Heartland Community College
Humanities & Fine Arts
Course Syllabus for Students
Course Prefix and Number: HUMA 276-01
Course Title: The American Experience
Credit Hours: 3
Lecture Hours: 3
Laboratory Hours: 0
Days and times the course meets: 9:30-10:45 TR
ICB 2810
Catalog Description:
Prerequisites: An interdisciplinary introduction to American culture from its origins to
the present time, including readings from and discussions of American history, literature,
philosophy, painting, architecture, music, and other arts.
Instructor Information:
Instructor name: Glen Bush, PhD
Phone number to contact instructor: 268-8621
Instructor e-mail address, if one: glen.bush@hcc.cc.il.us
Location of instructor’s office: ICB 2018
Hours and days of instructor’s office hours: MWF 10:00-11:00 and 12:00-1:00
TR 1:45-2:30
Or By Appointment
Textbook:
Required: Craven, Wayne. American Art: History and Culture
Loewen, James W. Lies My Teacher Told Me
O’Brien, Tim. If I Die In A Combat Zone, Box Me Up and Ship Me Home
McCall, Nathan. Makes Me Want to Holler
Relationship to Academic Development Programs and Transfer: (Indicate if course is
General Education/IAI)
HUMA 276 fulfills 3 of the 9 semester hours of credit in Humanities/Fine Arts required for the
A.A. or A.S. degree. It satisfies the Humanities component of this requirement. HUMA 276
transfers to most Illinois colleges and universities as part of the General Education Core
Curriculum [IAI course no. H9 903D] described in the Illinois Articulation Initiative. For
information regarding particular institutions, students should consult an academic advisor or
refer to the IAI web page at www.itransfer.org. HUMA 276 fulfills the SOAR graduation
requirement at Heartland Community College.
Course Objectives (Learning Outcomes):
Students in this course will be able to:
LO
Assessment
Identify the principal historical, intellectual, and artistic
movements that have taken place in America up to the
present time.
Recognize some of the major works of painting,
architecture, literature, music, and philosophy that have
contributed to American life.
Understand the various ways that Americans have come to
differ from other world peoples.
Understand the various ways that America has contributed
to world events and western thought and art.
Relate the art and thought of the American past to the art
and thought of the present time, and see the continuity
between the past and the present.
Articulate and communicate the major ideas that have
informed America's principal intellectual and aesthetic
movements.
Recognize and define such American terms as
transcendentalism, pragmatism, naturalism, and
modernism.
Identify the principal artists, writers, statesmen,
philosophers, scientists, and others who have made major
contributions to the American experience.
Identify appropriate topics for scholarly research in
American art, architecture, music, literature, etc.; utilize
standard bibliographic and other research tools; select
suitable sources and methodology; and write papers
presenting the results of your research.
D2
required test items
C5
collaborative
presentations, requested
test items
extended formal writing
Course/Lab Outlines:
1. American Cultures: The Real and The Ideal
2. Puritanism
3. The American Revolution
4. Romanticism and The American West
5. The Civil War
D3
D4
D4
D5
C1
D2
extended formal writing,
test items
research informed
formal writing
C3
research informed
formal writing
C7
P2
in-class writing, oral
presentations, required
test items
in-class writing, oral
presentations, required
test items
formal research paper
C7
P1
C6
6. Realism
7. Reconstruction
8. Naturalism and Social Realism
9. World War I and Modernism
10. The Lost Generation and The Harlem Renaissance
11. The Great Depression
12. World War II
13. The Cold War and The Beats
14. The Civil Rights Movement, The Vietnam War, and Watergate
15. Post-Modernism and Contemporary America
Methods of Instruction: Instruction will consist of lectures, class discussion, readings, in-class
writing quizzes, research assignments, and essay exams (the essay exams will be given on WebCT).
The WebCT exams can normally be taken from any location, e.g., ASC Computer Lab, HCC Library,
Testing Center, ISU, or your home; HOWEVER, the Final Exam will be given from a specific
location and all students must be in that specific location to get credit for the Final Exam! This will
be explained numerous times during the semester.
Class discussion is mandatory!
Course Policies:
Method of Evaluation (Tests/Exams, Grading System):
Exams are worth 30%, final exam 30%, research proposal assignment 5%, research essay
25%, and class discussion and participation 10%. Four essay exams will be given. The
lowest grade of the four exams will be dropped. The final exam, the fifth exam, cannot
be dropped.
