ENGLC 1301—The Classical Tradition

University of St. Thomas, Fall 2023

Instructor: Dr. Leta Sundet

Email: leta.sundet@stthom.edu
Office Hours: Malloy 236, M/W 1-2:30 and F 12:15-1:15 or by appointment

Course Description and Purpose

The Classical Tradition lays the foundation for the rest of the core curriculum in English through
a writing-intensive introduction to some of the most beautiful and life-altering poems and
philosophical works of the Classical world. Students will engage primary texts in a manner that
hones their capacity to ask good questions, to interpret carefully, to develop the interior life, and
to experience reality in all of its multi-layered richness, realizing the relationship of beauty and
ugliness to truth and falsity. Concluding with St. Augustine’s Confessions, the course immerses
students in the ties and tension that exist between Christian revelation and classical culture.

This is a literature course, but first and foremost it is a course in being human. In this class, we
will tackle the uniquely human questions, the questions that make us more human the more we
ask them: who are we, and why are we hear? But this class doesn’t approach these questions in
an abstract, philosophical way; rather, we tackle these questions by watching individual men and
women wrestle with them in their specific cases, in their particular literary circumstances.
Through Odysseus and Penelope, Aeneas and Dido, Oedipus, Job, and St. Augustine, we
consider questions like, What does it mean to be a truly great human being? How does the reality
of death affect human greatness? What kind of relationship can human beings have with the
divine? What might impede that relationship? What sort of relationship does the divine want to
have with humanity? Why do we suffer? Does suffering have any meaning, and if so, what gives
it meaning? What is wisdom, and where does it come from? Is life ultimately tragic? Comic?
Something else?
In the process of pursuing these questions, students will learn to read well and closely. This
course views reading and writing as two halves of the same endeavor. Reading is a means of
honing our capacity to inquire, to interpret, to develop the interior life, and to experience reality
in all of its multi-layered richness. Writing, likewise, is a process of discovery in which one
comes to terms with a text and one’s own thinking about it in new and deep ways; we haven’t
truly honed our thinking until we’ve endeavored to articulate it, to communicate it to another
person. Appropriately, in this course that begins with Odysseus the famous rhetorician,
wordsmith—and liar—we will conclude the semester by considering the powers and pitfalls of
language through Pieper’s Abuse of Language, Abuse of Power and Alfred Lord Tennyson’s
poem Ulysses.

Required Texts

Be sure to purchase physical copies and these particular editions; e-texts are not acceptable.

 The Odyssey, Homer, Trans. Robert Fagles

o 978-0140268867
 The Three Theban Plays, Sophocles, Trans. Robert Fagles
o 978-0140444254
 The Aeneid, Virgil, Trans. Robert Fagles
o 978-0143105138
 Abuse of Language Abuse of Power, Pieper
o 978-0898703627
 The Confessions, St. Augustine, Trans. Henry Chadwick
o 978-0199537822

Requirements

The final grade will be formulated in roughly the following way:

 Participation and Commonplace Book: 20%

 Reading Quizzes: 10%
 Study Question Essays: 40%
 In-class Essays and Revision: 20%
 Final exam: 10%

Grading Scale:
A=excellent; B=good; C=satisfactory; D=deficient; F=failure to meet standards.
A 94-100; A- 90-93; B+ 88-89; B 84-87; B- 80-83; C+ 77-79; C 73-76; C- 70-72; D+ 67-69; D
63-66; D- 60-62; F 0-59

Attendance and Participation: Show up to every class. Make yourself seen and heard.

Reading Quizzes: Expect regular quizzes (short answer and quote ID) over class reading.
Study Question Essays (200-400 words – excluding quotations): During most weeks, you will
respond to one of two provided study questions in a short essay. These essays should argue for a
central thesis, use at least two quotations from the text as evidence, be carefully proofread, and
employ MLA formatting. They should be submitted in class and to Blackboard prior to class.

