Course Syllabus

Humanities 214 Fall, 2009

Instructor: Connie Schrader

Class Meetings: Monday Lecture, W F Discussion Groups, 11:25-12:35

On attendance:  Tom Wayman puts it well

Office Hours: MWF 2:45-4 or by appointment

Office: 208 HFC         Phone: 232.5652

Overview

Humanities 214 is the second in the series of four Humanities courses which form the core of the liberal education offered by UNCA. This course examines the ideas, values, and world-views of the medieval and Renaissance periods, beginning with the fall of Rome and ending with rise of political absolutism.  In addition, Humanities 214 examines the world-views of concurrent non-European cultures, providing students with an opportunity to begin exploring alternate cultural models and to understand points of connection among the various world-views.

Please follow this link for a complete course introduction: Welcome to Humanities 214

Course Objectives:

• Improve your critical abilities in reading, thinking, writing and discussion;

• Recognize and evaluate differing values and world-views, both past and present;

• Increase your empathy for and understanding of people from different cultures and backgrounds;

• Become acquainted with different ethical values and to make your own reasoned judgments about ethical problems and issues;

• Develop the ability to see the connections between different disciplines and methods of analysis.

Academic Goals and Skills:

The academic goals and skills that are central to the Humanities program are eloquently stated on the HUM homepage.  Please refer to them when you go to that site to download the weekly lecture notes.

Course requirements and basis of grade:

In this course, assignments are handled differently from other courses you may have encountered.  In this curriculum, you select what work you complete, you choose when it is due and in what order you will accomplish your assignments.  This gives you the freedom to schedule your work load so that you can do your best work.  There are with three required components--components you must fulfill to pass: 

    1) all students will create a  portfolio of 20 type-written, edited pages  and

    2) all students must sit for and pass the the final exam (pass = 60%)

    3) you must participate meaningfully in the  course by attending regularly, contribute generously to discussion, show respect for your peers and instructor.

The grading scale and options you have for demonstrating evidence of learning are detailed here:  Creating Your Course Encounter

Course Policies

• Students are expected to attend class regularly and participate generously.   Absences beyond three detract from your progress and the progress of the class.  That damage will necessarily be reflected in your participation grade.

• Students must have the required textbooks and bring them to class.
• No makeup exams unless arranged in advance.  You are expected to hand your papers in on time. If you anticipate a problem with a deadline you must discuss this with me so we can work out a solution.
• See the UNCA policy on Plagiarism. You are plagiarizing when you use someone else's words or ideas but fail to attribute their source.  If you plagiarize, you will fail this course automatically. If you have a recognized disability, please see me at the beginning of the course to arrange accommodations. 
• You will be asked to reflect on your participation three times.  For information on this see here.

Core Texts

• (Fiero 2, 3, and 4)  Volumes 2, 3, 4 of Gloria Fiero, The Humanistic Tradition, 4^th ed. Vol 2 was also used in Hum 124. Vol. 4 will be used in Hum. 324, so students should keep it.
• (AR)  The Asheville Reader, The Medieval and Renaissance World, 2^nd. Ed., ed. Ho, McClain, Sawin, and Spellman.
• Sundiata (Niane ed.) in paperback from the campus bookstore
• ALWAYS BRING TEXTS TO CLASS.  If you are sharing a textbook, make sure that the text is available to you and you alone during our class meeting.