Syllabus for HUM 110X--Foundations of Western Culture, M 7-10 p.m., 258

Term: Fall 2015 (20151), Aug. 31-Dec. 11

Instructor Information:

Instructor Name

Walter Skiba

Office Number:

Room 524

Phone Number:

219-473-4270, (Illinois) 773-721-0202, ext. 270

Email: wskiba@ccsj.edu

Hours Available:

MW—10-11:45 a.m., 2-4 p.m., (M) 6-6:45 p.m.

TR--10 a.m.-4 p.m.

F—10 a.m.-1 p.m.

Instructor Background: Education: Bachelor of Arts in speech and theater, St. Joseph’s College Calumet Campus; Master of Arts in Theater, University of Connecticut; Master of Music, Roosevelt University. Positions at CCSJ: Associate Professor of Arts and Humanities. Community activities: contributor to the NWI Times—feature articles on arts events. Activities: vegetable gardening, walking.

Course Information:

Course Time: M 7-10 p.m.

Classroom: 258

Prerequisites:

None

Textbooks:

Humanities 110—Foundations of Western Culture, Calumet College of St. Joseph (common text for all sections) Handouts and additional readings will be posted in Blackboard; some will be distributed in class. To access the Blackboard site, go to www.ccsj.edu/blackboard and follow login procedures.

Learning Outcomes/ Competencies Students in this course will: 1. Know the periods in the history of Western Civilization and the names and works of representative writers, artists, philosophers, and religious teachers. 2. Understand the key intellectual, philosophical, artistic, and religious movements and concepts that have defined the humanities throughout the history of Western culture. 3. Learn how to read philosophy, religious texts, literature and history, look at great works of art, and listen to classical music and experience theater and film with greater sensitivity and insight. 4. Learn to appreciate the humanities and the role they can play in creating the self, understanding society, and defining the Good Life. 5. Know the cultural opportunities afforded by the Chicagoland area, including the Art Institute, the Lyric Opera, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and variety of Chicagoland theaters. Course Description: This course is an introduction to the humanities, the subjects that explore what it means to be human: art, music, theatre, film, literature, philosophy and religion. We will study significant cultural achievements of Western Civilization from the ancient Greeks to the present day, examining their historical context, content and form, and connections to us. A field experience to the Art Institute of Chicago may be arranged in conjunction with daytime learning communities (fall and spring semesters).

Learning Strategies: formative assessment quizzes on chapters assigned for reading; immediate review of quizzes as a lead-in to brief overview of chapter essentials; student presentations on artworks, texts and other topics; small-group activities; listening and reacting to music selections; reading aloud of plays; viewing, discussing and writing about coordinated videos and films. Experiential Learning Opportunities:

There may be opportunities for some students to attend the CCSJ-sponsored trip with freshmen learning communities to the Art Institute of Chicago, scheduled in the latter part of the semester.

HUM 110 also meets the following outcomes for Indiana Statewide Transfer General Education Core

6. Humanistic and Artistic Ways of Knowing

Students in this course will:

6.1 Recognize and describe humanistic, historical, or artistic works or problems and patterns of the human experience.

6.2 Apply disciplinary methodologies, epistemologies, and traditions of the humanities and the arts, including the ability to distinguish primary and secondary sources.

6.3 Analyze and evaluate texts, objects, events, or ideas in their cultural, intellectual or historical contexts

6.4 Analyze the concepts and principles of various types of humanistic or artistic expression.

6.5 Create, interpret, or reinterpret artistic and/or humanistic works through performance or criticism.

6.6 Develop arguments about forms of human agency or expression grounded in rational analysis and in an understanding of and respect for spatial, temporal, and cultural contexts.

6.7 Analyze diverse narratives and evidence in order to explore the complexity of human experience across space and time.

Signature assignments: This General Education class will help you prepare for CCSJ's Signature Assignments, a common written and oral project that students

complete in Social Justice as freshmen, Religious Studies as sophomores, and Philosophy as juniors. Signature Assignments are assessed for written communications, oral communications, and critical thinking. You must meet required scores in Religious Studies to move ahead to Philosophy, and in Philosophy to complete your General Education program.

