PAR 400 Seminar

Office Hours and Contact Information

Course Concept

We will spend the semester exploring ancient, modern, and contemporary ideas about what constitutes the art of living a good life, including focus on specific maxims, practices, and goals as expressed in various traditions and authors. Our chief goal is to understand the concept of an intentional life, and to discuss critically the alternative conceptions of how best to live such a life. In addition to reading and discussing ideas about the art of living from Socrates to the present, each student will keep a blog on their reflections, and read and present a poster on a single contemporary text on the art of living.

At the same time that we are developing our own ideas about these concepts, Dr. Diana Ashe's ENG 496 class will be reading many of the same texts from a literary perspective. To enrich our semester, our class will interact with Professor Ashe's class in several ways: through our blogs and other written work, through the poster project, and through the editing and publication process of an Art of Living 2009 chapbook, with the assistance of the Creative Writing Department's Publishing Laboratory.

Course Learning Outcomes:

• Knowledge of AOL tradition in ancient, modern and contemporary times including study of several classics (Plato, Epictetus, Montaigne, Thoreau)
• Ability to write short essays on quotes, topics, interpretations, debates and ‘spiritual exercises’ in the “art of living.”
• Ability to give a poster presentation on a topic in the AOL tradition.
• Initial formulation of personal AOL.

Course Texts

• Jerome Segal, Graceful Simplicity (selections on electronic reserve)

• Plato, Trial and Death of Socrates

• Epictetus, Art of Living

• Machiavelli, The Prince

• Balthasar Gracian, The Art of Worldly Wisdom

• Michel de Montaigne, Essays

• Henry David Thoreau, Walden

• Thich Nhat Hanh. Peace is Every Step.

Additional materials through Randall library electronic reserve (ER) and handouts.

Course Rules & Requirements: 

• Participation, including attendance (2 cut limit; after which grade pain).
• Reading: you are expected to do the assigned reading prior to class, and be prepared to participate in discussion. Lateness is rude; repeated lateness will be embarrassing!
• All work must be turned in on time. NOTE: UNCW policy discourages incompletes, except in true emergencies.
• Normal expectations on coming to class on time, respect for others, doing your own work, UNCW honor codes. Plagiarism or cheating of any kind is punishable with an F and UNCW judicial procedures. Plagiarism is copying or paraphrasing another's writing without attribution, from whatever source (including the Internet); for a clear explanation of what plagiarism is and how to avoid it, see Plagiarism. In discussion, "anything goes" but students must respect each other, even if discussion gets heated. (Philosophical dialogue presupposes the willingness of participants to be corrected if mistaken.)
• Students with special needs should contact me immediately. This includes any athletes or other students who anticipate missed classes, especially missed tests. Students must demonstrate need to miss test dates or paper deadlines, or they will be penalized.
• NOTE: No electronic equipment in class: cell phones must be turned off. Computers may not be used in class. If you take notes, do it with pen/pencil and paper. (I know this seems odd.)
• University rule: zero-tolerance for violence and harassment. For emergencies contact UNCW CARE at 962-2273, Campus Police at 962-3184, or Wilmington Police at 911.  For University or community resources visit http://uncw.edu/wrc/crisis.htm.