Apocalyptic Visions

posted in

Fall semester

Elective

Probably since the human mind was first able to think in the future tense, we’ve speculated about end times. Poets and storytellers have long pondered the possible causes and consequences of the apocalypse. Our daily news includes warnings about global warming, near-miss asteroids, and global pandemics. How long can humanity hang on, and what will our departure reveal about our humanity itself? In this course, we’ll take a look at the most important apocalyptic text, the Revelation of the future granted to St. John in the isle of Patmos, and then zip ahead to consider the work of later writers. Will the world end as Robert Frost imagines, in fire or ice; as T.S Eliot suggests, not with a bang, but a whimper; or as Samuel Becket fears, with most of us stuffed into trash cans from which we look out through smudged windows upon a bleak, blasted landscape?

Units

Unit	Essential Questions	Habits Of Mind	Content	Skills and Processes	Assessment	Resources	Multicultural Dimension	Integrated Learning
Apocalyptic Visions	How can we begin to explain the enduring human fascination with end times? In what different ways do literary visionaries imagine the extinction of mankind and the destruction of the planet? Similarly, how do they envision what might remain after apocalypses? What do apocalyptic texts reveal about the authors and cultures that produce them? As we come to know the end of the world, can we feel fine?		Texts include "The Book of Revelation" H.G. Wells (The Time Machine) Arthur C. Clarke (Childhood’s End) Walter M. Miller, Jr. (A Canticle for Leibowitz) George R. Stewart (Earth Abides) John Wyndham (Day of the Triffids) Harlan Ellison (“A Boy and His Dog”) Samuel Beckett (Endgame) Kurt Vonnegut (Cat’s Cradle) Thomas Pynchon (“Entropy”) Russell Hoban (Riddley Walker) Cormac McCarthy (The Road) Shakespeare (King Lear) M. K. Wren’s (A Gift upon the Shore) Stephen Vincent Benet ("By the Waters of Babylon") Kubrick (Dr Strangelove) Lyric poems by Archibald Macleish, Robert Frost, T.S. Eliot, Thomas Hardy, Mary Karr, John Keats, Matthew Arnold and others	Acquire the vocabulary and skills required for literate discussion of eschatology Improve skills as writers of critical and prose Hone ability to locate, assess and incorporate outside critical voices Develop critical abilities as readers Maintain a cheery demeanor while reading, viewing, and discussing the texts Prepare and present class meetings, both in collaborative groups and as individuals Apply principles of unguided peer reviewing and metacritical self-review for both content and style Use techniques of active reading, class note-taking, and test-taking	Midterm and Final exams Three analytical essays Student-led class presentations Class participation	Departmental handouts, including: Elements of a Persuasive Essay How to Study English at Catlin Gabel MLA Citation Guidelines Style is How You Say What You Say

Unit

Essential Questions

Habits Of Mind

Content

Skills and Processes

Assessment

Resources

Multicultural Dimension

Integrated Learning

Apocalyptic Visions

How can we begin to explain the enduring human fascination with end times?

In what different ways do literary visionaries imagine the extinction of mankind and the destruction of the planet? Similarly, how do they envision what might remain after apocalypses?

What do apocalyptic texts reveal about the authors and cultures that produce them?

As we come to know the end of the world, can we feel fine?

Texts include

"The Book of Revelation"
H.G. Wells (The Time Machine)
Arthur C. Clarke (Childhood’s End)
Walter M. Miller, Jr. (A Canticle for Leibowitz)
George R. Stewart (Earth Abides)
John Wyndham (Day of the Triffids)
Harlan Ellison (“A Boy and His Dog”)
Samuel Beckett (Endgame)
Kurt Vonnegut (Cat’s Cradle)
Thomas Pynchon (“Entropy”)
Russell Hoban (Riddley Walker)
Cormac McCarthy (The Road)
Shakespeare (King Lear)
M. K. Wren’s (A Gift upon the Shore)
Stephen Vincent Benet ("By the Waters of Babylon")
Kubrick (Dr Strangelove)
Lyric poems by Archibald Macleish, Robert Frost, T.S. Eliot, Thomas Hardy, Mary Karr, John Keats, Matthew Arnold and others

Acquire the vocabulary and skills required for literate discussion of eschatology
Improve skills as writers of critical and prose
Hone ability to locate, assess and incorporate outside critical voices
Develop critical abilities as readers
Maintain a cheery demeanor while reading, viewing, and discussing the texts
Prepare and present class meetings, both in collaborative groups and as individuals
Apply principles of unguided peer reviewing and metacritical self-review for both content and style
Use techniques of active reading, class note-taking, and test-taking

Midterm and Final exams
Three analytical essays
Student-led class presentations
Class participation

Departmental handouts, including:

Elements of a Persuasive Essay
How to Study English at Catlin Gabel
MLA Citation Guidelines
Style is How You Say What You Say

Catlin Gabel

Apocalyptic Visions

Units