Course Syllabus: Senior Seminar
Shiela Esten Tom Cambisios Natalie Price
sesten@mvcds.net tcambisios@mvcds.net nprice@mvcds.net
Texts and Materials
The Sparrow, Mary Doria Russell
“Morality and Happiness” and “Evil and Knowledge,” Plato
The Oresteia, Aeschylus
Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card
World Religions, Huston Smith
Man's Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl
The Oxbow Incident, Walter Van Tilburg Clark
Othello, William Shakespeare
Bedford Anthology of stories, poems, essays
Film: Schindler's List directed by Steven Spielberg.
By Friday of the first week, you will need to bring:
 | a notebook for taking notes and completing in-class work |
| a binder or large folder for storing handouts |
| index cards and a box for vocabulary |
| post-it notes for taking notes in your books (optional) |
Course Overview
The Senior Seminar is designed to be a capstone course in the life of a student at Maumee Valley Country Day School. The required full-credit course, conducted under the leadership of a scholar-teacher, is fulfillment of the school's expectation that Maumee Valley students be "enlightened, compassionate, and contributing citizens of our global community." The Seminar allows students to exhibit the mastery and integration of knowledge and learned abilities, developed around a series of themes and questions each year. As an exit experience that all twelfth-graders must assume, the Seminar brings together all seniors, without tracking, in a format in which they will become immersed in a range of readings, writing experiences, and discussions. Successful completion of the Senior Seminar, as the fourth year in English at MV, is required for graduation.
Topic for Senior Seminar 2009-2010: What is good?
Unit 1: What is "Good" in Religion and Philosophy?
| Time: Aug. 26-Oct. 2 (26 days) |
| Questions: What does it mean for an individual to be good? What do the major religions tell us (where do they agree and disagree)? What do philosophers tell us about "good" (where do they agree and disagree)? Is a good life a happy life? A moral life? What is moral law? |
| Major content: The Sparrow (Mary Doria Russell); “Morality and Happiness” and “Evil and Knowledge” (Plato); The Oresteia (Aeschylus); Ender's Game (Orson Scott Card);World Religions(Huston Smith) |
| Project: Glossary (a multi-genre piece in which each student is assigned a term relevant to the course theme and must compile a definition, etymology, an image, a story related to it, develop a creative piece -- and then do a presentation) |
Unit 2: What Drives Good Behavior?
| Time: Oct. 5-30- (18 days) |
| Areas to look at: psychology, biology, anthropology |
| Questions: How does psychology help explain people's desires to be good (or not be good)? Does biology begin to offer explanations of good behavior? How and why do people behave in groups that would differ from behavior alone? |
| Major content: Man's Search for Meaning (Frankl), Bedford Anthology |
Project: Film analysis of Schindler’s List
Unit 3: Good Behavior and the Law
| Time: Nov. 30 – Dec. 18 (15 days) |
| Major content: The Oxbow Incident |
| Questions: How do legal systems reflect beliefs about human behavior? How does the law usually try to encourage good behavior and discourage bad behavior? What are the strengths and flaws of the law when it comes to influencing behavior? |
| Project: Mock trial |
Unit 4: Individualized Units
| Time: Jan. 4 – 22 (14 days) |
Unit 5: What is Evil?
| Time: Feb 1 – March 19 (31 days) |
| Questions: How do we account for evil? Why and how do good people go wrong? Where does good go when evil arises? |
| Major content: Othello (Folger version), and Bedford Anthology |
| Project: TBA |
Senior Paper
| Continuing the tradition of the senior paper, students will be asked in the third quarter of the year to explore a question or issue and then craft an extensive paper that investigates that issue. |
Grading
Your overall semester grade will be based on the following:
| Quizzes (reading and vocabulary) – 20% |
| Writing (reaction papers, in-class writing, essay exams) – 20% |
| Projects and group work – 30% |
| Discussion, participation, and presentations – 20% |
| Semester exam – 10% |
Plagiarism
The Modern Language Association defines plagiarism as “using someone else’s ideas or phrasing and representing those ideas or phrasing as your own, either on purpose or through carelessness.” Please note that you must credit ideas, not just sentences or phrases. Whenever you research a subject, take careful notes, so you can be sure to give credit where credit is due.
Due Dates and Format
Work must be handed in at the start of class on the day it is due; late work will be dropped one full grade for each day it is late. Unless otherwise noted, all work should be typed, double-spaced, 1” margins, and in 12-point, Times New Roman font. In the upper left corner, please provide your name, the title of the course and the date.
