Readings for the Unit
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Reading
A major focus of this unit is to "stock the shelves": that is, to provide students with a wide-ranging group of texts from multiple eras and disciplines that reflect in some way on the issue at hand. Background Readings In this case, all students will read the three articles listed under "Background Reading." Two of them concern the famous conflict between Galileo and the Catholic Church over Galileo's belief in a heliocentric solar system; one will concern the efforts of the English noblewoman Mary Wortley Montagu's efforts to introduce a badly-needed smallpox vaccine to Europe. Major Readings When we turn to the major readings, the focus will be on perception and reality, a central issue in the famous "Allegory of the Cave" by the Greek philosopher Plato, an allegorical story that has influenced generations of writers (and the filmmakers of The Matrix, of course) by asking questions about reality and received truths. Background Reading
Readings Annotations
Students should make annotations on these texts or take Cornell notes on the visual media. At this point, the discussion questions with which the unit began can be asked again, this time in light of the readings, or the readings themselves can be synthesized into a larger issue or discussion. Possible Post-Reading Reflections
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Unit Prereading Questions
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Step One: Prereading Question Debate
Procedure
Opening Questions Do you agree or disagree with the statements below?
Mark Rothko, Orange and Yellow, 1956
Related Statements on Art
These statements may be used to conduct philosophical chairs if the discussion turns to this issue.
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Photograph by Christian Hopkins
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Readings and Texts on Photography
SUPPLEMENTARY TEXTS
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