*The above image was created by Deidre Boyer. It is unchanged. License. Original Image.*
Concordia College – New York
ENG 330 Topics in Literary Arts: Madmen
PHI 360 Issues in Contemporary Philosophy: Madmen
‘What you call love was invented by guys like me to sell nylons’ (Don Draper).
Commerce, culture and communion according to Madmen
Fall Term 2016
Wednesdays, 6:30 pm – 9:15 pm
KAC 201
Rev. Dr. Joshua Hollmann, PhD
Assistant Professor of Theology
Chair of the Theology Department
Sieker Hall, 1st Floor
914.337.9300 ext. 2156
Text: 718.440.0079
Joshua.Hollmann@concordia-ny.edu
Office Hours: MWF 11:00 am – Noon
or by Appointment
Course Description – Fall Term 2016
This term we will focus on the critically acclaimed AMC TV series Madmen. We will endeavour an in-depth examination of Madmen and related synthetic and diachronic primary and secondary sources in media studies, advertising, literature, postwar American history, economics, psychology, philosophy, culture-gender-ethnic-racial studies and theology as contextualized through the conceptual constellation of commerce, culture and communion.
Course Website – The Work of Librarian Rebecca Fitzgerald
“If you don’t like what’s being said, change the conversation.” -Don Draper
Student Learning Outcomes
The student will become familiar with contemporary American history and culture as well as develop skills in reading, thinking, listening and speaking. She will learn the central themes and contours of Madmen. This will be done by exploring (individually) and discussing (collectively) major themes and messages of the series and related sources, as well as noting their relevance for today – and will be assessed through a substantial research essay or project and presentation, participation in seminar discussion and short written assignments.
Through class seminars, reading, research and writing, the student will begin to comprehend and critically and constructively interpret fundamental concepts and categories of Madmen and interrelated primary and secondary source material from concentric scholarly disciplines. This will be accomplished through student writing and discussion and will be assessed through participation in seminar discussion, short written assignments and a formal research paper or research project and presentation.
Methods of Instruction and Requirements
Our approach concentrates on the primary source of Madmen and select primary and secondary sources (media studies, advertising, literature, postwar American history, culture-gender-ethnic-racial studies, psychology, philosophy and theology). As insightful interpreters, we will practice a hermeneutic of sympathy while eschewing a hermeneutic of suspicion.
- Careful and thoughtful reading and viewing of all assignments prior to the class for which they are assigned. You are expected to actively engage the texts and watch the assigned episodes. Material from the reading assignments and episodes will not necessary be covered in class. It is essential that you read and view the material.
- Punctual attendance and active participation in seminar discussion and completion of written works. Credit for attendance requires the following: respectful behaviour and proper classroom decorum at all times, no improper use of computers, no cell phone use in class, no text messaging in class, no private discussions during class, no sleeping, remaining seated through the entire class period (unless a medical issue prevents this, in which case you need to share this with the professor privately). If you are persistently engaged in any of these misconducts as listed above, you will be counted as absent.
If you need to miss class due to illness or emergency, it is your responsibility to inform the professor and to gather any missed information from another student. More than one absence will significantly affect your grade.
Credit for participation requires being actively involved in seminar discussion. You may use your computer in class for the purpose of taking notes. However, be aware that surfing the net, checking email, and any other non-course related computer use during class is not only disrespectful and rude, as well as distracting to others, but will result in a significant lowering of your participation grade. You are expected to provide thoughtful contributions to seminar discussion.
- One substantial scholarly paper or research project. You will be provided with specific instructions.
Accommodations for Students with Documented Disabilities
Concordia College complies with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 as amended by the ADA Amendments Act of 2008. Students with disabilities who need special accommodations must submit documentation of the disability to the Concordia Connection Program in order for reasonable accommodations to be granted. Students are encouraged to notify their instructors and the Connection Program as soon as they determine accommodations are necessary; however, documentation will be reviewed upon receipt at any point in the semester. The Connection Program will partner with students to determine the appropriate accommodations and, in cooperation with the instructor, will work to provide all students with a fair opportunity to perform in the particular class. Specific details of the disability will remain confidential between the student and the Connection Program, unless the student chooses to disclose or there is legitimate academic need for disclosure on a case-by-case basis.
