COURSE SYLLABUS
COURSE INFORMATION
Course Number: HUMA 1301
Course Title: Introduction to the Humanities
Course Description: Introduction to the Humanities focuses on the study and appreciation of
representative examples of visual and performing arts, literature, music, and religion of world
cultures. The exploration of interrelations of the arts and their philosophies emphasizes the
nature of humankind and the need to create.
Course Credit Hours:
Lecture Hours: 3 hours
Placement Assessment(s): Placement in ENGL 1301 and college level reading
Student Learning Outcomes:
1. Identify works in the arts and humanities within selected historical and cultural frameworks
2. Select and use the vocabulary of the humanities to communicate at an appropriate
intellectual level
3. Analyze primary works in the arts and humanities to form a critical grasp of their contribution
to the meaning of human experience
4. Demonstrate knowledge of the creative and critical skills involved in producing works of art
and performance
5. Evaluate primary creative works using the aesthetic principles of the arts and humanities
6. Communicate a personal response to works of the arts and humanities from within an
intercultural context
Withdrawal Policy: See the current Collin Registration Guide for the last day to withdraw.
Collin College Academic Policies: See the current Collin Student Handbook.
Americans with Disabilities Act: Collin College will adhere to all applicable federal, state and
local laws, regulations and guidelines with respect to providing reasonable accommodations as
required to afford equal opportunity. It is the student’s responsibility to contact the ACCESS
office, or 972.881.5898 (V/TTD: 972.881.5950) to arrange for appropriate accommodations. See
the current Collin Student Handbook for additional information.
1
INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION
Instructor’s Name: Dr. Marta Moore
Office Number: BB-214, SCC
Office Hours: TR 1:15-4:15 pm,
Phone Number: 972-881-5821
Email: mmoore@collin.edu
Website: http://iws.collin.edu/mmoore
Class Information:
Section Number: XS8
Meeting Times: MW 1-3:45 p.m.
Meeting Location: L-235
Course Resources: Sayre, Henry. Discovering the Humanities, 2nd ed. 0-205-88368-0
Readings on Collin Library E-Reserves
Supplies: None
Attendance Policy: Students are expected to attend as many classes as possible.
Consequently, attendance will be taken at the beginning of every class period. If you miss more
than five classes, you will receive an F for the course. Tardy students or those who leave class
early/frequently will be counted as absent.
Method of Evaluation:
Exam I: 100 pts
Exam II: 100 pts
FINAL Exam III: 100 pts (NO MAKEUPS WILL BE GIVEN FOR EXAMS)
Quizzes: 100 pts (10 pts per quiz. NO MAKEUPS WILL BE GIVEN)
Group PowerPoint Research Presentation: 100 pts
Participation/ Attendance/Journals: 100 pts
Creative Project: 50 pts
Creative Project Presentation: 50 pts
Total pts = 700
Grade Calculation:
630-700 = A
560-629 = B
490-559 = C
420-489 = D
419 and under = F
2
Course Requirements:
In-class Group PowerPoint Research Presentation
A group presentation will also count as part of your final grade. During the first week of class, I
will give you a list of topics, and you and your classmates will sign up for the date and topic
that you want to present. Each student will give a presentation on an assigned reading or
author. I will provide a list of authors and topics to choose from.
The requirements for the presentations are as follows:
1. Each student must provide a handout to the class highlighting the main points of his/her
presentation;
2. Each student’s presentation must be ten minutes long;
3. Each student must use at least two sources for this presentation (not including the
textbook)
4. 4-5 PowerPoint slides per student
5. It must be obvious that you and all of your group members have done an equal share of
the work, and everyone must talk at some point during the presentation;
6. Each student must turn in to me a written account of his/her presentation (2
pages, double spaced)
Creative Project
The theme for this semester’s project will revolve around “crossing boundaries.”
Cross-fertilization is everywhere, and every culture is permeable in the age of digital
technology. Artists in the world’s cultures find themselves in a double bind – how, they
ask, can they remain true to their native personal identities and still participate in the
global marketplace? Your task will be to create a project that is inspired by the concept of
“crossing boundaries.”
The creative project is due May 4.
CRITERIA:





You must present your project to the class in 10 minutes, and explain which painting,
sculpture, text etc. inspired your project
Every project must be accompanied by a 2 page essay that explains:
How you decided on your project and materials, equipment or compositional methods
you used
How your project ties into the assigned theme and what you learned from it
Cite sources in an MLA Works Cited page
3
Response Journals
You are expected to keep a journal throughout the semester, responding to the assigned
readings. In other words, after each reading assignment, you will write a response journal
regarding some aspect of the reading. I will assign specific topics during class for students to
explore. We will use these response journals to prompt class discussion. Journal writing,
consequently, will occur both in as well as out of class. No research is necessary –and
there are no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ responses. Each journal entry must be at least 150 words in length
and typed, double spaced, 12 point Times New Roman font. A minimum of 15 entries is
required by the end of the semester.
