INQ 111

It is not so very important for a person to learn facts. For that he does not really need a college. He can learn them from books. The value of an education in a liberal arts college is not the learning of many facts but the training of the mind to think something that cannot be learned from textbooks.

(Albert Einstein, 1921, in response to Thomas Edison’s opinion that a college education is useless)

Without education we are in a horrible and deadly danger of taking educated people seriously.

(G. K. Chesterton)

In much wisdom is much vexation, and those who increase knowledge increase in sorrow.

(Ecclesiastes 1.18)

Health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die.

(Anonymous)

Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.

(William Butler Yeats)

You must unlearn what you have learned.

(Yoda [Star Wars V: Empire Strikes Back])

The unexamined life is not worth living.

(Socrates [Plato, Apology, 38a])

Schedule

Evaluation

Resources

Na home

Westminster College
Inquiry 111 (Section SD): Seeing Anew . . . Again
Fall Semester • 2009

Welcome!

Welcome to Westminster College and to Inquiry 111! The course title describes our general objective, which is to inquire and learn how to learn.

Accessibility Statement:

Westminster College actively strives for the full inclusion of all our students. Students with disabilities who require access solutions for environmental or curricular barriers should contact Corey Shaw, Director of Disability Support Services: 209 Thompson-Clark Hall; 724-946-7192; shawcj@westminster.edu.

Course Description & Outcomes and Objectives

Inquiry 111 introduces first-year students to liberal arts education and to equip them with skills essential to their success at college and in the wider world. For more information about the First-Year Program, read the "Introduction to the First-Year Program" in the textbook Inquiry 111. Read also about the Westminster Plan.

There are three outcomes and objectives of Inquiry 111:

articulate and practice the values and methods of liberal arts education through opportunities to

•	study liberal arts practices and theories
•	recognize the greater expectations associated with college-level work and develop appropriate critical thinking and information literacy skills
•	consider moral and ethical responsibilities we have to various communities as a result of our education

engage, experience and explain different ways of knowing through opportunities to

•	examine and compare each of the Intellectual Perspectives as ways of knowing
•	recognize and respect different worldviews
•	challenge our own assumptions to promote inquiry and intellectual growth

pursue interdisciplinary study and discussion of important issue through opportunities to

•	investigate and discuss significant or controversial issues from multiple cultural and intellectual perspectives
•	engage diverse views of common readings and issues
•	participate in an active learning community sharing a first-year experience

As we pursue these Inquiry aims, and as we cultivate the appreciation of reading, writing, and exploring different ideas, you can expect this course to be full of challenging, enlightening, exciting, frustrating, and rewarding experiences.

Requirements and evaluation for the course

Overview

See the "Introduction to the First-Year Program" in Inquiry 111 for information on

• Attendance Requirements (See my Evaluation page under Participation for my attendance policy.)

• Absences from Examinations

• Academic Integrity (NB Westminster's Academic Integrity Policy; also see my note on plagiarism)

• Co-curricular Activities

• Computer & Network Orientation

• The Learning Center

Evaluation

For my criteria for evaluation of assignments go to Evaluation and read the information carefully.

NB: If you have any questions regarding any assignment, please 1) ask in class for the benefit of others or 2) make an appointment to see me.

Assigned readings

Assigned readings are essential and should be completed before the classes for which they are assigned—use your best judgment to divide the readings evenly for each week. Occasionally I may assign additional readings, but these will ordinarily be short. You must come to class with at least 2 written questions or comments you have for each of the reading selections (see Participation). The primary focus of the course will be on discussing the bolded assigned readings in class (see schedule below).

NB: Not all the assigned readings may be covered in class discussions or exams, but they are required for your edification. The more you refer to them in class and in your work, the more impressive your mastery of the readings will be. I would encourage you to use this form for every reading assignment (also on the R-drive).

The recommended "readings" (e.g., articles, movies) in the schedule below are not required, but you may find them helpful, humorous, stimulating, useful, etc.

Presentation

You will prepare a 10-minute PowerPoint presentation of

•	the main idea(s) of the reading assignment (see the Assignments column in the course schedule below),
•	your critique or response to it (including references to previous readings)—this should be the focus of the presentation—and
•	critical questions, challenges, discoveries, insights, etc. to initiate class discussion.

See my Evaluation page under Presentations for evaluation criteria. Submit your PowerPoint presentation on the R-drive before coming to class to present (Assignmt>Presentation; file name = "last name presentation.ppt").