Academic Integrity and Ethics
At Concordia College – New York, we are guided in all of our work by the values of academic integrity and ethics: honesty, trust, fairness, responsibility, and respect. As a student, you are required to demonstrate these values in all of the work you do. Participating in behaviour that violates academic integrity and ethics (e.g., plagiarism, unauthorized collaboration, multiple submissions, cheating on examinations, or fabricating information) will result in your being sanctioned. Violations of Concordia College’s academic integrity and ethics policies are very serious and documentation of violations will be forwarded to the office of the Dean of Students, where records are kept for five years after the student graduates or withdraws from the College. Violations may subject you to disciplinary action including the following: receiving a failing grade on an assignment or examination; receiving a failing grade for the course; and/or suspension or expulsion from the program and/or college. Refer to the Student Guide section on Academic Integrity and Ethics for complete policies.
Evaluation
Participation in Seminar Discussion 30%
Weekly Written Works 30%
Course Research Essay/Project and Presentation 40%
Grading System / Quality Points
A = 4.0 quality points
A- = 3.7 quality points
B+ = 3.3 quality points
B = 3.0 quality points
B- = 2.7 quality points
C+ = 2.3 quality points
C = 2.0 quality points
C- = 1.7 quality points
D = 1.0 quality points
F = 0.0 quality points
A 94-100%
A- 90-93%
B+ 87-89%
B 84-86%
B- 80-83%
C+ 77-79%
C 74-76%
C- 70-73%
D+ 67-69%
D 60-68%
F 0-59%
Course Schedule
Nota bene: All readings are found on the course website under ‘Course Readings’.
Wednesday, 31 August
Introduction to the Course
Madmen, Season 1, Episodes 1-2.
Wednesday, 7 September
Watch:
Madmen, Season 1, Episodes 3-11
Read:
Plato, Meno
John Cheever, The Swimmer
The New Sentimentality
Godfrey Hodgson, ‘The American Century’ in The Cambridge Companion to Modern American Culture (Cambridge: CUP, 2006).
Write:
A short story as inspired by John Cheever’s The Swimmer and the character of Don Draper (3-4 pages).
Or:
A short paper answering the question: what is the new sentimentality and how does it relate to Madmen (3-4 pages with citations from The New Sentimentality).
Wednesday, 14 September
Watch:
Madmen, Season 2, Episodes 1-3
Read:
Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex (selections)
Betty Friedan, The Feminine Mystique, ‘The Problem That Has No Name’
Plotinus, Enneads VI, 9, ‘The Good or The One’
Write:
Essay (3 pages): Connect Don Draper and Plotinus’ ‘flight of the alone to the alone.’ How are their ‘flights’ or ascents to meaning similar? You must cite Madmen and the Plotinus reading.
Or:
Essay (3 pages): Connect the ideas of the Second Sex to Peggy Olson and Joan Holloway. How are they ‘not born, but rather become’ women? You must cite Madmen and the Simone de Beauvoir reading.
Or:
Essay (3 pages): Connect the ideas of the Feminine Mystique to Betty Draper. What is her problem that has no name? You must cite Madmen and the Friedman reading.
Wednesday, 21 September
Watch:
Madmen, Season 2, Episodes 6-11
Read:
Frank O’Hara, Meditations in an Emergency
Jean-Paul Sartre, No Exit
Allen Ginsberg, Howl
Write:
Poem (3 pages or open-ended): Compose your own syncopated version of sections II-III of Howl with detailed footnotes on how this relates to Madmen, Season 2. You may provide a sonorous soundtrack to amplify the reading of your poem. You may also make a video reading of your poem with music.
Or:
Essay (3 pages): What are Don and Betty’s existential emergencies in Season 2? Cite Sartre’s No Exit, O’Hara’s Meditations in an Emergency, and Madmen, Season 2.
