Humanities 1110

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Hum 1110 Home Page                 Fall 2018 Welcome to Humanities 1110!  If you are enrolled for this course, be sure to read the web page above called "Readings" FIRST, as there are THREE different options for buying your textbooks. You should check them out before you buy your textbook. You should not just go to the bookstore and buy all the books.         What is this course about?  Try these questions: What are the underlying beliefs and feelings of our dominant and minor cultures in the West?  How did Greeks and other ancients invent modern society?  Why were the "dark ages" also filled with light?  How did religion, war, and equality between men and women start? What particular theme in ancient through renaissance history--the visual arts, music, women's rights, law, war, et al.--interests you in particular?  Follow your head, your heart, and your interests through thousands of years of Western cultural development in Hum 1110.  By the end of this course, you will have many answers--and perhaps even more questions--about many of these subjects and much more.         I'm very glad to be working with you.  Most students who finish this course with a passing grade say that they have enjoyed the class quite a bit and are surprised by how much it has helped them understand the future by way of understanding our past. Many say it was their favorite class of the semester.                                      IMPORTANT STARTING NOTES FOR IMMEDIATE READING! Starting Note #1: Be sure that you start the class -- in person at our computer-class meeting or by emailing me assignments -- no later than Thurs. midnight of Week 2. Otherwise, the school asks me to let it know who has not started, and these people are dropped from the course. Starting Note #2: Have you taken other online courses at Inver Hills? If not, do you have a computer and the Internet at home or a nearby library, and the necessary computer skills? If you want to see if you are ready for an online course, see www.breatheptk.org.    Starting Note #3:  Three Planned Thurs. Evening In-Person Meetings: (If necessary, you can do all three with online replacement activities, instead.) 1. FIRST EXPECTED MEETING THURSDAY (for those who need the help or a strong start): Computer Lab B-143 Thurs., Aug. 30, 2018, 6:30-8:30 pm in the "Business" Building (see maps of campus) I will give two "X's" of attendance for this in-person meeting.  OR, to earn your two X's, you may summarize our website for 600 w. (about 70-90 w./web page) and email it to me. 2. & 3. SECOND AND THIRD EXPECTED THURSDAY MEETINGS: Two Thursday Evenings at the Museum: Th., Sept. 27 & Th., Oct. 25, meet at Minneapolis Institute of Art 6:15-9 pm See more details about this when you click above on "Wkly. Asgnmnt." I will give three "X's" of attendance credit for each of these two in-person meetings, or 6 X's total. (OR, to earn you  X's, you may visit the museum on your own, or do online museum visits, and then write me about them, but be sure to read exactly how to do these self-done visits before you try this! Starting Note #4: DON'T BUY YOUR BOOKS, YET!  Some books are not required, only optional.  Before you choose, read the directions for choosing by clicking on the tab above called "Textbooks"  Once you've read that page and decided which books you want, then you may order the book you wish.  If you want one of the books--or a used copy of others--you must go to Amazon.com or another online bookseller and order your books two weeks in advance!               --------    MORE ABOUT THE COURSE: Basics about Hum 1110: Western Civilization, 15,000 B.C.E.-1500 C.E. (A.D.) - Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa The humanities are a wonderful subject encompassing large parts of human knowledge.  Included are the arts (from visual arts to music, plays, dance, and more), philosophy, religion, crafts, architecture, and even such subjects as sociology, early forms of psychology, and many more.  One of the reasons studying the humanities is so exciting is not just the breadth of the subject but also - and especially - the fabric into which they are woven.  Each person, each work of art, and each human thought is another thread and another color added to this fabric.  The fabric itself, the entire garment that our Western world now wears, is called, variously, culture, society, and humanity.  The fabric of our lives has changed over thousands of years, but in other ways you will find that humans now and humans a thousand, five thousand, and even ten thousand years ago have been very much alike in their basic intelligence, desires, hopes, and dreams. If you want to find out how our great, ongoing project on this planet has proceeded, involving billions of people over these many thousands of years of development, this is a great opportunity..  And as you watch the march of early humanity through time and culture in the next sixteen weeks - and as we cover ancient through medieval times - you will begin to see how many of our Western world's ways of living, thinking, loving, and being first developed.  Welcome to a fascinating journey!  Our trip through time and faraway lands will not only give you insight into the past but also into the world's future.  Please be sure to read the minimum requirements and minimum activities for the course below. -------- Background and Details for Starting: Four Basic Questions--You Must Be Able To Answer "Yes" To All Four: The following questions also are helpful in deciding whether to take this online course: 1. Are you "online experienced"?  You must be very comfortable using email and the Web several times a week.  2. Are you good enough at writing?  The class involves a large amount of rough-draft writing for homework and online attendance. It also requires good, formal writing in a final term paper (20% of the grade).  BEFORE the class starts, you should have already finished Read 96 and Eng 99.  