All students will fill out an evaluation sheet, which will be 1) used to offer peer critique to the presenter and 2) collected by me to review students' critical ability and participation.

Group

debates

You will participate in several group debates in which one group will present the merits of a particular reading and its arguments or insights, while the other group will present its shortcomings and limits. Your group's preparation and performance in class will determine a part of your course participation grade.

Co-curricular activities

You will attend or participate in 3 co-curricular activities (you're encouraged to attend more). They can be plays, speeches, campus events, community service, etc.

•	One must be a performance art (e.g., visual, musical, theatrical, oral).
•	The other two are up to you to choose from among the opportunities available throughout the semester. If you're not sure something qualifies as a co-curricular activity), ask me before you write the paper.

Within 5 class days after the co-curricular activity you must submit a reflection paper (1–2 pages) consisting of

•	a short summary (1 paragraph) describing the event (e.g., the date and place of the activity, what it was, what happened, who attended) and
•	your critical reflection on it and its significance, especially for Inquiry 111 (this should be the substantial portion of the paper showing how you see the connections between Inquiry themes and the co-curricular activity).

Incorporate, as much as possible, your reflections on liberal arts education and on the Inquiry readings (including the summer reading) as they relate to your paper. Follow the guidelines for Written assignments. Save your paper on the R-drive thus: file name = "last name co-cur 1.doc" (see example on R-drive).

Research paper

You will write a research paper (8–10 pages) on a topic of your choice, i.e., the topic of the greatest interest to you. that deals with epistemology. Make an appointment for the second week to discuss your topic with me. Whatever your topic and thesis, make sure that connections with Inquiry themes and materials, including the summer reading, are evident in your final work. You are expected to learn the discipline of continual research, writing, and editing throughout the semester. You may find the Tips for writing papers helpful.

•

You must submit (on the R-drive) and discuss with me the following two preliminary assignments, the quality of which may affect your final paper grade. Make an appointment as early as you can (see schedule below) to bring a hard copy of each of these for discussion.

1) Proposal: Submit the following in one file:

1.1) a paragraph stating your proposal for research—the narrower and more specific your proposal, the better (try to formulate a thesis; see Harris, 333)

1.2) a preliminary bibliography that includes at least 5 books (besides course textbooks or reference books) and at least 5 periodical journal articles (magazines acceptable if appropriate for the topic) you found to be promising for your paper

NB: Electronic sources count only if you provide evidence that they are scholarly sources.

Use the Chicago Manual of Style (or Turabian) for the bibliography.

Submit your proposal as early as possible in the semester, so that it can be approved for you to begin work.

2) Draft: Submit the following in one file:

2.1) a clear introductory paragraph that includes the thesis of your paper (see Harris, 333)

2.2) at least two sample paragraphs

2.3) your revised bibliography (or works cited)

•

The paper should represent original work (i.e., your own thoughts), not a mere digest of other people’s opinions. Your own reading and re-reading of the relevant texts, as well as review of other materials, are fundamental to the task—a "text" can be written works, art works, music, plays, movies, interview, research results, poll data etc. I want to know what you discover in your engagement with the text(s), whether or not you agree with the authors or the opinions presented in class, including mine.

Focus on honing your ability 1) to argue for your opinions and conclusions persuasively and 2) to support them with evidence from texts (especially primary sources) and other relevant sources.

•

Your final bibliography (or works cited) must contain at least 8 sources used in your paper, including 4 periodical articles. NB: Electronic sources count only if you provide evidence that they are scholarly sources.

Use footnotes or endnotes to document your sources following the Chicago Manual of Style (or Turabian). Learn the automatic footnote function of your word processor.

•

Follow all the instructions given on my Evaluation page under Written assignments.

Terms

Throughout the semester, you will be responsible for learning significant terms covered in our texts or in class (see the “terms” file on the R-drive). You will be responsible for the definitions. Use 1) the course texts, e.g., index, 2) the resources listed in Resources to consider below, or 3) any other appropriate sources of information. The terms may constitute a part of any quiz or exam.

Quizzes

exams

There will be 2 short quizzes (ca. 20 minutes) and 1 longer quiz at midterm (ca. 40 minutes). They will cover the materials in the course you will have learned by the time of the quizzes, including the reading assignments and terms.

Grades

Grades will be assigned as fairly as possible. See my Evaluation page under Grades for more information. (See also p. xii in the Inquiry textbook for grade descriptions.) The final grade for the course will consist of the following:

•

paper

25%

NB: participation is a significant part of this course.

