Houston Community College System
C O U R S E S Y L L A B U S C R N 5 5 9 2 8
Professor: Dr. James A. Ross-Nazzal, Co-Director Africana/African
American Studies Program
Office Number: I am not on campus over the summer
Office Phone Number: N/A
Email: All electronic communications will be via QuickMail. I will return QM emails during my posted office hours.
Office hours: M-Th 9-11am.
CATALOG DESCRIPTION
Prerequisite: ENGL 1301
Credit: 3 (3 lecture)
This course provides an introduction to the arts and humanities. It investigates connections between individual human lives and a broad range of culture, aesthetics, and philosophy.
Core Curriculum Course.
COURSE PURPOSE
To develop student thinking, seeing, reading, writing, and listening skills and expand his/her knowledge of the human condition as portrayed in works of the human imagination and intellect.
DESCRIPTION OF COURSE CONTENT
Students focus on the connections between their own lives and the ideas and values expressed in works of human imagination and thought. Through inquiry into selected literature, philosophy, and the visual and performing arts, students will engage in critical thinking, form aesthetic judgments, and develop an appreciation of the arts and humanities and their pivotal role in the health and survival of any society. Students will attend and respond to museum and gallery exhibitions and performances (live theater and film). They will be introduced to readings in several genres from a variety of cultures. Students will respond to the work they study in a variety of ways including oral presentations, formal written assignments, and informal journal responses.
TEXTBOOKS
Sayre, Henry. The Humanities: Culture, Continuity and Change , Vol. 1, Pearson, Prentice Hall,
2013. (2 nd edition).
Student Learning Objectives
1.
Recognize a variety of works in the arts and humanities.
2.
Understand those works as expressions of individual and human
values within a historical and social context.
3.
Analyze objectively works in the arts and humanities.
4.
Articulate a personal (subjective) reaction to works in the arts
HUMA 1301 DE Sumer 2013 Dr. Ross-Nazzal

and humanities.
HCCS Humanities in the Core Curriculum
Humanities 1301 may be taken to fulfill the core curriculum requirement for 3 semester hours in Cross/Multicultural Studies.
Humanities 1301 helps students attain the following:
1. Establish broad and multiple perspectives on individuals in relationship to the larger society and world in which they live and understand the responsibilities of living in a culturally and ethnically diversified world;
2. Stimulate a capacity to discuss and reflect upon individual, political, economic, and social aspects of life in order to understand ways in which to be a responsible member of society;
3. Develop personal values for ethical behavior;
4. Develop the ability to make aesthetic judgments; and
5. Integrate knowledge and understanding of the interrelationships of the scholarly disciplines.
The objective of the humanities and visual and performing arts in a core curriculum is to expand students’ knowledge of the human condition and human cultures especially in relation to behaviors, ideas, and values expressed in works of human imagination and thought. Through study in disciplines such as literature and the visual and performing arts, students will engage in critical analysis, form aesthetic judgments, and develop an appreciation of the arts and humanities as fundamental to the health and survival of any society. Students should have experiences in both the arts and humanities.
The objective of the cross/multicultural component of the core curriculum is to introduce students to areas of study which enlarge their knowledge and appreciation of the multicultural and multiracial world in which they live .
I. Exams. The Midterm covers the chapters 1-4 and the Final covers 5-8. Follow the directions on the exams. Exams are due Weeks 2 and 4. You will upload them as Word files to the EO Unit. You are required to use evidence from the assigned textbook and assigned lectures. Students who use sources that I did not assign will receive a zero on the assignment.
II. Culture Assignments. Draft two 750 word essays examining the major characteristics of Mesopotamian (1) and Greco (2) culture. Upload your essays in the EO classroom as
Word files. Essays are due Weeks 1 and 3. You are required to use evidence from the assigned textbook and assigned lectures. Students who use sources that I did not assign will receive a zero on the assignment.
Scholastic Dishonesty : The Houston Community College System Student Handbook 1999/2000 defines the following criteria: "Scholastic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, cheating on a test, plagiarism, and collusion." Plagiarism means the appropriation of another's work and the unacknowledged incorporation of that work in one's own written work offered for credit. Collusion means the unauthorized collaboration with another person in preparing written work offered for credit. Students who engage in scholastic dishonesty will be given an F in the class.
HUMA 1301 DE Sumer 2013 Dr. Ross-Nazzal

