HON 272: The Human Event
Sample Syllabus -- Subject to Change
Dr. Jacquie Scott Lynch
Principal Lecturer & Honors Faculty Fellow
Barrett, the Honors College
at Arizona State University
UCENT 164C
602-496-6787 (office)
480-965-6780 (voicemail)
Jacquie.Scott@asu.edu
Office Hours
TTH 8:00-9:00 a.m.
F 10:30-11:30 a.m.
and by appointment
The Human Event is an intensive, interdisciplinary seminar focusing on key social and intellectual currents in the
development of humanity in its diversity. Students examine human thought and imagination from various
perspectives, including philosophy, history, literature, religion, science, and art. Coursework emphasizes critical
thinking, discussion, and argumentative writing. Exploring texts from approximately 1600 to the present, HON 272 is
the second half of a two-semester sequence that starts with HON 171.
Course Objectives
To improve the student’s ability to reason critically and communicate clearly.
To cultivate the student’s ability to engage in intellectual discourse through reading, writing, and
discussion.
To broaden the student’s historical and cultural awareness and understanding.
To deepen awareness of the diversity of human societies and cultures.
To instill intellectual breadth and academic discipline in preparation for more advanced study.
Required Texts
Note: Translations vary; these editions are required even if you use an electronic version.
Barber of Seville & Marriage of Figaro by Pierre de Beaumarchais (Penguin Classic trans. by John Wood)
Frankenstein: 1818 Text by Mary Shelley (Oxford World’s Classics)
The Classic Slave Narratives. Ed. HL Gates (New American Library)
Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl (Beacon Press, translated by Ilse Lasch)
Our 272 blackboard (bb) at myasu.edu features links to online readings and music, focus questions, a
discussion board, links for uploading essays to Safe Assignment, and other required course materials.
GRADED ASSIGNMENTS
Required assignments consist of weekly textual analyses (20%), quality participation in class discussions and other
in-class activities (30%), academic argument essays involving multiple drafts (40%), and writing module
assignments (10%). You must complete all assignments to pass this class. Assignment and course letter grades
are based on this scale: 100-98=A+, 97-93=A, 92-90=A-, 89-88=B+, 87-83=B, 82-80=B-, 79-78=C+, 77-70=C, 6960=D, 59 and below=E. Grading criteria for specific components/assignments are posted on our class blackboard.
Textual Analyses (20%); these exercises strengthen critical reading skills, help you prepare for class
discussion and formal essays, and demonstrate your personal engagement with each text in less formal
prose than is required in the academic essays. Students will post textual analysis responses to their
blackboard journals prior to the class for which they are due. Because these assignments aim to help you
prepare for class discussion, late responses will not earn credit. See the class blackboard for further
instructions.
Class Participation (30%). Students shape discussion and refine critical reading, thinking, and speaking
skills by bringing in discussion points and questions about the reading, participating in round-robin
Note: A syllabus is a contract. You are responsible for reading this document and asking any questions you may have
about the content within the first week of classes. By remaining enrolled in this course, you agree to abide by the
policies herein.
HON 272: The Human Event
Sample Syllabus
concept or plot summaries, responding analytically to questions posed by the instructor and class
members, supporting ideas with textual or logical evidence, posing and addressing counter-arguments,
and building teamwork skills by supporting or challenging the ideas under consideration in a thoughtful,
respectful manner. Final participation grades will reflect the sum of your daily participation grades less any
deductions for excess absences or inappropriate use of electronic devices (policies detailed below).
Focus Questions posted on the class blackboard fuel critical thinking and class discussion by
helping students to read critically during their first encounter with a text; they help us look beyond
the surface plot or assertions for larger or more profound thematic concerns. Ideally, students will
think through the focus questions and take notes on their ideas before coming to class so that we
can get right into lively discussions, but unless assigned as textual analysis prompts, focus
question responses will not be turned in.
Knowledge Testing Activities such as Human Event Jeopardy reinforce key concepts and
information from our reading to encourage long-term retention.
