NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS COLLEGE COURSE SYLLABUS

 

Course Title: Introduction to Humanities
Course Prefix & Number: HUMA 1301	Section Number:  0599	Semester: Fall 2019
Semester Credit Hours: 3	Lecture Hours: 3	Lab Hours: 0
Course Description (NCTC Catalog): This stand-alone course is an interdisciplinary survey of cultures focusing on the philosophical and aesthetic factors in human values with an emphasis on the historical development of the individual and society and the need to recreate.
Course Prerequisite(s): None
Required or Recommended Course Materials: Fiero, Gloria K. Landmarks in Humanities 4th Edition Publisher: McGraw-Hill Higher Education eText ISBN: 9781259669644, 1259669645

 

INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION

Name of Instructor:	Kevin Pyle
Campus/Office Location:	Flower Mound Suite 100
Telephone Number:	940 668-3350
E-mail Address:	All correspondences through Canvas

 

GRADING CRITERIA

# of Graded Course Elements	Graded Course Elements	Percentage or Point Values
11	Discussion Board Assignments (100 points each)	1100
4	Quizzes (50 points each)	200
2	Projects (250 points)	500
1	Analytical Writing Assignment (200 points)	200

 

2000-800  points = A

799-699    points = B

698-498    points = C

497-397    points = D

396-0        points = F

 

MAKE-UP POLICY

The Course Calendar gives you a comprehensive look at your assignment dates, so be sure to turn in your work in on time. 

Since there is ample time allotted for the completion of all your assignments and exams, there will be no makeups on Reading Discussions, Exams, Research Paper, or Primary Source Activities. 

The turnaround time for grades is as follows:

Primary Source Activities, Exams and will be graded within 1 hour to 2 days after the due date.

Since I spend a great deal of time giving feedback on papers, they will be graded within three weeks.

 

Regular and punctual attendance is expected of all students in all classes for which they have registered.  All absences are considered to be unauthorized unless the student is absent due to illness or emergencies as determined by the instructor.  It is the student responsibility to provide documentation as to the emergency for approval and judgement by the faculty member.  Approved college sponsored activities are the only absences for which a student should not be held liable and only when provided by a college official ahead of the absence.  Valid reasons for absence, however, do not relieve the student of the responsibility for making up required work.  Students will not be allowed to make up an examination missed due to absence unless they have reasons acceptable to the instructor.  A student who is compelled to be absent when a test is given should petition the instructor, in advance if possible, for permission to postpone the exam.  Student will be dropped from a class by the Registrar upon recommendation of the instructor who feels the student has been justifiably absent or tardy a sufficient number of times to preclude meeting the course’s objectives.    Persistent, unjustified absences from classes or laboratories will be considered sufficient cause for College officials to drop a student from the rolls of the College. From Board Policy FC (LOCAL)

Additional Instructor-specific Absence Policy:

2 unexcused absences will result in a grade drop of 200 points. 3 or more unexcused absences will result in a grade drop of 400 points. Perfect attendance will result in an addition of 100 points.

 

READING DISCUSSION

Participation in Discussion Forums is a very important part of the learning process in this course.  You will be evaluated on the QUALITY of your contributions and insights.  Quality comments possess one or more of the following properties:

 

    Analyzes the material presented during the week (Posts must include references to the textbook, assigned readings, and the materials given.  You must show a mastery of the material.);

    Offers a different and unique, but relevant, perspective;

    Contributes to moving the discussion and analysis forward;

    Builds on other comments;

    Transcends the “I feel” syndrome. That is, it includes some evidence or argumentation.  In    

    other words, the comment demonstrates some reflective thinking.

 

The reply posts should not be yes or no kinds of answers.  You are expected to analyze your fellow classmates’ responses and add relevant information. You may also pose questions to your colleagues.

 

Original posts must be a minimum of 150 words.  Reply posts must be a minimum of 50 words.

 

Three points will be deducted for every late original post.  Late reply posts will not be accepted.

"Netiquette"

Distance conveys a degree of anonymity, and as a result, many people feel less inhibited in online situations than in their everyday lives. This lessening of inhibitions sometimes leads people to drop their normal standards of decorum when communicating online. Become familiar with the following guidelines regarding both online discussions and email messages.

 

·         Use appropriate language. Use of “chat” or “texting” or “instant messaging” jargon is not acceptable for class discussions.