Participation . Participation is required if you want to succeed (i.e., pass): Remember, you have something due each week.
ADA : Any student with a documented disability (e.g. physical, learning, psychiatric, vision, hearing, etc.) who needs to arrange reasonable accommodations must contact the Disability Services Office at the beginning of each semester. Faculty is authorized to provide only the accommodations requested by the
Disability Support Services Office.
Student Attendance: Life is too short to repeat in lecture what is available in your readings, thus relentless attendance is required. If miss “just one day” you truly miss a lot because my lectures, like history, are tightly integrated. Successful students attend class with a tenacity of purpose.
Grades
The grade of A (100-90) reflects excellence . The A work offers a well-focused and organized discussion appropriate to the instructor's assignment, reflects critical use of all relevant materials, and demonstrates effective and formal writing requirements. Work must demonstrate outstanding efforts to identify and use varied and pertinent evidence from all available sources, to employ those materials critically in the text of the papers, and to provide error-free citations of those resources. A work is handed in on time.
The grade of B (89-80) represents work beyond satisfactory and indicates the work was completed in an appropriate and competent manner and, in general, demonstrates a strong attempt at original and critical analysis, writing, and research. Work must demonstrate beyond satisfactory efforts to identify varied and pertinent evidence from all available sources. The B paper may contain a number of minor errors of grammar or citation, and its thesis or its conclusions may be undeveloped or too weakly supported. B work is handed in on time.
The grade of C(79-70) indicates that the work was done in a satisfactory or appropriate fashion and represents the average work expected for university courses . In order to obtain a C grade, your work must adhere to all of the assignment’s minimum requirements to include but limited to page/word requirements, number of sources, types of sources, and proper citation method. The work is organized around a central idea with arguments supported by relevant examples from the available sources. The work is structured into correctly written paragraphs and sentences. Although fulfilling the assignment, the C work may exhibit one or more weaknesses including, but not limited to, errors of punctuation and grammar, imprecise or incorrect word use, inaccurate or uncritical use of materials, occasional inconsistency of organization or development, and lack of direct relevance of the selected research materials to the topic. C work is handed in on time.
The grade of D (69-60) indicates that the work may have a poorly defined topic or thesis, lacks clear focus or organization, and contains unsupported generalizations or conclusions. Research support (citations) is inadequate, not clearly relevant, or improperly documented. A less-than-minimal research effort is evident. D works fails to obtain the required page or word minimum requirement. The work may also suffer from
HUMA 1301 DE Sumer 2013 Dr. Ross-Nazzal

numerous or major formal writing errors. D work fails to adhere to any of the assignment’s minimum requirements. D work is handed in on time.
The grade of F (59-1) indicates that the work is not clearly relevant to the assignment and that its topic and thesis are poorly focused or defined. The work may display inadequate organization or development, unsupported generalizations, and nonstandard formal features (including language usage, sentence structure, and paragraphing). Research support (citations) is absent, or irrelevant to the assignment. F work is handed in on time.
The grade of 0 indicates that the work was not submitted at all or submitted after the due date/time. Remember any cheating whatsoever will result in an F for the course. Do you remember what happened to SMU in 1987? http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spe/2004/feb25football/smu.html
Late Work . I do not accept late work, for any reason. Do not ask me to accept late work. If any holidays, parties, work, vacations, family obligations, legal matters, or secular or religious responsibilities prevent you from completing the work when it is due, please do not take this class as I do not negotiate assignments or due dates.
Missed Assignments . I do not allow make ups for any reason. Do not ask me if there are any make up assignments.
Extra Credit. I do not offer such a thing, for any reason, thus please do not ask me to entertain such a thing. Please leave all high school thoughts behind.
F/X. Students who fail to submit the first graded assignment will be given FX as the final grade. Students who fail to submit any additional assignments will be given the grade of FX. In order to pass you must submit all assignments and maintain a cumulative passing grade..
HUMA 1301 DE Sumer 2013 Dr. Ross-Nazzal

WEEK MATERIAL TO BE COVERED
June 8 th
Read chapters 1-3; Listen to all lectures covering chapters 1-3; and submit the first Culture Assignment NLT 11:59pm Fri Aug 12th
June 15th Read chapter 4; Listen to all lectures covering chapter 4; submit
the Midterm Exam. Due NLT 11:59pm Fri June 19 th
.
June 22nd Read chapters 5-7; Listen to all lectures covering chapters 5-7;
Submit second Culture Assignment.Due NLT 11:59pm Fri June
26 th
.
June 29th
Sun July 6th
ESGL
Read chapter 8; Listen to all lectures covering chapter 8;
Final Exam. Due NLT 11:59pm Fri July 10 th
Please complete the ESGL before the end of this class.
HUMA 1301 DE Sumer 2013 Dr. Ross-Nazzal