Academic Argument Essay Assignments (50%) prepare students to excel at persuasive writing in
academic disciplines and professional activities.
Academic Argument Essays (40%)
These two essays (20% + 20%) require students to read and think critically, to synthesize course
material, and to craft logically sophisticated, textually-based arguments that adhere to the
conventions of academic prose. In addition to the paper copy due to my office on essay due
dates, you will be required to submit an electronic version of your formal papers to Blackboard
Safe Assignment.
Writing Workshops help students learn to draft, reflect upon, and revise their writing based upon
the kinds of peer response employees often encounter in the workplace. They also require class
members to read their peers’ work critically and to offer constructive criticism. These workshops
are mandatory; if you fail to submit required drafts by posted deadlines, the grade for the paper
you submit in final form will be lowered by a full grade point (e.g., B to C).
Targeted Essay Revisions (Up to 5 points added to the first essay grade) require students to
revise selected components of their academic essays based upon customized instructor writing
feedback, thereby demonstrating mastery of the writing practices most crucial to individual
improvement.
Human Event Learning Project Module Assignments (10%)
Barrett’s newly developed HELPM modules provide students with illustrated models of human
event writing standards. Students will complete HELP assignments as they prepare to write their
first formal Human Event essay and will review specific modules as needed throughout the
semester.
COURSE INFORMATION AND POLICIES
Plagiarism and Academic Integrity
The Human Event is about generating and thinking through your own responses to primary texts; consulting online
or print outside resources for ideas – whether for textual analyses, class discussion, or essays -- violates this
course’s academic integrity. Don’t do it. Presenting another person's language or ideas as your own constitutes
plagiarism. Don’t do it. Repercussions for plagiarism on essays or textual analyses include failure of the
assignment AND failure of the course, and may include referral to the ASU Student Conduct Committee and
expulsion from the university. Plagiarism, the theft of intellectual property, is a serious crime that undermines
everything we are trying to accomplish in this course. If you have any questions, come talk to me.
Attendance
Attendance and preparation are extremely important in a discussion-based, collaborative learning class such as this
one, so the absence policy is strict: If you miss more than two classes, your final participation grade will drop by one
half letter grade per absence in excess of the first two (e.g., a third absence will cause a 90 to drop to an 85). Any
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HON 272: The Human Event
Sample Syllabus
student who exceeds six absences will automatically receive a final course grade no higher than a C. Arriving late to
class will detrimentally affect your participation grade.
v
v
Bring the assigned text to class each day; you will often be called upon to support your views with textual
evidence. If you do not have the text with you, you will not be prepared to participate fully and will receive a
zero for that day’s participation.
If you must miss a class, make sure you check the class blackboard for announcements the following day
and contact a classmate to find out if you missed any announcements or changes to the class calendar. I
do not differentiate between excused and unexcused absences, but feel free to let me know ahead of time
if you will be missing an upcoming class so that we can discuss plans for that session.
Electronic Devices in the Classroom
Students are welcome to use laptops or tablet computers for referencing texts in class, but the following rules apply:
v cell phones must be silent and remain out of sight; students may not use them for referencing texts.
v for days that our text is on blackboard (indicated by “bb” on the reading schedule) or our edition of a book
is available in electronic form (it MUST be the exact translation/edition), you may either print out the text or
bring it on a laptop or tablet, but electronic versions are acceptable only if you can and do annotate
them;
v keep laptop screens down during discussions except when referencing texts; and
v stay away from email and non-class websites during class. Once class has started, reading email, checking
social media, texting, etc. will result in an automatic, non-negotiable 5% per incident drop in your class
participation grade. If the temptation will be too great, play it safe and print out the readings.
Office Hours
Students are welcome to make office appointments to discuss aspects of the course – for example, critical reading
strategies or advice on essay writing -- either individually or in small groups. I hold regularly scheduled office hours
on Tuesdays and Thursdays 8:00–9:00 a.m. and Fridays from 10:30-11:30, and I am available a variety of other
times by appointment. Keep in mind that I have many honors students taking classes with me this semester in
addition to upper division students working on honors theses and national scholarship applications, so if you need
to see me on a particular day, it’s a good idea to make an appointment even during my set office hours. I will see
students who do not have appointments on a first-come basis after seeing those who’ve made appointments. To
make an appointment, see me before or after class, or email me – but I typically reply to non-urgent email only once
a day M-F, so make sure to email me with as much advance notice as possible.
