Humanities 202 SA9 Spring 2015 Wilbur Wright College Saturdays 9–12 Dr. Kristina Grob Office Hours: TBD Catalog Description General Course II – Introduction to the interdisciplinary study of arts and ideas, with emphasis on principles of analysis and interpretation. Writing assignments, as appropriate to the discipline, are part of the course. Transfers as IAI HF 901 and fulfills one of the Humanities General Education core curriculum requirements. Prerequisites: Enrollment in English 101 or consent of Department Chairperson Course Description This course continues the chronological and topical interdisciplinary study of the art, music, literature, and philosophy from early modernity to the present, with emphasis on principles of analysis and interpretation. Writing assignments, as appropriate to the discipline, are part of the course. The goal of the course is to improve students’ knowledge of human creativity as a product of a particular time in history and society, as well as to enhance students’ skills of analysis and interpretation.

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Course Objectives To acquaint students with the humanities as a discipline; To enable students to develop critical ideas in order to classify, analyze, evaluate, comment on, and appreciate an expression of the humanities; To enable students to associate art, literature, music, and philosophy with a particular time in history and society; To appreciate cultural, gender, ethnic, physical abilities, class, and age diversity; To foster an exchange of ideas among students in the classroom.

Student Learning Outcomes With this course students will be able to: 1. Demonstrate visual art literacy; 2. Construct, judge and analyze an argument; 3. Demonstrate sensitivity to cultural, gender, ethnic, abilities, class, and age differences; 4. Demonstrate a knowledge of the cultural foundations of Western and other traditions; 5. Demonstrate an understanding of various musical forms; 6. Demonstrate an ability to read and interpret a primary text; 7. Demonstrate an understanding of historical, geographical, and cultural context; 8. Demonstrate effective oral and written communication; 9. Apply technological literacy to the exchange of ideas; 10. Pose a philosophical question.

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PROCEDURES This course is a general introduction to achievements in what are called the “humanities”: art, literature, philosophy, and religion. Our overarching theme will be taken from the title: what does it mean to be human? We will focus primarily on the theme of disenchantment: How shall we face the disenchantment of the world? Can we re-enchant ourselves?. Our classes will make use of some combination of the following methods of instruction: lectures, class discussions, visual arts presentations (slides and/or computer graphics), recorded music listening Clientele for course: Students in the A.A., A.S., A.F.A, A.A.S., and AG.S. Programs may take this class to satisfy part of the Humanities general education core requirement. It will also attract students interested in art, literature, music, and philosophy and the interdisciplinary connections among these fields. Humanities 201 transfers as Humanities elective credit. Active Pursuit: Students are expected to attend class regularly, turn in all written assignments on time, and take all scheduled exams. Students who fail to comply with these requirements will be terminated at mid-semester. Missing class more than six times will result in a lowered grade. Academic Integrity: The City Colleges of Chicago is committed to the ideals of truth and honesty. In view of this, students are expected to adhere to high standards of honesty in their academic endeavor. Plagiarism and cheating of any kind are serious violations of these standards and will result, minimally, in the grade of “F” by the instructor. Student Conduct: City Colleges of Chicago students are expected to conduct themselves in a manner which is considerate of the rights of others and which will not impair the educational mission of the College. Misconduct for which students are subject to College Discipline (e.g., expulsion) may include the following: (1) all forms of dishonesty, such as forgery and stealing; obstruction or disruption of teaching, research, administration, or disciplinary proceedings; (3) physical or verbal abuse, threats, intimidation, harassment, and/or other conduct that threatens or endangers the health or safety of any person; and (4) carrying or possession of weapons, ammunition, or other explosives. Students may also be dismissed from class for sleeping, using a cell phone, conversing with another student, or any other activity that demonstrates inattention or disrespect. Communicative Etiquette: All correspondence for this course must adhere to professional standards. For example, when sending email to me or to fellow students, be sure to include a clear subject line, a salutation, and a professional signature. Special Needs: Any student with a disability who is eligible for reasonable accommodations should contact the Disability Access Center, located in Room L135, Learning Resource Center of the Wright North Campus, or call (773) 481-8016 as soon as possible. Readings: Readings not available in the bookstore will be made available on Blackboard. Daily writing exercises. Every day you will have the opportunity to work through questions, confusions, exhilarations, and the like that arise from your reading. These will not be assigned a 2

letter grade. Not doing them will cost you at least one full letter grade from your final grade in the class. Midterm and Final Exams. Here you will demonstrate your ability to read carefully a small portion of text, explain its meaning, and relate the point it makes to the text as a whole. Short Papers. There will be three, 3–4 page papers spaced out throughout the semester. For each of them you will be permitted to choose among the prompts I make available to you. Regardless of the prompt you choose, the paper you write must be in argument form. Class participation. There are many ways to earn full credit for participation: attending class, asking questions, participating in discussions, and attending office hours. If you are worried about your class participation grade, come chat with me. We’ll work something out. But you must talk to me about this before the semester ends Grading Scale: A 100-90%; B 89-80%; C 79-70%; D 69-60%; F 59-0% 1. Daily writing exercises 2. Midterm quiz 3. Short papers 4. Final exam 5. Class participation

15% of final grade 15% of final grade 30% of final grade 20% of final grade 20% of final grade

ELECTRONICS POLICY Electronic devices will not be permitted in this class. This means the following:  Laptops  Tablets  E-readers  Cellphones  Recording devices  Gaming systems  Anything else I didn’t already think of If I see any of these items in plain view after the beginning of the class period, you will be issued a warning. If I notice you using any of these items at any time during class, you will be asked to leave class and you will be marked absent for the day. If you are expecting an emergency phone call, tell me this before class begins. If this is a cause of consternation, then talk with me about your concerns.

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Reading Schedule Week One: Introductions Jan 17: Keat’s Lamia [in class]

Mar 2 Kierkegaard, Works of Love [selections]

Week Two The End of the Renaissnace Jan 24 Shakespeare, The Tempest

Week Eleven Labor and Alienation Mar 28 Marx on alienated labor

Week Three The End of the Renaissance Jan 31 Shakespeare, The Tempest

Week Twelve SPRING BREAK NO CLASSES

Week Four Entering Modernity Feb 7 Progress. Milton, Paradise Lost 1 & 2

Week Thirteen Alienation in Action Apr 11 Solzhenitsyn, One day in the life of Ivan Denisovich

Week Five The Industrial Age Feb 14 Mill, Bentham; Industrial Revolution; Week Six The Industrial Age and Human Nature Feb 21 Dickens, Hard Times Week Seven The Industrial Age and Leisure Feb 28 Dickens, Hard Times Week Eight The Industrial Age and Human Relationships Mar 7 Dickens, Hard Times

Week Fourteen Criticisms of Alienation Apr 18 Solzhenitsyn, One day in the life of Ivan Denisovich Week Fifteen Propaganda, War, and Emerging Technologies Apr 25 Eisenstein: film and propaganda Week Sixteen Dystopias and Hope May 2 Orwell, essays; Foot “Morality as a system of hypothetical imperatives” Week Seventeen May 9 LAST DAY OF CLASS; FINAL EXAM

Week Nine Modern Anxiety Mar 14 Midterm; Kierkegaard, Works of Love [selections] Week Ten Modern Despair

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