How is this week different from all other weeks?
β’ On all other weeks we have two Readings+Responses, and on this week only one.
β’ On all other weeks we read primary sources, and on this week only a secondary source.
β’ On all other weeks we don’t talk about the syllabus or what philosophy is, and on this week we do both.
β’ On all other weeks we read a PDF in VoiceThread, and on this week only a web site.
Reading+Response: Spells for Going Forth by Day
For this week for Thursday, read this secondary source about the Ancient Egyptian books often called “The Egyptian Book of the Dead.” There is a video embedded in the web page, which you should absolutely feel free to watch, but be aware that it repeats most but not all of the information on the webpage.
On Thursday, please submit your Response here before class, or bring it to class, or both. Your Response should have three parts:
a. Words: Write down three words you learned (or learned more about) from the reading.
b. Ideas: Write down three ideas or concepts you learned about (or learned more about) from the reading
c. Prompt: Write a short response (100β200 words, minimum 100 words required) to this prompt:
What is the Egyptian afterlife like? What do you think these spells and the events they foretell tell us about what Egyptians believed was important and meaningful in life?
Rubric:
| Full credit | Partial credit | No credit | |
| Words & Ideas | Three of each, with all being meaningful and from the reading. (.25 pts) | Fewer than three of each which are all meaningful and from the reading. (.15 pts) | Significantly fewer than three of each which are all meaningful and from the reading. (0 pts) |
| Prompt response | All parts are answered in a way that shows good engagement with the reading. (1 pt) | Some parts are not answered, or answer is incomplete (below minimum word count), or does not show good engagement with the reading. (.5 pts) | Many parts are not answered, or answer is very incomplete (far below minimum word count), or shows poor engagement with the reading. (0 pts) |
Activity: Spells for Going Forth by Day
Sometime after class on Thursday, read this section from
Faulkner, Raymond Oliver. The Literature of Ancient Egypt: An Anthology of Stories, Instructions, Stelae, Autobiographies, and Poetry. Yale University Press, 2003.
then, in 300β400 wordsβno need to make it 42 items long!βwrite a Negative Confession based on your own values, and explain what it means for you now. What do you want to be able to say upon your death? What will you do today to set yourself on that path? Talk about your own actions only, like the Egyptian Negative Confession, not your will, commitment, or beliefs, or the actions, character, or beliefs of others.
Rubric:
| 1 pt | .5 pts | 0 pts | |
| Complete | All parts of the prompt were completed fully. | One part or aspect of the prompt was not completed, or a couple parts or aspects were not completed fully. | Two or more parts or aspects of the prompt were not completed, or several parts or aspects were not completed fully. |
| Engaged | Activity was carried out in depth, showing care, attention, and engagement. | Activity shows some lack of critical depth, care, attention, or engagement in one or more areas. | Activity shows significant lack of critical depth, care, attention, or engagement in one or more area. |
| Thorough | Activity shows awareness of and good connection to all relevant parts of our course materials for the week. | Activity shows some incomplete areas of awareness of or connection to relevant parts of our course materials for the week. | Activity shows significant incomplete areas of awareness of or connection to relevant parts of our course materials for the week. |
| Shows Understanding | Demonstrates a good understanding of our course materials for the week is. | Demonstrates a vague or somewhat inaccurate understanding of our course materials for the week. | Demonstrates a confused or significantly inaccurate understanding of our course materials for the week. |