Or you should have tested into college-level reading and college-level writing (which means you should be beyond developmental reading and writing levels on your entrance tests.)  And though it's not required, you are likely to do better on the final paper if you are done with--or taking and finishing--Eng 1108 or its equivalent, a College Composition I course.  (If you have not finished taking IHCC's required Composition I course (Eng 1108), then you might want to plan on working with an IHCC Writing Center tutor (see www.inverhills.edu/LearningSupport/Learning Center/WritingCenter/index.aspx) or an online (non-IHCC) Smarthinking tutor (see https://www.inverhills.edu/LearningSupport/ LearningCenter/PeerTutoring.aspx#smarthinking-online-tutoring) for 1/2 hr. to 1 hr. at a time. An IHCC tutor can help you make sense of the writing and reading assignments, and a SmartThinking online tutor (non-IHCC) can help you organize your final paper. 3. Can you handle working 12 hrs. per week or more on this class?  This class is a 4-credit course (not a 3-credit course, like most others), and so it requires 33% more work than a regular course.  In addition, it is not made easier just because it is online.  The national standard for weekly work in a 4-credit class is 12 hrs./wk.  If you want an "A" in this course, you probably will have to work that hard--or harder and longer if you are a slow reader, a slow writer, or someone who likes to take his or her time reading or writing. 4. Are you able to attend several class events, mostly on Thursday nights, or are you willing to make up for them, either on your own time in person or by doing them online?  Whether you do them with the class or on your own, the amount of time you will spend on them will be the same.  The first event, a meeting, is optional, in a computer lab on campus: everyone who goes will receive two X's of credit for attendance, but you may opt instead to summarize this course website if you want to earn your two X's without coming to school. The last event is an individual 15-min. consultation about your term paper (which can be done in person or by phone or, if you don't mind losing credit for it, you can skip it).  The other three or four events are trips to museums and plays as a class group (which can, instead, be done individually at different times or online).  Two of them will be on Thursdays, one will be on a Friday, and one that you attend on your own will be on your choice of a Friday or Saturday. Please note that the class uses D2L only for discussion boards.  Otherwise, for communication and turning in homework, this course uses the Web and email.  By the end of the course, those who have stuck with it usually say they are surprised not only by how much they have learned but also by how much they have enjoyed it.   Grading System - Choose Your Goal for the Semester: A = 90-100 X's (90-100 points, or       90%-100%) B = 80-89 X's C = 70-79 X's D = 60-69 X's F = 0-59 X's Your grade for the class is based on a system of X's, with 100 X's (100 points or 100%) equaling a perfect A+.  90 X's is the minimum for an "A," 80 X's for a "B," etc., as shown above..  You choose what grade you want.  You may earn your X's in four ways: (a) Homework (about 45 X's) (b) Attendance (about 35 X's) (c) Term paper/project (up to 20 X's) (d) Extra credit (70 min. = 1 X) ______________________________________ TOTAL: "a"-"c" above: about 100 X's Absolute Minimums for Passing:  To get a "D" or better in this class, you must do the following: Earn 60 X's/points or more, overall. Complete a term paper earning at least 5 X's. Be active in the class at least once every two weeks (or be dropped). Other Minimums: When you write homework, discussion board messages, or extra credit, the writing must be a minimum of 150-200 words, depending on the assignment or activity. When you write 150+ w. for homework, you must write a minimum of 50 words for each chapter. An "X" in this class is assumed to be the equivalent of 70 minutes of work. This is a 4-credit class (not 3 credits), so it assumes a workload of at least 12 hrs./wk. (not 9 hrs./wk.) to receive an "A."  Some people--those who read more slowly or more thoroughly and/or who write more slowly or take a lot of time while they write --may need more than 12 hrs./wk. to receive an "A."  See below for more about workload. Your Workload: This class is a 4-credit class (not 3 credits).  As such, it requires 1/3rd more total work time than in a 3-credit class.  In addition, the hours required for this online class are not less than the same class when taught on campus in a regular, physical classroom.  An online class should not have "fewer hours" just because it is online (except possible time saved in driving to and from campus), nor should it be "easier"--the workload is supposed to be the same.  You do not get to "skip class time" in an online class: instead, time normally spent in a physical classroom on campus is supposed to be converted, in an online course, to additional time spent online.  In fact, the overall work load of a course, whether online or traditional, is governed by a national understanding among colleges and universities.  This understanding states that a first- or second-year college course should require about 3 hours of work each week for every credit (counting both class attendance and homework time).  This would mean that in a 3-credit class, the total amount of work time - both class attendance and homework time - should be about 9 hrs./wk.  In this class, since it is a 4-credit class, there should be about 12 hours of work per week to pass the class.  Some people may need to do more than that if they want more than a "D" or a "C."  If you cannot handle this much work per week, then you should drop this course.    Museum and Play Visits: We will be going as a class group two times to a major museum on Thursday evenings, and to two plays somewhere in the Twin Cities.  