Required Texts

Fiero, Gloria K. The Humanistic Tradition.  Volume II The Early Modern Age to the Present. Fourth Edition. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2002

Sporre, Dennis J. Perceiving the Arts. An Introduction to the Humanities (8^th ed.) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Publishing, 2006.

Course Description

This course introduces students to vital areas of the humanities, such as history, philosophy, literature, and the visual and performing arts.  Students analyze and evaluate cultural artifacts (such as paintings, poetry, music, film, and architecture) and develop connections among these works and their historical and philosophical contexts.  Discussions, writings, oral presentations, group activities, and visits to cultural venues prepare students for more advanced inquiry in subsequent courses.

Terminal Course Objectives

Every DeVry course is guided by specific learning objectives, objectives that serve as the road map to both course instruction and student learning.  These objectives, called Terminal Course Objectives (TCOs), assist in making the necessary connections between our society, our culture, and various artistic manifestations.  After completing this course you should be able to exercise the following skills:

1. Given a representation of an artwork (such as a painting, poem, sonata, or cathedral), analyze the work’s content, form, materials, meaning, and method of creation to enrich understanding of and appreciation for that work.
2. Given a representation of an artwork (such as a painting, poem, sonata, or cathedral) and a critical interpretation or statement of aesthetics, evaluate the artwork against the interpretation or statement, in order to show differing critical and aesthetic perspectives on the artwork.
3. Given representations of two artworks of similar or differing disciplines (such as two paintings or a painting and a poem), compare/contrast their contents, forms, and/or methods of creation, to identify the scope of the respective disciplines and to clarify disciplinary differences.
4. Given representations of multiple artworks, classify them using a variety of approaches (by discipline, genre, style, period, etc.), to demonstrate ability to contextualize the works.
5. Given a representation of an artwork and a particular summary of the time period when the work was produced (such as the Mona Lisa and a history of the Italian Renaissance), formulate relationships between the work and its historical context to augment understanding and appreciation for both the artwork and the time period.
6. Given information about a cultural phenomenon (such as an artwork, an issue, a trend, or a social/personal value) and documents describing a philosophical school of thought (such as theism, enlightenment humanism, existentialism, or French postmodernism), analyze the relationships between the cultural phenomenon and the school of thought.
7. Given a significant technological advance (such as the printing press or camera), assess the effects of the technical breakthrough on culture and art.
8. Given documents describing a particular society (such as classical Greece or Victorian England), evaluate the role and purpose of one area of the humanities in that society.
9. Given a variety of philosophical positions (such as Classical Humanism, Existentialism, Pragmatism, or Postmodernism) and specific philosophical issues (such as epistemology, ethics, or esthetics), critique differences among the positions in regard to the issue.
10. Given a specific social conflict or moral dilemma (such as euthanasia, abortion, or social welfare), apply a particular ethical perspective to propose a solution or course of action.

Course Schedule

Grading Policy

There are 4 ways (each valued at 25% of the total grade) in which students can earn grade points in this class:

1.       Weekly Online Threaded Discussions

2.       Research paper

3.       Midterm Exam

4.       Final Exam

Based upon the percentage of points that each student earns, grades are allocated as follows:

Course Policies and Procedures

LATE AND MISSED WORK COURSE POLICY
It is the policy of this Professor not to accept late work or assist students in making up missed work.  In an accelerated, compressed 8-week course, students must prepare in advance of the start of the class to arrive to EACH class on time and not to miss any class.  The only exception to this policy is that the Professor will accept a written, verifiable medical excuse from a health care professional for a specified period of lateness or absence and shall then reserve the right to examine each student situation, on a case-by-case basis, in order to decide if the given student is eligible to complete specially assigned work created by the Professor.  The Professor always will strive to be fair to students, but students, must also seriously commit themselves to our brief 8-week class expectations.

ONLINE THREADED DISCUSSION BEHAVIOR GUIDELINES
While participating in our two threaded discussions each week, it is expected that all students will abide by the common rules of decency listed below in order to maintain a professional online learning environment.  The threaded discussions ARE NOT LIKE A CHAT ROOM DISCUSSION.
1.  Always try to talk in warm, friendly tone, open to the ideas of others.
2.  Do not dominate or try to lead any discussion.
3.  Listen to the others in a discussion by carefully reading and reflecting on their input before responding back to them.
4.  Do not solely respond to the Professor's remarks, but also respond/initiate discussion with the other students.
5.  Always speak respectfully to the other discussion participants, avoiding using any profanity, inappropriate, offensive, and derogatory language.  Also, do not use slang or cyber talk vocabulary.
6.  Always bring in weekly lecture and reading content materials, avoiding frequent personal opinion statements.
7.  Bring into the discussion real-life examples that are relevant and helpful to the discussion, especially examples from the business world.
8.  Reserve all questions for the separate Questions and Answers section of each week's Threaded Discussion area.
9.  Actively display a healthy sense of humor!!

THE WEEKLY GRADING STANDARDS USED TO EVALUATE THE TDAS
The Threaded Discussion Assignment is a major online component of the iOptimize shell.  The TDA is a weekly asynchronous virtual classroom discussion aimed at promoting understanding of the major concepts and principles underlying the complex relationships of the course.  Students should plan to participate in the discussion(s) for approximately two hours each week (this time does not include homework for the onsite meetings). 

The Professor will lead these discussions, asking questions, promoting thought, and providing feedback to the students.  In turn, each student is expected to respond to the instructor’s questions and to respond to the entries of the other students in the class.  Opinions are welcome; however, the entries as well as the discussion itself must focus on the weekly lecture(s) and weekly readings.  Thus each student must refer to specifics of the lectures and the readings each week as well as analyze and synthesize material from previous readings and lectures.

The Threaded Discussion will be weighted 25% of the total course grade. 

Each week the student will be graded on his/her contribution(s) in the Threaded Discussions using the TDA Grading Criteria. Each entry is worth a maximum of five points based on the following three categories.

Grading the Threaded Discussion Assignment

Frequency – At a minimum, each student must participate 3 days per week, every other day, spread out from the beginning to the end of each week.  The more a student participates, the more points the student is able to earn.  The points for frequency in the discussion can range from 0-2 points (0 for no participation and 2 points maximum for the 3 or more days).

Volume – (The number of posts per Thread) For each Thread in a TDA, a minimum of three postings must be made by each student per week.  These postings cannot be completely directed only to the professor; the postings must also respond to the entries and comments of the other students in the class in the virtual classroom discussion.  The more entries the student posts during the three days the more points the student can earn. The student may earn 0 – 2 points for each entry.

Quality – It is expected that each student will bring content from the weekly lectures and weekly readings during each TDA (adding value including personal examples, new analysis, important questions, tying posts together, references to reading, responding to the instructor and/or the questions).  While personal opinions may be interjected, the emphasis of each discussion is the course content.  A student can earn from 0-1 point for the quality of the discussion entries.

Therefore, a student can earn a total of 15 points (maximum) per Threaded Discussion Assignment/Topic if they meet the criteria for Threaded Discussion.  If there are two Threaded Discussions per week the student would be able to earn 30 points (maximum) in the Threads for the Week. 

You will get 5 points for the Introduction Thread in Week One.  Therefore the total maximum for week 1 will be 20 point.   The Wrap-Up Thread for each week is NOT a graded component. 

School Policies

A) Academic and Professional Conduct

Ensuring academic integrity is an educational objective DeVry takes very seriously. The School's Academic Policy is printed in the catalog, and the following explanations may be helpful in interpreting what are considered to be violations of the policy. 

Students have a responsibility to maintain both the academic and professional integrity of the School and to meet the highest standards of academic and professional conduct. Students are expected to do their own work on examinations, class preparation and assignments and to conduct themselves professionally when interacting with fellow students, faculty and staff. Students must also make equitable contributions to both the quality and quantity of work performed on group projects.

Academic and/or professional misconduct is subject to disciplinary action including course failure, probation or dismissal. Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, cheating on examinations, plagiarism, bribery, falsification of student records and improper attempts to influence Instructors or School officials.

Examinations: Using notes, looking at another student's test paper, or providing another student with answers during an examination are violations of the policy. 

Course Assignments/Projects: Unless a course assignment is specifically designated as a group/team assignment, collaborating with another student in completing assignments intended to be completed independently or submitting another student's work as your own are violations of the policy. 

Research Reports: To use another person's ideas, words, expressions, or findings in your writing without acknowledging the source is to plagiarize. A writer who does not give appropriate credit when quoting, or even paraphrasing, another's writing is guilty of plagiarism and in violation of the Academic Policy. 

The policies and procedures set forth in the DeVry Handbook will be the guide for standards of conduct, including cheating, plagiarism, grading and other policies. 

Students should adhere to the same types of conduct for cheating, plagiarism, etc. that are followed in the traditional classroom.

Students should be familiar with the consequences of cheating, plagiarism, or rules infractions as set out in the DeVry Handbook.

B) Computer Virus Disclaimer

“Students have a responsibility to maintain both the academic and professional integrity of the School, and to meet the highest standards of academic and professional conduct."  Any intentional, willful or reckless transferring of viruses, as the result of an email message or attachment will be considered professional misconduct.  Professional misconduct is subject to disciplinary action including being placed on probation, failing a graded course component, failing a course, or being dismissed from the School.  DeVry will not be liable to any affected student for any indirect, special, incidental or consequential damages that may occur as a result of this type of misconduct by any person.

Faculty and DeVry staff have a responsibility to maintain both the academic and professional integrity of the School, and to meet the highest standards of academic and professional conduct.  Any intentional, willful or reckless transferring of viruses, as the result of an email message or attachment will be considered professional misconduct.  Professional misconduct is subject to disciplinary action. DeVry will not be liable to any affected person or organization for any indirect, special, incidental or consequential damages that may occur as a result of this type of misconduct by any person.