Forbidden Knowledge: course syllabus

Forbidden Knowledge

Instructor:  Charles W. Reick
An OLLI-USF course
Fall, 2012

Introduction:

The western literary motif of the quest for and consequences of obtaining forbidden knowledge is as old as the story of Genesis and as new as Jurassic Park and all of its sequels and imitators. This commonly tragic theme is the thematic centerpiece of many literary classics including Aeschylus’ Prometheus Bound, Christopher Marlowe’s Dr. Faustus, and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. The concept of forbidden knowledge is unavoidably linked to the classical concepts of hubris (over-reaching pride) and nemesis (divine retribution). The protagonist, the archetypal over-reacher, is more than the common man, but less than the gods. His quest for knowledge is sometimes motivated by the goal of improving the lot of his fellow man and sometimes by his need to transcend his mortal nature, to become god-like and wield god-like power. Once the goal of the quest is achieved, there is inevitably a price to be paid.

This course is intended to familiarize the learner with the archetypal pattern of the mythological quest and how it is applied to man’s quest for knowledge and progress. It asks the question: “Are there some things mankind is not meant to know?” and if so, who or what sets the limits? Is the archetypal quester for knowledge a heroic benefactor of mankind or a rebellious over-reacher intruding on the proper realms of the divine? Does progress always come at a price and when is the price too high? We will examine how some of the West’s most popular literary artists have repeatedly responded to these philosophical conundrums during historical periods of rapid scientific expansion and achievement, and explore how their cautionary tales throw a cloud of uncertainty over the general perception of progress.

Objectives:

1. Identify recurring literary patterns found in western literature concerned with the quest for and achievement of forbidden knowledge. Using the assigned readings as guideposts, describe how these patterns both recur and evolve as science expands the limits of knowledge and achieves new technological accomplishments from ancient times through to modern history.

2. Address the following questions:

     a. Is there such a thing as “forbidden knowledge?” If so, who    forbids it and why? Are they correct in forbidding it? If not, should there be limits set on scientific exploration? Why or why not?

     b. Are there always negative consequences of advancing knowledge? Who is to blame for unexpected negative consequences: the scientist or investigator who makes a discovery or those who use and benefit from the discovery?

3. Describe how the quest for forbidden knowledge in western literature fits within the context of heroic quest mythology studied by Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell.

Topical Outline:

Week 1: In the beginning…
     • What is knowledge?
     • A trip to Jurassic Park: Science Gone Wild

Week 2: Inherit the Wind: the film

Week 3: Belief vs. Truth
     • Galileo vs the Church    
     • The garden of Eden and Paradise Lost  
     • Darwin vs the State of Tennessee
  
Week 4: The archetypal over-reacher
     • Prometheus: Hesiod and Aeschylus
     • Dr. Faustus

Week 5: Drs. Frankenstein, Jekyll and Moreau
     • The Age of Enlightenment and the Romantic Revolt

Week 6: The Dark Quest
     • Euripides, The Bacchantes
     • Hawthorne, Young Goodman Brown

Week 7: The Oedipus variation
     • Sophocles, Oedipus Rex
     • Stephen King, The Dead Zone

Teaching Methodology:

The course will combine lecture with respectful discussion based upon directed readings.

Readings:

• Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee, Inherit the Wind
     o http://www.scribd.com/doc/70232659/Inherit-the-Wind-Script

• Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound
     o http://classics.mit.edu/Aeschylus/prometheus.html

• Hesiod, The Theogony
     o http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/hesiod/theogony.htm

• Hesiod, Works and Days

     o http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/hesiod/works.htm

• The Bible, King James Version, Genesis, 2-3, 11
     o http://www.sacred-texts.com/bib/kjv/gen002.htm

• John Milton, Paradise Lost

 http://www.dartmouth.edu/~milton/reading_room/pl/book_1/index.shtml

• Christopher Marlowe, The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus      o http://www.classic-literature.co.uk/british-authors/16th-century/christopher-marlowe/the-tragical-history-of-doctor-faustus/

• Mary Shelley, Frankenstein

     o http://www.literature.org/authors/shelley-mary/frankenstein/

• Robert Lewis Stevenson, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
     o http://www.online-literature.com/stevenson/jekyllhyde/1/

• H. G. Wells, The Island of Dr. Moreau
     o http://www.online-literature.com/wellshg/doctormoreau/

• Euripides, The Bacchantes
     o http://classics.mit.edu/Euripides/bacchan.html

• Nathaniel Hawthorne, Young Goodman Brown
     o http://www.online-literature.com/poe/158/

• Sophocles, Oedipus Rex
     o http://classics.mit.edu/Sophocles/oedipus.html

• Stephen King, The Dead Zone
     o Any edition