HUMANITIES 2013/4013-101
Fall 2011
Dr. Hoggard Classroom: PY 201
Phone: 397-4145 Meeting times: 9:30-11 TR
Office: BW 201: 2-4:30 TR e-mail: lynn.hoggard@mwsu.edu
Course goals and objectives: This course gives you the opportunity to understand how literature, music, art, architecture, religion, and philosophy interconnect in a broadly historical context, with emphasis this semester on the Greco-Roman and Judeo-Christian roots of Western Civilization. The goal of the course is to develop your thinking and writing skills (evaluative, comparative, creative, and analytical) along with your knowledge and understanding of ancient cultures so that you may become a more innovative and informed world citizen.
Required textbook: Benton and Di Yanni, Arts and Culture: An Introduction to the Humanities, Vol. 1, 3rd Ed.
Tentative Course Schedule:
Week One
Aug. 23: Introduction to course
Aug. 25: Preface: p. xiv-xvii and Starter Kit, pp. xxi-xxx
Chapter One: Prehistoric, Mesopotamian, and Egyptian Civilizations
The Earliest Cultures, pp. 1-8
Week Two
Aug. 30: Lascaux video, activities
Sept. 1: Mesopotamia: The Cradle of Civilization, Sumer, pp. 8-11; excerpt from The Epic of Gilgamesh, pp. 40-43; “Enheduanna,” pp. 44-45: Akkad, Babylon, Assyria, pp. 12-14
Week Three
Sept. 06: Nebuchadnezzar's Babylon, Persia, pp. 14-18; The Civilization of the Nile, pp. 18-22
Sept. 08: Video: "The Ancient Egyptians"; The Old Kingdom, pp. 22-26; “Egyptian Book of the Dead,”
p. 45; The Middle Kingdom and The New Kingdom, pp. 27-31
Week Four
Sept. 13: Akhenaten and Tutankahmen; Egyptian Dance, Music, and Poetry, 31-38; Poems, pp. 45-49
(4013 Oral Report Topics Due)
Sept. 15: Exam One: Prehistoric, Mesopotamian, and Egyptian Civilizations
Week Five
Chapter Two: Aegean Culture and Early Greece
Sept. 20: Aegean Cultures: Cycladic and Minoan, pp. 50-58
Sept. 22: Mycenaean Culture, The Rise of Ancient Greece, The Pantheon of Greek Gods, The Geometric Period, pp. 58-66; : Readings: Hesiod, pp. 74-75; Homer, excerpts from The Iliad and
The Odyssey, pp. 75-84.
4013 Research Paper Topics Chosen (submit brief written description of choice)
Week Six
Sept. 27: The Orientalizing Period; The Archaic Period, pp. 66-72; Readings: Sappho and Archaic Lyrics Poetry, pp.84-85
Chapter Three: Classical and Hellenistic Greece
Sept. 29: Classical Greece; From Archaic to Classical, pp. 86-91; Reading: Herodotus, pp.116-118;
: The Golden Age of Athens, Architecture & Architectural Sculpture of Acropolis, pp. 90-95
Reading: Thucydides, pp. 118-120
Week Seven
Oct. 04: Video: "Traditions of Greek Culture: Greek Art"
Oct. 06: Sculpture, Vase Painting, pp. 95-99
Week Eight
Oct. 11: The Emergence of Drama, pp. 99-102; Aristotle, The Poetics, pp. 136-137
Oct. 13: Reading: Sophocles, excerpt from Oedipus Rex, pp. 120-123; video excerpts
: Reading: Aeschylus, excerpt from Agamemnon, pp. 123-126
Week Nine
Oct. 18: Reading: Euripides, excerpt from Medea, pp. 126-129
Oct. 20: Philosophy, pp. 102-105; Reading: Aristotle, The Nicomachean Ethics, pp. 134-136
: Readings: Plato, from The Apology and The Republic, pp. 130-134
Week Ten
Oct. 25: Music & Greek Society, pp. 106-107; Hellenistic Greece, Architecture, Sculpture, pp.107-111;
Hellenistic Philosophy, pp. 111-114
Oct. 27: Exam Two: Early, Classical, and Hellenistic Greek Civilization
Week Eleven
Chapter Four: Roman Civilization
Nov.01: The Greek Legacy and the Roman Ideal, Etruscan Civilization, pp. 138-144
Video: "The Rise of Rome"
Nov. 03: The Roman Republic, The Empire, Music, Architecture, pp.144-153
Week Twelve
Nov. 08: Sculpture, Painting, Philosophy, Historians, Literature, pp. 153- 165
Nov. 10: Reading: Virgil, pp. 166-176
Week Thirteen
Chapter Five: Judaism, Early Christianity, and Byzantine Civilization
Nov. 15: Judaism and Early Christianity, pp. 186-205
Nov. 17: Readings: Genesis, Job, Matthew, Luke, Thomas, Augustine pp. 218-232
Research Papers Due for 4013
Week Fourteen
Nov. 22: Exam Three: Roman Civilization, Judaism, and Early Christianity
Nov. 24: Thanksgiving (no class)
Week Fifteen
Nov. 29: Byzantine Civilization, pp. 205-208; discussion of final assessments
Dec. 01: The Golden Age of Constantinople, pp. 208-216; review, evaluate, conclude semester
FINAL EXAM: Tuesday, Dec.6, 8-10:00 a.m. A carefully-reasoned self-assessment paper (explained fully in a separate handout during the final week of the semester) is prepared ahead of time, outside of class, and turned in Dec. 6 in Bea Wood 201.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
