Fall 2017 Course Syllabusintd 101-33 4 Credits

Fall 2017 Course SyllabusINTD 101-33 4 Credits

RAMAPO COLLEGE OF NEW JERSEY

First-Year Seminar

Earth, Art, and the Human Body

Course Information

Prerequisites and/or Co-requisites: First-time, first-year student status
Wednesday 1-4:30

Instructor Information

Maria Geyman ND
Office Location: B122
Office Hours: by appointment
E-mail:
Mailbox Location: TAS office

Common FYS Description

Designed for first-time, full-time, first-year students, First-Year Seminar (FYS) provides a comprehensive introduction to college-level learning. Seminar courses are developed around an academic theme or topic that is based on one of Ramapo College’s academic pillars. First-Year students will have the opportunity to select a seminar that best suits their interests while learning about Ramapo’s academic foundation. The First-Year Seminar course helps students in their transition from high school to college life both in and out of the classroom. The common learning outcomes of FYS are: critical and creative thinking, college-level writing, oral communication, and information literacy. FYS classes are small to emphasize open discussion and experiential learning within the context of the theme of the seminar course. Peer facilitators play an essential role in each FYS class ensuring that first-year students have guidance from a more experienced student. FYS is also the home of the Ramapo Summer Reading Program; all first-year students read the same book and discuss and write about it in their seminars. FYS encourages new students to participate in a community of learners, to strengthen their critical thinking skills, and to communicate effectively both orally and in writing.

Course Description

We experience life on earth in our bodies. How do bodies work? Are our bodies influenced by the food that we eat, the media that we consume, the water that we drink? Do our bodies impact the climate and the surrounding world?

This first year seminar will focus on the intersection between life science, sustainability, and art. Because the area surrounding New York City is vibrant in nature, culture, and diversity, this class will contextualize the human body, from atom to biosphere, from cardiovascular to reproductive system, in scientific and cultural framework.

Along with discussion of the summer reading, the class will study the human body through discussion of reciprocity between human beings, the earth, climate, art, and social movements.

Assessment will be in the form of class discussion and writing. Experiential learning will include trips to a local and urban farm in NYC to develop understanding of local ecosystems and broad plant families and to the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Through these experiences and study of the body, students will discuss and question what it is that makes us human.

Course Goals

To create an understanding and appreciation for the human body in the context of a sustainable planet, through the lens of art, and through the assigned readings.

Measurable Student Learning Outcomes

Students will: / Research Paper / Class discussions and essays / Final Project
demonstrate the ability to think critically and creatively / x / x
demonstrate proficiency in written communication / x / x
demonstrate proficiency in oral communication / x
demonstrate information literacy / x / x

Peer Facilitators

As an added resource for first-year students, each section of First-Year Seminar (FYS) will have one or two peer facilitators. These upper-level students will attend FYS classes and act as student leaders modeling engaged participation in this seminar. They will serve as discussion leaders on issues that pertain to your personal and social development and they will facilitate weekly discussions. Your peer facilitator will be your mentor and will be available to you to provide guidance on navigating the different personal and social hurdles that you may encounter in your first year at Ramapo.

First-Year Academic Advising

Each First-Year Seminar course is assigned a professional Academic Advisor from the Center for Student Success who serves as your Academic Advisor during your first year. This advisor will attend your First-Year Seminar class for an advisement session or provide a group advisement session to review general academic advising policies and procedures. They will also be available to answer any general questions regarding college policies/practices. Students will be scheduled for individual appointments with their Student Success Advisor for assistance with course selection and the development of a personal academic plan. If you have any questions regarding Academic Advisement please call the Center for Student Success at (201) 684-7441 or via email at:

Texts, Readings, Materials

Hacker, Diana, and Nancy Sommers. Rules for Writers with 2016 MLA Update. 8th ed. Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2016. ISBN: 978-1-319-08349-6.

Ronson, Jon. So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed. Penguin, 2016. ISBN: 978-1-59463-401-7.

Plakias, Anastasia Cole. The Farm on the Roof: What Brooklyn Grange Taught Us about Entrepreneurship, Community, and Growing a Sustainable Business. Avery, 2016. ISBN: 978-1592409488

Course Requirements

Classroom Participation – Because this class is heavily focused on experiential learning, students should be prepared to engage interesting and unique learning environments. Weekly small group discussion will be a part of this course.