Assessments:

Formative Assessments:

In-class quizzes on assigned chapters; individual and small-group reports on videos, plays and films studied in class; class participation/collaboration/attendance

75% of grade

Summative Assessments:

oral presentations on selected artworks or short texts; midterm and final tests

25 % of grade

Assessment Details and Points

Final grades are determined by total points earned as follows:

--10 chapter quizzes--40 points (4 points each, 5 for perfect score, additional points available in some quizzes)

--4 or more 1-2 page papers on plays and videos, 2 or more small group projects--4 points each, 5 for exceptional work—24 points (bonus points available

--Class participation—10 points

--includes arriving on time, staying for the entire period, following classroom decorum expectations, listening, taking notes, engaging in small and large group activities, asking questions, completing in-class assignments

--Oral presentation on selected visual artwork, music selection, or text—8 points

--Midterm test on chapters 1-5 and coordinated activities—8 points

--Final test on chapters 6-10 and coordinated activities —10 points

Total: 100 points

Grading Scale:

Grade Points A 100-92 A- 91-90

Class Policy for Assignments:

1-2 page papers are due at the beginning of the class specified. They can be accepted up to one week late with instructor approval. Let me know the reason for the late submission and when I should expect it. Points will be lost for assignments not made up.

Missed quizzes must be made up within ONE week, or points will be lost.

Use Blackboard for submitting specified assignments to me; directions will be given in class.

Format for Written Assignments: Out-of class written assignments must be typed and double-spaced, 12 or 14 pt. font accepted. The following items should appear in the upper right-hand corner of the first page:

--student’s name, title of artwork or document, chapter number, date

Class Policy on Attendance:

You cannot succeed in this class if you do not attend. We believe that intellectual growth and success in higher education occur through interaction in the classroom and laboratories. However, we do not want to penalize students for participating in college-sponsored events. When you miss class because of a college event, you must give notice of your absence in advance, and you are responsible for all missed work. Being absent doesn’t excuse you from doing class work; you have more responsibilities to keep up and meet the objectives of this course.

B+ 89-88 B 87-82 B- 81-80 C+ 79-78 C 77-72 C- 71-70 D+ 69-68 D 67-62 D- 61-60 F 59 and

below

3 absences (9 class hours) are allowed for any personal reason with instructor notification, required participation in college-sponsored events, such as athletics, or jury duty (provide official notification). All other absences incur a deduction of 2 points each in the class participation component of one’s final grade. 1 point deduction for arriving late or leaving early.

Class Policy on Electronic Devices: Electronic devices can only be used in class for course-related purposes. If you text or access the Internet for other purposes, you may be asked to leave, in which case you will be marked absent. Exceptions for parental, caregiver, work and other special needs must be cleared with instructor in advance. Headphones are not allowed. Classroom decorum policy applies.

Class meetings and chapter assignments (includes some but not all class activities): In-class quizzes will be given for each chapter; some topics may overlap into the next class.

Aug. 31—Introduction to course; pre-test; film excerpt Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2011), in-class responses to discussion questions

Sept. 7—Labor Day, NO CLASS

Sept. 14--Chapter 1—Ancient and Classical Greece, quiz and follow-up discussion; Plato’s Allegory of the Cave (reading and small-group activity); Plautus’ comedy “The Menaechmus Brothers,” part 1, in-class reading and discussion, video on Greek art and architecture

Sept. 21--Chapter 2—Pagan Rome; Plautus’ comedy “The Menaechmus Brothers,” part 2, in-class reading and small-group activity; video on Roman architecture and sculpture Sept. 28--Chapter 3—Religions of the Book: Judaism, Christianity and Islam; the Parable of the Good Samaritan (reading and discussion): PBS video The Life of Muhammad, part 1, small-group activity and 1-2 page paper assignment Oct. 5--Chapter 4—The Christian Middle Ages; Pilgrimage churches, Romanesque architecture (Art of the Western World video); sacred and secular Medieval music; film The Way (2011), part 1, discussion

Oct. 12—Chapter 4 continued: Gothic architecture (Art of the Western World video); The Way (2011), part 2, small-group activity and 1-2 page paper assignment

Oct. 19—Chapter 5--The Renaissance: video The Ascent of Money (episode 1, part 1), small-group activity; discussion of artworks by Donatello, Da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael; sacred and secular music selections Oct. 26—Short midterm test combined with chapter quiz; Chapter 6 —Early Modernity: Reformation, Global Revision, and Scientific Revolution; video The Ascent of Money (episode 1, part 2), small-group activity; discussion of artworks by Bernini, Caravaggio and Gentileschi; music selections from Reformation and Baroque composers

Nov. 2--Chapter 7—Enlightenment and Romanticism; video of Joss Whedon’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing (2013) or Leonard Bernstein’s Candide (based on Voltaire’s work), part 1, discussion; artworks by David, Goya, Constable and Turner; music selections from Mozart, Beethoven and Berlioz

Nov. 9--Chapter 8 —The Industrial Age; French Impressionism as exemplified by Monet’s Impression Sunrise; music of Claude Debussy; Much Ado About Nothing (2013) or Candide (based on Voltaire’s work), part 2,small-group activity and 1-2 page paper assignment

Nov. 16--Chapter 9—20th Century Modernism; expressionism in the arts as exemplified by The Scream; music selections by Schoenberg, Stravinsky, Joplin and Ellington; film The Great Debaters (2007), part 1

Nov. 23--Chapter 10 — The Postmodern Present; The Great Debaters (2007), part 2, small-group activity and assignment of 1-2 page paper; postmodernism in films (excerpt form The Story of Film: An Odyssey, episode 14); music by contemporary composers including John Adams’ A Short Ride in a Fast Machine Nov. 30—Oral presentations on assigned visual artworks, music selections, poems or other texts; take-home final test questions distributed Dec. 7—Post-test; final test, take-home and in-class components Note: The above schedule is subject to change, with notification given in class and on Blackboard. Other films/videos may be substituted for titles listed.

Classroom decorum and respect: In our class: 1) everyone is allowed to feel they can work and learn in a safe and caring environment; 2) everyone learns about, understands, appreciates, and respects varied races, ethnicities, classes, genders, physical and mental abilities; 3) everyone matters; 4) all individuals are to be respected and treated with dignity and civility; and 5) everyone shares

the responsibility for making our class, and CCSJ, a positive and better place to work and learn. Comments and questions are encouraged at appropriate times, but only one person talks at a time (except during small-group activities). Students are expected to arrive and be ready to start class on time, stay for the entire period, and actively engage in all activities. Leaving and re-entering the room during class is not allowed except in unusual circumstances. Sidebar conversations, sleeping and unauthorized use of electronic devices are out of place. Food and beverages may be allowed with specified restrictions. A 10-15 minute break will be given midway through the class period. A second 5-minute break may be given as needed. The instructor will give a student who engages in any inappropriate or disruptive behavior a verbal warning. (Disruptive behavior interferes with the normal operation of the class.) If the offending behavior persists, the instructor will ask the student to leave the class and notify the Dean of Students, athletic coach or academic advisor. To be allowed back into class, the student must first meet with the instructor, acknowledge the inappropriateness of the behavior, and agree not to engage in it again. If any kind of unacceptable behavior continues, the instructor will request that the student withdraw voluntarily or be withdrawn administratively from the class. The instructor determines what is considered unacceptable classroom behavior. Students who are unwilling to live with this policy should change their class schedule. Students are responsible for maintaining eligibility requirements for scholarships, financial aid or athletics. Doing Your Own Work

REQUIRED: If you turn in work that is not your own, you are subject to judicial review, and these procedures can be found in the College Catalog and the Student Planner. The maximum penalty for any form of academic dishonesty is dismissal from the College.

Using standard citation guidelines, such as MLA or APA format, to document sources avoids plagiarism. The Library has reference copies of each of these manuals, and there are brief checklists in your Student Handbook and Planner.

PLEASE NOTE: All papers may be electronically checked for plagiarism.

Withdrawing from Class

Required: After the last day established for class changes has passed (see the College calendar), you may withdraw from a course by following the policy outlined in the CCSJ Course Catalog.

Resources

Student Success Center:

Required: The Student Success Center provides faculty tutors at all levels to help you master specific subjects and develop effective learning skills. It is open to all students at no charge. You can contact the Student Success Center at 219 473-4287 or stop by the Library.

Disability Services:

Required: Disability Services strives to meet the needs of all students by providing academic services in accordance with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) guidelines. If you believe that you need a “reasonable accommodation” because of a disability, contact the Disability Services Coordinator at 219-473-4349.

CCSJ Alerts:

Required: Calumet College of St. Joseph’s emergency communications system will tell you about emergencies, weather-related closings, or other incidents via text, email, or voice messages. Please sign up for this important service annually on the College’s website at: http://www.ccsj.edu/alerts/index.html.

In addition, you can check other media for important information, such as school closings:

Internet: http://www.ccsj.edu

Radio: WAKE – 1500 AM, WGN – 720 AM, WIJE – 105.5 FM, WLS – 890 AM, WZVN – 107.1 FM, WBBM NEWS RADIO 78

TV Channels: 2, 5, 7, 9, 32