HUMANITIES 201-NET

 

 

Semester: Fall, 2008

Instructor: Gerard Marconi

E-mail: gmarconi@frederick.edu

Department: Communications, Humanities and Arts

Dept. Telephone: 301-846-2512

 

CREDITS: 3

PREREQUISITES: EN50, EN2

CO-REQUISITES: NONE

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

 

A survey of Western culture through a study of the philosophy and visual, literary, and performing arts from the Ancient World to the Renaissance.

 

CORE LEARNING OUTCOMES:

 

  • Students will demonstrate college-level communications skills by recognizing and describing major works of art from the Prehistoric, Classical, Medieval and Renaissance periods (I.2).
  • Students will demonstrate critical thinking skills by researching, analyzing, and critiquing these works in order to understand their meaning and significance(II.6).
  • Students will display general knowledge and historical awareness by relating these artistic achievements to the cultural context of the history and philosophy of the time period (III.8).
  • Students will be able to make informed and critical responses to the arts and to human values expressed in the arts by explaining the images, materials, and techniques used by artists to communicate their responses to human experience(VIII.26).
  • Students will value the emergence of a multi-cultural society by acknowledging a plurality of cultural and personal values and by demonstrating respect for the right of others to express their viewpoints (X.30).

 

INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS:

 

·         Reading assignments from the text, museum websites and other sources

·         Weekly written online reports based on the assigned readings

·         Viewing works of art on museum websites and other Internet sources

·         Online discussion forums based on assigned questions

·         Three written online examinations based on the text and course documents

·         A final Internet research project and written report submitted online

 

TEXTBOOK: Gloria K. Fiero, The Humanistic Tradition, Fifth Edition, Volume I.

This is the same textbook that is used for on campus sections of the course.

 

IMPORTANT WEBSITES:

Websites found in the External Links section of Blackboard will be used to supplement the text and to complete the weekly assignments, as well as sources for the three exams.

 

EVALUATION: The total points that can be earned for the semester is 775.

           

15 Weekly reports @ 20 each:                        300 points for the semester

            3 Online Discussions @ 25 each:                   75 points for the semester

            3 Examinations @ 100 each:                         300 points for the semester

            1 Research report @ 100:                               100 points for the semester

 

Semester grades will be based on the following point system.

 

            675-775 points = A

            575-674 points = B

            475-574 points = C

            400-474 points = D

Below 400 points = F

 

PROGRESS REPORT: Grades for the first five assignments will be posted in the Blackboard Grade Book and available to students by the end of the sixth week of the semester (October 4).

 

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

 

This is not a self-paced course and there are strict deadlines for completion of the following required assignments.

 

Fifteen Weekly Written Reports based on assigned readings from the textbook. These readings will consist of one chapter per week of approximately 20-25 pages. For longer chapters, some pages may be deleted from the assignment. Likewise, not all of the Readings in each chapter will be assigned. These written reports will consist of short essay questions, which must be completed and submitted on-line for each chapter. The reports are worth 20 points each for a total of 300 points.

 

Three Online Discussions based on the above readings and material found at specific websites. One question for each section of the course will be assigned as a group discussion item and everyone in the class must share their answers and/or responses by posting them to the Discussion board. The instructor will respond to these discussions as part of the group learning process. These three discussions are worth 25 points each for a total of 75 points.

 

Three Online Examinations based on the text, assigned websites, and lecture materials found in the Course Documents section. These exams will be posted in Blackboard one week in advance of the due date. Each exam will cover only the material in the current section of the course and will therefore not be cumulative. These exams are worth 100 points each for a total of 300 points.

 

One Research Report based on independent research outside of the text and the use of websites linked to museums or other sources. Students will be able to choose from a list of approved topics for this assignment in order to select a subject that interests them. This report must be submitted online and is worth a total of 100 points.

 

 

TOPICAL OUTLINE FOR FALL SEMESTER 2008

 

    Week        Topics and Assigned Readings from the Text

 

   Aug. 24      Introduction to the course syllabus and website: basic terminology used in the Humanities and Arts; required reading of Course Information, Course Documents, Assignments and Discussion Board sections.

