Humanities 1301: Introduction To The Humanities

Humanities 1301: Introduction to the HumanitiesProfessor: Linda GrahamHUMA 1301-34293Office Phone Number: 713-522-3021Email: linda.graham@hccs.eduLearning Web: e Hours: Online Sun. 7:30-10, 9-11 Mon., Tues-Wed. 7:30-10, Thurs. 9:30-11 p.m. andthroughout the day.CATALOG DESCRIPTION - Prerequisite: ENGL 1301Credit: 3 (3 lecture)An introduction to the arts and humanities, the course investigates connections between individualhuman lives and a broad range of culture, aesthetics, and philosophy.Core Curriculum Course.COURSE PURPOSETo develop student thinking, seeing, reading, writing, and listening skills and expand student knowledgeof the human condition as portrayed in works of the human imagination and intellect.DESCRIPTION OF COURSE CONTENTStudents focus on the connections between their own lives and the ideas and values expressed in worksof human imagination and thought. Through inquiry into selected literature, philosophy, and the visualand performing arts, students will engage in critical thinking, form aesthetic judgments, and develop anappreciation of the arts and humanities and their pivotal role in the health and survival of any society.Students will attend and respond to museum and gallery exhibitions and performances (live theater andfilm). They will be introduced to readings in several genres from a variety of cultures. Students willrespond to the work they study in a variety of ways including oral presentations, formal writtenassignments, and informal journal responses.TEXTBOOKSSayre, Henry. The Humanities: Culture, Continuity and Change, V 1, Pearson, Prentice HallStudent Learning Objectives1. Describe representative themes and developments in the humanities.2. Interpret representative terms, works, figures, and artists in philosophy, literature, and the visual andperforming arts.3. Compare and contrast representative terms, works, figures, and artists in philosophy, literature andthe visual and performing arts4. Evaluate cultural creations in the humanities.HCCS Humanities in the Core CurriculumHumanities 1301 may be taken to fulfill the core curriculum requirement for 3 semester hours inCross/Multicultural Studies.HCCS Humanities in the Core CurriculumHumanities 1301 may be taken to fulfill the core curriculum requirement for 3 semester hours inCross/Multicultural Studies.Humanities 1301 helps students attain the following:1. Establish broad and multiple perspectives on individuals in relationship to the larger society and worldin which they live and understand the responsibilities of living in a culturally and ethnically diversifiedworld;

2. Stimulate a capacity to discuss and reflect upon individual, political, economic, and social aspects oflife in order to understand ways in which to be a responsible member of society;3. Develop personal values for ethical behavior;4. Develop the ability to make aesthetic judgments; and5. Integrate knowledge and understanding of the interrelationships of the scholarly disciplines.The objective of the humanities and visual and performing arts in a core curriculum is to expandstudents’ knowledge of the human condition and human cultures especially in relation to behaviors, ideas,and values expressed in works of human imagination and thought. Through study in disciplines such asliterature and the visual and performing arts, students will engage in critical analysis, form aestheticjudgments, and develop an appreciation of the arts and humanities as fundamental to the health andsurvival of any society. Students should have experiences in both the arts and humanities.The objective of the cross/multicultural component of the core curriculum is to introduce students toareas of study which enlarge their knowledge and appreciation of the multicultural and multiracial worldin which they live.Graded Work:I. Exams. The Midterm covers the chapters 1-4 and the Final covers 5-8. You are required to useevidence from the assigned textbook and assigned lectures in each response. Students are encouragedto use the textbook as a major source for the exam. Students who do not use evidence from bothsources in every response will receive a grade less than C. Students who submit their work in anyother format than Eagle Online (EO) will receive a zero. Each exam is worth 25% of your finalgrade.II. Culture Assignments. Draft 750 word (minimum) essays examining the major characteristics ofMesopotamian, Greco-Roman, Egyptian, Byzantine, Chinese, Japanese, Indian, and African cultures.12 font, TNR, 1” margins and cite in accordance with MLA included a Works Cited page. Uploadyour essays in the EO classroom as Word files. You are required to use evidence from the assignedtextbook and assigned lectures. Students are to use the textbook as a major source for theassignments. Students who do not use evidence from both sources will receive a grade less than C.Students who submit their work in any other format will receive a zero. Each Culture Assignment isworth 25% of your final grade.Participation. Participation is required if you want to succeed (i.e., pass): Remember, you havesomething due each week, not everything is graded.Scholastic Dishonesty: The Houston Community College System Student Handbook 1999/2000 defines thefollowing criteria: "Scholastic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, cheating on a test, plagiarism, andcollusion." Plagiarism means the appropriation of another's work and the unacknowledged incorporation of thatwork in one's own written work offered for credit. Collusion means the unauthorized collaboration with anotherperson in preparing written work offered for credit. Students who engage in scholastic dishonesty will be given an Fin the class.ADA: Any student with a documented disability (e.g. physical, learning, psychiatric, vision, hearing, etc.) whoneeds to arrange reasonable accommodations must contact the Disability Services Office at the beginning of eachsemester. Faculty is authorized to provide only the accommodations requested by the Disability Support ServicesOffice.Student Attendance: Constant attendance is required and mandatory in order to be successful in thisclass. If “just one day” is missed, you truly miss a lot because this course encompasses so muchduring the semester. You have quizzes and assignments due so often after working through eachunit. Successful students attend class with the purpose to accomplish work every work day.GradesThe grade of “A” (100-90)reflects a work of excellence. “A work” offers a well-focused andorganized discussion appropriate to the assignment, which reflects the critical use of all relevant

