MAN AND MACHINE:

AN INTERDISCIPLINARY HIGH SCHOOL ENGLISH COURSE

Frank Capellini

Brooklyn, NY

"Man and Machine" is a single cycle (10 week) English course presently offered once a year at the High School for the Humanities. I designed the course to be an examination of an interrelated body of literature, art, music, and film which reflect man's difficulties in dealing with a world increasingly dominated by advancing science and technology.

Some basic questions considered by the course are:

1. Is "the machine" predominantly a force for good or evil?
2. Does technological development necessarily constitute progress?
3. Are science and technology making incursions into areas which should best be left alone?
4. Are science and religion necessarily incompatible?
5. Would a return to a more primitive lifestyle be desirable, or even possible?
6. Can man retain, and indeed develop his humanity in a world increasingly dominated by non-human forces?
7. Is man in danger of becoming obsolete? Will man need to be re-defined to fit a vastly altered world?

Course activities include:

1. Regular discussion and written reaction to the literature, art, music, and film encompassed by the course, attempting to relate each art form to the others whenever possible.
2. The study of a body of vocabulary specifically related to science and technology.
3. A book report based on one selection list relating to the questions explored in "Man and Machine."
4. A museum assignment relating to the course's theme, which will be completed on the student's own time outside of school.

"Man and Machine" was offered for the first time during the Fall 1984 term. Three sections, approximately 100 students took the course. Most of the students, and a surprising number of their parents, expressed the feeling that the course proved to be a highly stimulating learning experience. I, of course, enjoyed the course most of all. Planning, and then teaching "Man and Machine" turned out to be one of the most exhilarating experiences of my career. Fortified by my experience at Princeton, I look forward to teaching it again this year.

To provide some idea of the specific material covered in "Man and Machine," I have here included the actual course of study, book report list, and museum project sheets, all of which are distributed to the students at the beginning of the course.

The High School for the Humanities Mr. Silver, Principal

English Department Mr. Capellini

Man and Machine:

Course of Study

I. Readings

1.  A number of short stories, essays, and poems that explore man`s relations with "the machine" from both a positive and negative point of view.("The Tool" - Antoine de Sainte-Exupery; "Nightmare Number Three" - Stephen Vincent Benet; "Naming of the Parts" - Henry Reed; "The Express" - Stephen Spender; "Greenwich Observatory" - Sidney Keyes; "Dear Mr. 0214" - E.B. White, "EPICAC" - Kurt Vonnegut Jr.; "The Barrel-Organ" - Alfred Noyes; Selections from Frankenstein - Mary Shelley)
2. Galileo - Bertolt Brecht
3. R.U.R. - Karel Capek
4. The Time Machine - H.G. Wells
5. The Machine Stops - E.M. Forster

II. Music

1. Pacific 231 - Arthur Honegger
2. The Little Train of the Caipira - Hector Villa-Lobos
3. Ionization - Edgar Varese
4. Requiem - Gyorgy Ligeti
5. Lux Aeterna - " "
6. Thus Spake Zarathustra -Richard Strauss

III. Film

1. The Time Machine
2. Star Trek:"The City On The Edge Of Forever
3. The Emperor`s Nightingale
4. 2001: A Space Odyssey

IV. Tests and Projects

1. Regular quizzes and written homework assignments based on the readings.
2. Separate tests on each novel, play, and group of short readings.
3. One report on a book chosen from an approved list.(See attached)
4. A museum report on art, science, and technology.(See attached)
5. A final examination based on everything covered in the course.

*There will be many required written assignments for this course - ranging from paragraph to term paper length. Each student's final grade will be based as much on the quality of his/her writing(i.e. spelling, punctuation, grammar, organization, planning, style, etc.), as on the content.

Man and Machine

Museum Project(A)

Where: The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Fifth Avenue and 83rd Street, Manhattan.

When: Open Tuesday 10:00 A.M.-8:45 P.M.; Wednesday through Saturday; 10:00 A.M.-4:45 P.M.; closed all Mondays, including Monday holidays.

Project Deadline: This assignment will be due during the eight week of the cycle. (It may, of course, be handed in any time before that.)

Admission Fee: There is a suggested fee of $4.00, but you may pay what you choose. Don't feel embarrassed about giving a small donation. You will be treated with equal courtesy whether you give a penny or ten dollars. You must, however, give something - at least a penny - and will probably be stopped by the guards if you don't have the identifying button which shows that you made a donation.

What To Do When You Get There: Get a museum map at the main desk and commence locating the art works listed below. (1)Provide a detailed description of each art work. (2)Discuss how the art work may relate to any themes developed in our course, "Man and Machine." (3)Write a detailed reaction to each art work, in each case supporting your feelings by referring specifically to details of the work.

1. Maximilian Armor - Hall of Armor, First Floor.
2. Colt "Peacemaker" .45 Caliber Pistol(#15) - Adjacent to Hall of Armor, First Floor. (Compare it one of the older, more ornate, handmade firearms which are displayed nearby.
3. Tall Clock(Works by Nathan Storis) - American Wing, First Floor.
4. The Frank Lloyd Wright Room - American Wing, First Floor.
5. Barrel Organ (Serinette) - Hall of Musical Instruments, American Wing, Second Floor.
6. The Source of the Loue by Gustave Courbet - 19th Century European Painting,Second Floor.
7. The Third-Class Carriage by Honoré Daumier - 19th Century European Painting, Second Floor.
8. Morning, An Overcast Day, Rouen by Camille Pissaro - 19th Century European Painting, Second Floor.
9. The Whale Ship by J.M.W. Turner -19th Century European Painting Second Floor.
10. Any other art work in the museum which may relate to the course. (Include as part of your discussion why you were attracted to this particular work of art.)

Man and Machine:

Museum Project(B)

Where: The Museum of Modern Art - 53rd Street between 5th and 6th Avenues.

When: Daily 11:00 A.M.-6:00 P.M.; Thursday 11:00 A.M.-9:00 P.M.; closed Wednesday.

Project Deadline: This assignment will be due during the eight week of the cycle. (It may, of course, be handed in any time before that.)

Admission Fee: Student Admission (with current identification) $3.00. Thursday 5:00 P.M.-9:00 P.M. pat what you wish.

What To Do When You Get There: Get a museum map at the main desk, and commence locating the art works listed below. (1)Provide a detailed description of each art work. (2)Discuss how the art work may relate to any themes developed in our course, "Man and Machine." (3)Write a reaction to each art work, in each case supporting your feelings by referring specifically to details of the work.

1. Three Musicians by Pablo Picasso -Second Floor.
2. Trafalgar Square by Piet Mondrian - Second Floor.
3. The Menaced Assassin by René Magritte - Second Floor.
4. Echo of a Scream by David Alfaro Siquieros - Second Floor.
5. American Landscape by Charles Sheeler - Third Floor.
6. There Were Seven In Eight by Jackson Pollock - Third Floor.
7. John Chamberlain Working by George Segal - Third Floor.
8. First Landing Jump - Robert Rauschenberg - Third Floor.
9. 1946 Pinin Farina Automobile - Fourth Floor.
10. Any other art work in the museum which may relate to the course.(Include as part of your discussion the reasons you were attracted to this particular work of art.)

Man and Machine:

Book List For Book Reports

Directions: For this course you will be required to read and report on one book in addition to the other works covered in class. Select one book from the following list. The report will be due at mid-cycle.(Exact dates will be announced.) Other books on questions explored by the course may prove acceptable, but only after I see the Book and give my approval.

The book report form is simple: summarize the book; discuss the ideas presented; give your opinion of the book; support whatever you say about the book with specific references from the text.(At least two sides of a page)