of only one week, and for each day said paper is late, it will lose 10% of its original grade. For clarification, a paper is late if it is not submitted in class when I collect the assignment.
Grading
Attendance and Participation: 20%
Quizzes/Assignments: 20%
Presentation: 10%
3 Essays @ 10 each: 30%
Research Paper: 20%
Requests for Academic Accommodations
It is the policy of Butler University to make reasonable accommodations for students with properly documented disabilities. Written notification from Student Disability Services is required. If you are eligible to receive an accommodation and would like to request it for this course, please discuss it with me and allow one week advance notice. Otherwise, it is not guaranteed that the accommodation can be received on a timely basis. If you have questions about Student Disability Services, you may wish to contact Michele Atterson, Jordan Hall 136, ext. 9308.
Plagiarism
One important task of EN102 is for you to master integrating source material correctly and ethically into your own writing. You will have the opportunity to practice summarizing, paraphrasing, and directly quoting sources and then integrating the material into your own essays. The task will be for you to differentiate your original ideas from these sources. Recording source material as though it is your original idea constitutes plagiarism—whether intentional or not. All first-year seminar students will take the "Plagiarism Tutorial" on the Library's website as well as completing the "Plagiarism Quiz" on Blackboard. An essay plagiarized in part or in full will receive an F and may place a student in jeopardy of course expulsion. Repeated incidents of Academic Dishonesty could result in a student’s suspension from the University. Students should also refer to the Butler University Student Handbook (available online @ https://bumail.butler.edu/owa/redir.aspx?URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.butler.edu Student Life tab) for a full discussion of student rights and responsibilities regarding “Academic Integrity.”
Textbook Notice
The course description in the Butler Schedule of Classes lists Fyodor Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment as one of our required reading texts. This is no longer true. Instead, we will be reading Anthony Burgess' A Clockwork Orange. The Butler Bookstore will have the correct texts, but in the event some of you plan to purchase the books in advance you will want to make note of this change.
Friday, August 8, 2008
Image #4
The image comes from a web game that has borrowed the name Grand Inquisitor as a character title. I found the image to offer an intriguing visual commentary on Dostoyevsky's tale.
Image #2
Clockwise from there, the next photo is of original art that depicts Medea's Chariot, pulled from the historyforkids website.
The Sidebar Collage
. . . features five photos, one for each of our required texts.The center image is a custom illustration of Camus' The Stranger that was created on the Polyvore website.
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