Writing Assignments– Each paper in this class will require a first draft and final draft submission. We will also do in class peer-review. This means that at the date that you submit your papers, you will trade with a classmate and proofread each other’s work. For each paper, the grade breakdown will be 20% proofreading, 10% proper citation, 70% content

1. Summer Reading Essay - In three page paper, answer and expand upon the follow questions. Who do you believe to be most susceptible to public shaming? Choose an individual whom Ronson interviewed. How was their shaming process reflective of our society? What does the shaming of this individual say about our societal values? Find examples of how these values are portrayed in media, music, or art. At least 2 citations.
2. Sustainable Agriculture Paper- In a four page research paper using at least three sources, compare and contrast your experiences at MEVO and Brooklyn Grange. Why is sustainable agriculture important? How did the founders of Brooklyn Grange create the largest urban rooftop farm in the country? What are some challenges facing farmers today? How does this impact the remainder of the country? What effects does agriculture have on the human body?
3. MOMA essay - In a three page paper, address the following. Write about your experience at MOMA. How does this compare to your experience when in nature? Where do art and nature overlap? Choose two artists or two pieces from one artist to compare and contrast from your visit. How does this artist portray the human body or the natural world? What do you notice or feel from this piece? In what context, historically was this piece created?

Examinations, Laboratory/Studio, Library Research– This class will not include quizzes or exams. Instead, the grade will come from research papers and a final presentation. Participation grade will consist of attendance, engagement with experiential coursework, and with class discussion.

Final Presentations - In groups of two, give a 15 minute presentation on the following:

Present a work of art, whether fine art, a piece of music, a dish that you cooked, a poem that you think answers the questions : What does it mean to be human? Choose an experiential learning trip to a place where you find art and science intersecting. Present your trip and what you learned.

General Education Program Course

This course fulfills the First-Year Seminar category of the general education curriculum at Ramapo College.Common to all First-Year Seminar (FYS) courses, you will develop critical thinking skills that are basic to college level study, regardless of your area of interest. You will be reading, writing, and participating in thoughtful group discussions with the aim of developing the skills of a scholar. You will learn to support your arguments using a foundation of knowledge and facts rather than simply using personal opinions and experiences.

This class is listed in the experiential learning course as this class will consist of trips to New York City and the greater Ramapo College area. As we try to understand the human body, human influence of environment, and the influence of environment on art, we will place ourselves in the beautiful places surrounding us.

Writing Intensive (WI) Course

Writing will be integrated into the life of this course. You will receive comments, direction, and support as you work on strengthening your writing skills. Your writing will be evaluated and returned in a timely fashion, allowing you to incorporate my comments into your future work. For help outside the classroom, please see me during my office hours and/or work with a writing tutor in the Center for Reading and Writing (CRW), Room: L-211, x7557, .

Weekly Class Schedule

Date / Class topic, reading assignment / Exam/assignment/paper due date
September 5th / Opening Convocation, Jon Ronson, author of So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed
Week 1 9/6 / Introduction to class, Discussion on summer reading
Week 2 9/13 / Hike at Ramapo Reservation, What constitutes the human body? Introduction to biology and sustainability, introduce Brooklyn Grange text / Plakias Chapter 1-2
Week 3 9/20 / Sustainability Center - Discussion of climate science and human role on the environment. How does climate change impact life on earth? Watch Before the Flood by Fisher Stevens. Followed by discussion ( peer facilitators 60 minutes) / Essay 1 due
Week 4 9/27 / Mevo Farm Trip, Oakland NJ - Meet at Ramapo, carpool together / Plakias Chapter 3-4
Week 5 10/4 / Library Research Workshop / Plakias Chapter 5-6
Week 6 10/11 / Academic Advisement Workshop + 60 minutes Peer Facilitators / Plakias Chapter 7-8
Week 7 10/18 / Brooklyn Grange Trip / Plakias Chapter 9 + epilogue
Week 8 10/25 / Discussion of Brooklyn Grange Trip and Text, Food and the Organ Systems Lecture
Week 9 11/1 / Mevo Farm Trip, Oakland NJ - Meet at Ramapo, carpool together
Provide 60-minutes [30 minutes extra] for Peer Facilitators to provide a follow-up / refresher to the Student Success academic advisement presentation and course registration strategies.
Week 10 11/8 / What is conservation? Watch and discuss Grizzly Man by Werner Herzog / essay 2
Week 11 11/15 / Class held at Spirituality Center- Watch and discuss Koyaanisqatsi by Godfrey Reggio
Week 12 / Thanksgiving recess (Wednesday, November 22nd to Sunday, November 26th)
Week 13 11/29 / MOMA trip
Week 14 12/6 / Discussion of MOMA trip and intersection of art and environmental movements / essay 3
Week 15 12/13 / Watch Walkabout by Nicolas Roeg + discuss, presentations if extra time is needed / Final Presentations
Final Exam / Presentations / Final Presentations

Important Dates

First Day of Classes: September 6th

Last day for Class Adjustments (on the Web): September 12th

Last day to withdraw from courses with “W” grade: November 20th

Thanksgiving Recess: Nov 22nd – 26th

Final Exam Week: December 16th – 22nd

Common Finals: December 16th

Last day to request “I” grades: December 22nd

Final Exam Snow Make-Up Day: December 23rd

Grading Policy

Your final grade will be calculated by the following. Please note that ability to complete the essays is contingent on participation and attendance.

