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COURSE SYLLABUS
Title of Course: Humanities: Early Civ: AH2
Prefix/Number: HUM 121 Credit Hours: 3
Prerequisite: REA 090
Instructor: Warren C. Edick II
Instructor email: warren.edick@pueblocc.edu
Resources Needed (Book):
Culture and Values, Volume I, Lawrence Cunningham and John Reich, seventh edition, Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2010.
Course Description: Introduces students to the history of ideas that have defined cultures through a study of the visual arts, literature, drama, music, and philosophy. It emphasizes connections among the arts, values, and diverse cultures, including European and non-European, from the Ancient world to 1000 C.E.
Course Goal and Course Objectives:
By the end of the course, students will
- Think analytically and critically about individual works of art by:
- describing the basic elements and their effects on the work of art
- evaluating the effects of geography, economics, politics, religion, philosophy, and science on the values of a culture and the stylistic features of the arts
- relating the major values and concerns of a historical era to the art forms of the period
- interpreting their themes of expressive content
- Describe the difference between rational and non-rational ways of expressing ideas.
- Recognize and describe structural and stylistic relationships among the arts.
- Compare eras studied in class.
- Assess the relationship of freedom and responsibility to problem-solving and decision- making by groups and individuals throughout history.
- Identify some of the characteristics of the best and worst (the noble and depraved) of human actions and creations.
- Analyze the predominant feminine and masculine viewpoints of specific cultural eras.
- Compare and contrast some cultural attitude and values of specific eras of the past to those of the present in order to:
- demonstrate an awareness of the legacy of various civilizations
- identify the perspectives about life that advance or hinder creative energies
- promote respect for different ways of dealing with common issues
- Compare values as reflected in the arts in non-European cultures to those in Western cultures.
- Write and speak clearly and logically, in presentations and essays, about topics studied in humanities courses.
- Read, analyze, and apply to new situations, written material related to the study of Humanities.
- Demonstrate the ability to select and apply contemporary forms of technology to solve problems or compile information in the study of Humanities.
Grading and Evaluation Criteria:
1. Every student will write two papers during our time together which will account for forty percent (40 percent) of your final grade. The papers will be worth 20 points each and will concentrate on one of the subject areas our course will cover. Each paper covering a block/topic or any particular topic within a block must be turned in no later than its due date which is listed in the course outline below. It is your responsibility to remain aware of the due date as it is listed in your syllabus as it may not receive further announcements by your instructor. The same rule applies to your reading assignments. Late papers will receive a deduction of 1 point for each day (…not class period!) that they are late. Papers receiving a grade of “A” will be only those that do not merely cover material out of the book, but also successfully present insights and concepts gained from inside the classroom in the form of lectures and whiteboard materials and offer your personal insights and analysis of these ideas.
All papers must be a minimum of three pages in length and this length requirement EXCLUDES cover- and title pages and reference pages and bibliographies, and the like, which are all optional and not required. Should you wish to add anything more than simply putting your name in the upper left hand corner of the first page (i.e. adding such things as course name, title, date, and so on) then you MUST use an additional title page to carry such information for the requirement is a minimum of three pages of pure work. Anything less than three full pages of work will receive point deductions in exact proportion to points available. That is to say, a two and a half page paper fulfills only 84 % of the minimum length requirement and therefore will have only 84 % of possible points available to it in grading.
All papers should be word processed, double-spaced, written in Times New Roman, font size 11, with no greater than one inch margins all around. You might want to use a ruler to verify no greater than one inch margins all around as the settings on the computer you use may be in error. The use of digital spell checking is encouraged.
The papers are 40 possible points (2 x 20 = 40 percent) towards your final grade.
2. Each student will be called to give a presentation on a specific reading assignment from the book, approximately 6 pages. The presentation will be worth 20 points, that is to say, 20 percent of your final grade. The presentation should cover that material, your own research on the material, and offer your own insights and analysis concerning that subject matter. Presentations should be a minimum of 20 minutes in length, followed by a brief question and answer period, but should not take longer than 35 minutes. Technology, teaching aids, and hand outs are optional.