·         Read existing follow-up postings and don’t repeat what has already been said.

·         Inappropriate and/or offensive language, especially comments that might be construed as racist or sexist, are not appropriate and will be dealt with on an individual basis.

·         Be careful with humor and sarcasm. One person’s humorous comment can be another person’s degrading remark.

·         Do not use all caps in an online environment. Using all caps is considered SHOUTING.

·         Use proper spelling, capitalization, grammar, and punctuation. Utilize the Spell Check feature.

·         Remember that there are other human beings reading your postings, so treat everyone with respect. Don’t post anything you wouldn’t be willing to communicate face to face.

 

 

PROJECTS

 

There will be two Projects assigned in class. One will be on an individual basis, and the other team based. There are 5 major topics selected for these Projects and your individual project must not be on the same topic as your team-based project. The team-based projects will be assigned during class (one team per topic). Each student may choose their own individual project and then notify me through Canvas on their choices. Both the team-based and individual projects will be presented to the class. The Rubric for determining the content, method and grading protocol will be found on Canvas. Further details about the projects can be found on Canvas under the “PROJECTS” tab.

 

PROJECT TOPICS

Science            Music              Literature                    Visual Arts                   Engineering/Math

 

You must choose your individual topic and notify me through Canvas no later than September 3rd!

 

 

 

 

 

STYLE-SHEET FOR PAPERS

RESEARCH PROJECT:

It is important to adhere strictly to the parameters outlined.

The research paper will strictly adhere to the following parameters;

1. 1- inch margins top & bottom, left & right and double-spaced
2.  12 pt. font; Times New Roman or Arial only
3.  A separate Title page that contains your course number, title of your topic, name, and date you turn it in. All this will be centered, top to bottom, left to right on the page
4. No Headers or Footers
5. A separate page containing your references (MLA citation required).
6. Length of text to be 500 words exactly!
7. The entire paper, Title page/Text/Reference page is one document!
8. All papers to be in MSWord format only!!!
9. Upload your document to Vericite, DO NOT COPY AND PASTE as this will alter the format to HTML and I will NOT grade it!

 

DUE DATE: The paper is due on and no later than 11:30, October 7th 2019. There will be a Veracite drop box on Canvas for your paper. No late papers will be accepted!  

 

I. The Text

       Good grammar usage is expected of all students.  Those new to writing papers should pay special attention to the following.

1)      Spelling-Spelling should follow the generally accepted conventions.  If you do not have one, buy a good dictionary.  Also, use spell-check on your computer.

2)      Correct use of tenses-In general you should refer to actions people did in the past in the past tense (Thucydides wrote The Peloponnesian War.).  Refer to quotations from authors in the present tense, even if the author is a historical person (Thucydides believes the Peloponnesian War was more important and interesting than any war that had gone before it.)

3)      Uses of apostrophes-Apostrophes are not used in the plurals of words (telephones not telephone’s).  Apostrophes are used to indicate possession of one thing by another thing (the man’s hat).  If the word that possesses is plural, the apostrophe goes after the “s” (the Students’ Association).

4)      Its and It’s-Its indicates possession, like his or her (the book’s cover=its cover). It’s is a contraction of the words it and is.

5)      Capitalization-Capitalize the first word in a sentence, proper nouns, words like

King (only when referring to a particular person, not the office in general), and words in titles (except conjunctions, propositions, or articles).

6)      Use of first person pronouns-When writing formal papers do not use the words “I” or “me”.  A term paper is not meant to sound like a letter to a friend.

7)      Words to avoid-Try to avoid words like incredible, unbelievable, always, never, people, and they.

8)      Passive construction-It is bad style to use passive construction.  Instead of “The King was lynched” one should write, “The Parisian mob lynched the King.”  Instead of “The White House had been burned down” one should write, “The British burned down the White House.”

9)      Contractions- Do not use contractions in formal papers.  Always spell out the words.

 

II. Citations and Notes

       You must indicate from where you got information used in your paper, not just when you quote directly, but also when you get ideas or arguments from a source. It is better to cite too much than not enough.  The way to cite material is in parenthetical notes.

       Avoid over use of quotations.  Quotations should only be used when an author makes a particularly unique discovery or uses an unusual turn of phrase.  It is YOUR words and thoughts that are required and on which you will be graded.