Final grades will be determined according to the following scale:
92 to 100%
83 to 91%
74 to 82%
65 to 73 %
Below 65%
=
=
=
=
=
A
B
C
D
F
Participation (or Attendance): Class attendance and participation are mandatory.
Three unexcused absences may be acceptable, but any more than three absences and you,
the student, stand a very good chance of having your grade lowered, possibly to an F. The
discretion is mine.
Class Participation: Required!
Incompletes: For the most part, incompletes are non-existent in this class.
Extra Credit: On rare occasions an extra credit assignment may be given to the class;
never are there individual extra credit assignments.
Make-up of tests and assignments: NONE!
Deadlines: This means DEADLINE, not maybe about this time! Exams are scheduled
during class! Outside assignments are due at the BIGINNING OF CLASS on the date
due. After the end of class on the date due, no assignment will be accepted and the
grade for that assignment will automatically become an F.
Required Writing and Reading:
Each student will write essay exams, including a final exam. There will also be a 12-15 typed
page research essay, written in the MLA format (6th Edition). No other format will be
accepted!
THE FINAL COPY OF THE RESEARCH ESSAY WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED IF
THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL WHICH INCLUDES A WORKING BIBLIOGRAPHY AND
A TRADITIONAL OUTLINE IS NOT TURNED IN ON THE PROPER DUE DATE!!!
In addition to assignments in the required textbooks, students will read other texts (provided
through class handouts) that are significant in the development of the American intellectual and
cultural tradition. Reading assignments will be substantial (to permit in-depth study) and will
include not only examples of the traditional literary genres, but also such non-fiction forms as
essays, tracts, public documents, and personal letters and autobiographical writings.
Student Conduct: I expect you to conduct yourself as a reasonable, mature adult. I do
not accept childish or disrespectful conduct.
NO CELL PHONES IN CLASS!
NO BEEPERS IN CLASS!
NO EATING IN CLASS!
NO SLEEPING IN CLASS!
Academic Integrity and Plagiarism: READ THE HCC POLICY
Academic integrity is a fundamental principle of collegial life at Heartland Community College
and is essential to the credibility of the College’s educational programs. Moreover, because
grading may be competitive, students who misrepresent their academic work violate the right of
their fellow students. The College, therefore, views any act of academic dishonesty as a serious
offense requiring disciplinary measures, including course failure, suspension, and even expulsion
from the College. In addition, an act of academic dishonesty may have unforeseen effects far
beyond any officially imposed penalties.
Violations of academic integrity include, but are not limited to cheating, aiding or
suborning cheating or other acts of academic dishonesty, plagiarism, misrepresentation of data,
falsification of academic records or documents and unauthorized access to computerized
academic or administrative records or systems. Definitions of these violations may be found in
the college catalog.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the presenting of others’ ideas as if they were your own. When you write a paper,
create a project, do a presentation or create anything original, it is assumed that all the work,
except for that which is attributed to another author or creator, is your own. Plagiarism is
considered a serious academic offense and may take the following forms:
1
Copying word-for-word from another source and not giving that source credit.
2
Paraphrasing the work of another and not giving that source credit.
3
Adopting a particularly apt phrase as your own.
4
Using an image or a copy of an image without crediting its source.
5
Paraphrasing someone else’s line of thinking in the development of a topic as if it
were your own.
6
Receiving excessive help from a friend or elsewhere, or using another project as
if it were your own.
Note that word-for-word copying is not the only form of plagiarism.
The penalties for plagiarism may be severe, ranging from failure on the particular piece
of work, failure in the course or expulsion from school in extreme cases.
[Adapted from the Modem Language Association’s MLA Handbook for Writers of
Research Papers. New York: MLA, 1995: 26]
Support Services:
Heartland Library Information
www.hcc.cc.il.us/library
The Library, located within the Academic Support Center (ASC) on the Normal campus, provides
Heartland students with a variety of on-campus resources that support both class work and personal
inquiry. These include: reference tools (print and non-print), periodicals, audio-visual materials and
equipment, reserves, a general circulating collection, and a fiction collection. Computer terminals
provide access to various electronic resources, including Academic Universe, FirstSearch, and EbscoHost
databases; CARL online card catalog, and Internet access. Several electronic resources are accessible
from computers off campus. Students may borrow books from the fiction and general collections and
may renew materials, in person or by phone, if requests have not been placed on them.