Suggested Writing Process for essays:

1. Read the provided study questions before beginning your reading. As you read, bracket
any lines or passages that seem potentially significant for answering the study questions
and put the annotation “SQ” next to the bracketed text.
2. Once you have completed the reading and are ready to write the essay, choose one of the
prompts and write down your initial, instinctive thoughts in response to the question.
3. Then, reread the sections you marked as you were reading. Determine if they support
your initial responses or not. If not, revise your responses to better reflect what the text is
actually showing.
4. Articulate a single-sentence thesis statement that answers the study question(s). Choose at
least two crucial quotations from the text that provide evidence for that thesis.
5. Compose your essay. After composing your first draft, let it sit for an hour while you do
something else. Return to your essay, reread it, and revise. Pay special attention to issues
of clarity.

In-class Essays: You will compose two in-class essays. These exercises are meant to test your
ability to think and write within a time limit and without the assistance of a computer. If that
thought scares you, then it means that you will benefit greatly from this exercise. Be sure to have
pen/pencil and paper with you on these days. I expect legible handwriting.

Essay Revision: For the semester’s final project, you will choose one of your in-class essays to
revise into a polished essay.

Commonplace Book: A commonplace book is a place to record and compile quotations that you
do not wish to forget, that you wish to return to and mull over (and perhaps memorize), that you
wish to have at your disposal, that you wish to “befriend.” You will be keeping a commonplace
book this semester. While you should make this commonplace book your own and are free to
record quotations from anywhere your like (class lectures, reading you are doing outside class,
your friends’ particularly eloquent moments, etc.), you are required to use your commonplace
book to record at least two quotations from the reading you do for each class: what you
consider 1) the most important sentence(s) and 2) your favorite sentence(s). Students should
be prepared to submit the commonplace book at the end of the course when it may take the form
of a printed Word document or of an actual notebook or journal. However, students must have
their two commonplaces prepared for each class and will regularly be asked to share and
explain their selections.

Ground Rules

Participation
Come to class prepared. This course involves substantial, challenging reading—but if you
embrace the challenge, it will grow easier and reward you enormously. These texts must be
experienced—I urge you not to consult online plot summaries, either in preparation for class or
for your essays, as these inevitably limit your understanding. If you find yourself overwhelmed
by the reading, speak to your instructor about alternative means of support. To assist you in
reading productively and to prepare you to participate well in class, you will be given reading
questions to consider for each class reading.

Classroom Etiquette
Be a good citizen of the classroom. Laptops are not permitted; you are expected to take good
notes by hand. You should silence your phone when you enter the classroom, and never use it
unless explicitly instructed to (as you may be from time to time). If you persist in checking/using
your phone during class, you will be asked to leave and counted absent for that day as attention
to classroom activities and showing respect for your colleagues are part of being present. For this
same reason, all wearable devices should be put away for the duration of class, and earbuds must
be removed. Respect professor and fellow students by waiting to pack up belongings until class
is dismissed.

Late Work
Late work will not be accepted. Deadline extensions may be requested no later than 48 hours
prior to the assignment due date/time. To be clear, late work will be awarded a true F (0%),
but in acknowledgment of the fact that we are all only human, late work submitted within
(exactly) one week of the due date will be awarded a pseudo-F (50%).

Tardiness
Any student who shows up after the start of class will be considered tardy. Two citations for
tardiness will constitute one absence. Students who show up more than 15 minutes late for class
—or are absent from the classroom for more than 15 min. during class—will be considered
absent for the day.

Absence Policy
Should you miss the equivalent of five class meetings, you will fail the course. In case of an
emergency or unavoidable problem, you should contact me as soon as possible, preferably ahead
of time—just as you would a boss for a job. When you must miss a class, you are responsible
for getting notes and assignments from a classmate.

Course Texts
It is essential that you purchase the editions of the texts listed under Required Texts so that we
are all on the same page—literally. After the first week of classes, students who show up to
class without the correct text for the day will be asked to leave and counted absent. Short
readings provided via Blackboard should be printed and brought to class (it's much cheaper to
print 20 pages from a textbook than it is to buy the whole book!) Get into the habit, if you are not
already, of marking up your book—as Mortimer Adler says, it is “not an act of mutilation but
of love.”

Essay Submission
All assignments should follow MLA format (9th edition). See the Purdue OWL for information
on MLA format.