Due Dates and Late Assignments
Unless otherwise noted, readings and other assignments are due at the beginning of the class period indicated on
the syllabus and class blackboard. If you have a documented, valid excuse (serious illness, family emergency, etc.)
to turn in an assignment after a deadline, you must inform me as soon as possible prior to the due date. Otherwise,
formal papers turned in after the due date and time will receive a full letter grade penalty per calendar day late (a
paper due on Friday at 4:00 p.m. and turned in between that time and 4:00 on Saturday (submit via email over
weekends) will earn, for example, a C rather than a B). Late textual analyses will not receive credit.
Multiculturalism at Barrett
Barrett, the Honors College at Arizona State University, is committed to creating a multicultural learning
environment, which is broadly defined as a place where human cultural diversity is valued and respected. Barrett
courses integrate multicultural and diversity issues in ways that are designed to enhance students’ honors
experience and promote learning goals. We hope that our students will contribute their unique perspectives to this
effort by respecting others’ identities and personal life histories and by considering and raising issues related to
multiculturalism and diversity as appropriate to individual course content.
Honors Faculty Fellow Professional Ethics
The Barrett community is committed to upholding values of academic, professional and personal honesty of the
highest order. We believe that ethical and respectful behavior is one of the most important measures of the worth of
an individual and, as such, the overall integrity of our community as a whole. As professionals, we all play our part in
maintaining that community. We recognize that our privileged position as trusted mentors to Barrett students
comes with certain responsibilities for their mental, emotional, and physical well-being, as well as a commitment to
the comfort and security of our colleagues in this community of scholars.
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HON 272: The Human Event
Sample Syllabus
Student Code of Conduct
Students must conduct themselves according to the ASU policies posted online at https://eoss.asu.edu/dos. These
include the ASU Student Code of Conduct and the Provost’s Academic Integrity Policy.
Course Content
Students in this class engage with material containing adult content that may include profane language and graphic
sexuality. If you have concerns regarding this aspect of the course, come see me during the first week of the
semester.
The Barrett Writing Center
Directed by honors faculty and staffed by writing tutors who themselves have completed both semesters of The
Human Event, the Barrett Writing Center offers individual tutoring on writing argumentative essays for the Human
Event. More information is available via the Barrett web site at <http://barretthonors.asu.edu/academics/barrettwriting-center/>.
Writing Materials
Please note that I may use submitted human event essays and essay materials to develop improved teaching
resources for current and future students. Student work will remain anonymous unless student authors request to
have their names appear on essays selected as models. If you have any questions about this policy, come talk to
me during the first week of the semester. Thank you!
To tell a story
in the proper way,
to hear a story told in the proper way—
that is a very old and sacred business,
and it is very good.
At that moment when we are drawn
into the element of language,
we are as intensely alive as we can be;
we create and we are created.
That existence in the maze of words
is our human condition. . . .
Our stories explain us, justify us,
sustain us, humble us,
and forgive us.
And sometimes they injure and destroy us.
Make no mistake, we are at risk
in the presence of words.
Perhaps the greatest stories are those
which disturb us,
which shake us from our complacency,
which threaten our well-being.
It is better to enter into the danger of such a story
than to keep safely away in a space
where the imagination lies dormant. . . .
Perhaps the central function of storytelling
is to reflect the forces, within and without us,
that govern our lives, both good and bad.
This is a very simple notion,
but it is profound.
Stories are pools of reflection
in which we see ourselves
through the prism of the imagination.
--N. Scott Momaday, from The Man Made of Words, 1997
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HON 272: The Human Event
Sample Syllabus
Daily Schedule
To meet the emerging needs of the class, this schedule is subject to change;
any changes will be announced in class.
