GREAT BASIN COLLEGE

COURSE SYLLABUS

HUM 101: Introduction to the Humanities (3 cr.)

Spring 2014

Instructor: Dale Griffith, Ph.D. (Pahrump Campus)

Office: Pahrump Valley Campus. #101A

Phone: 755-727-2008; Fax: 775-727-2014

E-mail: or

Office Hours: Monday 1:30-2:30 pm, Tuesday 12:30-2:30 pm, Wednesday 7:00-8:00 pm, Thursday 10:00-11:00 am

And by Appointment

Texts and Materials:Perry, Marvin, et.al. Sources of the Western Tradition. Vol 1. (Required) 0-618-16227-5. Please note that the cheapest way to purchase this book is through either Amazon.com or abebooks.com. I do not care which edition a student purchases, simply try to get the cheapest one available (we are smart enough to work with several different editions in this class!). Some important readings are not in this volume of the source book, and these will be sent to students via fax or posted on Webcampus.

Catalog Description: This course is an introduction to the humanities through a study of seven major arts including film, drama, music, literature, painting, sculpture, and architecture. Each of these arts is considered from the perspective of historical development, the elements used in creating works of art, meaning and form, and criticism and critical evaluation. Prerequisite: ENG 101 reading level

Reading and Observation Assignments: Preparation for class discussion requires out-of-class reading; please try to keep abreast of the reading assignments.

Student Evaluation: The final grade will be determined by the following criteria:

·  Regular class attendance (5% will be added to final grade for perfect attendance)

·  Mid-term (50%): Due March 17

·  Final examination (50%): Due on finals week

Grades: Following is the breakdown of percentages and letter grade equivalents.

Mid-term: 50%

Final: 50%

Mid and final examinations will be open-book and open-note for the essay sections of the examinations. If the instructor feels that students are not keeping up on the readings it may be necessary to institute closed-book quizzes during the semester, these will be factored into the student’s final grade. Because the essay examinations are open-book and open-note, students MUST use supporting evidence, in the form of quotes, in their essays.

Grades:

Following is the breakdown of percentages and letter grade equivalents.

100-95 A

94-90 A-

89-86 B+

85-83 B

82-80 B-

79-76 C+

75-73 C

72-70 C-

69-66 D+

65-60 D

56-59 D-

55 and below F

According to the policy established by the College, to receive an Incomplete, a student must have completed at least ¾ of the course with a grade of C or better, but be unable to complete the class for good cause.

Outcomes / Measurement
The ability to read texts critically and to be able to discern the presuppositions and implications and to evaluate their effectiveness / Classroom discussions; mid-term and final exam
The ability to appreciate different literary and artistic forms and to perceive the development of cultural forms / Classroom discussions and presentations
An awareness of how the present is lined to the past through formative ideas
Ability to express ideas effectively in both written and oral form / Mid-term and final examination
Classroom discussions, presentations, written examinations

Policy of Academic Integrity: Students are expected to be honest in all their academic endeavors. If ideas are borrowed, the source must be given credit using standard MLA documentation rules. Internet sources are subject to documentation as well. Plagiarism violates the standards of intellectual honesty. Students who violate such standards are subject to punishment ranging from failing the class to dismissal from the College. Please see page 29 of the General Catalogue 2013-2014 for further information.

Grade Appeal of Professional Conduct: Any student with concerns or academic problems, or needing special assistance, may discuss such matters firstly with their instructor---as soon as possible. Please see page 50-51 of the General Catalogue 2013-2014 on the procedure which deals with such issues.

Student Conduct: Students are expected to observe the conventions of common courtesy: no cell phones in class, prompt attendance, courteous listening, and attention to due dates. Male students will please refrain from wearing hats during class (Please remember that the instructor is an antique and used to differing concepts of etiquette than more up-to-date individuals).

Attendance: Regular attendance is critical to success in this course. GBC’s attendance policy allows up to three absences in a three-credit class without penalty, but those should be used to cover emergency absences. Instructors may drop students for excessive absence. (See GBC’s General Catalog for the complete attendance policy). The instructor will factor in class attendance in the student’s final grade. Please see page 49 of the General Catalogue 2013-2014 for further clarification.

Because of recent problems with students not attending classes and still demanding the right to do make-up work the instructor will withdraw students after SIX absences unless there are extenuating circumstances.

Please note the following

According to new College procedures faculty no longer have the option of giving students a ‘W” grade at the end of the semester for students who have not completed the course; faculty must now assign such students an “F” letter grade.

For students who have not attended classes or failed to turn in assignments it is now up to the student to drop the class in order to receive a “W” grade. Please see page 50 of the General Catalogue 2013-2014.

Also, for students who have received an Incomplete, for whatever reason, it is now necessary to complete all missing work by either October 15, for Spring Semesters, or March 15 for Fall Semesters of the following semester, otherwise an Incomplete becomes an automatic “F.”