The presentation is 20 possible points (20 percent) towards your final grade. You may want to polish and rehearse your presentation before delivering it.
3. There will be 2 exams which will account for thirty percent (30 percent) of your final grade, a midterm and a final exam. The final exam will not be comprehensive and will cover only that material that comes after the midterm. Each exam will be worth 15 points. Both exams will be made up of 10 true/false questions and 10 multiple choice questions, where each question in either category is worth half a point, and one brief essay question the answer of which is worth 5 points, for a total of 15 points for each of the 2 exams. The student may choose to answer the one essay question from 3 possibilities. That is to say, there will be 3 essay questions of which you will pick one to answer. The essay answer need only be in the form of one healthy paragraph, that is, seven or eight meaningful sentences, although you may write more if you so wish. The exam dates are listed in the course outline below.
The exams are 30 possible points (2 x 15 = 30 percent) towards your final grade.
4. The remaining 10 points towards your final grade can be earned by attending class regularly, that is to say, not missing more than 1 class period given that our class periods count for an entire week. The first absence will not decrease these 10 points that are available to you. Starting with the second absence 4 points will be lost in this category. A third absence will result in loosing the last 6 points that are available in this category. A fourth (4th) absence will result in the FAILURE of the course. Coming to class late (or leaving class early) on more than a rare occasion will result in being counted as absent. The following exception to this rule applies: Any student wishing to leave class early must inform instructor of this circumstance at the beginning of that class or will be counted absent for that particular class even if it’s the first time. Though, life happens and so some of us may need to leave class early or come to class late on rare occasion. Thus, the policy will be that if one misses more than 40 minutes of any given class one will be counted as absent in any case.
It will be assumed that any absence happens only for very good reasons. It is therefore that it is not necessary to document any of your absences. There will be no exceptions to this attendance policy. If one is physically not present, then one is absent.
Students missing a class or part of a class are responsible for the material covered. Hence, get to know a class mate with whom to share notes if necessary.
Note: Students joining the class late will be assessed an absence for each class missed.
5. Student’s are expected to have completed the reading assignments when coming to class. It is the student’s responsibility to remain aware of the reading assignments and their due dates as they are listed in your syllabus as they may not receive further announcements by your instructor. Coming to class unprepared, that is to say, not having completed your reading assignment may result in a 3 point deduction for each infraction toward your final grade. Such deductions will be assigned on a case to case basis, as they happen to be exposed, as it is not possible to verify whether or not all students in all class periods have completed the required reading assignments.
6. An additional total of 5 points of EXTRA CREDIT is available to those who consistently and throughout the semester actively and constructively participate in class. This credit may also be available to those who have had absences.
7. 40 (two papers) + 20 (presentation) + 30 (two exams) + 10 (attendance) = 100 points (+ 5 possible points in extra credit)
Students requesting an incomplete at end of term must have finished 75% of all graded course work. If you decide to quit attending class, it is your responsibility to formally drop the class. Otherwise a grade of F will be awarded. Students choosing or needing to withdraw from the course must comply with the PCC course withdrawal guidelines and dates.
Course Content:
This course will focus on some of the following cultures from the Ancient World to 1000 C.E.--Neolithic, Mesopotamia, Egypt, Judaic, Classical India, Classical Greece, Hellenistic Greece, Republican Rome, Imperial Rome, Early Christian, Byzantine, Carolingian, and Romanesque—with regard to the six criteria listed below.
- Mythology/Religion/Philosophy
- Visual Art
- Literature
- Architecture
- Music
- Dance
Course Outline:
IMPORTANT—Instructor may modify assignments to accommodate the actual progression of class. In most cases assignments will be reduced. Reductions in assignments will be announced at the end of any class and pertain to the expected workload you have in preparation for the next class. NOTE: Should you miss a class then you are still responsible for the announcements made in that class…hence, establish a fellow student note buddy so that you may contact them to stay informed and make up the notes and materials you have missed.
