COURSE SYLLABUS Autumn 2014
HUMANITIES I Instructor: Dr. Swiney
(HUMN 2113, Section 315) Office of Academic and Campus Services
Call Number 14148 Room: SE 2202
Room: SE 7102 918-595-7673
Days: Tuesdays 918-596-7748 (City Hall)
Time: 6:00 p.m. – 8:50 p.m. e-mail:
Liberal Arts Office
Room SE 4107 ph: 918-595-7780
Catalog Description, Humanities I
“An interdisciplinary survey designed to strengthen the student’s fundamental grasp of human values, ideas, discoveries, and creative achievements. Areas of consideration may include architecture, cosmology, dance, drama, film, history, literature, music, mythology, painting, philosophy, religion, and sculpture.”
Course Materials
Text: Fiero, The Humanistic Tradition, Volume 1, Sixth Edition (6e), McGraw Hill
Instructional Methods
Text, lecture, note-taking, discussion, map study, literary selections, research and reports. Students should read and study the designated chapters in the textbook before class, then take appropriate notes during the instructor’s lecture. Supplemental research is necessary.
Course Objectives
1. Knowledge of the development and significance of the humanities in civilization, from pre-history through the Middle Ages.
2. An understanding of the elements and technical terms used in the study of the humanities.
3. An appreciation of the humanities, so they make our lives richer and more enjoyable.
4. A basis for continued study in the humanities.
PLEASE SILENCE AND PUT AWAY ALL ELECTRONIC DEVICES WHILE IN CLASS.
NO TEXTING IN CLASS.
NO FOOD ALLOWED IN CLASS.
Tobacco Free College: Tulsa Community College is a Tobacco Free college in accordance with the Governor’s Executive Order 2012-01 and Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes, Section 1-1523 which prohibits smoking or the use of any tobacco products in all public places, in any indoor workplace, and all vehicles owned by the State of Oklahoma and all of its agencies and instrumentalities. This Order includes property leased, rented, or owned by TCC including, but not limited to, all grounds, buildings, facilities, and parking lots. Tulsa Community College’s policy includes a tobacco free environment on all campus and off-campus locations conducting TCC credit or non-credit classes. The TCC Campus Police is responsible for ensuring compliance with the Tobacco-Free Environment Policy. Violations of the policy may be addressed through issuance of campus or state citations.
Evaluation Techniques
1. Tests: Five short tests will be administered on the days listed on the attached calendar. Each test carries a maximum value of 100 points. There is no comprehensive “final” exam.
2. Book Report: Two book reports, of books read this semester, are due on the dates shown on the attached calendar. The reports must be typed or word-processed, double-spaced, stapled, and must be 4-5 pages in length. One report must be of an “ancient/medieval” work (i.e., written during the period being studied), the other of a “modern” work (i.e., written during the modern era, but written about the period being studied). Books listed on the reading list and your textbook’s “Literary Credits” (pp. 508-509) are already approved; other works may be used with permission of the instructor. Each book report carries up to 100 points. See note re Plagiarism.
Þ In place of one Book Report, a student may write a Film Research Report. The report must be of a film on the list, and must conform to the specifications and format on the attached sheet.
3. Oral Report: Each student must deliver an oral report of approximately 10-15 minutes, on the date shown on the oral report handout. The oral report carries a maximum value of 100 points.
Grading System
Out of 800 possible points, final grades will be computed as follows:
90% - 100% = A
80% - 89% = B
70% - 79% = C
60% - 69% = D
Below 60% = F
Attendance Policy
Class attendance is expected at all times (test questions are taken both from the
text and from the lecture). Roll call will be taken at each class; excessive absence can affect your grade.
Late Assignments and Makeup Policy
Missed tests may not be made up, unless prior arrangements are made. Permission to take a test on a day other than on the assigned day is in the discretion of the instructor. Students are encouraged to notify the instructor of emergencies. Book reports will not be accepted late.
DISABILITY RESOURCES: It is the policy and practice of Tulsa Community College to create inclusive learning environments. Accommodations for qualifying students in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act are available. To request accommodations, contact the Education Access Center (EAC) at or call (918) 595-7115 (Voice). Deaf and hard of hearing students may text (918) 809-1864.
