IDS4933 Honors Chinese and Greek Philosophy and Art
 
Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
Florida Atlantic University
Summer A, 2007
M/W 11:30-2:40PM, SR 283

 

Instructors:            

 

e-mail

Office

Phone

Office hours: (and by appt.)

Dr. Daniel R. White

dwhite@fau.edu

HC146

(561)799-8659

M/W: 3:00-4:00PM

Dr. Yu Jiang

yjiang5@fau.edu

HA122

(561)799-8126

M/W: 3:00-4:00PM

 

Introduction

This course is designed to open a dialogue between two major world cultural traditions in light of their ancient heritages in art and philosophy. During the semester we plan to explore the fundamental principles of Chinese and Greek thinking and representation, from the linguistic to the conceptual, from the graphic through the iconic and symbolic. We further plan to raise some key questions that can be explored in terms of comparative philosophy and art: What is philosophy, and what is art? What is the nature of “humanity,” “nature,” “knowledge,” “ignorance,” “good,” “evil,” “beauty,” ugliness,” “order,” “chaos,” “male,” “female,” “life,” “death”?  What can a systematic discussion of the foundational ideas of Chinese and Greek cultures tell us about the emerging traditions of the arts and sciences now converging between the two cultures via globalization? How can we enrich and illuminate our experience as citizens of the 21st century through the multicultural study of these two classical civilizations?

 

Goals

Our goals include: 1) to provide a multifaceted discussion of Chinese and Greek cultures through their philosophies and arts, as described in the introduction; 2) to engage you  in critical and insightful dialogue on the issues of comparative culture; 3) to enhance basic skills in oral and written communication through a series of class discussions, student presentations, and critical essays; 4) to provide an enhanced understanding of what it means to participate in a multicultural global community.

 

Format

1) A brief writing assignment will be assigned at the outset of class each week (on one or both days) to test how well you are keeping up with the reading.  These will be graded for content and holistically for composition; they will help to form the basis of the final essay (see 5 below).

2) After daily writing, classes will typically begin with a presentation by one of the professors or, later in the term, by a group of students (under one hour).

3) The presentation will be followed by class discussion; each of you should be prepared to contribute to the dialogue.  You should participate frequently these discussions.  Thought-provoking, coherent arguments are always appreciated.

4) Student group presentations on approved topics will be given in the last two weeks of the term. Each group should have about 3 to 4 members.  Students should propose your topics on or before Wednesday May 30.

5) A final essay of 5-7 pages will be turned in during week VI (see syllabus below). This essay will be graded rigorously for content and composition.  It should avoid grammatical mistakes.  It should have a cover page, a full bibliography that is listed alphabetically, and illustrations if you are referring to the artworks.  Each illustration should list the source where you get the images.  In addition, you should footnote whenever you are referring to other scholars’ work.  The essay must be submitted in duplicate, one copy for each professor.  

 

Grades:

1)     In-Class essays (averaged): 40% of final grade

2)     Class Presentation: 25% of final grade

3)     Class Participation: 10% of final grade

4)     Final Essay: 25% of final grade

 

Required Texts:

Allen, Reginald, ed. Greek Philosophy: Thales to Aristotle (Readings in the History of Philosophy)

Boardman, John Greek Art (World of Art) 4th edition

Ivanhoe, Philip J. and Brian W. Van Norden, Readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy

Liu , Jee Loo, An Introduction to Chinese Philosophy: From Ancient Philosophy to Chinese Buddhism

Roochnik, David, Retrieving the Ancients

Tregear, Mary, Chinese Art

 

List of Key Terms in Chinese & Greek

 

 

Online Sources: China

ART HISTORY RESOURCES ON THE WEB: Asian Art

ART HISTORY RESOURCES ON THE WEB: China

 

Online Sources: Greece

Online:

Ancient History Sourcebook:  Greece: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/asbook07.html

Architecture of Greece: http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/cas/fnart/arch/greek_arch.html

Aristotle: Poetics: http://www.literatureproject.com/poetics/

ART HISTORY RESOURCES ON THE WEB: Greek Art

Art and Architecture of Greece:

    Ancient Art: General

    Cycladic, Minoan, and Mycenaean Art

    Greek Artt: 

Council of the Areopagus: http://www.stoa.org/projects/demos/article_areopagus?page=all&greekEncoding=UnicodeC

Diotima:  Materials for the Study of Women and Gender:  http://www.stoa.org/diotima/

Episteme Links: http://www.epistemelinks.com/Main/Philosophers.asp?Period=Anci

Greek Drama (an excellent course): http://www.temple.edu/classics/dramadir.html

Herodotus:  Ancient History Sourcebook: http://classics.mit.edu/Herodotus/history.html

Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/asbook.html

---.  Thucydides  http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/eb11-thucydides.html

The Internet Classics Archive: http://classics.mit.edu/index.html

Maecenas:  Images of Ancient Greece and Rome: http://wings.buffalo.edu/AandL/Maecenas/general_contents.html#Greece

Minoan and Mycenaean arts: http://www.ou.edu/finearts/art/ahi4913/aegeanhtml/framesetmycenaen.html

Map of the Peloponnesian War (Athenian and Spartan alliances):  http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~atlas/europe/static/map07.html

Parthenon: Great Buildings Online: http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/The_Parthenon.html

Parthenon: 3-D Model: http://www.greatbuildings.com/models/The_Parthenon_mod.html

The Perseus Project:   http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/

Resources for Greek Art and Archaeology: http://www.sas.upenn.edu/~ekondrat/greece.html

Sources for Thucydides:  http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/Thucydides/

Thucydides:  Ancient History Thucydides History (complete text): http://classics.mit.edu/Thucydides/pelopwar.html

Thucydides Mythistoricus:  http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/Thucydides/Cornford/CTOC.html

 

 

Additional Readings: to expand research for class presentations and final essay
Bohen, Barbara E., “The Dipylon Amphora: Its Role in the Development of Greek Art,” Journal of Aesthetic Education, Vol. 25, No. 2 (Summer, 1991), pp. 59-65.
Chang, Kwang-chih, “The Animal in Shang and Chou Bronze Art,” Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies > Vol. 41, No. 2 (Dec., 1981), pp. 527-554.
Cole, Susan G, Landscapes, Gender, and Ritual Space: the Ancient Greek Experience (Berkeley: U of California Press, 2004): in FAU Netlibrary.
Hurwit, Jeffrey M., “Narrative Resonance in the East Pediment of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia,”The
 Art Bulletin
, Vol. 69, No. 1 (Mar., 1987), pp. 6-15.
Keightley, David N., “The Religious Commitment: Shang Theology and the Genesis of Chinese Political Culture,” History of Religions, vol. 17, no. 3/4, Current Perspectives in the Study of Chinese Religions (Feb., 1978), pp. 211-225.
Keightley, David N., “Art, Ancestors, and the Origins of Writing in China,” Representations, No. 56, Special Issue: The New Erudition (Autumn,1996), pp. 68-95.
Keightley, David N., “Shang Divination and Metaphysics,” Philosophy East and West, Vol. 38, No. 4 (Oct., 1988), pp. 367-397.
Padovan, Richard, “The Proportions of the Parthenon,” “Plato: order out of chaos,” “Aristotle: change, continuity, and the unit,” “Euclid: the golden section and five regular solids,” in Proportions: Science, Philosophy, Architecture, New York: Routledge, 1999.
Rawson, Jessica, “The Eternal Palaces of the Western Han: A New View of the Universe,” Artibus Asiae, Vol. 59, No. 1/2 (1999), pp. 5-58.
Stewart, Andrew, A. F. S., “The Canon of Polykleitos: A Question of Evidence,” The Journal of Hellenic Studies, Vol. 98 (1978), pp. 122-131.
Tobin, Richard, “The Canon of Polykleitos,” American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 79, No. 4 (Oct., 1975), pp. 307-321.
Waddell, Gene, “The Principal Design Methods for Greek Doric Temples and Their Modification for the Parthenon,”Architectural History, Vol. 45 (2002), pp. 1-31.
Wang, Eugene Yuejin, “Mirror, Death, and Rhetoric: Reading Later Han Chinese Bronze Artifacts,” The Art Bulletin, Vol. 76, No. 3 (Sep., 1994), pp. 511-534.

