Introduction to Humanities /Hum 1020

INTRODUCTION TO HUMANITIES/HUM 1020 Professor: Rochelle Thomas Term: Fall 2017 E-mail: [email protected]

Blackboard Email is the best way to be able to communicate with me, as I will be consistently checking my Blackboard inbox. I will reply to your emails within 24-36 hours.

Course Description: This course is a basic introduction to humanities that focuses on central concepts, historical developments, and the fundamental nature of philosophy, architecture, music, religion, and art. Concepts from these disciplines will be integrated with contemporary American culture. There is no prerequisite for this course.

Texts: ► Landmarks in the Humanities, 4th edition. Gloria Fiero o (There are multiple editions of this textbook. Any edition will work for this class.)

Course Policies: ► Students must post an introduction on the Discussion Board and complete the Course Policies Syllabus and Contract by September 2, 2017 in order not to be dropped from the course as a “No Show.” ► Students are required to take full responsibility for their success in the course. You are responsible for taking notes on all material discussed in class, as well as changes in assignments, exam dates, etc. This includes also knowledge of all of Valencia College’s policies; knowledge of all course’s policies; and to be equipped and able to use the internet, submit work through Blackboard, and view learning materials through Blackboard. ► Academic honesty: throughout this course, we will discuss our opinions and insights openly. However, when it comes to assignments, quizzes, exams, papers, or responses, you may not share answers with another classmate! Academic honesty is absolutely maintained in this course. You will receive a Zero for any assignment that is plagiarized, and may receive a failing grade for the course. ► Communication with Professor: Valencia faculty and staff communicate with students through Atlas and Blackboard. It is your responsibility to check your Atlas e-mail on a regular timeframe. Failure to check your e-mail account does not excuse you from any notices that may be sent to you. When communicating with your professors, you should use professional standards and etiquette. Emails should include a greeting and closing and should be respectful in tone. ► The Professor is not responsible for any technical issues. These issues should be resolved with the help of the Blackboard Help Desk or the Academic Success Center. ► Participation and contribution to class discussions are required. ► Copyrighted Material: All materials provided online are copyrighted and made available for educational purposes only. Students may not reproduce copyrighted material without permission from the appropriate publisher or author. ► Discussion Etiquette: Please refrain from making any disparaging or disrespectful comments to any participant in the course and limit your comments to those which directly relate to the topic of discussion. ► Deadlines: All deadlines are 11:59pm of the due date. Work submitted past that time will not be accepted. ► Quizzes & Exams: must be completed once they are opened. The settings for this course do not allow you to open a quiz, save your work, and return to finish it. Once opened, you must complete it. ► Interrupted Quizzes or Exams: Occasionally it happens that the internet server fails, Blackboard experiences an error, or computers simply freeze. If this happens while taking a quiz or exam, notify the instructor immediately. If the professor receives your email during office hours before the deadline has expired, she will reset the quiz or exam for you to retake it. No quiz or exam will be reset after the deadline has expired! It is students’ responsibility to take into account that technical errors do occasionally happen, to take into account the professor’s office hours, and to plan to take their quizzes and exams accordingly.

Grading Policy: Your grade for the course will be based on the points earned on the assignments given during the semester. The general point allotment is the following: Quizzes 10% Assignments 30% Unit Exams 40% Discussions 20%

You are responsible for keeping track of your progress in the class. In your grades section on Blackboard, you can find all your graded scores as well as a current average of all graded submitted material. This is titled “Current Course Grade.” It automatically adds the points you have earned and divides them by the sum of possible points. In this way, you have access to your grades and standing in the course at all times through Blackboard.

Quizzes Each Unit contains quizzes about the content covered. Quizzes include questions addressing concepts from the textbook and online reading. You may use your notes and textbook to answer the questions, but you may not work collaboratively with anyone while completing your work. QUIZES ARE NAMED IN ORDER BY THE CHAPTER NOT IN ORDER SEQUENCE. Occasionally it happens that your server, computer, or Blackboard has an error while you are taking a quiz or an exam. If that happens, you can contact me to help you if I am able to---only if the deadline has not passed. Please be aware and take into account my office hours. If you email me at 10pm when your quiz is due by midnight of that same day, you should not expect a response from me before the deadline. By the following morning, when I read your email, the deadline will have passed and you will not be eligible to retake or take the quiz you missed. Please plan accordingly.

