Instructor: Dr. Cristiana Conti-Easton

The Great Questions Seminar is an introduction to the great questions of humankind.  This seminar is your initiation into the academic life of the college and your invitation to a seat at the table, centuries-long and shared by college and university students from all over the world.  This course welcomes you as a member of this grand community of learners through an interdisciplinary study of representative samples of literature, art, mathematics, and music of various periods and cultures from prehistory to the Renaissance. It is the study of the interrelationships among the arts and how philosophies emphasize an understanding of human nature and the values of human life.  This is a discussion-based class. Unlike a lecture-based class where students listen to the professor talk, take notes and have an opportunity to ask questions, this discussion-based class puts you in the driver’s seat. In this class your professor’s job is to help direct and encourage class discussion, not to lecture. In this classroom you are responsible for your own learning; your professor is here to help. You should view your professor in this class as a partner on this exciting academic journey. We will be learning and growing together.  

● Class Participation/Discussions — 30% 

● 3 Study Question Assignments — 30% 

● 3 Making Connections — 30 % 

● 12 Journal Posts — 10% 

A note on translations: The editions and ISBNs listed below are strongly recommended. The course materials and corresponding assignment instructions are designed to align with the editions listed as “required” by the ACC bookstore. If you use a different edition from any of these, you should expect to have to adjust your approach to match the syllabus expectations.

Homer’s Odyssey 

Translated by: Emily Wilson  

Publisher: Norton  

ISBN: 9780393356250  

The Odyssey is Homer’s epic poem of Odysseus’ journey home after 10 years of war in Troy. We will follow along on Odysseus’ epic journey, all the while analyzing his goal, the factors that motivate him to undertake such a journey, and the ways in which he is able to keep going even in the face of temptations and obstacles. Throughout our discussions, you will be encouraged to reflect on your own educational journey in a similar light. This story has inspired men and women for the past 3,000 years to set high goals for themselves and develop a plan to achieve them. It has helped countless people see that even when one suffers detours and setbacks like Odysseus, reaching one’s goals is still possible.  

Plato’s Meno 

Translated by: GMA Grube 

Publisher: Hackett 

ISBN: 9780915144242  

Plato’s Meno deals with the timeless struggle of how to learn something new. Sometimes people think that if they don’t understand something right away that it is just not in them to learn it. They may say something like, “I’m not a math person” or “I’m not smart enough” and then give up on trying. In the Meno, Socrates confronts a boy who has a similar reaction when working on a difficult mathematical problem and gets him to overcome his false assumption that he cannot learn by guiding him through the process of solving it. After a discussion with Socrates, the boy experiences a shift in mindset from assuming he is not intelligent enough to solve the problem to realizing the solution was in him all along, and that by engaging with the problem and persisting in the face of uncertainty he could indeed unlock the knowledge needed to find the solution.  Throughout the text, Plato challenges us to think about our thinking. How do we know when we know something? How do we know when we still need to do more work before we can know it? In the Meno, Socrates teaches that all real learning begins when we recognize that we don’t know. 

Euclid’s Elements 

Euclid’s Elements Book One with Questions 

By Dana Densmore 

Publisher: Green Cat Press 

ISBN: 9781888009460  

Euclid’s text is a model for how to think clearly and logically. Through the study and demonstration of his geometrical proofs, we will learn the structure of logical arguments and what it means to prove something. This text will help us apply principles of metacognition to our studies by introducing us to the experience of what it is like to really know something. After you understand an entire proof of Euclid’s, you will feel what it is like to really know that something is true. His proofs provide a window onto the beauty of truth and will inspire us to want to open it further. Studying this text will provide you with a benchmark by which you can judge how well you know other things.  You should ask yourself about future topics of study, “is this as clear to me as a Euclid proof?”  Applying this question is a great way to gauge how well you understand a thing.  

The Heart of Chinese Poetry: Fifty-Seven of the Best Traditional Chinese Poems in a Dual-Language Edition 

Translated and edited by Greg Whincup 

Publisher: Anchor; First Edition (September 16, 1987)  

ISBN: 038523967X 

These selections of Chinese poems represent over 1,000 years of poetic tradition in China. According to Prof. Greg Whincup, “Poetry is the heart of Chinese culture. Inasmuch as we are all members of one human race, Chinese culture is our culture. The heart of Chinese poetry beats in us, too.”  Through these readings, you will learn not just about Chinese poetry but also about the culture, history and language of China, whose soul is poetry. 

Additional Required Readings  

Additional required selected readings for Unit 2 on Creation and Unit 3 on Devotion and Passion are available on Blackboard. They are in .pdf format. 

This course is divided into three units:

• Unit 1: Adversity, Struggle and Joy

• Unit 2: The Human Search for Truth, Part 1 (Creation and Devotion)

• Unit 3: The Human Search for Truth, Part 2 (Passion) 

Course Rationale  

The study of the humanities from a comparative and interdisciplinary perspective affords the student the opportunity not only to acquire a deeper appreciation of particular works of art but also to gain a larger perspective on the work of art as an expression of the human spirit in a particular time and place. 

Course Objectives/Outcomes 

As a result of having taken this course, students will be able to:

1. Identify a variety of significant works of art from various times and places in human history.

2. Analyze works of art within their cultural context. 

3. Evaluate the relationship between the arts and human values. 

As a result of having taken this course, students will be able to:  

1. Set goals to support personal motivation and achievement. 

2. Adopt a growth mindset toward personal education and career goals which fosters hard work, grit, a desire for continual improvements, and persistence in the face of failure. 3. Distinguish between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and examine how intrinsic motivation encourages lifelong learning. 

4. Apply principles of metacognition to increase self-awareness of the learning process and personal strengths and weaknesses as a learner. 

5. Enhance emotional intelligence, thereby improving interpersonal, leadership, and self-management skills. 

General Education Objectives/Outcomes 

As a result of having taken this course, students will be able to: 

1. Communication Skills: Develop, interpret, and express ideas and information through written, oral, and visual communication that is adapted to purpose, structure, audience, and medium. 2. Critical Thinking Skills: Gather, analyze, synthesize, evaluate, and apply information for the purposes of innovation, inquiry, and creative thinking. 

3. Personal Responsibility: Identify and apply ethical principles and practices to decision-making by connecting choices, actions, and consequences. 

4. Social Responsibility (Civic and Cultural Awareness): Analyze differences and commonalities among peoples, ideas, aesthetic traditions, and cultural practices to include intercultural competence, knowledge of civic responsibility, and the ability to engage effectively in regional, national, and global communities.