All journal entries are due on May 6.
As an alternative to journals, or for extra credit you can engage in Service-Learning:
Define the learning outcome
Define the problem/need
Research the problem/need
Identify main issues
Establish Community Partner
Establish Goals for the Project
Design a Solution-- Through Action Plan
Turn in a journal/narrative of your activities/thoughts/feelings/observations of the
experience. This can be a collection of pictures, thoughts, prose or poems.
For each extra credit assignment two points will be added to your participation grade.
Participation Grade: You will be graded on your degree of participation in the classroom. If the
instructor sees you sleeping, working on homework for another class, text-messaging, talking to
your friend(s), reading a book, doing a crossword, working on your laptop, or excessively
leaving the classroom, you will be given zero points on your participation grade for the
semester.
Late Work: Being absent does not excuse you from turning in any assignment on time, and more than
three absences will jeopardize your grade for daily work. Assignments and papers are due at the
beginning of class on the specified day, and late work will be accepted only with the prior permission of
the instructor and only for partial credit. In general, homework, class work, and quizzes may not be
submitted late. Therefore, failure to turn in assignments on the due dates or to take quizzes will lower
your daily grade. Quizzes are usually given during the first ten minutes of class. A late
essay/presentation will lose one letter grade. No late work will be taken a week after the due date.
All assignments are due on the day specified in the syllabus.
ATTENDANCE POLICY
Part of your grade is based on your attendance. Regular and punctual class attendance is mandatory. Use
the following guide:
 All absences are counted the same, except that I will take into consideration court appearances, and
extended serious illnesses.
 If you absolutely must be absent, it is your responsibility to (1) find out from your class contact what
happened that day, and (2) turn in at the next class period any assignments due the day of your
absence.
 If you are more than 15 minutes late for class, you will be counted “absent.”
Academic Ethics:
See the current Collin Student Handbook for information.
4
Blackboard
All essays must be turned in to Blackboard, which uses Turnitin.com to ensure they are
plagiarism free. You also must turn in a hard copy. Assignments are due to me. Please do not
drop off assignments in the Division Office.
I will not grade essays that have not been submitted to Blackboard, nor will I grade essays
without a hard copy.
I will post grades on Blackboard
Blackboard/ Turnitin.com accept papers in Microsoft Word, Word Perfect, RTF, PDF,
Postscript, plain text, and HTML formats.
For technical support with computer problems, ask for help through the Help Desk at 972-3771777.
If you need assistance with Blackboard, contact the Distance Learning Hotline at 972-8815870.
You must create your own user profile
How to access E-Reserves:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Login to Cougarweb
Click on the Library Tab
Click on Services for Students
Click on EReserves
Click on Course Page Index
There are several ways to access a document or your course reserve page; however, the
quickest way to a course page is to:
 Click on Course Pages by instructor
 Use the drop-down menu to select your Instructor’s Name
 Select your Course (i.e. class name and course number)
 This will bring up all the materials available to your class provided by your instructor
5
6
Course Calendar:
Subject to change at the discretion of the professor. All readings should be completed by the
dates on which they are listed. You are responsible for coming to class prepared to discuss the
readings and to ask questions about the readings. Unless otherwise noted, all reading
assignments are for Henry M. Sayre, Discovering the Humanities, 2nd ed.
Week 1 Monday, March 23: Overview of Course. Letter of introduction
Introduction to the Humanities. Prehistoric Past. Chapter One
Wednesday , March 25: Chapter One: The Prehistoric Past and the Earliest
Civilizations,
Ancient Mesopotamia, Read Epic of Gilgamesh on E-Reserve
Quiz One over Chapter One
Presentation: Egyptian Religion and Culture p.26
Week 2 Monday, March 30: Chapter Two: The Greek World.
The Golden Age of Greece
Quiz Two over Chapter Two
Presentation: Greek Philosophy: Plato and Aristotle p.66: p.72
Greek Theatre: Read Sophocles, Oedipus on E-Reserve
Wednesday, April 1: Greek Theatre: Read Euripides, Medea on E-Reserve
Presentation: Greek Politics and Government
Chapter Three: Empire: Republican Rome
Presentation: Ancient India: Hinduism and Buddhism pp.109-113
Quiz Three over Chapter Three
Week 3 Monday, April 6: Imperial Rome
Presentation: China: Early Chinese Culture and Imperial China pp.100-108
Read Ovid’s Iphis and Iante and Pygmalion from Metamorphoses on E-reserve
EXAM I
Wednesday, April 8: From Polytheism to Monotheism
Chapter Four: The Flowering of Religion.
