Thomas Jefferson once noted, “the most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do.”  His sentiments are echoed by Blaise Pascal's postscript to a long, drawn-out missive: "I would have written a shorter letter but I didn't have the time."

Week Ten

Wednesday, June 3
     Pot luck (bring utensils, etc. along with plus food)
     Science final
     Two copies of squares--one in black and white, the other colored with green, red and black for class art project
     Be prepared to discuss three or four big ideas from the program (check learning goals on 1st page of syllabus)

Week Nine

Wednesday, May 27
     Read:  Angels in America, Part I
                 Kushner, "Reflections on Angels"
                 Zukav, “More Than Both"
                 Rosenthal, Chapter 16

     Mapping assignment:
In the Arthur Ransome chapter (You Are Here, pgs. 150-153), the author states, “details in maps can be confirmed in the texts [they illustrate].”  Create a map of Angels in America from the perspective of one character that also helps illuminate the play.  This assignment will be turned after discussion.

     Zukov questions for "More Than Both":
1. Zukav uses coherent superposition in his explanation of the polarization experiment. How is the diagonal polarizer an example of coherent superposition?
2. Either-or thinking does apparently does not work in the quantum realm. For each of the words given, write at least two additional words that extend either-or. For example, if given digital, you might list analog and quantum. Try: alive, good, love, and up.
3. An important axiom of classical logic is the law of the excluded middle: a proposition is either true or false, with nothing "in between". Zukav claims that this does not apply to reality. Do you agree or disagree? Explain.
4. Bring in any questions that you have about the transition table and the lattices.
5. Given the points that Zukav is making, is there any hope that we can actually think about reality?

     Reflective essay topic--4 pages. Due May 30:
Explain how twentieth century art provides metaphors and concepts for understanding twentieth century science. Explain how twentieth century science provides metaphors and concepts for understanding twentieth century art.

Saturday, May 30
     Read:   Zukov, “The End of Science"
                 Angels in America, Part I
                 Angels, Part II: Perestroika review
     Due:  Reflective essay (doubles as seminar paper)
     Prepare for science final
     Guest will be Katherine Harmon, author of You Are Here

Week Eight

Wednesday, May 20
     Read:  Angels in America, Part I
                 Seurat and Pointillism (handout from Saturday)
                 Sondeim/Lapine, Sunday in the Park with George
                 Zukav, “The Dance"
                 Rosenthal, Chapter 13
                 Harmon, You Are Here, Part 3

     Sunday in the Park assignment:
As you can see in the table of contents, many of the scenes are constructed as extended “songs”. Using one of the five song/scenes listed below, consider to the following questions:
• What happens in the song/scene and how does it advance the plot?
• Do you see a pattern to the lyrical structure? How might structure relate to meaning?
• In what ways does the song/scene illuminate the overall theme of the musical?

Songs/scenes:
1. “Sunday in the Park with George"
2. “Color and Light”
3. “The Day Off"
4, “Chromolume/Putting it Together”
5. ”Move On"

As we discovered on Saturday, the pages in my book do not correspond with the pages in the one we ordered for the class. So do you best to determine the pages for the aforementioned songs.

Week Seven

Saturday, May 16
     Read:   Zukov, “Particle Zoo"
                 Rosenthal, Chapters 10 &12
                 “Close Encounters: an Artist Shows that Size Affects Shape”
                 "The Art of Stephen Sondheim"
                 Sondeim/Lapine, Sunday in the Park with George
     Recommended: Art Institute of Chicago
                               Seurat's color theory

     Zukov questions for "The Particle Zoo":
1. What are some of the consequences of the discrete nature of particle characteristics?
2. According to quantum theory, "particles" do not exist. Why do physicists still use the idea that particles make tracks in bubble chambers?
3. Einstein's theories united mass and energy. How is this manifested in particle physics? In particular, what does it mean for a particle to be massless?

     Rosenthal questions for Chapters 10 & 11:
1. In what ways do polls, political and otherwise, affect our personal and national lives? Give specific examples.
2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of polling? Are polls necessary? How might the Internet change how polls are conducted?
3. Give examples of how randomness/not knowing/uncertainty can work in your favor.

     Seminar paper topic:
In Sunday in the Park with George, Zukov’s "The Particle Zoo", and the web reading, “Close Encounters: an Artist Shows that Size Affects Shape,” ideas and objects are broken down into smaller pieces. Each of these texts examines how the pieces might be put together again to make a coherent whole. Choose a short passage from Sunday in the Park and from one of the two other aforementioned texts. In two paragraphs (one on each reading), compare and contrast how this process applies.

Wednesday, May 13
     DUE: Cornell box assignment

For those who have completed one or more quarters, we’d like to see a summative project, something that captures the major themes we’ve covered during the quarters you’ve attended.  This project will take the form of a 3-dimensional map in a Cornell box.  Use the Harmon book as a reference for the possibilities of what a map can represent.  You must use major texts we’ve covered to develop a conceptual through-line that encompasses both science and the arts.