A. Regular Class Assignments: For almost every class there will be either a brief writing assignment to be kept in a portfolio for periodic evaluation, or there will be a brief reading quiz based on the day’s reading. For the writing assignments, what is expected is a thoughtful, well-written, and typed response that demonstrates the evaluative, comparative, and analytical skills specified in the stated goals for the course. One good paragraph—100 to 200 words—is the appropriate length. About 20 minutes should be devoted to this task for each class. Paragraphs are due on the date noted on the assignment sheet (to be passed out separately) and will be stamped on that date during class meeting.
Students whose responses are not prepared for a class session may complete their paragraph responses later and receive partial credit for them when portfolios are assessed. Even though a student may miss a class or may not have a response prepared on the assigned day, he/she should do the question(s) later to make the portfolio complete. No specific grade will be assigned to the individual responses, but the portfolio will be periodically assessed for strengths and weaknesses and will be assigned a grade which will count for 10% (2013 students) or 7% (4013 students) of the final semester grade.
The brief reading quizzes will usually consist of five multiple-choice questions based on the assigned reading for a particular day. The questions—usually requiring short answer, description, or definition—will be the kind of question that occurs on the objective portion of the exams. Students may drop the lowest grade for reading quizzes, but quizzes may not be taken early or made up later. Quiz grades count 10% for 2013 and 7% for 4013.
B. Tests and Short Quizzes: There will be three exams using both short answer (50%) and essay (50%). Each exam counts 20% for 2013 or 17% for 4013. The final assessment also counts 20% (2013) or 17% (4013).
C. Attendance: A large part of the value of a class such as this will come from daily participation in give-and-take discussions and in being able to see and hear slides and video presentations. Therefore, regular attendance is important and expected. A record of attendance at each class meeting will be kept, but no specific penalty will be assigned for absences. Excessive absences (more than three) will, however, have a definite negative impact on a student’s grade and may be grounds for dropping a student from the class. Students who arrive habitually late will have a grade deduction for the disruption cause by their behavior.
D. Additional Requirements for 4013 Students: 1) Research Paper: A ten-page paper on a topic selected in conference with the instructor will be due November 17. Topics must be selected no later than September 22 (please submit a short, written topic choice). The paper must involve independent research and give evidence of the ability to synthesize the expressions of different forms of art within the cultural period (the ancient world). Papers should be written in Modern Language Association (MLA) format.
2) Oral Reports: 4013 students will prepare an eight-to-ten minute oral report to present to the class on an agreed-upon subject and date. Topic choices for presentations need to be turned in quickly—by September 13 (presentation dates will be assigned shortly after). A typed outline of the report and a typed bibliography in MLA format of at least three sources must be turned in to the instructor on the day of the report.
E. Semester Grade:
2013: Each of the three exams each counts 20% of the final grade (60% together); the portfolio of work counts 10%, quizzes 10%, and the final exam/self-assessment provides the other 20% of the grade.
4013: Each of the three exams counts 17% of the final grade (51% together); the portfolio of work counts 7%, quizzes 7%, oral report 8%, research paper 10%, and final exam/self-assessment 17%.
F. Office Hours/Meeting: (Office/contact information is to be found at the top of page one.) My office hours are 2-4:30 TR. If you cannot come to the office at these times, let’s try to make an appointment that fits your needs. E-mailing me is more reliable than telephone voice mail, but if you do leave a voice mail, be sure to give your name and a number where you can be reached.