Academic Dishonesty Statement:

In accordance with the moral and academic standards of the University of St. Thomas, academic
dishonesty of any kind will not be tolerated. Academic dishonesty includes plagiarism (the
appropriation of passages from the writing of another as one’s own), collusion (improper
collaboration with another in preparation of notes, term papers, or other written work), cheating
(giving or receiving, offering or soliciting information, or using illicit material in an examination
or quiz), or fabrication of sources used in a paper and included in its bibliography. It also
includes appropriating another’s ideas, theories, or interpretation as one’s own without proper
attribution. Stern disciplinary action will be taken against any student who is found guilty of
academic dishonesty, and penalties levied will be clearly stated in each course syllabus.

Claiming as your own the words or ideas of others is a grave offense against the university
community. Students who violate the honor pledge will at a minimum receive a zero on the
plagiarized assignment and may receive an F for the course. The academic dean and the dean of
students will be notified and further disciplinary action may be pursued. Using AI software is an
egregious form of cheating on par with paying someone to write your essays for you and will
face the same penalties. Be aware that use of your own work that was produced and/or
submitted for another class constitutes self-plagiarism. If you are ever uncertain about
plagiarism or whether consulting others is OK, please come talk to me.

Statement on Reasonable Accommodations for Students with Disabilities:

University of St. Thomas-Houston is committed to making reasonable accommodations to assist
individuals with disabilities in reaching their academic potential. If you have a disability which
may impact your performance, attendance, or grades in this course and require accommodations,
you must first register with the Office of Counseling and Disability Services Disability Services |
University of St. Thomas Houston . Disability Services is responsible for coordinating classroom
accommodations and other services for students with disabilities. Please note that classroom
accommodations cannot be provided prior to your instructor’s receipt of an accommodations
letter from Disability Services.

For more information about accommodations, please contact Disability Services:

Disability Services | University of St. Thomas Houston
713.525.2169
cds@stthom.edu
 Course Schedule (subject to revision with notice)

Week 1

M 8/21 Syllabus; Introduction to The Odyssey

W 8/23 Read: Lewis, “Introduction to On the Incarnation” (On Blackboard—print and

bring to class); Odyssey Books I-II

Week 2

M 8/28 Read: Odyssey, Books III-IV

Due: Study Question Essay

W 8/30 Read: Odyssey, Books V-VI

Week 3

M 9/4 LABOR DAY—NO CLASS

W 9/6 Read: Odyssey, Books VII-VIII

Due: SQE

Week 4

M 9/11 Read: Odyssey Books IX-X

W 9/13 Read: Odyssey Books XI-XII

Due: SQE

Week 5

M 9/18 Read: Odyssey Books XIII-XV

W 9/20 Read: Odyssey Books XVI-XVIII

Due: SQE

Week 6
M 9/25 Read: Odyssey Books XX-XXII

W 9/27 Read: Odyssey Books XXIII-XXIV

Week 7

M 10/2 In-Class Essay 1

W 10/4 Final Odyssey Discussion

Week 8

M 10/9 MIDTERM BREAK—NO CLASS

W 10/11 Read: Oedipus Rex Part 1

Week 9

M 10/16 Read: Oedipus Rex Part 2

Due: SQE

W 10/18 Read: Oedipus at Colonus Part 1

Week 10

M 10/23 Read: Oedipus at Colonus Part 2

W 10/25 Read: Job

Due: SQE

Week 11

M 10/30 Read: Aeneid Books I-II

W 11/1 Read: Aeneid Books III-IV

Week 12
M 11/6 Read: Aeneid Book VI; T. S. Eliot, “Virgil and the Christian World” (On
Blackboard—print and bring to class)

W 11/8 In-Class Essay 2

Week 13

M 11/13 Read: Confessions Book I

W 11/15 Read: Confessions Books II-III

Week 14

M 11/20 Read: Confessions Book VII

Due: SQE

W 11/22 THANKSGIVING BREAK—NO CLASS

Week 15

M 11/27 Read: Confessions Book VIII

W 11/29 Read: Abuse of Language, Abuse of Power (pp. 7-24)

Due: SQE

Week 16

M 12/4 Read: Abuse of Language, Abuse of Power (pp. 25-40); Tennyson, Ulysses

Final: TBA; Essay Revision Due