See my Evaluation page under Participation

for more information and instructions.

•

participation (including library assignments & debates)

15%

•

presentation(s)

10%

•

3 co-curricular reflection papers

30%

•

quiz #2

10%

•

quiz #1 & 3

10%

NB: If you have any questions about how you're doing in the course, please make an appointment to see me.

Required books
•	Inquiry 111. Littleton: Tapestry Press, 2008.
•	Westminster College's Library Handbook.
•	Lansens, Lori. The Girls. 2rd ed. New York: Back Bay Books, 2005. [summer reading]

Recommended books & resources (* = highly recommended)
	Anderson, Walter Truet. Reality Isn't What It Used to Be: Theatrical Politics, Ready-to-Wear Religion, Global Myths, Primitive Chic, and Other Wonders of the Postmodern World. San Francisco: HarperOne, 1992.
*	Bloom, Allan. The Closing of the American Mind. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1987.
	Cunningham, Lawrence S. and John J. Reich. Culture & Values: A Survey of the Humanities. Alternate Volume. 6th edition. Belmont: Wadsworth, 1990.
*	Kuhn, Thomas S. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. 3rd ed. Chicago: University Of Chicago Press, 1996.
	Levitt, Steven D. and Stephen J. Dubner. Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2006.
	Naugle, David K. Worldview: The History of a Concept. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 2002.
*	Percy, Walker. Lost in the Cosmos: The Last Self-Help Book. New York: Picador, 1983.
*	_______. The Message in the Bottle: How Queer Man is, How Queer Language Is, and What One Has to Do With the Other. New York: Picador, 2000.
*	_______. Signposts in a Strange Land. New York: Picador, 1991.
*	Strunk, William, Jr., and E. B. White. The Elements of Style. New York: Macmillan Publishing, 1979. (See my Resources page under Miscellaneous for the first edition of Strunk.)

Resources to consider
	See my Resources page for McGill, AV & Web resources.
	R-drive: for helpful materials, check the course folder.

Keeping informed and in touch

During the semester check your e-mail regularly for the latest messages from me regarding course matters. For updates to the syllabus, visit and reload this page regularly, as well as my home page for other information and resources related to the course. Please feel free to make an appointment any time about any course matters.

One last word …

Regardless of how demanding all of this is, I’m pretty much a nice guy. I promise to be as fair as possible. I recognize that you’ll be very busy this semester pursuing various obligations and passions. I understand. I have my passions too, e.g., my wonderful family, music, philosophy, nature, mountain biking, fixing things, food. But I’m also very passionate about education, both yours and mine—I don’t just mean the business of acquiring knowledge, but more importantly the total development of honorable human beings. I don't require you to share my excitement about all the things we'll cover, but I do expect you to complete the requirements for the course. To help you do that as well as you can, I will make myself available outside the class time and the office hours. I'll be more than glad to help you out when you're stuck while doing an assignment. Or if you have any questions, concerns, complaints, and even compliments, I will do my best to take the time to listen and offer my response. Keep in mind that I'm here to help you learn. So, again, welcome to Westminster and to Inquiry 111!

C o u r s e S c h e d u l e

MWF 0920–1020 OM 210

Date

Assignments

• = required

> = recommended

bold = primary focus text for presentation & class discussion

highlight = R-drive file

Class / topics

red bold = dates to remember

Week 1

Sep 2 W

Sep 4

Sep 7

•Course syllabus (including Evaluation link; review requirements, expectations & criteria for grading—ask Qs, if you have any)

•Copy all relevant course Web pages to your hard disk or diskette

•Inquiry preliminaries (Inquiry, v–xiv)

•Fisher: Effective Learning (also in Inquiry text)

•Knight: LIberal Arts Gave Me a Liberal Dose of Life Lessons

•Newman: The Idea of a University (excerpts)

•Westminster College: Mission Statement

•Think about the research paper topics

>How to Ace College

>Do you know how to think? (a self-exam)

>Tips for writing papers

>Perception quiz

>Riddles

•Introduction to Inquiry 111 & Liberal arts education

•Optical conditioning

•Optical illusion

•World-view (context & perspective)

•Grades?

•Reminder: bring your written Qs & Cs to each class (see Participation)

•Sep 4: Jeff Ledebur, Drinko Center

Week 2

Sep 9 W

Sep 11

Sep 14

•Newman: The Idea of a University (excerpts)

•Westminster College: Mission Statement

•Josefson: Learning Is Not Fun

•Shapiro: Liberal Education, Moral Education

>Tips for writing papers

>Qs to Ask & Propaganda Alert (NB: helpful for reading texts & writing research paper)

•Intro to Inquiry 111

•Integrity & cultural ethos

•Going institutional: the purpose of liberal arts education

•Sep 14: Information literacy instruction (meet in McGill Library)

Week 3

Sep 16 W

Sep 18

Sep 21

•Finkelmeyer: Grades; cf. "Traditional Letter Grades" (Inquiry, xii)

•Callahan: Cheating from the Starting Line (also click here)

•Academic Integrity Policy (also see in Inquiry text)

>Kreyche: Integrity (Also in Inquiry text)

•Plato: Allegory of the Cave (take notes showing analysis of the allegory): draw the cave described in the allegory

•Andersen: The Emperor's New Clothes

•Parable of the Blind Men and the Elephant

•Calandra: Angels on a Pin

•Sep 22: Kraybill: The Riddle of Amish Culture (Read the excerpt in the Inquiry textbook and note questions to ask Prof. Kraybill at his lecture, 22 Sep.; see below in week 5.)

>Amish Studies

>Explore The Greeks (interactive site: explore resources on Socrates and Plato)

>Movie "Matrix" (highly recommended for comparison with Plato; can be borrowed from AV)

•Sep 16: Information literacy instruction (meet in McGill Library)

•Sep 18: Information literacy instruction (meet in McGill Library)

•Nature of knowledge

•Seeing is believing?

•Video: "What is Philosophy?"

co-curricular activity:
Donald B. Kraybill
7:30 p.m., 22 Sep, chapel
attendance highly recommended

Week 4

Sep 23 W

Sep 25

Sep 28

•Presentation evaluation: be ready to offer each presenter good critique (focus is not on summary but on the critical response evident in the presentations)

•Plato: Allegory of the Cave

•Andersen: The Emperor's New Clothes

•Parable of the Blind Men and the Elephant

•Csikszentmihalyi: Veils of Maya

>Tips for writing papers

>Qs to Ask & Propaganda Alert (NB: helpful for reading texts & writing research paper)

>Frog leap test (for fun & challenge)

•Sep 23: Library assignment due (R-drive; file name = "last name library.doc"; see example of file name on R-drive)

•Presentation: Reilsono (Andersen)

•What's worth knowing?

•Multitude of perspectives:

Can a physicist & a mystic see together?

Can a biology major & a philosophy major talk?

•Sep 28: Last date for proposal submission (R-drive; file name = "last name proposal.doc"; see example of file name on R-drive)

•Sep 28: Quiz 1

•Seeing through (despite) veils?

Week 5

Sep 30 W

Oct 2

Oct 5

•Rachels: The Challenge of Cultural Relativism

•Taking Sides: Herskovits: "Cultural Relativism and Cultural Values" & Pojman: "Ethical Relativism: Who's to Judge What's Right and Wrong?" (study questions)

•Miner: Body Ritual Among the Nacirema (also here)

•Kraybill: The Riddle of Amish Culture

•Bohannan: Shakespeare in the Bush

•Qs to Ask & Propaganda Alert (NB: helpful for debate & writing research paper)

•Presentation: Opaska (Rachels)

•Debate: Rachels

What's convincing about his arguments?

What's not so convincing?

•Video: “Does Morality Depend on One's Culture?” (NB: take notes for class discussion)

•Seeing (our/other) cultures

•Oct 5: Facebook discussion: Miner, Bohannon

Week 6

Oct 7 W

Oct 9

Oct 12

•Perkins: Letting Go (also in Inquiry text)

•Maslow: Defense and Growth

•Gioia: Words (also in Inquiry text with intro)

•Genesis: The Tree of Knowledge

2009 Henderson Lecture
7 PM, 7 October
Witherspoon-Maple
attendance highly recommended

•Oct 7: read Prof. Perkins's story "Letting Go" in the Inquiry reader before attending his talk in Witherspoon-Lakeview at 9:20

•Growing pains, growing gains

•Presentation: Norgren (Gioia)

•Epistemology and language

•Presentation: Migliozzi (Genesis)

•The genesis of the human condition

Week 7

Oct 14 W

Oct 16

Oct 17–20 (break)

Oct 21 W

•Copland: What to Listen for in Music

•Cox: Strategies for Looking (cf. context & perspective)

•Scudder: Learning to See (cf. context & perspective)

•Greene: One Hundred Years of Uncertainty

•Einstein: Science and Religion (NB Einstein's claim: "No amount of experimentation can ever prove me right; a single experiment can at any time prove me wrong.") See also this or this.