For those new to the program spring quarter, your Cornell box should follow similar guidelines but focus on one play and the science/world view of its time.

Cornell Boxes must be accompanied by a one-page paper detailing your creative and analytical process.

Week Six

Wednesday, May 6
     Read: "Postscript" to Copenhagen
                 Sondeim/Lapine, Sunday in the Park with George
                 Zukav, “General Nonsense"

     Copenhagen question:
What new light does Frayn shed on the play in the Postscript?

     Sunday in the Park topic:
Copenhagen, among other things, examines the role of the scientist in society. The same might be said of Sondheim and Lapine in regard to the artist in society. Choose one scene from Sunday in the Park that highlights this topic and be prepared to discuss.

"Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grand Jatte"
La Parade du Cirque
"La Parade.." detail

Week Five

Wednesday, April 29
     Read:  "A Brief History of Comics" (read and bring a hard copy to class)
                 Zukav, “Beginners Mind"
                 Frayn, Copenhagen                 

     Screening questions/topics for R&G Are Dead:
1.  Pay attention to the use of music.  Take notes and be prepared to discuss.
2.  In the play, a big transformation of time and space occurs as R&G arrive in  court after their encounter with player (pg. 34).  How is this handled in the film?
3.  What theatrical conventions has Stoppard employed in his staging of the players that could be produced on stage, to heighten the theatrical nature of the players?
4.  Think of the castle as a labyrinth.  How might this metaphor illuminate both the play and film.  Why did Stoppard choose to use it in the film?
5.  Formulate a question/response of your own that reveals some aspect of the play as film.

     Zukov questions:
1. Einstein's theory of relativity does not state that everything is relative. What is relative? Why is this difference so important?
2. Several important developments led to Einstein's theory of relativity. What are they and what is their significance?

Saturday, May 2
     Read:   Frayn, Copenhagen
                 Zukov, “Special Nonsense"
                 Rosenthal, Chapter 7
                 Harmon, You Are Here, Part 2 (Pgs. 65-148)

Here is Friday's review of the Godot production in New York: "Tramps for Eternity". Please take a few moments to read it. Also, check out the multimedia links--they include some excellent production photos with insights from the director in the audio slide show.

     Copenhagen questions:
1. What does Heisenberg really want from Bohr? Show evidence from the text.
2. How does Frayn use time and space dramatically as compared to Beckett?
3. Why is Margrethe important to the play?

     Zukov questions:
1. What is the connection between Maxwell's equations, ether, and the speed of light?
2. The notions of sequential and simultaneous seem so obvious that no explanation is needed or even possible. How does special relativity modify these notions?
3. What is a conservation law? What relevance does this have to modern physics?
4. Quantum physics is about the realm of the very small. Relativity is the realm of.?

     Harmon topic to consider:
As you read Part II (pgs. 65-148), be mindful of the role of memory in how these maps were created.   Also pay particular attention to “Memory Map” by Katie Davis and relate this to your own experience.

     Seminar paper topic:
1.  In what ways is uncertainty a feature of Copenhagen's structure and narrative drive?  Cite specific examples from the text. 
2.  The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle is about trade-offs: observation of one quantity makes knowledge of another related quantity uncertain.  How is this evident in the characters' interaction?  In the big ideas the play is addressing?

Week Four

Wednesday, April 22
     Read:  Harmon, You Are Here, Part 1 (up to pg. 64)
                 Rosenthal, Chapter 6
                 Zukav, “What Happens"
                 Stoppard, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead

***Please print out the following topics/questions. Refer to them when you read and bring a copy to class as reference for discussion.

     Harmon topic to consider:
Harmon states in the introduction toYou Are Here that "these are maps of the imagination, as all maps are, only more so." Choose 2 or 3 maps from the "Personal Geography" section and be prepared to discuss how they orient the reader in some territory. Focus on the difference between reading a map and reading words. Also, pay close attention to the "I, Mercator" essay.

     Stoppard questions:
1. Tom Stoppard has described his play as a marriage between the play of ideas and farce. What are some of the key ideas he is exploring? Does he mean farce literally? Can you find a scene to support his description?
2. The Player raises complex questions about the nature of illusion and the relationship of art (as represented by the theatre) to life. Be prepared to discuss.
3. How would you describe the Player's relationship to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern? Is he a benevolent or a menacing figure, or something else?

     Rosenthal questions:
1. When should we not ignore the extremely improbable? Can "extremely" be quantified?
2. Does it make sense to attempt to quantify personal "ratings" to create utility functions/expected values?

     Zukov questions:
1. On page 76, Zukav gets at the very heart of the difference between quantum and classical physics when he states that quantum physics does not explain what is going on. What might that mean?
2. What is the significance and role of the wave function?
3. Does Schrodinger's Cat make sense?

Of interest: NY Times feature on John Goodman as Pozzo in New York.

