Hello HUMN 114 Students:
Welcome to Humanities Online.
This course will take us on a journey in human creative and intellectual history from roughly 1870 to the present. This will include examining modern art, architecture, dance, theater, music, television, film, literature and more from a multi-cultural, global perspective.
TOPICS COVERED:
Modernist Art, Film Noir and Cinema Verite, The Harlem Renaissance, Freud and the Birth of the Subconscious, Social Realism and the Great Depression, Existentialism, The Beats, 1960s Counterculture, Pop Art, Postmodernism, Globalization and more.
Textbooks and Other Required Materials:
Gloria K. Fiero, THE HUMANISTIC TRADITION: MODERNISM, GLOBALISM, AND THE INFORMATION AGE, Volume 6, 6th edition, McGraw Hill; other supplementary readings that will be posted online.
INFORMATION ABOUT ONLINE COURSES:
This course will be conducted entirely online. This means that you MUST be generally computer-literate. You must have constant access to a computer. You must be able to do general word processing, and you must be confident surfing the internet. Loss of internet or computer problems are not legitimate excuses for missed work or participation. Thus I recommend that you immediately identify a place where you can reach a back-up computer to complete your weekly work (a local library or at BUCKS). If you are uncertain about your computer competence or access, you should NOT take this course.
If have AOL you will need to use another browser once you are online. To get the latest versions of common browsers, go to NETSCAPE NAVIGATOR or MOZILLA FOXFIRE on the web.
COURSE ASSIGNMENTS:
This is not a self-paced independent study. While we will not see each other in person, this course will run on the same principles of a traditional college class.You will need to keep up with weekly readings and post discussions on the bulletin board on the day and time frame indicated (usually Thursday evening of each week by 9:00 pm). In fact, all assignments will be due on the day assigned. Late assignments will suffer 1/2 grade deductions for each day after the due date (same as my face2face courses). Please see information below for course specifics.
READING:
This is one of the most important parts of your course: weekly reading.Most of the readings will come from the Fiero text,THE HUMANISTIC TRADITION: BOOK 6 and online materials. It is imperative that you read carefully and use these readings in online discussions, essays, and exams.
DISCUSSION AND PARTICIPATION:
Participation in online discussions is required of everyone. Your Participation/Discussion grade will be based on the quality of your participation. See syllabus for more.
WARNING: It is imperative that you participate weekly in the discussion threads. Students who miss SEVEN or more discussion threads will receive an F for the course.
ESSAYS:
Major Figure Essay. You must write a three-four paged (double-spaced,Times New Roman, 12 pt. font, at least one inch margins, Microsoft Word Document) research analysis of the role of a major creative figure in modern western culture. I will assign each student a figure and a question about that figure, three weeks prior to the assigned due date. This paper will require research and original analysis.
Culture Field Trip Essay: You must write a five-six paged, (double-spaced, 12 point Times New Roman font, at least one inch margins Microsoft Word document) research paper using your "live" experience in a local museum,theater, music performance, or other cultural event. You must use your visit to the cultural event as research source material along with traditional library and internet research materials. The paper must include parenthetical citations (MLA style)and a works cited page. Because this paper should represent your own thoughts and observations, you may not use museum web sites to write the essay. And, of course, all BCCC rules and regulations regarding plagiarism apply.
WARNING: In order to receive full credit for this project, you must be able to get a paper copy of your research essay to me, along with attached proof of attendance by the due date indicated in the learning modules. You may drop it off at my office, or the history dept. office, or send it via snail mail. IF YOU CANNOT DO THIS, PLEASE LET ME KNOW ASAP!
Approximate Grading
- Discussion and Participation 25%
- Major Figure Paper 15%
- Cultural Field Trip Paper 20%
- Mid-Term Exam 20%
- Final Exam 20%
Contacting Me
Again, I strongly encourage you to work through the Bb Vista tutorials. After that go to our course site and open the BEGIN file. Instructions for Week One will follow.
If you need to talk to me at anytime, please either call me @ 215-968-8288 or email @ mcgrathm@bucks.edu. I will get back to you as soon as I can, if we don't connect on your first attempt.
I look forward to an interesting semester together.
Yours, Professor Maria McGrath
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