Assignments Each Unit contains assignments addressing a concept we are covering. Assignments are untimed in order to allow you to think carefully about your answers. Assignments require critical thinking in order to answer questions. You will not find the answers word for word from the textbook or Learning Units; instead, you will analyze the concepts and form your own, original responses in order to answer the questions.

Unit Exams – Are given at the end of each Unit. There is no Midterm Exam.

No quiz or exam will be reset after the deadline has expired! It is students’ responsibility to take into account that technical errors do occasionally happen, to take into account the professor’s office hours, and to plan to take their exams accordingly.

Discussion Responses: Discussion Questions will relate to the topic we are studying. Discussion Responses will be posted online-through Blackboard. You are required to post a well-written response to each Discussion Question. Your original post must be at least 300 words and be edited and articulate. Your entries are expected to be thoughtful and to show that you are engaging the higher levels of thinking. Be sure that you provide explanation for your opinion and fully discuss the topic.

The graded discussions require that you post your original response before you are allowed to see others’ posts.

Discussion Responses require an original post that must be submitted by 11:59pm of the due date. You are required to read at least 75% of all postings to all Discussion Threads. You are also required to respond to AT LEAST THREE of your classmates’ postings by the Discussion Response deadline.

Objective Exams: Make-up exams may be different in form and content from the original. There is no make- up test for the final exam. I only reschedule final exam for documented emergencies.

Drop Deadline for refund: February 20, 2017 by 11:59 p.m. Withdrawal “W” Deadline: November 10, 2017 by 11:59 p.m. Final Exam Date: Week of December 13, 2017 Online.

Grading Scale: All assignments and exams will be graded using this scale.

A = 100-90 B = 89-80

C = 79-70

D = 69-60

F = 60-0

Classroom Behavior: Valencia College is dedicated to promoting honorable personal and social conduct. By enrolling at Valencia, a student assumes the responsibility for knowing and abiding by the rules articulated in the Student Code of Conduct (6Hx28:10-03). The instructor reserves the right to refer students who engage in activities that are disruptive to the learning environment to the Dean of Students for disciplinary action. The following list, though not exhaustive, includes things which are disruptive to the learning environment:

Use of any derogatory discussion comments and or in written assignments.

In addition, Valencia College strives to provide a drug-free learning environment for all those involved in the academic experience. Our policy is as follows:

Policy: In compliance with the provisions of the Federal Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act of 1989, Valencia College will take such steps as are necessary in order to adopt and implement a program to prevent the unlawful possession, use, or distribution of illicit drugs and alcohol by Valencia College students or employees on college premises or as part of any college activity.

Attendance:

It is your responsibility to withdraw from the course by the withdraw deadline of November 10, 2017. You will not be allowed to drop from the course after the deadline has passed, UNLESS you have experienced a traumatic event during the time you were enrolled in the course which has been documented by a doctor. Documentation may be submitted for consideration concerning absences. The professor's records, not your recollections, will be the determining factor in resolving disputes concerning attendance.

Academic Honesty:

Plagiarism is defined as: "to take (ideas, writing, etc.) from another and pass them off as one's own." It is morally and academically indefensible. Any assignment showing signs of plagiarism will be graded zero. Students will be referred to the Dean of Humanities if there are serious plagiarism findings. Students are advised to keep planning notes and outlines should the need for authentication arise. Plagiarism is a serious academic offence that may result in failure of a particular assignment, failure if a particular class and or exclusion from the college. If you are unsure as to what constitutes plagiarism on an essay, consult the professor.

RIGHT TO CHANGE THE SYLLABUS: The instructor reserves the right to make changes to the syllabus or assignment schedule (or any other course information) as necessary during the term. The student is responsible for any changes.

Homework Assignments: Must be type, name appearing on top of the page. Use the format provided including using a passage from the text. Turned in by the due date. Adhere to the word count specifications. Cite where appropriate. Do not submit assignments through any other email than Blackboard. And last of all have FUN!

Please sign the contract below and scan or copy and paste and email to me through Blackboard.

STUDENT CONTRACT HUM 1020/Fall Term 2017 Professor Thomas Date: September 2, 2017

I have read and understand all of the requirements, including but not limited to grading and attendance policies, outlined in the syllabus and agree to follow said procedure throughout the duration of the course. I have met all prerequisites necessary for this course. If I am confused about the requirements of a particular exam or project I will make every effort to contact the instructor and seek clarification on the matter as soon as possible. If I am absent it is my responsibility (not the Professor's) to acquire all pertinent information concerning assignments given in my absence. I will read the assigned text and come to class prepared to intelligently participate in class discussion. Discussions are worth 40% of my grade and I understand discussions are not able to be made-up for prior weeks if missed.

Printed name ______Signature______

Discussion Posts:

You will post your initial discussion post is by Thursday at 11:59 p.m. of the appropriate week. The initial discussion post will be no less than 150 words and your response to (3) classmates on three different days and will be no less than 100 words in order to receive full credit for the appropriate week. The discussion post is your opinion based on answering the questions by incorporating the weekly readings. Discussions posts are worth 20% of your grade and if you missed prior weeks you are not allowed to make the discussion up.

Discussion posts will receive a grade ranging between 100 and 0. In order to receive full credit, adhere to the required number of posts and replies specified per the rubric below, along with MLA citation requirements. Read the directions for each discussion carefully. The directions will be the same every week for each discussion post and the rubric below will not change. In order to keep the discussion post moving forward each week; each student is required to have an initial post by Thursday evening and then three consecutive posts for the next three days. You will not get full credit if you post more than I require you to and if you post all in one day.

100-90 The post content is: 1. Original. 2. The analysis is clear. 3. The student’s writing shows a clear understanding of the course material. 4. The discussion post is no less than 150 words which reflects less than one or two grammar or spelling errors. 5. Correct MLA citation is required in the discussion post. 6. The student is respectfully engaging with other students. 7. Post a total of (4) Discussion posts on (4) different days. 89-80 The post content is: 1. Original. 2. The student demonstrates he or she is respectfully engaging with other students. 3. The student has a competent understanding of the subject matter and there are a few spelling or grammatical errors. 4. There are total posts of 3-4 discussions. 79-70 The post content is: 1. Original. 2. Shows the student is engaging with the material but needs more clarification/elaboration on the discussion posts. Consistent errors in spelling and grammar is reflected by this grade. 3. There are a total of (3) discussion posts. 69-0 A score of 69 or less will result from: 1. Lack of participation only having one or two discussion posts or some other issue the professor will review on a case-by-case basis. Introduction to Humanities Course Schedule **Subject to Change without Prior Notice

A strong suggestion would be to print this schedule and use the boxes to check off your reading and assignments as you complete them.

Unit 1: September 3, 2017 – September 30, 2017 Read Syllabus and become acquainted with course layout on Blackboard  Post introduction on Discussion Board by August 30, 2017 E-mail signed contract to me via Blackboard E-mail Only  Course Policies due by September 2, 2017

All the above MUST be completed by September 2, 2017 or you will be dropped from the course as a “No-Show.”

Read Chapters 2- 6 in textbook  Quiz 2 & 3 due September 10, 2017  Discussion 1 Responses due September 17, 2017  Assignment 1 due September 24, 2017  Assignment 2 due September 30, 2017 Unit 1 Exam due September 30, 2017

Unit 2: October 1, 2017 – October 28, 2017 Read Chapters 7-11  Quiz 7 & 8 due October 8, 2017  Discussion 2 Responses due October 15, 2017  Assignment 3 due October 22, 2017 Unit 2 Exam due October 29, 2017

Unit 3: November 5, 2017 – December 17. 2017 Read Chapters 12-14  Quiz 11 and 12 due November 12th and November 19, 2017  Discussion 3 Responses due December 2, 2017  Assignment 4 due December 10, 2017 Unit 3 Exam due by Saturday December 16, 2017 (There is no comprehensive final exam for this course. The Unit 3 exam is the last exam you are required to take for this course.)