The Honors College Academic Honor Code
Students enrolled in this course agree to adhere to the Academic Honor Code.
It is recommended that you review it via the following online address: http://www.fau.edu/divdept/honcol/academics_honor_code.htm


Students with Disabilities
In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), students who require special accommodations due to a disability to properly execute coursework must register with the Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD) located in Boca, SU 133, (561) 297-3880, in Davie, MD I (954) 236-1222, or in Jupiter, Office of Diversity Services, SR 117 (561) 799-8585, and follow all OSD procedures. Disabilities, as outlined by the Americans with Disabilities Act and the University, may include learning, visual, hearing, speech, physical, psychological and other disabilities. The student is responsible for identifying him or herself as having a disability, providing documentation and consulting with OSD staff with sufficient notice to coordinate appropriate services. Students with disabilities will be accommodated properly. Please consult the University website: http://www.fau.edu/jupiter/prospective-students/student-services/disabilities.html .



Course Schedule (May 14 – June 25, 2007)

Week I
May 14
Course Introduction: The Basic Concepts of Chinese & Greek Philosophy & Art: Pre-Socratic Philosophers: Resources;  Timeline; Early Greek Philosophy & Art: Minonan, Mycenaean, Protogeometic, and Geometric Art: architecture, vase and wall painting; pottery; sculpture; decorative arts; Greek mythology, Greek epic poetry; the Milesian ‘physicists’; Reading, Boardman, pp.11-28; Allen, pp. 23-34; Liu, pp. 1-25; Roochnik, Part 1: the Presocratics; Tregear, pp. 7-20.

May 16
The Ru (Confucian) School: Confucius, Mencius, and Xunzi; Early Art in China:, Reading Liu, pp. 47-107; Ivanhoe and Norden, pp. 1-57, 114-159, 254-309 (Supplemental); Tregear, pp. 21-69.

Week II
May 21
Orientalizing & Archaic Greek Art: architecture, vase painting, sculpture; Philosophy: Pythagoras & Pythagoreanism, Heraclitus; the Eleatics, the Pluralists; Reading, Boardman pp. 29-133; Allen, pp. 35-54. Socrates, Euthyphro, Apology, from Phaedo Allen pp. 57-97, 155-165; 185-196; Roochnik, Part II: The Sophists & Socrates; Pythagoras online: Animated Proof of the Pythagorean Theorem , More Proofs of the Pythagorean Theorem , Proof by Drag-and-Drop , Pythagoras in the History of Mathematics , Pythagorean Number and the Cosmos.
May 23
Daoist School in China and Chinese landscape painting, Laozi and Zhuangzi.
Reading: Liu pp. 131-181; Ivanhoe and Norden, pp. 160-253; Tregear, pp. 90-119, 136-148.
Principles of Chinese Painting

Week III
May 28 Memorial Day, no class

May 30
Classical Greek Art; architecture, sculpture, vase painting; Philosophy: Plato, Republic, Phaedrus, Parmenides, Reading, Boardman, pp. 134-177; Allen, pp. 197-269; Roochnik, Part III: Plato.
Student Presentation topics due at class.

Week IV
June 4
Chinese Buddhism and Buddhist Art.
Wei-shi School, Hua Yan School, Tian-Tai School, and Zen Buddhism. Buddhist architecture, Sculpture, and Painting.
Reading: Liu, pp. 209-331; Tregear, pp. 70-89, 120-135, 149-167.

June 6
Late Classical and Hellenistic Greek Art: architecture, sculpture, vase painting; Philosophy: Aristotle, Categories, On the Soul, Reading, Boardman, pp. 177-225; Allen, pp. 285-306; Roochnik, Part IV: Aristotle, begin; also see Aristotle's Psychology

Week V
June 11
Comparative Philosophy and Art: the basic principles of thinking and representation in Greek and Chinese cultures; the Yijing or Book of Changes, Liu, ch. 1; trigrams, hexagrams, and Chinese art;
Greek Art: architecture, sculpture, vase painting, Boardman, pp. 226-257; Aristotle, Metaphysics, Ethics, Allen,  pp. 307-320; 333-344; 373-378; 384-408; Roochnik, Part IV, complete.
Aristotle's Metaphysics; Aristotle's Ethics


June 13
Comparative Philosophy and Art: the Chinese and Greek legacies in the arts & sciences; Reading, Boardman, pp. 258-295.
Peter Green, “The Women and the Gods" review of Portrait of a Priestess: Women and Ritual in Ancient Greece (for your interest, not required).

Week VI
June 18
Student Class Presentations & Discussion


June 20
Student Class Presentations & Discussion
Final Essay Due

Week VII
June 25
Student Class Presentations.
Final Essay Returned (if possible)