Humanities 1 Syllabus

1. Humanities 1 Syllabus • Professor Robert Cannon • Email: Cannonrl@lavc.edu • Web: rcannonsite.com • Fall 2016 • Classroom: CC 210 • MW 9:40-11:05 • 3 units • Office hours: Mondays 11:15-12;15 CC 231-no appointment necessary-just drop in! • Course description: An introduction to the general concepts of the Humanities. Mythology, music, history, philosophy, painting, drama, sculpture and architecture are studied and compared in relation to their background, medium, organization, and style. The course surveys in depth the classical heritage of Greece and Rome. Emphasis is placed upon the awareness of the cultural heritage, values, and perspectives as revealed in the arts.

2. Inside the class Inside the class……………..... Page 2 Your job ………………………P.3 The work... …………………….P.4 Organization…… ……………..P.5. website…………………….. P.6 Important information…………P.7-9 Helpful hints……………………P.10 Written assignments………….P.11 Schedule ………………………P.12-13 Videos………………………….P.14-15 Assistance…...........................P.16 SLO’s …………………….P.17 School Policies………………..P.18 A typical week…......................P.19 Writing Assignment website....P.20 My goals: • Help students answer questions about the course such as why should I care? What good will it do me? What difference does it make? 2. Prepare students for further study in their chosen field. 3. Engage students in meaningful discussions about the humanities. What are the Humanities? The humanities are the disciplines of art, literature, philosophy, music, architecture, and mythology. These fields are mankind’s way of dealing with the challenges of being alive and of thinking about our world.

3. What is your job? DISCUSS I encourage you to discuss the material you are learning in class. The more you can interact with the material and your fellow students the more you will learn. This class should be a shared experience. You are encouraged to ask questions, and engage with the subject matter. We can learn from one another, and that includes the instructor. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. We are on the same side learning-wise. READ. You will read the assigned material in the textbooks plus extra reading I give you on my website WRITE Take tests, do writing assignments, and write group video assignments.

4. The Work: READING Romans-Kamm Ancient Greece-Martin Reading assignments I provide at my website WRITING You will do several kinds of writing in this class: 1. Lecture notes: these will be your study guides 2. Take exams: three midterms, and one final) 3. Group video assignments done in class 4. Writing assignment ARITHMETIC-how are you evalutated? Midterm: 2 midterms worth 25 points each Final: 1 final exam@ 100 points Participation: 50 points-in-class assignments and discussions, Writing assignment: 25 points Group video reports-150 points TOTAL POINTS POSSIBLE-375 Grading system: A=90-100%; B=80-89%; C=70-79%; D-60-69%; NOTE: The number of tests, assignments, or the grading system is subject to change

5. How is this class organized? • The stress is on themes: • I briefly discuss the history of the particular culture we are learning about • Then we learn about their art, literature,music, philosophy etc. (not necessarily in that order) • When we are done with a particular culture we move on to the next one • Minoans, Mycenaeans, Greeks, and so on

6. My Website • rcannonsite.com • User name-lavc • Password-broadland • Click on Los Angeles Valley College and then Humanities 1 • Always check the site on Thursday night. I post assignments and announcements then.

7. ImportantInformation • TESTS: There will be two midterms and a final. The tests are based on the text, lectures, and any other materials I provide. Slides and videos will be shown in class and questions may come from these sources as well. • (Note: If you do not take the final you cannot pass the class.) You MUST take the final on the day it is scheduled. There are no make-up midterms or finals for ANY reason. ATTENDANCE: Attendance counts! I take attendance into account in figuring your final grade. If you come to class regularly and you have almost enough points for the next highest grade a good attendance record will be very helpful. A student who stops coming to class but fails to go through the drop procedure will get a fail at the end of the semester. CELL PHONES: Turn them off before you come into class! • TAPING; Taping of lectures is not allowed unless you have a disability and have registered with the DSPS office. • COMPUTER USE is acceptable except on exams.

