Course Outline: HU103 Literature and Civilization, 2011/2012, Semester 1
Recommended Texts:
- Confucius, et al. Readings of Classical Chinese Philosophy. Eds. Philip J. Ivanhoe and Bryan W. New York: Seven Bridges, 2001. Print.
- Dhammapada: the Way of Truth. Tran. Sangharakshita. UK: Windhorse. 2010. Print.
- 老子Laozi.大中华文库：老子 Library of Chinese Classics (Chinese-English): Laozi. Trans.
- Arthur Waley. annotated Fu, Huisheng傅惠生. 长沙Changsha: 湖南人民出版社和外语出版社Hunan People's Publishing House & Foreign Languages. 1999. Print.
- Lai, Karyn L. An Introduction to Chinese Philosophy. New York: Cambridge University. 2008. Print.
- Legge, James. The Chinese Classics. Vols. 6. Taibei: SMC. 1991. Print.
- Moeller, Hans-Georg. The Philosophy of the Daodejing. New York: Columbia University. 2006. Print.
- Patterson, Charles H. Cliffs Notes on the Bible. Lincoln: Cliffs Notes. 1965. Print.
- Rosen, J. Steven. Krishna's Song: A New look at the Bhagavat Gita. Westport: Praeger, 2007. Print.
- Sarada, Weragoda. Treasury of Truth: Illustrated Dhammapada. Buddha Dharma Education Association, 1993. Print.
- Shakespeare, William. Cliffs Complete Hamlet. Commented Terri Mategrano. New York: Hungry Minds, 2000. Print.
- Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Ed. Burton Raffel. New Haven and London: Yale University, 2003. Print.
- The Holy Bible. New International Version. Grand Rapids: The Zondervan, 2001. Print.
- Whaley, Katherine L. Bible Stories from the Old Testament. Fayetteville: Prep, 1999. Print.
- Yao, Xinzhong. An Introduction to Confucianism. New York: Cambridge University, 2000. Print.
Course Organization:
For the total 45 classes of the literature course, each selected book will be assigned 6 classes averagely, each starts with the introduction of the historical and cultural background. Most important parts of the literary pieces will be covered and commented. Group discussions will be encouraged. Students are supposed to read the whole story of each book by themselves so as get a clearer idea of the beauty and significance of these masterpieces.
Course Requirements:
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Allocation of Marks:
- Class participation in 24 occasions 10%
- Essay assignment (in group report) 30%
- Presentation (individual marks) 20%
- Final examination 40%
Course Objectives:
- To enable the student to apprehend the progress of philosophical civilizations occurring in Western and Eastern philosophy and literature.
- To enable the student to gain certain access to the works of some most influential religions and world-famous men of letters, and understand a variety of literary movement and genres within social, historical and culture.
- To expose the students to the Western and Eastern literature in order to enlarge their horizon on the culture of the world which influence and exert impact on the modern civilization today and to be aware of the common characteristic features.
- To train the students to develop a systematic approach towards their academic research and studies to realize the ultimate goal of self-actualization themselves
Grading:
All tests, assignments and examinations are graded as follows with grade point and numerical marks:
| Grade | Performance | Grade value | Percentage Equivalence |
| A+ | Excellent | 4.0 | 90-100 |
| A | Almost Excellent | 3.75 | 85-89 |
| A- | Fairly Excellent | 3.5 | 80-84 |
| B+ | Very Good | 3.25 | 75-79 |
| B | Good | 3.0 | 70-74 |
| B- | Fairly Good | 2.75 | 65-69 |
| C+ | Fair | 2.5 | 60-64 |
| C | Satisfactory | 2.25 | 55-59 |
| C- | Minimum Satisfactory | 2.0 | 50-54 |
| D+ | Fairly Poor | 1.5 | 40-49 |
| D | Poor | 1.0 | 30-39 |
| F | Fail | 0.0 | 29 or less |
| I | Incomplete | ||
| W | Withdrawn | ||
| WF | Withdrawn because of failure | ||
| AU | Audit | ||