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Apr 30, 2024
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2021-2022 Hill Book (Class of 2025) [ARCHIVED HILL BOOK]
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ENG 100/155 - The Mirror of Friendship (Core/First-Year Seminar)Three or Four Credits
Fall 2018
“Without friends,” wrote Aristotle, “no one would choose to live, though he had all other goods.” For the Greek philosopher, in fact, friendship was a higher value than justice and one of the purest forms of love. Oscar Wilde, with tongue in cheek, had a somewhat different take: “Friendship is far more tragic than love. It lasts longer.” In this course we will examine the philosophy and literature of friendship from the ancient world to the contemporary era of social-media friending. We’ll look at friendship in its many hues: from the innocent relationships of childhood and the intensities of adolescent bonds to friendships that cross over into romantic love and friendships that spiral into dependency, rivalry, obsession, and betrayal.
As we gaze into what Aristotle called the mirror that friends hold up for one another, we will also examine what the border-crossing power of friendship shows us about race, class, gender, and sexuality. Authors we will consider may include: Aristotle, Cicero, Michel de Montaigne, Francis Bacon, William Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde, David Mitchell, Achy Obejas, ZZ Packer, Junot Diaz, Sherman Alexie, and Mohsin Hamid.
Frequent writing assignments will ask you to explore a variety of kinds of writing, such as “quotes and notes” annotations, blog posts, personal essays, and formal critical analysis. Special attention will be paid to developing basic writing and composition skills with an emphasis on formulating clear and persuasive arguments.
Prerequisite(s)/Restriction(s): ENG 155 is a First-Year Seminar and open to First-Year Students only.
General Education Attribute(s): ENG 100, for 3-credits, fulfills the Literature Cornerstone.
ENG 155, for 4-credits, fulfills the First-Year Seminar and Literature Cornerstone.
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