       Single author- (last name page number)

       Two authors- (last name of both authors page number)

       Two sources by same author or with same last name-(last name abbreviation of title  page number)

       No author-(short title page number)

Examples:

(Cobban 17)

(Harrison, Sullivan, and Sherman 257)

(Limb “Alliance” 23) and (Limb "Imperialism" 47)

(“Roman Military” 7)

III. Bibliography

       For a college paper your bibliography should list all the resources you consulted in writing your paper.  In a bibliography, books and articles are listed alphabetically in order of the author’s last name.  Books without authors and websites are listed alphabetically by the title of the book or the name of the site, excluding the articles (like “the” or “an”).

Example:

Cobban, Alfred.  A History of Modern France, Volume 1: 1715-1799. 3^rd ed. Baltimore:

       Pelican, 1963.

Harrison, John B., Richard E. Sullivan, and Dennis Sherman. A Short History of Western

       Civilization, Volume II since 1600.  7^th ed.  New   York: McGraw-Hill, 1990.

Limb, Peter. "Alliance Strengthened or Diminished?: Relationships between Labour &

       African Nationalist/Liberation Movements in Southern Africa,” May 2007

       .

Monter, William. “The Historiography of European Witchcraft.” Journal of

       Interdisciplinary History 9 (1978): 435-51.

 

The following advice appeared in the school newspaper at Fordham University.  Needless to say, it is meant to be humorous, but it makes some good points.

 

HOW TO WRITE GOOD PAPERS

1.  Avoid alliteration.  Always.

2.  Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.

3.  Avoid clichés like the plague. They’re old hat.

4.  Employ the vernacular.

5.  Avoid ampersands & abbreviations, etc.

6.  Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are unnecessary.

7.  It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.

8.  Don’t use contractions.

9.  Foreign words or phrases are not apropos.

10.  One should never generalize.

11.  Eliminate quotations.  As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “I hate quotations.  Tell me what you know.”

12.  Do not be redundant; in other words, do not use more words than are necessary, it’s highly unnecessary.

13.  Profanity sucks.

14.  Be more or less specific.

15.  Understatement is always best. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.

 

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES

	At the successful completion of this course the student will be able to:
	Demonstrate awareness of the scope and variety of works in the arts and humanities.
	Articulate how these works express the values of the individual and society within a historical and social context.
	Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the influence of literature, philosophy, and the arts on cultural experiences.
	Demonstrate an awareness of the creative process and why humans create.

 

The Ancients is an interdisciplinary course that explores pre-historic societies and early civilizations in an effort to understand the human condition.  The course is structured by theme rather than chronology.  We will explore politics, economics, religion, social development, intellectualism, and the arts.  In other words, using the PERSIA model, we will learn about humanity. 

 

WEEK 1          Linguistics & Semiology

WEEK 2          Pre-History

WEEK 3          Religion

WEEK 4          Politics-Codes of Law, Diplomacy and Trade

WEEK 5          Society-Gender, Everyday Life, and Leisure, Caste, Class, and Slavery

WEEK 6          Intellectualism-Western Philosophy/ Eastern Philosophy

WEEK 7          Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics

WEEK 8          Arts-Music, Visual Arts, Drama, Literature, and Poetry

 

 

Last day to withdraw from a course with a “W” is __November 1st, 2019______.

 

The Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD) provides accommodations for students who have a documented disability. On the Corinth Campus, go to room 170 or call 940-498-6207. On the Gainesville Campus, go to room 110 or call 940-668-4209.  Students on the Bowie, Graham, Flower Mound, and online campuses should call 940-668-4209.

North Central Texas College is on record as being committed to both the spirit and letter of federal equal opportunity legislation, including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, ADA Amendments Act of 2009, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (P.L. 93-112).   http://www.nctc.edu/StudentServices/SupportServices/Disabilityservices.aspx

 

CORE CURRICULUM FOUNDATIONAL COMPONENT AREA______________________________

o         Communication

o         Mathematics              

o         Life and Physical Science

X         Language, Philosophy & Culture

o         Creative Arts

 

o         History

o         Government/Political Science

o         Social and Behavioral Sciences

o         Component Area Option

 

X            Critical Thinking

X            Communication

o           Empirical and Quantitative

 

o           Teamwork

X            Personal Responsibility

X            Social Responsibility

COURSE TYPE

STUDENT HANDBOOK