Saturday, April 25
     Read:  Zukav, “Role of I”
                 Stoppard, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead

     Due: Reflective essay -- 4 pages (doubles as seminar ticket).
Quantum mechanics departed so widely from the deterministic nature of classical physics that Albert Einstein rejected it, even though he had a role in founding quantum physics.  Discuss how quantum science subverted classical notions of causality, predictability, and certainty.  By the same token, Beckett and Stoppard (among others) have upended traditional notions of comedy and tragedy, of time and space, in the 20th century.  Use brief, relevant citations from our readings to support your writing.  Strive to find connections between the two categories.

Week Three

Wednesday, April 15
     Read:  Stoppard, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead
                 Rosenthal, Chapter 3
                 Zukav, “Living"
                 Hamlet synopsis (read the play if you can!)

     And carefully read the following handouts circulated during Week 2:
Brecht on Chaplin, Waiting for Puntila, When Cubism Fractured Art’s Delicate World and An interpretation of Lucky’s Speech before you

     Consider the following questions:
1. What are the clowning traditions or techniques that inspired Brecht and Beckett?  How did they adapt them to suit different purposes?
2. Where does Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead fit into these traditions?
3. Based on your experience, how does knowledge of Hamlet (of lack thereof) affect your understanding R&G?  Please explain.
4. What connections can you draw between Cubism and the materials we’ve studied thus far?
5. In what ways might probability, uncertainty and determinism figure into the action and meaning of Godot and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern?

     Rosenthal questions:
1. What is the Law of Large Numbers and how is it related to expected value?
2. Why and how do casinos always win?
3. Is the long-term view always appropriate when considering probabilistic scenarios?

     Zukov questions:
1. Planck, Einstein, and Bohr each described phenomena in discrete terms. Explain their observations and results.
2. Explain the wave-particle duality and the observations that support each "half" of the duality.

Week Two

Wednesday, April 8
     Read:  Beckett, Waiting for Godot
                 Rosenthal, Struck by Lightening, Chapters 1 & 2
                 Zukav, Dancing Wu Li Masters, “Big Week at Big Sur”
                 Wyver, TheMovingImage

   Questions to consider while reading Zukav:
1. What is the difference between scientists and technicians? (Don't just repeat what Zukav has written.) How would you make an analogous distinction in the arts?
2. Why would Zukav start the book with the sodium spectrum and Bohr's model of the atom? What do they have to do with creativity and true science?

   Questions to consider while reading Rosenthal:
1. How are randomness and uncertainty connected? Give an example of a random event. How uncertain is the outcome of that event? Give an example of an uncertain event. To what extent is the outcome random?
2. Critique Rosenthal's discussion of "hot streaks".

Saturday, April 11
     Read:  Beckett, Waiting for Godot
                 Zukav, "Einstein Doesn't Like It"
                 “ThePresent” (missing page handout from first class)

   Questions/topics to consider while reviewing Waiting for Godot:
1.) Select five images of religion or fate from the play. 
2.) Try to visualize a stage design or performance space--what would it look like?  3.) Beckett once said about Godot: "Silence is pouring into this play like water into a sinking ship." What does he mean?
4.) Do you see a connection between Lucky's monologue inGodot and references to James Joyce in “The Present.”

   Seminar paper topic:
Two well-considered paragraphs (one typed page maximum) in response to your reading of “The Present” chapter from The Culture of Time and Space.  In the first paragraph, discuss the major point Kern is making.  For the second paragraph, here are four topics to consider: cubism, film montage, stream of consciousness, and the futurists.  Pick one of them and explain how it reveals an emerging notion of simultaneity in the early 20th century.

   Saturday Workshop:
Please bring a hat to class on Saturday, preferably a bowler, derby or something comparable if you can find it. A button down cap will work as well but preferably not a baseball cap.

   Classic film comedy clips:
Who's on First? -- Abbott and Costello
The Lion's Cage -- -- Charlie Chaplin
The Fight
The Mirror Maze
Eccentric Dancing
Coffee routine
Water Fight -- Laurel and Hardy
The Shave
...with Jack Benny
The Goat -- Buster Keaton
The Playhouse

Week One

Wednesday, April 1
     Introduction and program overview. See below for relevant readings from previous quarters.

**As of week two you are required to bring HARD COPIES of all web readings to class on the day they are due. 

     Syllabus
     Calendar
     Writng handout  

* * * * * * * * *

Recommended (but not required) reading from the fall and winter quarters:
     The Chain of Being (Tillyard from The Elizabethan World Picture)
     Oedipus: Ritual and Play (Ferguson)
     Notes on Tragedy
     Puppets in the ancient world
     On the Heavens (Aristotle)
     The Measure of Reality by Alfred Crosby (buy or borrow a copy if you can.
     The book is filled with insights about major program themes in science and the
     arts)
     Isaac Newton: The Last Sorcerer  by Michael White
     The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov  

     Winter quarter syllabus
     Winter quarter calendar

Faculty Information:

• Allen Mauney

• Mark Harrison