CALENDAR, HUMANITIES I, AUTUMN 2014
Tuesdays
August 19 Introduction Introduction
26 Chapters 1, 3
September 2 Chapters 2, 3
9 Test #1 (Chaps 1, 2, 3), then begin Chapters 4, 5
16 Chapters 4, 5
23 Chapters 4, 5
30 Book Report 1 Chapters 4, 5
October 7 Test #2 (Chapters 4, 5), then begin Chapters 6, 7
14 Chapters 6, 7
21 Chapters 6, 7
28 Test #3 (Chapters 6, 7), then begin Chapters 8, 9, 10
November 4 Chapters 8, 9, 10
è (November 7: Last day to withdraw or change to audit)
11 Test #4 (Chapters 8, 9, 10), then begin Chapters 11-14
18 Book Report 2 Chapters 11, 12, 13, 14
25 THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY—NO CLASS
December 2 Chapters 11, 12, 13, 14
9 Test #5 (Chapters 11, 12, 13, 14)
PLAGIARISM
When asked to define plagiarism, many students respond by saying that it involves copying another person’s writing “word for word.” While this definition is accurate, it is not complete. Whenever you mislead your readers to believe that another person’s ideas, words or sentence structures are your own, you have committed plagiarism. If you copy a passage that someone else wrote—published or not—and do not properly credit the author, you have committed plagiarism. If you include another writer’s ideas in your essay without giving that writer credit, even if you state those ideas in your own words, you have committed plagiarism. Simply using another author’s writing as a guide to your own writing may also be considered plagiarism.
Plagiarism is not only dishonest; it is a form of theft and, in some institutions, can result in expulsion. At TCC, if you are guilty of plagiarism, whether intentional or accidental, your professor may either give the plagiarized assignment an F or allow you to rewrite it according to specifications. Additionally, your name may be reported to the Division Chair. A second offense will result in more severe penalties.
To avoid plagiarism, you should first understand what needs to be documented. Your own ideas, interpretations, observations, and expressions do not need to be documented. Information that most people know, or that can be found in at least three sources (such as when Mozart lived, or who won the first Super Bowl) is called “common knowledge” and does not need to be documented, even if you have to look up the information. Any other information you present in an essay, however, needs documentation. This includes another person’s writing or ideas, statistics, little-known facts, and information based on someone’s primary research. You may present information such as this by quoting, paraphrasing, or summarizing.
To quote directly, you enclose in quotation marks the exact words of the original, then in parentheses, provide information to refer your readers to an explanation of the source, located on the Works Cited page. For longer quotations (more than four typed lines), you should indent ten spaces and include parenthetical documentation at the end of the quotation. You do not need to put quotation marks around the indented material since the indentation tells readers you are presenting a direct quote. Sometimes, the information in the parentheses consists of the author’s last name and the page number(s) on which the words appeared. If you give the author’s name as a lead-in phrase (According to Smith…) then you need only include the page numbers in the parentheses. With quotations, a lead-in phrase is not necessary, since the quotation marks tell the reader where the quotation begins. However, you should strive to smoothly incorporate the quoted material into your own writing rather than simply “dumping” it into your essay.
When you paraphrase, you set forth an author’s meaning in your own words. You CANNOT use words, phrases, or clauses that resemble those of the author. In other words, paraphrasing involves more than simply “plugging in” synonyms or rearranging phrases and clauses; it involves changing the original substantially, so that the author’s ides are conveyed in your own voice. With a paraphrase, a lead-in phrase is necessary so that readers will know when the paraphrase begins. After the paraphrase, you should include information in parentheses that refers the readers to an explanation of the source located on the Works Cited page.
To summarize, you must extract the author’s main ideas and present those ideas in your own words. A summary condenses longer passages to give readers the author’s basic message. As with paraphrase, a summary requires that you substantially change the words, phrases and clauses to convey the author’s ideas in your own words. You must also use a lead-in phrase to introduce a summary, and provide parenthetical documentation that will lead the reader to an explanation of the source on the Works Cited page.