•Park: Voodoo Science

•Presentation: Kobis (Scudder)

•The other arts in liberal arts

•Debate: hearing or sight?

•Presentation: Gundlach (Einstein)

•The complementary roles of science & religion?

•Presentation: Culp (Park)

Week 8

Oct 23 F

Oct 26

Oct 28

•John J. Donohue III and Steven D. Levitt, "The Impact of Legalized Abortion on Crime" (cf. "Further Evidence that Legalized Abortion Lowered Crime: A Reply to Joyce" & Freakonomics, chap. 4: "Where Have All the Criminals Gone")

vs.

•John D. Mueller, "Dismal Science" (click on "view as PDF" for the print version)

•Dawkins-McGrath debate (23 Mar 2007): Part 1; Part 2 (also 7 part video)

•McGrath-Atkins debate (27 Mar 2007; 1hr 19min)

•Presentation: Chilson (Donohue & Levitt)

•How "objective" is "science"?

•Oct 26: Quiz 2 (early dismissal; review course materials & work on presentations & papers)

•Oct 28: Facebook discussion: Dawkins v. McGrath

Week 9

Oct 30 F

Nov 2

Nov 4

•Course syllabus (including Evaluation link; review requirements, expectations & criteria for grading—ask Qs, if you have any)

•Fisher: Effective Learning (also in Inquiry text)

•Winthrop: A Model of Christian Charity

•Mill: Democratic Participation and Political Education

•Kennedy: Inaugural address

•Hughes: Let America Be America Again

Please Vote on Nov 3

•Oct 30: Facebook discussion: Dawkins v. McGrath

•Nov 2: Last date for draft submission (R-drive; file name = "last name draft.doc"; see example of file name on R-drive)

•Presentation: Wilkins (Mill)

•Liberal arts education: what to do . . .

•Presentation: Weil (Kennedy)

•Liberal arts education: what to do . . .

Week 10

Nov 6 F

Nov 9

Nov 11

•Luke: The Good Samaritan (also Cotton Patch: Lk 10.25–37)

•Dawkins: Science, Delusion and the Appetite for Wonder (cf. week 8)

Work on your papers.

•Nov 6: Facebook discussion: Lansens & Inquiry

•Nov 9: Facebook discussion: Lansens & Inquiry

•Presentation: Weeda (Luke)

Nov 12 R

Movie night with the Nas 7:46 p.m.-ish

Feel free to bring DVDs or VHSs of movies you think your classmates should see.

directions on the R-drive or here (view in MS Word: in menu, click View>Print Layout) or click here

Week 11

Nov 13 F

Nov 16

Nov 18

•Letter from clergy

•King: Letter from Birmingham Jail

•Menkiti: Person and Community in African Traditional Thought

•George: from The Clash of Orthodoxies

•Presentation: Virostek (King)

•Presentation: Tracey (Menkiti)

•Presentation: Thomas (George)

Week 12

Nov 20 F

Nov 23

Nov 25–29 (break)

Nov 30 M

•George: from The Clash of Orthodoxies

Work on your papers.

•Nov 20: Facebook discussion: Lansens & Menkiti

•Nov 23: Quiz 3 (early dismissal; review course materials & work on presentations & papers)

•Natural law and cultural relativism

Week 13

Dec 2 W

Dec 4

Dec 7

•Hardin: The Tragedy of the Commons

•Jones: Questions and Answers

•Plato: Allegory of the Cave

•Presentation: Stas (Hardin)

•Presentation: Schumaker (Jones)

•Presentation: Opaska (Plato)

Week 14

Dec 9 W

Dec 11

Dec 14

•Bring a written list of
1) the most influential readings,
2) the least significant readings, and
3) the most challenging experiences during the semester.

Be able to expound your lists for peer responses.

•Dec 7: Last date for research paper submission (R-drive; file name = "last name paper.doc"; see example of file name on R-drive)

Dec 15 T

Reading Day

Final period

Dec 18 F

Final class: 0800–1030

•Final thoughts (Or: Anything and everything you've wanted to ask Prof. Na but were too afraid or busy to ask)

•The art of thinking & the art of questioning

•Quo vadis?

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

Schedule

Evaluation

Resources

Na home