Important Dates:
Deadline to drop the course: 09/08/10.
Deadline to withdraw from the course: 11/16/10.
Holidays: 11/24/10 through 11/28/10.
Last class: 12/11/10.
08/28: Introductions, Syllabus, The history of ideas and conceptual analysis.
09/04: Preface: p. xvi-xxiv, Chapter 1: p. 1-17.
09/11: Chapter 2: p. 29-51.
09/18: Chapter 3: p. 53-69 and p. 76-81.
09/25: Chapter 4: p. 83-100 and p. 108-112.
10/02: First Paper Due Date. Chapter 5: p. 113-130.
10/09: Chapter 6: p. 131-147.
10/16: Midterm Exam. Chapter 7: p. 149-167.
10/23: Chapter 8: p. 171-184.
10/30: Chapter 9: p. 185-197 and p. 200-207.
11/06: Chapter10: 209-216 and p. 222-235.
11/13: Chapter 11: p. 237-242 and p. 246-262.
11/20: Second Paper Due Date. Chapter 12: p. 265-269 and p. 275-292.
12/04: Reading to be assigned.
12/11: Final Exam.
Academic Integrity and Student Conduct:
At all times are students to conduct themselves respectfully in terms of behavior, speech, and demeanor. This is especially important because the subject matter and discussions can be challenging, questioning, controversial, confronting, and extremely exciting.
Cell phones and all other messaging devices are to be turned “OFF” for the duration of class. Disrespectful behavior of any kind and cell-phoning, text messaging, and engaging in non-class related activities of any kind during class will not be tolerated under any circumstances and may result, among other things, in the dismissal from the classroom that will be counted as an absence. Should you need to be reachable during class and have to have your phone on (vibrate mode), then let the instructor know about this before class.
Academic dishonesty and cheating such as plagiarizing will result in a letter grade F and 0 points for that particular project. A second infraction of this kind will result in the failure of the course. To plagiarize is to take someone else’s words or work or idea(s) and pass it off as your own. This includes quoting someone’s words or merely using someone’s idea(s) without citations or without making the effort of declaring that such words or idea(s) are actually someone else’s.
PLAGIARISM POLICY FOR THIS COURSE:
(Written by Craig Schroetlin)
Plagiarism is not just about stealing someone else’s words; it is also about stealing someone else’s ideas.
Academic dishonesty occurs when you use someone else’s ideas and call them your own. Some examples of plagiarism can include:
In something published,
· Copying directly from a source (book, magazine, Internet, movie, song, etc. without using quotation marks and/or without providing the author’s name and a bibliography
· Summarizing – the use of key words or phrases, or ideas from the text without providing the author’s name and a bibliography
· Paraphrasing - restating a thought or idea in your own words and not providing the author’s name and a bibliography
· Using facts that are not common knowledge
Other instances,
· Copying from someone else’s work (including homework, if applicable)
· Having someone else write part or all of the paper for you
· A person who allows someone to copy some or all of their work is equally guilty of plagiarism.
Best practice: WHEN IN DOUBT … DOCUMENT!!!
To avoid plagiarism, ask yourself the following questions: “Is the thought or idea completely mine?” If the answer is no or not completely, you need to credit it to the proper source or sources. Explaining or expounding on a documented thought or idea is acceptable, providing it is your perceptions and ideas and not just a rewording of the original authors supporting paragraphs.
Plagiarism is a serious offense and carries the following consequences in this course:
· A grade of zero (0) for the assignment being evaluated and notification of cheating to College authorities, which may result in further disciplinary and academic sanctions.
· Course failure for a second offense.
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA):
Students who have a documented disability may be eligible to receive accommodations for this class. Please contact the Disability Resources Center at 549-3446 for further information. |