TCC Student Manual for Composition I and II, Fall 1996, pages 21-22
Reading List (suggested)
“ancient/medieval” works “modern” works
(Egyptian) BOOK OF THE DEAD Edith Hamilton MYTHOLOGY
Epics:
(Sumerian) EPIC OF GILGAMESH Bulfinch MYTHOLOGY
Homer ILIAD
ODYSSEY Mary Renault THE KING MUST DIE
Virgil AENEID THE LAST OF THE WINE
(Old English) BEOWULF THE MASK OF APOLLO
(Indian) MAHABHARATA THE PRAISE SINGER
BAGHAVAD GITA
Plays: Mary Stewart THE CRYSTAL CAVE
Aeschylus AGAMEMNON THE HOLLOW HILLS
Sophocles OEDIPUS THE KING
ANTIGONE Barbara THE MARCH OF FOLLY
Euripides THE TROJAN WOMEN Tuchman A DISTANT MIRROR
MEDEA
Aristophanes LYSISTRATA Robert I, CLAUDIUS
_____________ Graves GREEK MYTHS
Plutarch LIVES OF THE ANCIENT J. Bronowsky THE ASCENT OF MAN
GREEKS AND ROMANS
Epictetus THE ENCHIRIDION J. & F. Gies MARRIAGE AND FAMILY
(The Handbook) IN THE MIDDLE AGES
Ovid METAMORPHOSES LIFE IN A MEDIEVAL
Marcus CASTLE
Aurelius MEDITATIONS Desmond
Augustine CONFESSIONS Morris THE NAKED APE
Sheherazade THE 1001 NIGHTS
(The Arabian Nights) C. Willis DOOMSDAY BOOK
Omar
Khayyam THE RUBAIYAT Mort. Adler ARISTOTLE FOR
Aesop FABLES EVERYBODY
Chaucer CANTERBURY TALES Gene Wolf SOLDIER OF THE MIST
LEGENDS OF GOOD Ken Follett PILLARS OF THE EARTH
WOMEN Thomas
Marie Cahill HOW THE IRISH SAVED
De France LAÏS CIVILIZATION
Confucius ANALECTS
Sun Tsu THE ART OF WAR Time/Life WHAT LIFE WAS LIKE ON THE BANKS OF THE NILE
GUIDELINES FOR WRITING A BOOK REPORT
All book reports must be typed or word-processed; no hand-written book report will be accepted.
Book reports should be 4-5 pages of text, double spaced, and stapled in the upper left corner. No covers, binding, plastic, or paperclips please. Your name, the class, the date and the name of the book should appear at the top. Please state the author, the edition of the book, its publisher, date of publication, and translator (if applicable).
Below is a suggested format for your book report. These are only guidelines. Feel free to explore the book in your own style, but be careful to obey the rules of good essay writing.
1. A summary of the book (no more than one page). Observe the rules of summarizing; beware of plagiarism. Remember that a summary is an overview; do not recite every little detail of the book. Demonstrate that you have read the book. (Hint: If you own the book, make notes of important items, in the margins as you read).
2. An objective analysis of the book. What is the point of this book? How does it fit into the culture that produced it? How does it illustrate the thinking of the writer? The mind-set (value system) of the culture that produced it? How does this book compare to other works of this type? Other works of its time? Other works from this culture? What is its theme? What do you think the author is trying to say? To teach? To entertain? Why is this book important to us Humanities students? Had you ever heard of this book before? If you were the teacher, would you leave this book on the reading list? Does the book have any flaws? (If translated into English) Is the translation a good one? Are there any other translations of this book that you can find? How do they compare to this one?
3. Your personal reaction to the book. Did you like it, or not? (Note: You are not required to like the book that you read.) What did you like about it? Or, why did you not like it? Is there something unusual or special about this book? Do you have a favorite part of the book? An un-favorite part? Can you imagine yourself acting like any of the characters in the book? Would you act differently from the way the character acted, if you were in a similar situation? Does the story remind you of anything, from your own life perhaps? Are the characters or situations in the book similar to people or occurrences in the modern world? In the news? If you were going to make a movie or TV show based on this book, what actor(s) or actress(es) would you cast to play the characters? Would you recommend this book to a friend? To your mother? Why, or why not? Does this book cause any feelings in you? Sorrow, sympathy, anger, fear etc.? Did the book make you think about anything that you had not thought about before? Did anything about this book puzzle you? Is there anything that this book makes you wonder about? Do you think you would like to do some research to learn more about something based on this book? Would you be interested in learning about the author? Reading other works by the author? Other books on the same subject?
FILM RESEARCH REPORT
In place of the book report, a student may complete a motion picture film research report. The report must be of a film on the list (or approved substitute), and must conform to the specifications and format below.
Most theatrical films are not serious scholarly works. Therefore, you must supplement your viewing of the film with additional research. The additional research may be from the book or story from which the film was adapted (e.g. Aladdin, Robin Hood), a biographical dictionary, historical encyclopedia, or encyclopedia of myth and legend.