ADA Statement: GBC supports providing equal access for students with disabilities. An advisor is available to discuss appropriate accommodations with students. Please contact the ADA Officer (Julie Byrnes) in Elko at 775.753.2271 at your earliest convenience to request timely and appropriate accommodations.

Outcomes: General Education and Humanities 101

Communication Skills

Written Communication: Students who complete general education courses will demonstrate the ability to use written communication skills in the following ways:

·  Choose essay formats appropriate to audience and purpose for mid-term and final examination.

·  Choose diction and style appropriate to audience and purpose.

·  Integrate evidence, examples, and details to support the central idea or thesis of the text.

·  Develop coherent and effective paragraphs.

·  Use standard edited English and the documentation style appropriate to the discipline.

Reading Skills: Students who complete General Education courses will:

·  Adjust reading speed according to genre, difficulty of text, and reading purpose.

·  Recognize functions of various selections of text, i.e. offering evidence to support a point

·  Identify the purpose of the author as presented in a text

·  Summarize and /or paraphrase main points

·  Create new text which integrates and synthesizes pre-existing knowledge and knowledge gained from reading in the writing of new texts (papers, essays, and the like)

Measurement of student outcomes

All Humanities 101 students produce two essay examinations which fulfill the above standards.

Critical Thinking: Measurement of outcomes

Primary source materials used in this course will deal with complicated issue regarding philosophy, sociology, history, art and literature. To fully comprehend the reading materials student must develop a critical thinking ability.

Technological Understanding

Use basic computer technology competently in current applications (all written work to be processed on a computer using Word and sent as an attachment to the instructor for grading and comments).

Measurement of learner outcomes

Students demonstrate the ability to use word processing programs to produce accurately formatted essay examinations.

Student Outcomes / Measurement
Communication Skills / Completed essay examinations
Analyze statistical content of primary source materials / Written examinations using critical process
Develop hypothesis, gather data, draw conclusions, present conclusions in written format / Evaluation of examination essays fulfillment of expected outcomes.
Communicates and expresses thoughts fluently and expressively / Written essay evaluated for ease of reading and understanding of presented information

Reading list for Humanities 101

I do know that students, especially if you have purchased used copies, will have differing pages for the readings, so I am simply entering the title of the selections. Besides the introduction to the chapter, please read each individual introduction to the specific readings. The readings for week fourteen will be sent to students as well as a selection of art work.

Week 1: Chapter 1: The Near East. Please read the following selections:

The Epic of Gilgamesh

Guidelines for the Ruler

The Assyrian Empire: Inscription of Tiglathpileser I

Week 2: Chapter 2: The Hebrews. Please read the following selections:

The Humaneness of Hebrew Law

The Age of Classical Prophecy (read only “Isaiah: Peace and Humanity.”)

Week 3: Chapter 3: The Greeks. Please read the following selections:

The Expansion of Reason; (Please read: “Hippocrates: The Sacred Disease”; “Thucydides: Method of Historical Inquiry”; “Critias: Religion as a Human Invention.”)

Week 4: Chapter 3, cont.

Socrates: The Rational Individual (Read only the introduction)

Plato: The Philosopher King

Week 5: Chapter 3, cont.

Plato: The Republic (Read only “The Cave,” which begins with the editor’s blurb, “Plato said that genuine philosophers are…”)

Aristotle: Science and Politics (Read only introduction); Aristotle: History of Animals and Politics (Read section “Politics” only)

Week 6: Chapter 4. The Roman Republic. Please read the following selections:

Lucretius: Denunciation of Religion

Cicero: Advocate of Stoicism

Week 7-8: Chapter 6: Early Christianity. Please read the following selections:

Christianity and Greco-Roman Learning (Please read: “Tertullian: What has Jerusalem to do with Athens?” and “Clement of Alexandria: In Defense of Greek Learning”)

Week 9: Chapter 9: The Renaissance: Please read the following selections:

Break with Medieval Political Theory: Niccolo Machiavelli: The Prince

Week 10-13: Chapter 13: The Enlightenment: Please read the following selections:

The Enlightenment Outlook

Immanuel Kant: What is Enlightenment?

Political Liberty

John Lock: Second Treatise on Government (This reading is rather boring, I readily admit…but is necessary to understand the American Declaration of Independence)

Thomas Jefferson: Declaration of Independence

Voltaire: A Plea for Tolerance and Reason

Rousseau: Political Reform

Jean Jacques Rousseau: The Social Contract

Week 14: The following readings are not in the book and will be sent to students:

Friedrich Nietzsche: The Will to Power

Friedrich Nietzsche: The Antichrist

The Holocaust: Hermann Graebe: Slaughter of the Jews in the Ukraine

Lev Razgon: True Stories: The Routine of Execution

Week 15: Overview for final examination

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