Prepare all readings before class on the dates indicated below. Bring the assigned text to class each day, as you
will need to support your views with textual evidence. If you do not have the text, you will receive a zero for
participation that day. “bb” indicates that the text is accessible on our class blackboard.
T Jan 12
Introduction to class
W Jan 13
Take the Syllabus & Seminar Participation Quiz on blackboard by 5:00 p.m. Friday. This activity
will require you to read carefully both the Syllabus and Seminar Participation Guidelines (posted on
blackboard under the Syllabus and Guidelines tab) to prepare for the quiz.
Swift, "A Modest Proposal" [1729] (bb)
Discuss Seminar Participation Guidelines (bb)
Human Event Learning Project: Complete Module A and Take Quizzes by 4:00 p.m.
Th Jan 14
T Jan 19
Beaumarchais, The Barber of Seville [1773]
Th Jan 21
Locke [1690] and Rousseau [1754] (bb)
“Enlightenment Backgrounds and Quotations” (bb)
Human Event Learning Project: Complete Module C and Take Quizzes by 4:00 p.m.
T Jan 26
Beaumarchais, The Marriage of Figaro [1778]
Th Jan 28
Kant, "What is Enlightenment?" [1784] (bb)
Human Event Learning Project: Complete Module B and Take Quizzes by 4:00 p.m.
T Feb 2
Shelley, Frankenstein [1818]
Th Feb 4
Shelley, Frankenstein [1818]
Human Event Learning Project: Complete Module D and Take Quizzes by 4:00 p.m.
T Feb 9
Th Feb 11
Essay Workshop: submit a complete draft of your essay to blackboard before class and bring a
copy to class for the in-class workshop.
Tennyson, ”Ulysses” [1842] (bb)
F Feb 12
Essay due to my office and to blackboard by 9:00 a.m.
T Feb 16
Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass in Classic Slave Narratives [1845];
Read “Letter from Wendell Phillips” and Chapters 1-11.
Th Feb 18
Marx & Engels, The Communist Manifesto [1848] (bb)
Ruis, from Marx for Beginners (bb)
T Feb 23
Th Feb 25
Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl in Classic Slave Narratives [1861]
Introductory material (title page, preface by the author, etc.) and Chapters 1-2, 5-7, 10, 14, 17-19,
21, 24
Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Chapters 25, 27, 29, 32-41
T Mar 2
Darwin, “On the Races of Man” from Descent of Man [1871]
Th Mar 4
Essay Review Workshop – bring your graded essay to class.
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HON 272: The Human Event
Sample Syllabus
Mar 9 & 11
Spring Break
T Mar 16
Eugenics Readings I (bb) – selections from Galton, Davenport, and Laughlin
Th Mar 18
Eugenics Readings II (bb) – readings on EugenicsArchive.org
T Mar 23
Curie, Autobiographical Notes from Pierre Curie, Part II [1923] (bb)
Targeted essay revisions due in class.
Harlem Renaissance Poetry (bb)
Hurston, “How It Feels to Be Colored Me” [1928] (bb)
Th Mar 25
T Mar 30
Strange Fruit: Meeropol [1937] (bb), Holiday and Simone, in-class viewing and listening
Th April 1
Phoenix Arts Activity (bb)
T April 6
Sartre, "Existentialism is a Humanism" [1946] (bb)
Th April 8
Gandhi, Selected Political Writings (bb) & Orwell, “Shooting an Elephant” [1936] (bb)
T April 13
Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning, Part I [1959]
Th April 15
Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning, Part II (1962) and selections from Levi, Survival in Auschwitz (bb)
T April 20
Achebe, “Vengeful Creditor” (bb) [1972]
Th April 22
Essay Workshop: Submit a complete draft of your essay to blackboard before class and bring a
copy to class for the in-class review workshop.
T April 27
Bendjelloul, Searching for Sugar Man [2012] & essay revisions
Th April 29
Bendjelloul, Searching for Sugar Man [2012] & course evaluations
F April 30
Final essay due to blackboard by 9:00 a.m.
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