Quiz Four over Chapter Four
Presentation: Women in Islam
Week 4 Monday, April 13: Chapter Seven: The Renaissance: Florence, Rome, and Venice.
Quiz Five over Chapter Seven
High Renaissance
Presentation: Renaissance Politician: Machiavelli, The Prince p.233
Presentation: Women in Italian Humanist Society
Wednesday, April 15: Attend Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Student Research
Conference, SCC Conference Center
Humanism and Reformation
Chapter Eight: Renaissance and Reformation in the North.
Quiz Six over Chapter Eight
Read Hamlet on E-Reserve
7
Week 5 Monday, April 20: Hamlet; Chapter Ten: The Counter-Reformation and the Baroque
Quiz Seven over Chapter Ten
Presentation: The Spanish in the Americas p.275
Presentation: The Issue of Slavery p.387
Wednesday, April 22: Classical Rationalism vs. Baroque Emotionalism
Presentation: India and Europe: Cross Cultural Connections p. 287
Presentation: West African Culture and the Portuguese p. 280
EXAM II
Week 6 Monday, April 27: Revolution and the Working Class
Chapter 13: The Working Class and the Bourgeoisie.
Quiz Eight over Chapter 13
Presentation: The Challenge to Cultural Identity: The Fate of Native Americans p.
430
Presentation: The British in China and India p. 431
Wednesday, April 29:
Chapter 14: The Modernist World.
Presentation: Mass Media and the Culture of Consumption; Pop Art p. 479
Russia: Art and Revolution
Eisenstein’s The Battleship Potemkin
Quiz Nine over Chapter 14
Week 7 Monday, May 4: Creative Project due. Creative Project Presentations
Plural Self in a Global Culture
Chapter 15: Decades of Change.
Quiz Ten over Chapter 15
Wednesday, May 6: Creative Project Presentations
Journal entries are due
Week 8 EXAM III, (final)
8
SCHOLASTIC DISHONESTY AND PLAGIARISM
Scholastic dishonesty and plagiarism are briefly defined in the "Student Code of Conduct" in the
Collin Student Handbook. The College may initiate disciplinary proceedings against a student
accused of scholastic dishonesty. Scholastic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to,
statements, acts, or omissions related to applications for enrollment or the award of a degree
and/or the submission as one's own work material that is not one's own. Scholastic dishonesty
may involve, but is not limited to, one or more of the following acts: cheating, plagiarism,
collusion, use of annotated texts or teacher’s editions, and/or falsifying academic records.
Plagiarism is the use of an author's words or ideas as if they were one's own without giving
credit to the source, including, but not limited to, failure to acknowledge a direct quotation.
Cheating is the willful giving or receiving of information in an unauthorized manner during an
examination, illicitly obtaining examination questions in advance, copying computer or Internet
files, using someone else's work for assignments as if it were one's own, or any other dishonest
means of attempting to fulfill the requirements of a course. Collusion is intentionally aiding or
attempting to aid another in an act of scholastic dishonesty, including but not limited to providing
a paper or project to another student, providing an inappropriate level of assistance;
communicating answers to a classmate during an examination; removing tests or answer sheets
from a test site, and allowing a classmate to copy.
In college courses, plagiarism's penalties can range from failure on a particular assignment to
failure in a course to expulsion from college. PLAGIARISM IS A SERIOUS MORAL OFFENSE.
According to the MLA Style Manual, the origin of the word plagiarism is the Latin for
"kidnapper"; thus, a plagiarist kidnaps another writer's sentences, words, ideas, or organization
and presents the material as his own. When the plagiarist uses his stolen material, he may do
so knowing that the work is not his own. This is the most blatant form of plagiarism. MANY
CASES OF PLAGIARISM, HOWEVER, ARE THE RESULT OF CARELESS
DOCUMENTATION OR FAULTY NOTETAKING. Unfortunately, the reader who finds the error,
not knowing the writer's intent, can only assume the plagiarism is intentional. Intentional or not,
plagiarism in any paper will still carry serious penalties. You can avoid plagiarizing if you
remember that when you quote, use quotation marks; when you paraphrase, use only your own
words. IN EITHER CASE, YOU MUST DOCUMENT.
Plagiarism, because it is a form of theft, burglary, kidnapping, or dishonesty that interferes with
the goals of education, must carry severe penalties. It is also not acceptable to turn in the same
assignment for two different courses. The instructor’s policy is that an act of academic
dishonesty will result in zero points for the assignment.
********** PLEASE SIGN BELOW AND TURN IN TO INSTRUCTOR **********
I have read the above brief explanation of plagiarism. I understand what it is and I am aware of
the consequences if I should be guilty of it either intentionally or unintentionally.
_________________ ____________________________
DATE SIGNATURE
_________________ ____________________________
Humanities Course/Section NAME (PRINT)
9