Wednesday, 28 September
Watch:
Madmen, Season 3, Episodes 1-3
Read:
Edward Gibbon, History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Volume XII, Chapter LXXI
Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, The Communist Manifesto
Friedrich Nietzsche, The Twilight of the Idols
Write:
Essay (3 pages): Why is Don Draper/Dick Whitman always seeking to ‘change the conversation’ (season 3, episode 2)? How does this relate to the title of this episode (season 3, episode 2), ‘Love among the ruins’? What are the ruins in Don’s life? What are the ruins remaining in the American empire and psyche of the early 1960s? How does this relate to Edward Gibbon’s History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire? How does relate to Nietzsche’s The Twilight of the Idols (Cite Madmen, as well as the Gibbon and Nietzsche readings)?
Wednesday, 5 October
Watch:
Madmen, Season 3, Episodes 6-11
Read:
Charles Taylor, A Secular Age, ‘The Age of Authenticity’
William Shakespeare, Macbeth, Act I
Write:
Essay (3 pages): Where ‘fair is foul, and foul is fair’, how are Don and Betty like Macbeth and Lady Macbeth? How are they ‘authentic’ (according to Charles Taylor) in their labyrinth-like quests for happiness and self-fulfillment? You must cite: Macbeth, Act I; Charles Taylor, A Secular Age, ‘The Age of Authenticity’; and Madmen, Season 3.
Wednesday, 12 October
Conferences with Dr. Hollmann
Wednesday, 19 October
Watch:
Madmen, Season 4, Episodes 1-6
Read:
Bhagavad-Gita
Write:
Essay (2 pages): What is Don Draper’s dharma? Has he lost his dharma? Is he looking for his dharma? You must cite: Bhagavad-Gita, and Madmen, Season 4.
Project Prospectus (1 page): Question, Topic, Theme, Method, Sources (from course website) . . .
Wednesday, 26 October
Watch:
Madmen, Season 4, Episodes 9-12
Read:
Thomas Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, chapters V and VIII
Write:
Paradigm (2 pages): What are the paradigm-shifts on Madmen, Season 4? You must cite: The Structure of Scientific Revolutions and Madmen, Season 4.
Project Outline (2 pages)
Wednesday, 2 November
Watch:
Madmen, Season 5, Episodes 2-5
Read:
Primary Source Excerpts on the Vietnam War from A History of Our Time
Tim O’Brien, The Things They Carried (Excerpts)
Write:
In class writing exercise-assignment based on this week’s readings (45 minutes, graded).
Wednesday, 9 November
Watch:
Madmen, Season 5, Episodes 7-11
Read:
Marshal McLuhan, The Mechanical Bride
Thomas Frank, The Conquest of Cool, Chapters 1 and 4
Write:
Discussion Prompt (1 page): Who is the ‘Mechanical Bride’ on Madmen? Why? Cite Madmen, any Season and The Mechanical Bride.
Discussion Prompt (1 page): How does Madmen exhibit the conquest of cool? Cite The Conquest of Cool and Madmen, Season 5.
Wednesday, 16 November
Watch:
Madmen, Season 6, Episodes 1-4
Read:
Dante, Inferno, Cantos I-III, V, XXVI, XXXIV
Write
Essay (3 pages): How would Dante describe Don Draper? What level of hell? What story would he tell? What would be Dante’s psychological interpretation of Don Draper? Cite, Inferno and Madmen, Season 6.
Wednesday, 23 November
No Class: Happy Thanksgiving!
Wednesday, 30 November
Watch:
Madmen, Season 6, Episode 6 to Season 7, Episode 5
Read:
Jack Kerouac, On the Road, Chapter 1
Jack Kerouac, The Dharma Bums, Chapters 1-2
Write:
Questions for Discussion (1 page): Compose seven thought provoking questions based on the assigned Kerouac readings and episodes. Annotate the questions (tell me why you pose the questions).
HT: With thanks to Dr. Bolton, Librarian Travis Basso and Librarian Rebecca Fitzgerald
This syllabus, like the professor of this course, is a work in progress.
Syllabus and schedule are subject to change.
Syllabus updated, fall, 2016.
ccnymadmen 