Course Syllabus

 

HUM 3255 - Modern Humanities (8-08)

 

Instructor:     Dr. Harry S. Coverston           

 

Office:            227 Psychology Building

Course Location:       COM 116

Departmental Phone:  (407) 823-2273

Course Meeting: MWF 2:30 - 3:20 p.m.

Hours:            MWF 12:00 - 2:00 p.m.

 

Email: WebCT Coursemail ONLY

(checked by 10 p.m. on class nights (Su-R)

           

 

Course Description: This is a multicultural study of the modern period (UCF Undergraduate Catalogue). This course will chart the rise of modernism, as understood by various disciplines, from the Enlightenment to the middle of the 20th century. We will identify and examine the dominant themes of each period: Enlightenment/Romantic, Realist, Progressive/Social Gospel, Modern [early 20th CE] and Totalizing era [total depression, government, war through mid-20th CE] through the lenses of human experience and expression in the expressive humanities (art, architecture, literature, music, film, science) as well as the reflective humanities (philosophy, religious thought, political and social theory). 

 

This is NOT a UCF designated Gordon Rule course.

 

Prerequisites: HUM 2230, Junior standing, or consent of instructor

 

Course Objectives

 

1. To identify the personal and socio-cultural aspects of individual hermeneutical lenses which shape the way individuals encounter, interpret and experience being human in the Modern Age

 

2. To critically examine ideas surrounding issues of diversity, multi-culturalism and identity in the Modern Age

 

3. To understand and appreciate the various identifiable cultural groups and their cultural contributions to the world during the rise, maturation and             decline of modernity

 

4.  To understand and demonstrate the ability to apply Critical Theory to notions of justice in examining the issues of the Modern Age

 

5. To critically examine ideas surrounding issues of technology and its impact on humanity in the Modern Age

 

6. To critically examine the import, faults and possible future trajectories of the contributions of the Modern Age

 

7. To pursue the foregoing analyses through the artifacts of the expressive humanities and the ideas of the reflective humanities as found in

            primary and secondary sources

             

Required Texts:

 

  • Adams, Laurie Schneider, Exploring the Humanities: Creativity and Culture in the West - Vol. Two only

      (NY: Pearson, 2006) ISBN 0-13-049087-3

 

  • Knoebel, Edgar, Classics of Modern Thought, Vol. III, The Modern World (4th ed.)

      (Belmont, CA: Thomson, 1992) ISBN 13:978-0-15-507684-6 or 10:0-15-507684-1

             

 

Course Ground Rules: Please follow the link to the Ground Rules. Read, mark and inwardly digest them. Your continued

presence in this class after the add/drop deadline constitutes consent to be bound by the Course Ground Rules.

 

·         Covenant to Participate in a Learning Community spells out the remainder of instructor and student obligations to the course and will provide the basis for student self-evaluation at the end of the term.

 

·         Withdrawal Deadline: It is this instructor's desire and intent that every student complete this course in good standing. However, should it become necessary for the student to withdraw, it is the student's responsibility to withdraw from the course prior to the

      Friday, October 17, 5 p.m. deadline

 

 

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

 

There are three components of the final grade in this class.

 

 WRITING   

 

 

Summary Reflection Paper -

 

            The closest thing to a comprehensive final you will see - a self-reflective essay at term's end in which students will identify, critical examine and reflect upon the ideas they

            have considered in this course

 

          A format for the paper will be provided.

 

The 100 points possible for each paper will include the following components:

 

            * Content -                 50 points

            * Writing -                   25 points

            * Class Discussion - 25 points       

            TOTAL WRITING - 100 points (13% of final grade)

 

 

 

 

ENGAGEMENT  

 

Students will earn participation points in a number of ways including

 

            Group Presentation  3 @ 30 pts. = 90 pts. total

 

            Evaluations  5 @ 10 pts. = 50 pts. total

 

            Film reviews  10 @ 5 pts. = 50 pts. total                 

 

            Attendance 35 classes @ 1.0 pt. = 35 pts. total

 

            Class Activities @ 40 points total

 

            Self-Evaluation End of Term Participation Self-Evaluation @ 25 pts.

 

            TOTAL ENGAGEMENT= 290 points  (39% of final grade)

 

EXAMS

 

       Objective      

 

              6 online Content Quizzes (readings, arts) @ 10 pts. = 60 pts.                             

 

        Subjective

 

             3 Essay Exams (open book/note) covering 1/3 of material @ 100

·         Writing 25 pts.

·         Content 50 pts.

·         Class Discussion 25 pts.

 

        TOTAL EXAMS = 360 points (48% of final grade)

 

 

The final grade will be composed of the writing, participation and exam grades combined.

 

GRADING

 

The scale for all assignments used in this class includes the following:

 

93 - 100 = A

87-89 = B+

77-79 = C+

67-69 = D+

Below 60 = F

90-92 =     A-

83-86 = B

73-76 = C

63-66 = D

 

 

80-82 = B-

70-72 = C-

60-62 = D-

 

 

for an explanation of what these grades mean, see So, what does my grade mean?

 

FINAL GRADES (Out of 750 possible points total)

 

698 - 750 = A

660 - 675  = B+

585 - 599 = C+

510 - 524 = D+

Below 450 = F

676 - 697 = A-

623 - 659 = B

548 - 584 = C

473 - 509 = D

 

 

600 - 622 = B-

525 - 547 = C-

450 - 472 = D-

 

 

All borderline cases will be decided upon participation and attendance grades at discretion of instructor.

 

Final Comment: If something arises unexpectedly that will affect your attendance and/or performance in this class, please contact the instructor. He's a fairly understanding man but a lousy mind reader. Any departure from this syllabus is in the discretion of the instructor and depends upon the individual circumstances of the student in question. Any changes in syllabus requirements or scheduling affecting all students will occur with notice to students.