Participation - 10 %
Attendance - 10%
Essay 1 - 20%
Essay 2 -20 %
Essay 3 -20 %
Final Presentation - 20%

Final Grades:

A ≥93
A- ≥90
B+ ≥87
B ≥83
B- ≥80
C+ ≥77

C ≥75
C- ≥70
D+ ≥65
D ≥60
F <60

Incomplete grades will be evaluated on a case by case basis as per college policy.

Attendance Policy

●No cell phone or social media use during class

●If you miss the trips, you are responsible to make these up on your own time.

●Late papers will be accepted with 10% off of the final paper grade.

College policy states that students must notify faculty within the first three weeks of the semester if they anticipate missing any classes due to religious observance.

Electronic Forms of Communication In accordance with College policy, I will use your Ramapo College email address (@ramapo.edu) to communicate with you about all course-related matters.

Any powerpoints, class notes, or additional readings will be posted on Moodle.

Students with Disabilities

If you need course adaptation or accommodations because of a disability that has been documented with the Office of Specialized Services, please make an appointment with me.

Please note: Students must be registered with the Office of Specialized Services (OSS) to receive accommodations. For additional information, contact the Office of Specialized Services (OSS) at x7514 or email at .

Academic Integrity Policy

All members of the community are expected to be honest and forthright in their academic endeavors. Since violations of academic integrity erode community confidence and undermine the pursuit of truth and knowledge at the College, academic dishonesty must be avoided.

Responsibilities

The Office of the Provost has responsibility for the oversight and enforcement of the Academic Integrity Policy and for making the policy an institutional priority. The Office of the Provost is also responsible for publishing the policy and for educating both faculty and students about the policy.

Criteria

There are four (4) broad forms of academic dishonesty:

1. Cheating

Cheating is an act of deception by which a student misrepresents his or her mastery of material on a test or other academic exercise. Examples of cheating include, but are not limited to:

ocopying from another student’s work;

oallowing another student to copy his/her work;

ousing unauthorized materials such as a textbook, notebook, or electronic devices during an examination;

ousing specifically prepared materials, such as notes written on clothing or other unauthorized notes, formula lists, etc., during an examination;

ocollaborating with another person during an examination by giving or receiving information without authorization from the instructor;

otaking a test for another person or asking or allowing another to take the student’s own test.

1. Plagiarism

Plagiarism occurs when a person represents someone else’s words, ideas, phrases, sentences, or data as one’s own work. When a student submits work that includes such material, the source of that information must be acknowledged through complete, accurate, and specific footnote or endnote references; additionally, verbatim statements must be acknowledged through quotation marks. To avoid a charge of plagiarism, a student should be sure to include an acknowledgment of indebtedness:

owhenever he or she quotes another person’s words directly;

owhenever he or she uses another person’s ideas, opinions, or theories, even if they have been completely paraphrased in one’s own words;

owhenever he or she allows another individual to contribute to the work in some significant fashion (for instance, through editing or sharing of ideas);

owhenever he or she uses facts, statistics, or other illustrative material taken from a source, unless the information is common knowledge.

Examples of standard citation formats can be found on the George T. Potter Library Website: Library Website: Citation Manuals and Style Guides

1. Academic Misconduct

Academic misconduct includes the alteration of grades, involvement in the acquisition or distribution of unadministered tests, and the unauthorized submission of student work in more than one class. Examples of academic misconduct include, but are not limited to:

ochanging, altering, falsifying, or being the accessory to the changing, altering, or falsifying of a grade report or form, transcript, or other academic record, or entering any computer system or College office or building for that purpose;

ostealing, buying, selling, giving way, or otherwise obtaining all or part of any unadministered test or paper or entering any computer system or College office or building for the purpose of obtaining an unadministered test;

osubmitting written work (in whole or in significant part) to fulfill the requirements of more than one course without the explicit permission of both instructors;

odisregarding policies governing the use of human subjects or animals in research;

osabotaging another student’s work through actions designed to prevent the student from successfully completing an assignment;

oknowingly facilitating a violation of the academic integrity policy by another person.

1. Fabrication

Fabrication refers to the deliberate use of invented information or the falsification of research or other findings with the intent to deceive. Examples of fabrication include, but are not limited to:

ociting information not taken from the source indicated;

ociting of sources in a “works cited” that were not used in that project;

oaltering, stealing, and/or falsifying research data used in research reports, theses, or dissertations;

osubmitting as one’s own any academic work prepared in whole or in part by others, including the use of another’s identity;

ofalsifying information or signatures on registration, withdrawal, or other academic forms and records.

Ramapo College’s policy on academic integrity policy can be found here:

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