8. More Information • How to study and get a good grade -I use power points slides as an orientation tool to give you a sense of where we are in the class. I don’t expect you to write down everything contained in the slides. They are visual aids only. • Write down the main points of the lecture. They will supplement and highlight the information in the book. • Combine your lecture notes with the information in the book, add your common sense and critical thinking ability, and you should have no problem getting a good grade in the class. • Come prepared to discuss the writing assignment in class. Classroom participation is an important part of your grade.

9. More Information • Reading-I expect you to do the assigned reading before you come to class. • Tests-The questions may be shortanswer, essay, or identification questions. • Group Assignments: Students learn in different ways. Some do well on exams, others do better working in groups, and others do best with writing assignments. The videos I show in class will always be followed by a group writing assignment.

10. Helpful Hints • SURVIVAL TIPS FOR STUDENTS • Buy an extra cartridge for your printer so you won’t have to tell the instructor that your assignment is late because your printer ran out of ink. • Keep your printer properly maintained so you won’t have to tell the instructor that your assignment is late because the printer broke down. • Keep your computer properly maintained so you won’t have to tell the instructor that your assignment is late because the computer crashed. • Remember that the computer program will always crash twelve hours before an assignment is due. The closer you work to the deadline, the greater the possibility that something will go wrong with your computer and/or printer. • Make friends with a classmate who knows how to make the computer software work. • Make friends with a classmate who can hand in your assignment for you if you cannot make it to class for some reason. • Make friends with a classmate who knows how to take notes so that you can copy them if you cannot make it to class for some reason. • Eat proper food and take lots of vitamins so you don’t have to tell the instructor how sick you were on the night an assignment was due. • Look over the calendar in the Schedule of Classes and mark each meeting date for the entire semester, then check with your personal calendar so you will know well in advance if you have any conflicts. In case of conflict, the class meeting always takes the highest priority. Your aunt can always take a cab from the airport, your sick grandmother will probably live for a few more days, you can always get another job. • When writing your essays, remember that u r NOT TEXTING!

11. Rules to remember for written assignments • Book titles (and subtitles) should either be italicized or, if you are using a typewriter (there may still be a few people still in the stone age), underlined. Never put a book title in “quotation marks.” • Titles of magazines, newspapers, and ships should either be italicized (Newsweek, Los Angeles Times, U.S.S. Arizona) or underlined, though underlining is now out of fashion. • Titles of articles should be framed with quotation marks (as in “My Summer Vacation.” Same for songs. • These rules apply not only to this class but to any course in which written assignments are given. Other teachers may not be so forgiving. • Also note: in case you think the rules that high school teachers tried to drill into you don’t apply to this class or to other college classes, remember you are still accountable for indenting all paragraphs five spaces. Look over what you wrote. If you have an essay that runs 1 ½ pages, and totals 40 lines, and the first paragraph runs 37 lines and the second (last) paragraph runs 3 lines, don’t you think you shouldmaybe split that first paragraph up a bit? At the other extreme, if you have twelve paragraphs, and many are only one or two sentences long, maybe you should put a few together into a larger paragraph. • If you are grumbling that this is a History class, not an English class, please remember that the written assignment tests your ability to communicate in writing what you have learned regardless of the subject of the course. • For the written essays for this class, the instructions state you should write a critical analysis of content, what you got or didn’t get from the article, other comments). • Begin your essay with the title of the assignment, centered at top of page. Then, on next line (with indent), write your essay. Too many students have written only summaries, regurgitating the facts without evaluating the significance of the topic or making constructive comments in their own words about the assignment. Anyone doing this will receive a low score.

