The New School of Athens
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the ten Great Ideas?
Heroes
Human Nature
God
Good and Evil
Freedom and Liberty
The Relationship between the Particular and the Universal
Truth and Knowledge
The Relationship between the Individual and Society
Government and Authority
Justice
What is a polyfocal conspectus?
"Polyfocal conspectus is a pretentious name for what may appear at first glance to be a simple procedure. Its unit consists of alternation of mastery of a view-affording doctrine with thorough going involvement in bringing the doctrine to bear as a revealing lens on real, simulated, or reported instances of its subject matter…It is concerned with imparting to students a measure of inclination toward and competence for examining educational situations and problems in more than one set of terms… It will convey an ability (and its accompanying habit) to choose different instruments on different occasions, instruments appropriate to the practical situation they confront. - Joseph Schwab
A polyfocal conspectus is looking at the actions of a character through the lens of a different reading. This is what Dr. Gose wants you to do on your essays when he asks you to 'analyze' a certain character. For example, if he asked you to analyze Medea, you would use a different text that you read in Great Books to explain her actions. The essay prompt may be about any of the characters from any of the course readings (big or small) and you are able to use any reading (big or small) to explain their actions.
I receive the prompt for an essay, where do I start?
The first step to writing your essay is identifying a contradiction within the character's actions. This could be something that caught your attention when you were reading since it seemed 'out of character'. Or, it could be a time when a character acting in a way that was contradictory to their previous actions, what it expected of them, or something that they said earlier in the text. Once you identify this contradiction, you want to use the polyfocal conspectus to explain why the character acted in the way that they did. This requires you to think through the class's readings and apply whichever best makes your point. Remember, you don't want to have any judgement or opinions within your essay. You shouldn't be writing about what they 'should've' done. You are simply trying to explain the character's actions in their own terms. And don't forget to use lots of quotes!
How is your final grade for this class determined?
The first thing to know is that it is extremely rare for a student to get under an 80% in one of Dr. Gose's Great Books class. He gives students an 80% for just doing the readings, coming to class, and participating. Basically, if you do the bare minimum, you'll get an 80%. Where your final grade falls between that and an A depends on the essays written in class. Dr. Gose provides feedback on the essays and is always willing to meet one-on-one with students to discuss areas of improvement. However, he does not assign point values or percentages to your essays. Your final grade is based on what Dr. Gose thinks you earned based on the cumulation of all of your essays written. As a student, it can be scary not having a concrete measurement of your success in the class, or to not be able to check Courses and see how many points you earned on a certain essay. But Dr. Gose will give you indications throughout the semester of what he thinks of your essays, and is always available to discuss them.
What GE requirements can this class waive?
Overall, the four semesters of the Great Books Colloquium will count for five semesters worth of GE requirements. First, it will count as your First Year Seminar. Note that Great Books I will fill this requirement even if you do not complete the entire four-semester sequence. Next, it can count for two courses from 'Group A'. Group A includes: ENG101, an upper division literature course, and one course in the Humanities sequence (HUM111, HUM212, or HUM313). Finally, Great Books counts for two courses from Group B. Group B includes: REL301, COM180, POSC104, and SOC200. It's worth mentioning that these requirements are not 100% strict, and the classes that Great Books counts for can be adjusted a little at the discretion of administration.
How is this class different from a literature class?
In this class, you won't be asked to memorize the names and traits of characters, or recall specific location names or obscure events of the book. You won't necessarily be analyzing the hidden metaphors or focusing on the literary devices that the author uses. Instead, you'll be discussing the reading in terms of the 10 Great Ideas, as well as its parallels to current events and your own life. In each work, you'll be able to find a defining sentence or passage that captures the essence of what the author was trying to convey in this work. Also, you won't have essays that you work on on your own time. All of the essays are timed, which challenges your ability to quickly make comparisons between works and find quotes.
How should I annotate and stay organized while reading the texts?
One annotation strategy that many students use is 'taking notes on their notes'. This means that as they read and annotate the book, they keep separate and concise notes about their annotations. For example, they would keep a note where they list out all of the page numbers where God (or any other Great Idea) shows up. In addition to the page number, they may include a few words to help them remember what that quote was about. This makes it very easy to find quotes while trying to write an essay, opposed to having to flip through the entire book to find your quotes. The way you annotate is also important, such as underlining important quotes, putting a star next to very important quotes, and putting multiple stars next to SUPER important quotes. Others use page markers that are color-coded according to which Great Ideas are on that page, or make a collaborative quote log with their entire class. See 'How to Mark a Book' by Mortimer Adler to the Resources page for further tips. No matter which method you use, it's just important that you are able to find your quotes quickly during class or a timed essay.
Help, I'm still lost!
No worries! This class is unlike any class you've ever taken before, and more than likely unlike any other class you'll ever take again. For additional help or any unanswered questions, please feel free to reach out to Lauren Kinder (lauren.kinder@pepperdine.edu) or Mariam Pavez (mariam.pavez@pepperdine.edu), Dr. Gose's TAs for the 21-22 academic year.