Heartland students also have Interlibrary Loan privileges from Heartland Library. Items usually take 1 to
3 weeks from date of the order to arrive.
The Library maintains a quiet study environment. Assistance is available for all library and information
needs. Heartland Library is open Monday-Thursday 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., Friday 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.,
when the college is in session, but is closed on holidays that Heartland observes. Intersession and
summer hours are reduced.
Milner Library at Illinois State University is a public institution so you may use their collection on site. If
you want to request to check out materials, ask for a free Community Borrowers card application at the
Milner Library circulation desk. It is important that you have specific titles to request for check out when
you apply for the card. The card will give you access to their circulating collection for three months, with
a four-week check out period. To qualify for this service you must live within 50 miles of Milner, have a
current state ID (driver's license) with current address on ID, and be over age 18. After you fill out the
application Milner will perform a background check on you for over due books, etc.
For more information about Library services please call the Library at 268-8200.
Tutoring and Academic Support
Heartland Community College offers learning assistance in various forms at no cost to Heartland
students at the Academic Support Center (ASC) in Normal and at the Pontiac and Lincoln
Centers. Tutors are available at convenient times throughout the week. Study groups, group
tutoring facilitated by a specially-trained tutor, are also available by request. Help is also
provided through instructional materials, study skills workshops, open computing, and the
Library. For more information about services available at each location, please call the ASC in
Normal at (309) 268-8235, the Pontiac Center (815) 842-6777; or the Lincoln Center (217) 7351731.
Academic Support Services (Academic Support Center) Lab www.hcc.cc.il.us/divisions/asc
[The following material must be on every syllabus. However, this text may be updated as needs warranted. Please
check either the HCC Intranet site in the Curriculum and Academic Standards folder or with the lead faculty
member for the most current site.]
Testing Center Lab
www.hcc.cc.il.us/divisions/asc/testing
The Testing Center proctors make-up exams for students enrolled in traditional courses. In
addition, regularly scheduled exams for alternative delivery courses are also proctored at this
Center. Exams are proctored free of charge in a secure and quite environment. For more
information about exam proctoring services contact the Testing Center at (309) 268-8231.
Open Computing Lab
www.hcc.cc.il.us/divisions/asc/complab
The Open Computing Lab provides free computing for HCC students at convenient times
throughout the week. The computer lab is staffed by trained Lab Assistants and offers the use of
approximately 70 computers, a scanner, a laser printer, and an electric typewriter.
Course Calendar:
August-September:
American Art: Ch 10 (135-45)
Film: Revolution (Al Pacino)
American Art: Ch 15 (198-211) & Ch 17 (237-43)
Film: Gone With the Wind (Clark Gable)
Lies My Teacher Told Me: Ch 5 (137-170)
Film: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence (John Wayne)
EXAM #1 : September 11, 2003
September-October:
American Art: Ch 21 (302-313)
Film: Rosewood
American Art: Ch 27 (392-404)
American Art: Ch 29 (422-435)
Film: The Grapes of Wrath
Lies My Teacher Told Me: Ch 7 (200-213)
American Art: Ch 31 (468-478)
Film: Hart’s War
EXAM #2: October 9, 2003
FALL BREAK: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 10 TO SUNDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2003
October:
RESEARCH PROPOSAL WITH WORKING BIBLIOGRAPHYAND
TRADITIONAL OUTLINE IS DUE AT THE BEGINNING OF
CLASS ON TUESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2003
American Art: Ch 34 (515-528)
Film: Cool Hand Luke
Autobiography: O’Brien. If I Die In A Combat Zone
Film: Platoon
Lies My Teacher Told Me: Ch 9 (238-253)
Film: We Were Soldiers
EXAM #3: November 6, 2003
November-December:
RESEARCH ESSAY DUE AT THE BEGINNING OF CLASS ON
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2003 – NO LATE PAPERS!!
American Art: Ch 36 (543-558)
American Art: Ch 40 (620-640)
Film: Do The Right Thing
Autobiography: McCall’s Makes Me Want to Holler
Film: Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned
Lies My Teacher Told Me: Ch 12 (298-311)
Readings from John McWhorter (On Reserve in the HCC Library)
Film: American History X
EXAM #4 : December 4, 2003
FINAL EXAM: THURSDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2003, 8:00-9:50AM
FINAL EXAM WILL BE GIVEN IN AN ASSIGNED ROOM