A Matter of Time
College Course 2
Winter 1999
Dwight Lahr and Beatriz Pastor
Final Exam
In six pages, with one-inch margins, and in 12-point Times font, double-spaced, write a paper on one of the following topics. Hand in your written essay by 10:00 a.m. on Friday, March 12. Take it to Dwight Lahr's office, 410 Bradley.
Topic 1:
Time, the visual arts, and math/science: How is time inscribed in Western art? How is it represented in art works from classical Greece, the Renaissance, and the 20th century? Analyze specific art works from each period and compare/contrast mathematical/scientific conceptualizations in each period discussing both mathematical and philosophical implications.
Content (40%)
• Answer the question fully by selecting the best combination and number of central ideas. In developing your argument, draw on the concepts with specific quotes and citations as they appear in:
- 5th Century BC pottery or the Knossos calendar ____
- 15th century agricultural calendar and Flemish miniature ____
- 20th century (Picasso, Duchamp, Metzinger, Dali) ____
- Math Notes ____
- Pastor's Lectures ____
(Use images from the c2w99 website or find your own.)
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Topic 2
There seems to be no place where the [two] cultures meet. … The clashing point of two subjects, two disciplines, two cultures--of two galaxies, so far as that goes--ought to produce creative chances. In the history of mental activity that has been where some of the break-throughs came. The chances are there now. But they are, as it were, in a vacuum, because those in the two cultures can't talk to each other. It is bizarre how very little of 20th century science has been assimilated into 20th century art. … It [science] has got to be assimilated along with, and as part and parcel of, the whole of our mental experience, and used as naturally as the rest.
How would you argue for or against this point of view based on the lectures, discussions, and reading materials of the course?
Content (40%)
• Answer the question fully by selecting the best combination and number of central ideas. In developing your argument, be sure to discuss at least the following turning points in Western tradition with specific quotes and citations as they appear in:
- Descartes ____
- Einstein (Math Notes) ____
- Cubism (Pastor's Lectures) ____
- One Hundred Years of Solitude ____
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Topic 3:
Literature and math/science: Develop an essay on tampering with time in literature, and using time to challenge reality. Discuss the mathematical and philosophical references, and the parallel developments in math/science.
Content (40%)
• Answer the question fully by selecting the best combination and number of central ideas. In developing your argument, draw on the concepts with specific quotes and citations as they appear in:
- The Wolf Man ____
- Borges's Short Stories ____
- Cortázar's Short Stories ____
- One Hundred Years of Solitude ____
- Math Notes ____
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Discussion Sessions
The Teaching Assistants will be conducting four hour-long discussion sessions for the purpose of reviewing course material and helping you answer questions you may have. These sessions will take place on Tuesday, March 2 and on Thursday, March 4 in Filene. The sessions will occur on both days from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. and from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. Attend whichever you like.
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Writing Style Guidelines
(repeating a critique based on common problems identified earlier in the term)
* Always proofread.
* Citations: most of you are not using the correct format for citations. All direct quotations and paraphrases must be followed by a citation. Instructions for how to cite everything from poems to class lectures to information off the web (yes, all must be cited) is available in the booklet "Sources: Their Use and Acknowledgment," which you received at the beginning of your first year here. If you no longer have this book, the same information is available on the web at www.darmouth.edu/~sources. Remember that, if you want to save space in your paper, you can use footnotes instead of the more familiar parenthetical notations. Footnotes and bibliographies can appear on a separate page from your essay.
Although we have been lenient about citations in previous assignments, we expect you to cite correctly from now on, and you will be penalized if you fail to do so. Carelessness is unacceptable.
* Thesis statements. Many of you are still having trouble with your theses. A thesis should be well-developed and specific. It should provide a controlling idea/argument that guides the rest of the essay. A thesis like "Although the concepts of infinity, immortality, and eternity have many similarities, they are also all different" (many of you used some variation of this for your thesis in the midterm) is too vague and general to give your paper direction and punch. Where will you go from here? What will your paper's structure be? What is the idea behind your paper? Your thesis statement should give the reader some idea of these things.
A better thesis would say something like: "Although the concepts of infinity, immortality, and eternity all deal with limitlessness, infinity is ... whereas eternity ... Immortality relates to both because ..." A statement like this implies a structure for the rest of the paper, and it makes it easier to discuss the readings because you know what you have to use them to prove.
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Guidelines for Written Exercises: Key to Grading
Style (20%) Total Style ____
• Clean grammar, correct spelling (5) ____
• Organization (5) ____
• Clarity (5) ____
• Conciseness (5) ____
Structure and Development (40%) Total S&D ____
• Engage: Make use of class notes and readings. Do not simply cite; try to engage them. (10) ____
• Synthesize: Aim to synthesize mathematical and cultural concepts. (10) ____
• Reason: Use clear logic to formulate the argument. (20) ____
Content (40%) Total Content ____
• Answer the question fully by selecting the best combination and number of central ideas. In developing your argument, draw on the concepts with specific quotes and citations as they appear in (put check if present):
- See specific list under each topic above.
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Academic Honor Principle
On written assignments, including exams: Feel free to brainstorm with fellow students, Teaching Assistants, or your instructors. However, when you sit down to write your responses or your paper, you must do so on your own and in your own words. The end result is that we expect written responses and papers to be unique pieces of writing. No exchanges of electronic files are permitted.