Laura Anschicks

 

College of DuPage 

Humanities 102: Ideas and Values

Part of WEEKEND STUDIES: Summer Quarter

Offered with English 135: Film as Art (5 credits) and Sociology 220: Sex, Marriage, and Family (5 credits)

An Interdisciplinary Program for Working Adults

 COURSE DESCRIPTION AND SYLLABUS

Course Description: An exploration of the nature of humankind, primarily as reflected in the disciplines of philosophy, history, literature, and religious studies. Particular attention is paid to people in community and to the enduring questions of values and the struggle for personal fulfillment. Students are asked to consider and to develop their personal and ethical values. Attendance at outside events may be required in addition to viewing of films in theaters and home video context.

 General Objectives:

 1. To define the humanities and to formulate concepts and generalizations about the humanities.  4. To introduce students to works which depict the human condition and which raise enduring questions dealing with such topics as meaning, values, happiness, struggle, and search for personal fulfillment.
 2. To define human and to examine human needs and desires in different ages and localities.  5. To investigate and evaluate, from the perspective of the humanities, the structure of selected socio-cultural groupings (e.g. family, clan, caste, ideological groups) and human relationships to and within such groups.
 3. To discuss, analyze, and interpret a variety of human expressions (emphasizing the disciplines of philosophy, history, literature, and religious studies but not necessarily excluding the visual and performing arts or relevant aspects of the social and behavioral sciences).  6. To make students aware of how meaning can be transmitted through both thought and feeling, and to encourage understanding through synthesis of both the cognitive and the affective domains of thought.

 OBJECTIVES -- Additional note:
This section of Humanities 102 is encountered in the context of interdisciplinary study of Sociology 220 (Sex, Marriage, and Family) and English 135 (Film as Art). Interdisciplinary studies view issues and themes from a variety of perspectives developed by selected academic disciplines in order to achieve certain goals:

a. To identify commonalties and differences in the academic perspectives;
b. To identify possibilities and limitations of single perspective processing;
c. To synthesize the contributions of multi-disciplines to the individual's understanding of issues personal, societal and global.
d. To develop skills of thoughtful processing of information and experience through identifying and understanding, analysis, comparison/contrast, critique, and synthesis in order to make more meaningful applications to personal philosophy and life choices

COURSE TOPICS :
To achieve the objectives, course topics will include the following listed below. The topics will be presented formally through class presentation and discussion and will be developed throughout the course rather than in one-at-a-time fashion.

a. Definition of humanities
b. Ways of Knowing such as sensing (sensory experience), thinking, remembering, reasoning, intuiting, believing, feeling, valuing, imagining, and creating.
c. "Eternal" questions of identity, relationships, and meaning
d. The nature of human expressions as represented in literature, film, and the particular social science of sociology (with some incidental comparisons to other artistic genre and social science disciplines as they apply)   
e. Creative and critical thinking

Text: Hirschberg, Stuart. One World, Many Cultures 3rd ed.
Ruggiero, Vincent. The Art of Thinking: A Guide to Critical and Creative Thought 5th ed.

REQUIREMENTS AND PRCEDURES:

Requirements:
1.
Read all assigned reading material from text and handouts.
2. Complete all writing assignments and hand in to instructor(s).
3. Watch assigned films. Turn in response form for each film viewed. (Points listed in Film Course)

Procedures:
1.
Students will receive materials during each weekend session that will describe homework and activities due by Saturday morning, 9 a.m. the next appointed weekend meeting date. Any assigned Essay will be due not later than 10 a.m. on the Thursday morning before the class weekend.
2.
For each class weekend, response forms will include one form with questions for thought and short, paragraph responses, and forms of discussion questions for each reading.
3. Two essays will be due on Weekends One and Three.
4. A final essay synthesizing your thought experiences during the course will be due on Weekend Five. A statement of guidelines will be handed out by Weekend Four.

Grading:
Grades will be based on a point system that will be translated into letter grades according to the 10% method: A = 90%-100%; B = 80%-89%; C = 70%-79%; C = 60%-69%; F = 0%-59%. Marginal accumulations (such as 89.3%, etc.) will be translated according to instructor discretion. Revisions of the essays due on Weekends One and Three are possible. Instructions will be given with comments on your papers and/or during class when papers are returned.
The following point breakdown may change according to instructor discretion:

 On time Late  Maximum Totals
 Attendance 15 14-0 75
 Thought/Reading Responses 10 9-0 50
 Essays 15 14-0 75
 Final Essay  25  24-0 25
225

In-class responses may be additional
Points 2 each

Exams are incorporated into take-home essays and in-class assignment.

Incomplete Grades:
Incompletes are not recommended since most students have a harder time completing course requirements after the actual course has finished meeting. I will consider granting requests for incompletes only if unusual and extreme life and work circumstances beyond the student's control have arisen unexpectedly during the quarter. Students must have been keeping me informed of the general nature of the problem when the problem arises and/or when the first need to submit work late is encountered. General lack of personal discipline is not a sufficient excuse for late work or for an "I" grade.

The following conditions must be met for all students seeking an incomplete:
1. The student requests an "I" before the end of the quarter, meaning prior to the week before Weekend Five. Emergencies during that final week should be discussed with instructor.
2. A written agreement is completed and signed indicating the work to be completed and the required completion dates for that work.
3. All incomplete work must be finished and submitted by the contracted date and not later than the end of the following quarter.
4. Exception to the above may be made by special arrangement and agreement with the instructor.

Academic Standards:
Students are expected to act in accord with "Student Rights and Responsibilities" as specified in Board of Trustees Procedure 5715 and printed in the college's Catalog or separate publications. Students are expected to act in an academically honest fashion. Copying from others, using unauthorized support (crib notes, etc.) or misrepresenting work or ideas as one's own is a violation of this acedemic standard. Further, when it is appropriate to cite others' work, students are expected to give appropriate attribution to the sources and not to make use of the work or ideas of others in academically dishonest ways. Violation of these standards may result in assignment of a Failure grade to the work or the course and cancellation of your option to withdraw from the course.

Instructor Information:

Office hours for weekend students are regularly scheduled in OCC101 one hour before and after each Saturday and Sunday class meets. Other times must be scheduled with instructor.
Weekday office hours will be announced at Orientation. Students are welcome to call at the home and school numbers listed on first page.

 Laura Anschicks

 Dr. Peter Klassen

 Office

IC2059d IC3021c

 Phone

 630/942-2311  630/942-2081

 E-mail

anschick@cdnet.cod.edu  

Fax

630/942-3764  630/942-3764

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