Required Texts: The Humanistic Tradition, Books 1-3 (Fifth Edition), by Gloria K. Fiero
Course Purpose: To introduce students to significant ideas of Western and Non-Western cultures as manifest in art, literature, music, and philosophy. As we explore a variety of artistic forms, students will be encouraged to reflect on their own cultural heritage and the heritage of other peoples in both analytical and creative ways. Humanities 1 will cover the period beginning with the first cave paintings (c.15,000 BC) up through the year 1600.
Grading: All final grades will be based on a total system of 1000 points. Here is the breakdown for grades:
A= 900-1000, B= 800-899, C= 700-799, D= 600-699, F= 599 and below.
To determine your final grade, exams and quizzes will be weighted as follows: Four exams, including the final, are each worth 200 pts. (20%) for a total of 800 pts. (80%); Quizzes and in-class writings, 200 pts. (20%).
Quizzes/In-class writings (200
pts): There
will be eight quizzes on literature readings
(listed below). You will be tested in each case on how carefully
you have read and reflected on the reading assignment. Each one
of these will be worth 20 points for a total of 160 points. In
addition to these quizzes, frequent short writing exercises will be
given in
class. These
assignments will require students to reflect on/react to the day's
assignment. These assignments will be worth 10 points each, and
can be given
on any class day. With quizzes and short in-class writings
combined,
there will be a total of 240/200 points, so that a student could miss
up to forty points and still
receive 200/200 points.
If you miss one of these assignments for any reason, including
being
late for class, you will not receive credit for that day's
work. You
do, however, have the option of attending outside events (art, music,
theatre, lecture) to make up for any writings you have missed. To
make up for a missed in-class writing (10
points), you may attend any event in blue on the NSU events
calendar. You may also attend any area musuems, such as
Gilcrease, the Philbrook, or the Cherokee Heritage Center, and I will
also announce additional events when they are
brought to my attention. If you wish to attend any other event
for credit, you must first ask permission or this event will simply not
be counted. To get 10 points of credit for any event you attend,
you must
turn in the ticket or program from the event (when available) and a
written description
of the event (about 1 page). This
description should also include any reflections you had on this
event. These written responses must be turned in within a week of
the event, or they will not be accepted. No exceptions.
Finally, no matter how many extra-credit assignments you turn in, you
cannot earn more than 240 points for your total quiz score, so these
extra credit events will only replace missed
in-class assignments.
Attendance: Attendance at
all class meetings is required. Please bring your book and prepare
readings (and any assigned writings) for each class session.
Excessive absences will endanger the
health of your grade and could result in failure and loss of credit for
the course. If you miss a class for any reason, you cannot make
up the points for
any quiz or in-class activity that takes place on that day.
Class Rules: Always bring your text to class since we will be referring to it often. You may sit where you wish, but if you talk when others are talking or working during class you will be moved to another permanent seat. All cell phones or technological devices should be turned off prior to class. If not, they will be confiscated and returned at the end of the period. At the instructor's discretion, you will lose any points for that day if you do not follow these classroom rules. Finally, anyone caught cheating in class will be reported and subject to disciplinary actions, which may include failure of the course.
ADA Policy: If any member
of the class feels that he/she has a disability and needs special
accommodations, please advise the instructor of such disability at the
first class attended.
Schedule (subject to change)
8/21 Course Intro
8/24 Prehistory (1-9)
8/26 The Birth of
Civilization (10-15)
Quiz
on "Creation Tales," pp. 14-15
and "The Creation" from The Hebrew
Bible, p. 48
8/28 The First
Civilizations: Egypt (16-22)
8/31 The Rulers of Ancient Egypt (22-35)
9/2 Mesopotamia,
(36-46)
Quiz on
the Epic of
Gilgamesh, pp. 38-41
9/4 The Hebrews
(46-50)
9/7 Labor Day
9/9 The Hebrew Bible (50-54)
Quiz on The Book of Job, pp. 51-53
9/11 Ancient India (58-61)
9/14 Exam Review
9/16 Exam #1
9/18 The Classical
Legacy (66-67)
9/21 The
Heroic Age (72-81)
Quiz on the Iliad, pp. 73-76
9/23 Greek Drama, Antigone, (81-93)
Quiz on Antigone, pp. 83-93
9/25 Greek Philosophy (94-102)
9/28 The Classical
Style (106-122)
9/30 The Hellenistic Age (122-128)
10/2 Roman Literataure (135-143)
10/5 The Arts of the Roman Empire (143-157)
10/7 Exam Review
10/9 Exam #2
10/12 Intro to Christianity
10/14 A Flowering of
Faith: Christianity (Book 2: 3-26)
Quiz on
"Sermon on
the Mount," pp. 7-9 (Book 2)
10/16 Fall Break
10/19 Early Christian Art (26-35)
10/21 The Islamic World (45-65)
10/23 Feudal Society
(76-88)
Quiz on Lancelot
(86-88)
10/26 The Medieval
Morality Play: Everyman (97-104)
Quiz
on Everyman (97-104)
10/28 Everyman Video
10/30 The Medieval Synthesis (116-123)
11/2 The
Gothic Cathedral (123-134)
11/4 Exam Review
11/6
Exam
#3
11/9
Intro to Renaissance
11/11 Giotto's New Realism (Book 3: 15-17)
11/13 Italian Renaissance Humanism (30-33)
11/16 Renaissance Artists (44-58)
11/18 Early Renaissance Artist-Scientists (58-68)
11/20 Michelangelo and Heroic Idealism (68-74)
11/23 The
Music of the Renaissance (77-81)
11/30 Empires of the Inkas and the Aztecs (113-120)
12/2 Protest and Reform (121-126)
<>12/4 Northern Renaissance Art (127-135)12/9 Final Exam Review
12/11 Student Study Day (no class)Final Exam for MWF (12:00-12:50): Friday, Dec. 18, 1:00-2:50 pm
Final Exam for MWF (1:00-1:50): Wednesday, Dec. 16, 1:00-2:50
p.m.