12. Schedule and Readings-Part One • Introduction, pre-history, and Mesopotamia • Egypt • Early Greece-Minoans, Mycenaeans- • Poets-Homer-Iliad, Odyssey • Poets-Sappho, others- • Archaic Age/ Rise of Athens • Greek theater • Athens: The Golden Age/Pericles • Philosophers • Artistic Expression • Decline of classical age and rise of Alexander

13. Schedule and Readings Part Two-Rome • Early Rome • Traditions and Values • Roman Republic- • Julius Caesar • Augustus and the Empire • Roman philosophy • Roman Literature • Roman Art and Architecture • NOTE: This schedule is tentative and subject to change

14. VIDEO ASSIGNMENT • Videos will be shown in the class, and after the assignment you will work in your groups to answer the questions I provide. You are to write: • A summary of each video describing what it is about • An evaluation of how successful the video was in presenting the information to you • Answer the questions I give you • Things to look for in evaluating a video: • Does the video “show” (movie footage, location shots, maps, still photos, etc.) or does it “tell” (talking heads, narrator) • What you liked about the video and why • What you didn’t like about the video and why

15. Video writing assignments One reason why I assign writing is to help students become aware of their writing skills (or lack of them). You are in college because you have realized that a piece of paper (a college degree) may give you an advantage in future employment opportunities. However, when you get a job you need to realize that in writing reports, memos, analyses, etc., neither I nor LAVC’s Writing Center will be there to advise you about run-on sentences, slang, spelling errors, subject-verb agreement, etc. There isn’t a mental miracle that will suddenly enable a student to make clear sentences in a report that requires clarity and effective communication. • In that regard, it doesn’t matter if the essays are in a history class or biology, computer science, or even an English class. Students need to establish a personal standard of writing quality that meets the requirements of future employers. • I have no desire to mark down a grade on work that could have received a better grade had the student just followed the instructions. You should be aware that many LAVC instructors assume that you already know the rules involved in writing an essay. It is possible that high school teachers didn’t tell you to use a capital letter for proper nouns or to put periods at the ends of sentences. It’s also possible that you may be relying on SpellCheck without realizing that it is not perfect in checking for grammatical errors. Although this is not an English class, your essays should be written in a manner that clearly communicates what it is you want to say. • LAVC has a Writing Center that offers peer assistance in doing essay assignments. Unfortunately, many students do not make use of this opportunity. They say they don’t have time to go to the Writing Center because they work full time. However, the Writing Center also offers online assistance (but it takes 48 hours for a response, so if you wait until the last minute, the Center cannot help you).

16. Do you need assistance? If you need help with studying or understanding the textbook go to the STUDY CENTER If you are having issues with your writing (and many people do) go to the WRITING CENTER If you can use some extra money for fees, books, or general living expenses go to the FINANCIAL AID office

17. Student Learning Objectives • As a result of completing this course students will develop and improve basic communication skills; be acquainted with the historical and cultural development of the classical period; be aware of mankind’s creative background and appreciate his or her creative achievements; understand the inter-relationships which exist between a variety of disciplines within the cultural framework.

18. School Policies • If you require classroom accommodations please with meet with me to discuss arrangements. Also contact the SSD at (818) 947.2681 or TTD (818) 947.2680. • Plagiarism and Student Conduct: Plagiarism is the use of the words and/or ideas of others without clearly acknowledging their source. Plagiarism, intentional or unintentional, is considered academic dishonesty and is not tolerated. Anyone found to be plagiarizing or cheating on assignments or tests will (1) receive a zero (fail) on the assignment or test and (2) be referred to the Vice President of Student Services for further disciplinary action following due process. For further information youn may refer to the Standards of Student Conduct and Disciplinary Action in the current Schedule of Classes and Catalog.

19. A Typical Week • Monday-Short quiz on weekend reading; Lecture; Possible in-class group assignment • Wednesday-Introductory lecture to material to be covered in the video; watch the video; answer questions about the video in groups

20. Writing Assignment • Toxaris, A Dialogue of Friendship: http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/luc/wl3/wl305.htm • Specific questions to be answered will be handed out later

21. Miscellaneous • I look forward to having a fun and instructive semester with you