materials and demonstrates effective, formal writing requirements. Work must demonstrateoutstanding efforts to identify while employing varied and pertinent evidence from all availablesources, while utilizing materials critically in the text of the papers, and providing error-free citationsof those resources. A work is always handed in on time.The grade of “B” (89-80) represents work beyond satisfactory and indicates the work demonstrates astrong attempt at original and critical analysis, writing and research that in complete in an appropriateand competent manner. Work must be beyond satisfactory efforts to identify varied and pertinentevidence from all available sources. The B paper may contain a number of minor errors in grammaror citation, and its’ thesis or conclusions may be undeveloped or too weakly supported. B work ishanded in on time.The grade of “C”(79-70) indicates that the work was done in a satisfactory or appropriate fashion incomparison to the average work expected for university courses. In order to obtain a “C” grade, yourwork must adhere to all of the assignment’s minimum requirements including the following:page/word requirements, number of sources, types of sources, and proper citation method. The workis organized around a central idea with arguments supported by relevant examples from the availablesources. The work is structured into correctly written paragraphs and sentences. Although fulfillingthe assignment, the “C” work may exhibit one or more weaknesses including, but not limited to,errors of punctuation and grammar, imprecise or incorrect word use, inaccurate or uncritical use ofmaterials, occasional inconsistency of organization or development, and lack of direct relevance ofthe selected research materials to the topic. “C” work is handed in on time.The grade of “D” (69-60) demonstrates work that may have a poorly defined topic or thesis, lacksclear focus or organization, contains unsupported generalizations or conclusions. The work containsresearch support (citations) that is inadequate, not clearly relevant, or improperly documented. Aless-than-minimal research effort is evident. “D” work fails to obtain the required page or wordminimum requirement, which may also suffer from numerous or major formal writing errors. “D”work fails to adhere to any of the assignment’s minimum requirements, but it is still handed in ontime.The grade of “F” (59-1) is indicative of work that is not clearly relevant to the assignment. Thetopic and thesis are poorly focused or defined. The work may display inadequate organization ordevelopment, unsupported generalizations, and nonstandard formal features (including languageusage, sentence structure, and paragraphing). Research support (citations) is absent or irrelevant tothe assignment. “F” work is handed in on time.The grade of 0 indicates that the work was not submitted at all or submitted after the due date/time.Work was submitted in the wrong format. Remember any cheating whatsoever will result in an F forthe course.Late Work. Late work is NOT accepted for any reason. Do not ask me to accept late work. Ifany holidays, parties, work, vacations, family obligations, legal matters, or secular or religiousresponsibilities prevent you from completing the work when it is due, please do not take thisclass, as negotiations for assignments or due dates are non-existent.Missed Assignments. There are NO make ups for any reason. Do not ask me if any make upassignments are available—they are NOT. In fact, if you fail to submit any assignment, youmay be withdrawn from my class.Extra Credit. I do NOT offer extra credit for any reason. Just like in “real life” with a job, thisis college, and there is NO extra credit.W. Students who fail to submit the first graded assignment may be withdrawn from the course.Students who fail to submit any additional assignments may be withdrawn from the course.HCC Policy Statements: