HUMN303 Introduction
to the Humanities
Week 1
Discussion
DQ1 The Value of the Humanities
What is the value of studying the humanities in a business
or technical curriculum? How might a topic such as ancient art enhance
contemporary life?
DQ2 Ancient Works of Art
Choose a work of art from the reading in Chapter 1. Discuss
how the work is a reflection of the ancient culture that created it. Also, did
anything particularly surprise or impress you about the work of art or the
ancient people who created it?
HUMN303 Introduction
to the Humanities
Week 2
Discussion
Greek and Roman Architectural Influences
This week you will read and learn about architectural
influences from Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire. What are some of the main
features of these architectural styles? Use examples from the text or the
digital fieldtrip archives to help support your answer. Please remember to
provide images and citations to help illustrate your points.
HUMN303 Introduction
to the Humanities
Week 3
Discussion
Theater
This week, we took a brief look at Shakespeare's The Tempest
(see the Assignments section). This five-act play opens with a storm at sea (a
tempest) and throughout, Shakespeare has planted allusions to apparitions and
magic, such as the character Ariel who, at times, appears to be invisible to
the other characters. It is a given that the special effects, such as those
often used in films, to actually give the stage the appearance of a deadly
tempest or actually make Ariel an invisible presence are not achievable on the
stage. To fill in this gap, audiences suspend disbelief.
In this thread, let's discuss the power and limitations of
theatrical imagination. Please feel free to draw from productions you have
seen. (The old high school productions count, too!) Why are we willing to
suspend disbelief when we see a play, yet we demand so much more from a film production?
Do you think that the limitation on special effects and alternative demand on
the audience member to suspend disbelief is a weakness or a strength of the
theatrical experience? Would you rather see The Tempest on stage or in film?
Why?
HUMN303 Introduction
to the Humanities
Week 4
Discussion
DQ1 Rubens
Line, color, hue, balance, form and perspective were some of
the key concepts covered in this week’s tutorial. Use the example of a painting by Peter Paul
Rubens and discuss how one or more of this week’s key concepts are featured in
the painting.
Identify the painting by title, and include citations for
any material you’ve researched.
DQ2 Enlightenment and Industrial Revolution
Given the information from this week's reading on the
Enlightenment, the New Rationalism, and the Scientific Revolution, how did
advancements in science and reasoning change the lives of people at this time?
In addition, what effects did the Industrial Revolution have on the world?
HUMN303 Introduction
to the Humanities
Week 5
Discussion
DQ1 Roots of Revolution
Consider the role of revolution in governmental structure
and culture. Provide an example from the reading for the week or your
experience visiting the National Archives to explain the relationship between
philosophy and political action.
DQ2 Realism and Impressionism
For this week's discussion, choose realism or impressionism
as a basis for your posts and discuss how your choice is manifested in any area
of the humanities (i.e., painting, sculpture, literature, music, etc.), and
give an example from any discipline in the humanities to illustrate how realism
or impressionism influenced the work of art. Please be sure to give an analysis
of how the work of art was influenced by the movement.
HUMN303 Introduction
to the Humanities
Week 6
Discussion
Inspiration Piece
In this forum, post your inspiration piece for the Art
Production and Presentation assignment. Discuss why you chose this particular
piece. How does it apply to your profession?
HUMN303 Introduction
to the Humanities
Week 7
Discussion
DQ1 Controversial Art and Censorship
Although controversial art is not a topic exclusive to the
20th century, the distribution of information regarding controversial art has
increased with the proliferation of media. Please discuss an example of a 20th
century controversial work of art from any discipline of the humanities (music,
literature, sculpture, film, etc.) and an accompanying statement from the
artist(s). Based on your example, to what extent does controversial art make a
social contribution? Are governments ever justified in censoring art?
DQ2 Pop Art
What were some of the influences of the pop art phenomenon?
Should we consider the creative elements of popular culture, which are very
often mass produced works of art?
HUMN303 Introduction
to the Humanities
Week 8
Discussion
Looking Ahead
After seven weeks of uncovering various aspects of the
humanities, the arts, the history, the philosophy, and so on, we bring the
conversation full circle. Discuss how humanities may impact your life on a
professional and personal level. Identify specific moments in the course that
helped you identify new or different ways of evaluation and/or analysis. Locate
an article about your field of study that reflects the practice and
understanding of the humanities and share that research while explaining its
connection and significance to the humanities.
HUMN303 Introduction
to the Humanities
Week 2
Digital Field Trip Reflection - Ancient Greece at the Met
This week you will take a digital field trip to view the
Ancient Greece Architecture Gallery at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Located
in New York, the Met offers one of the United States' most diverse and largest
collections of art in the world. Your visit to the digital archive will help
you develop your understanding of ancient Greek architectural forms, and
provide key details about the contexts that these forms emerged from.
For this assignment you will need to:
Read the Lecture for the week
Engage in weekly Discussions to help develop ideas
Visit the Met Archive at:
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/grarc/hd_grarc.htm (Links to an external site.)Links to an
external site.
Produce a two-page reflection assignment (see description
below)
For your reflection assignment for this week, please select
one primary example from the archive and address the following in a two-page
reflection assignment:
Describe the example you have selected and provide the
specific URL and the image
Explain the origins and context of the example
Include examples from the textbook this week that help
develop your analysis of the work and its context
Provide a link to a contemporary architecture work to help
discuss the influence that ancient Greece continues to have on contemporary
cultural patterns
HUMN303 Introduction
to the Humanities
Week 3 The
Tempest - Viewing and Reflection
Plays are meant to be performed, rather than read. The
purpose of dramatic arts often extends far beyond the words written on a page;
staging, lighting, costumes intonation, expression, and audience experience are
all part of the experience of a theatrical production. To help develop your
understanding of The Tempest and the cultural role of the dramatic arts, you
will view a production of the play this week and write a two-page reflection to
explain your viewing experience.
Below, please find several classic interpretations and modern
adaptations of The Tempest:
Classic Interpretations:
The Tempest: St. Louis Shakespeare Festival (Links to an
external site.)Links to an external site.
The Tempest: Savage Rose Theater Company (Links to an
external site.)Links to an external site.
Adaptations:
The Tempest: Central Washington Production (Links to an
external site.)Links to an external site.
The Tempest: A Rock and Roll Space Odyssey (Links to an
external site.)Links to an external site.
For this assignment, you will view one of the above and
complete a reflection that addresses the following:
Identify the performance that you have selected.
Describe the staging, lighting, costumes, and characters of
the performance. How do these match or revise the written version of the play?
What type of mood and tone does the performance create? How?
What parts of the play are easier to understand through
performance? What are some details that stood out through performance?
What does the performance suggest about the role of theater
in contemporary culture?
HUMN303 Introduction
to the Humanities
Week 5
Digital Field Trip Reflection - The National Archives
This week you will take a digital field trip to view the
Founding Documents Gallery at the National Archives. Located in Washington
D.C., the National Archives are dedicated to preserving important historical
and cultural documents, including the founding documents of the United States.
Your visit to the digital archive will help you develop your understanding of
definitions of democracy and political revolution, and provide key details
about the contexts that these forms emerge from.
For this assignment you will need to:
Read the Lesson for the week
Engage in weekly Discussions to help develop ideas
Visit the National Archives at:
https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs
(Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
Produce a two-page reflection assignment (see description
below)
For your reflection assignment for this week, please select
one primary example from the archive and address the following in a two-page
reflection assignment:
Describe the example you have selected and provide the
specific URL and the image
Explain the origins and context of the example
Include examples from the textbook this week that help
develop your analysis of the work and its context
Provide a link to contemporary issues in government to help
discuss the influence that these documents continue to have on contemporary
cultural patterns.
HUMN303 Introduction
to the Humanities
Week 6 Art
Production and Presentation
This week you will use your reading for the week as a point
of departure to create your own artistic production in a reflection paper and
narrated PowerPoint.
Directions
Complete the reading for this week
Select one of the visual art pieces from the chapter to use
as a point of inspiration
Create an art piece inspired by your selected art piece
Write a one-page reflection about the relationship between
your art production and the inspiration piece
Create a 5-minute narrated PowerPoint for this week
Include the following in the reflection paper:
Inspiration Piece
Record the title, artist, year, place of origin.
Explain the context and artistic movement.
Your Original Artwork
Methods: paint, watercolor, pencil, crayon, marker, collage,
sculpture
NO COMPUTER GENERATED PIECES
Provide a title.
Explain the narrative of your piece and the connection to
the inspiration.
Include the following in the presentation:
Provide an introduction.
Explain and show your inspiration piece.
Describe and show your art piece.
Explain the thematic connection between the two pieces.
HUMN303 Introduction
to the Humanities
Course
Project
Objectives
This course will take you through huge chunks of human
history from the Paleolithic era through the Vietnam War and into our
postmodern world. Your course project will culminate in an eight-ten page
paper. Your research paper will require a minimum of five academic-scholarly
sources. Both in-text citation and an end reference page as specified by the
APA style sheet are required. Scrupulous documentation plus high originality,
analysis, insight, and fresh applications of ideas are highly prized. Mere
reporting, describing, and finding others' ideas are discouraged, and
plagiarism is grounds for failure. Your paper is to be 70-80% original and 20-30%
resourced (documented via turnitin.com). Details and milestones follow.
Suggested Topics of Investigation
Here are suggested topics, which you may elect to use or not
use. If you wish to work outside of these suggestions, be sure to clear your
project with your professor.
Compare and contrast society during the early Renaissance in
Europe to contemporary society
Compare and contrast human understanding of the nature of
revenge prior to and after the creation of Hamlet
Analyze the themes, imagery or interpretation of The Waste
Land and describe how one or more of these are found in contemporary society
Evaluate the work of Artemisia Gentileschi Renaissance
Artist and interpret why she is considered an early feminist
Analyze views of women's reproductive solutions in the 19th
Century and interpret their historical and contemporary impact.
Distinguish the essential differences between the major
thought of Plato and Aristotle and use the information to illustrate the impact
of philosophy on contemporary views on a given them (life, freedom, power,
equality, and more)
Examine views of warfare and battle throughout the ages and
provide an interpretation that explains the evolution of the faceless war
Analyze the impact of the Industrial Age and the rise of capitalism
and discuss the key features of both and their influence on contemporary
society
Investigate the history of slavery and discuss the ways in
which this history impacts contemporary society
Milestones
Proposal - Week 2 (50 points)
Create a proposal of 2 pages that references one academic
scholarly source for the research project you intend to complete. This project
should engage at least one academic source, should include an introduction and
thesis to the best extent that you know it at this point in time, and should
locate a central controversy that requires deft and subtle handling. Be sure to
adhere to APA style for in-text citation and final reference page. (No cover
page is needed.)
Select a project from among those suggested on the Course
Project page under Course Home or discuss a special topic with your professor.
Annotated Bibliography (Five Annotations Required)- Week 4
(75 points)
Create a complete Annotated Bibliography for 5 academic
scholarly sources, which include your introduction and thesis, publication
details, and the annotation (see below for examples of each component). A total
of 5 academic-scholarly sources are required for completion of your final
research project.
Scholarship means that:
the author has a Ph.D. or other terminal degree,
the work appears in a multi-volumed, peer-reviewed journal,
and has ample references at the end.
Good annotations:
capture publication details,
offer a student introduction and thesis, and
a detailed reading of the source, covering the following:
Offers the student's introduction and thesis to the best
extent s/he knows it at this point in time,
Summarizes key points, and
identifies key terms (using quotation marks, and citing a
page in parentheses);
Locates controversies or "problems" raised by the
articles;
States whether the student agrees or disagrees and gives
reasons;
Locates one or two quotations to be used in the final
research project; and
Evaluates the ways in which this article is important and
has helped the student to focus his/her understanding.
Example Introduction/Thesis to a Student Paper:
It never ceases to amaze me that we pay so little attention
to the greatest bulk of our intelligence—that is, the quality of thinking that
helps us adapt, deal with stress, love, and live lives of fulfillment.
Aristotle argued that educating the mind and not the heart is no education at
all. For decades, educators have focused on cognitive skills because they are
testable and, therefore, metrics can be applied to them. This kind of
education, testing, and then metrically interpreting results has governed
American education for decades. And the results have been losses of creativity,
imagination, courtesy, civic interest, and the ability to invent businesses that
serve people and advance us as a society. Although measurable skills are
important, they are not exclusively important, and in fact lose value when
separated from an education in the heart, the spirit, and the abstract
qualities that make students fully human and excellent participants in a
healthy society.
Example Publication Detail Capture:
Mezirow, J. (2003). Transformative learning as discourse.
Journal of Transformative Education, 1(1), 58-63.
Annotation Example:
In this article, Mezirow (2003) makes a distinction between
"instrumental" and "communicative" learning.
"Instrumental learning" refers to those processes which measure and
gage learning, such as tests, grades, comments, quizzes, attendance records and
the like. "Communicative learning," on the other hand, refers to
understanding created over time between individuals in what Mezirow calls
"critical-dialectical-discourse," (p. 59) which is a fancy way of
saying, important conversation between 2 or more speakers. Another key idea
Mezirow discusses is "transformative learning," (p. 61) which changes
the mind, the heart, the values and beliefs of people so that they may act
better in the world. Mezirow argues that "hungry, desperate, homeless,
sick, destitute, and intimidated people obviously cannot participate fully and
freely in discourse" (p. 59). On the one hand, he is right: there are some
people who cannot fully engage because their crisis is so long and deep, they
are prevented. But, I don't think Mezirow should make the blanket assumption
that everyone in unfortunate circumstances is incapable of entering the
discourse meaningfully. One thing is certain: if we gave as much attention to
the non-instrumental forms of intelligence--like goodness, compassion,
forgiveness, wonder, self-motivation, creativity, humor, love, and other
non-measured forms of intelligence in our school curriculums, we'd see better
people, actors in the world, and interested investigators than we currently
have graduating high school
Draft Paper - Week 6 (85 points)
A "draft" does not imply sloppy, half-baked
work--not at all. A draft is the most complete and impeccable presentation you
can execute at this point in time. Drafts should be 4-5 pages, use at least 3
of your 5 academic resources, and be impeccably cited and formatted. End
references are required, and APA (except for the cover page--not required)
should be followed.
Final Paper - Week 8 (200 points)
Your final paper should be 8-10 pages, and use 5 academic
resources. It must be impeccably cited and formatted. End references are
required, and APA (except for the cover page--not required) should be followed.
Guidelines
These Guidelines give you broad descriptions. Details
regarding your assignments can be found in the weekly assignment tabs.
Your final project will consist of the following major milestone
assignments:
Project Proposal
Annotated Bibliography
Rough Draft
Final paper
Final Presentation
The following are guidelines to assist you in completing the
course successfully.
Guidelines for the Proposal (50 points)
A proposal offers a detailed and full description of your
project (as best you know it at the time of writing) in no more than 2 pages.
To succeed, students will need to find at least one source of information
related to their topics. Students may work with their professors to identify
areas of inquiry or may accept a topic and focus from the list. Understand that
you are making a best effort to describe your project early on, but allow
yourself to be open to growth and change as you conduct research and focus your
intentions.
Guidelines for the Annotated Bibliography (75 points)
Good annotations make for excellent papers. You are required
to annotate five academic scholarly resources in Week 4. A scholarly resource
is written by an academic scholar, holding a Ph.D. or other terminal degree, is
published in a multi-volume, peer-reviewed journal, and has ample references of
its own. Successful annotations begin with your introduction (to the best
extent you know it at that point in time), capture publication details, briefly
summarize a text, locate key terms, find controversies to analyze and evaluate,
and assist in the creation of new knowledge.
Guidelines for the Draft (85 points)
Your draft should be a largely finished product, impeccably
formatted, and nearly complete. It should have all the APA citation and
referencing fully in place. In length, it should be four-to-five pages
Guidelines for the Final Paper (200 points)
The essay must be eight to ten double-spaced pages in length
(not including the title or reference pages). The margins should be no more
than one inch (right and left). The essay should be composed in 12-point Times
New Roman font. Include a minimum of five scholarly sources. Other sources may
also be used, but at least five sources must be academic and scholarly.
Dictionaries, encyclopedias, websites ending with the .gov, .org, or .edu,
newspapers or other media sources do not constitute scholarship. All of the
sources must be documented and cited using APA format.
Criteria
Introduction/Thesis
There is a clear and focused introduction. The thesis is
clear, original, and sophisticated. The ideas embedded in the thesis are
appropriate to the length of the assignment (for the proposal 2-3; draft 1,
5-7; final, 9-10). Page count excludes title and reference pages). The content
provides quality (not padded, dull writing, repetitive or margin/enlarged
font-cheating). Effort and sensitivity to the study is evident.
Paragraphs
Paragraphs are composed around topics, which naturally and
organically emerge from a complex, focused, and sophisticated thesis. Each
paragraph explores one topic and one topic only. Topics directly relate TO the
thesis and are not theses in and of themselves. The paragraph completely and
fully develops and explains the topic and provides details, examples,
illustrations, and quotations from research as well as from the primary texts.
Topics and paragraphs rise above commonplace thinking and summary. Quoted
material is used powerfully to support analytical points (and not as padding).
There is a graceful transition to the next paragraph. The ideas explored are
significant, substantive, and instructive. Ideas/topics support the overarching
thesis so that the paper is a unified whole, and not a concatenation of
appended mini-essays.
Grammar/Mechanics/Style
Grammar refers to the correct usage of Standard American
English. Mechanics refers to idiomatic conventions (capitalization of proper
nouns, spelling, and punctuation). Style refers to persuasiveness, sophistication,
wit, and transcendent quality. Sentences should be varied in length and
complexity without loss of clarity or precision of meaning. Style makes a paper
a pleasure to read.
Format
APA format has been observed. Headers, margins (1" all
around), alignment, double-spacing, Times New Roman font and 12 pt. font size
are correct. Pagination is in the upper right of the page. Citations are
scrupulously observed in-text and have a matching full reference on a reference
page with hanging indents (also formatted correctly—double spaced in TNR 12
point font) Both in-text and full references are complete according to the APA
style sheet.
Writing for the Humanities
Composing for the humanities is "technical" in its
own way. Students are to read broadly in philosophy, art, literature, political
science, and history; and are to show that they can bridge conceptually across
humanistic inquiry, innovate meanings that are not apparent at the surface of
texts, locate controversies and conflicts that are worthy of researched
exploration, and show depth and focus of contemplative thought and character in
conducting work of this kind. Progress throughout these assignments is also
valued.