 

   Sept. 3        Introduction: pages 2-17, Readings 1.1 and 1.2. Prehistory and the birth of civilization; characteristics of Paleolithic and Neolithic cultures; stone age art; early myths and creation tales.

 

Sept. 7         Chapter 1: pages 19-37. Gods, rulers, and the social order in Egypt and Africa; polytheism, monarchy and theocracy; art and the Cult of the Dead in Ancient Egypt.

 

Sept. 14       Chapter 2: pages 38-52, 56-59, Readings 1.6, 1.7. Gods, rulers, and the social order in ancient Mesopotamia; the Epic of Gilgamesh; laws and the Hebrew religion; the Iron Age and the empires of Babylon, Assyria, and Persia; the beliefs of Hindu pantheism (Chapter 3, pages 60-62).

 

Sept. 21      Chapter 4: pages 69-75, 79-85, 96-98, Reading 1.12. Early Aegean civilizations; Greek gods and the Homeric Age; the Greek city-state; Athens, Pericles and the Golden Age; the role of religion, the state, and

the individual; the philosophies of Pythagoras, Socrates, and Plato.

 

Sept. 28      Chapter 5: pages 108-121, 124-130, Reading 1.18. The basis of the Classical Style in Order, Proportion, and Symmetry; evolution of the Classical Style; Humanism, Realism, and Idealism; examples in Greek sculpture, architecture, and drama; the Hellenistic Age. First Exam on material from Chapters 1-5.

 

Oct. 5         Chapter 6: pages 131-136, 145-159. History of the Roman republic and empire; Roman religion, philosophy and cultural values; examples in architecture, sculpture, and painting.

 

Oct. 12       Chapter 8: pages 175-190, Readings 2.2, 2.4b. Roman and eastern mystery cults: Jewish background and the message of Jesus; the spread of Christianity; Buddhism and the message of Buddha.

 

Oct. 19       Chapter 9: pages 191-208, 212-213, 217-218, Reading 2.5. Christian beliefs and the practice of monasticism; symbolism in early Christian art and architecture; examples of Byzantine style and iconography; symbolism and Buddhist art.

 

Oct. 26       Chapter 11: pages 241-251, 254-258, 264-266. Germanic tribal art; Charlemagne and feudal society; the Norman Conquest and the Christian crusades; the rise of medieval towns. Chapter 12: pages 267-271, 278-280, 284-289, Reading 2.18. Power and prestige of the Christian church; medieval literature and drama; the medieval university.

 

Nov. 2        Chapter 13: pages 290-315. Medieval synthesis in the arts; abbey churches and pilgrimage churches; Romanesque sculpture; the Gothic style in cathedrals, stained glass, sculpture and painting; cult of the Virgin Mary. Second Exam on material from Chapters 6-13.

 

Nov. 9        Chapter 15: pages 347-356, 361-368, Reading 3.1. The Black Death and Hundred Years’ War; decline of the Church; social realism and devotional piety; the paintings of Giotto.

 

Nov. 16      Chapter 16: pages 369-371, 374-375, 382-384, 386-389. Birth of the renaissance and revival of humanism in Italy; the role of women in the renaissance; Machiavelli and power politics.

 

Nov. 23      Chapter 17: pages 390-423, 427. Art and patronage; the Classical revival in architecture; the renaissance portrait; the paintings of Leonardo and Raphael; the architecture of Bramante and Palladio; the sculpture and genius of Michelangelo.

 

Nov. 30      Chapter 19: pages 467-481, 489-494, 498. Technology and religious reformation; Luther and the spread of Protestantism; art of the Northern Renaissance; Durer and printmaking; the paintings of Bosch, Grunewald and Brueghel; Elizabethan drama and the staging of Shakespeare’s plays.

 

Dec. 7        Final weekly report due. The Internet Research Report and the

                   Third Exam on Chapters 15-19 are due on Saturday, Dec. 13

 

 

THE LAST DAY TO WITHDRAW FROM THE COURSE IS MONDAY, NOV. 3

 

The Instructor reserves the right to alter the sequence or content of the Topical Outline with sufficient notice to students. The following Chapters in the textbook will be omitted this semester: Chapters 3, 7, 10, 14 and 18.

 

Student grades are posted online at the end of the semester and are not mailed to students. Check www.frederick.edu for help.