The majority of students say these activities were one of the highlights of the course and also allowed them a great chance to meet some of their classmates.  It is assumed that if you live within 100 miles of the Twin Cities, you will be able to go.  However, those who will be located further away than 100 miles and those who cannot attend because of work conflicts or for other reasons may find other ways of making up these events independently as outlined in the "Attendance & Participation" page. --- VERY  IMPORTANT--DON'T BUY BOOKS UNTIL YOU READ THIS! Note #1: Please note: you do NOT need the books immediately.  We have a physical meeting in the first week of classes (see top of page): you may get the books that same evening--before our evening class, but to do this, call the bookstore first to see what time it closes: (651) 450-3533. Note #2: Do NOT buy all of the books that are in the bookstore!  There are choices for you: most of you will want to buy two of the books (which are listed as "required"), but some of you may only need to buy one of the books (the one listed as "optional").  Please see the "Readings+Resources" page (click on the tab at the top) of this Web site to decide which books you should buy.  If you need to return or exchange any books, you usually only have through Tues., Week 2 of classes to do so.    Getting Started: Please start the class by working your way down the items in the right-hand column on this page: "Starting Online Instructions," maybe the "course summary/syllabus" (if you haven't decided whether to take the class), the PSEO page if you are PSEO, and the "Student Information Sheet" that you should fill out.  (Some of the directions are repeated to help those who are not used to taking Web classes.)  Then, when you've read what applies to you in the right-hand column, take a few minutes to look around the Web site.  After you've done that, you can go directly to the "Wkly. Asgnments." page.  That will outline for you in detail what you need to do each week, starting with Week 1. IMPORTANT!  (1) Again, this class does not run on D2L, except for bulletin boards (discussion boards).  (2) Please fill out and mail the "Student Info+Photo Sheet" (available online by clicking here; I also will  pass it out at the first physical-class meeting).  (3) You also should be aware that I always return your emailed homework, marked to show I got it.  And you can always check your records by clicking on the "Records" above.  If you are not receiving your homework back and seeing credit for it appear by each Sunday evening on the "FOL Records," contact me immediately!  (You can always find my contact info by clicking on the very-top, upper-left corner--or on the very-bottom "Questions" line--of every Web page in this Web site.) --- Adding my Email Address to Your Sender List: Please also note the following!  If you are using an email system of your own (other than "go.inverhills"--the school's system), please READ THE FOLLOWING IMPORTANT MESSAGE.  I send absolutely necessary weekly emails to you.  And I send assignments back to you after giving you credit for them.  So you MUST BE SURE you are getting my emails. Your email system may reject email from people it does not recognize, or from people who send emails frequently.  For this reason, you may need to add two of my email addresses to your "safe sender" or "trusted sender" list.  The email addresses you should add are as follows: (1) richard at jewell dot net and (2) jeweL zero zero one at umn dot edu  --but write it as email addresses normally are written--no spaces, an @, and a period: e.g., john at smith dot net would be written as john@smith.net. (Why have I written my email addresses in this unusual way?  I get over 600 spam emails per week already.  And spammers have software engines that automatically search the Web for email addresses.  If people avoid typing their actual email addresses on Web sites, they can avoid more spam.) If you do not know how to add my email address to your own email program's "safe" list, then please use your email program's "help" function or, if there is none, then look in "tools," "options," "settings," or other places where you are allowed to control who sends you email and who doesn't. --- Conclusion: I hope you enjoy the class!  Many people are surprised, by the end of it, not only by how much they have learned but also by how much better they feel they now understand the roots and meanings of our entire Western civilization.  If you need anything, be sure to contact me by email, phone, or in person.                                        Schedule of Consultations about Final Paper (2 X's for Attendance)    Consultations:  Week 15 Consultations: In early or mid-November, please send me 2-3 times that work for you among those listed below. You may have an in-person consultation in my B-136 office at IHCC at one of the times below, once I have established the schedule of consultations for this current semester. Or you may choose a telephone or Skype consultation at a time that we mutually work out: both of us would be on our computers with a copy of your paper in front of us on the computer that you emailed to me, and you'd phone or Skype me at the time we have scheduled. Telephone or Skype consultation times tend to work best for me in the early-to-mid afternoons of some Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Consultations are not required. But if you do not have a consultation, you will not get your 2 X's of attendance credit for it. During the consultation: The purpose is to talk about your Final Project.  Bring your Draft 1 and your Draft 2 final project to the consultation.  I'd prefer to see your D-2 at the consultation, if at all possible, even if only part of it. Why a Consultation? Each consultation is worth 2 X's/points. Even though it is only 15 minutes, those 15 minutes of meeting with me can be invaluable sometimes in knowing what you need to complete for the course, your X's, or your Final Project. Days/Times/Dates for Fall 2018 (More times will be added if needed.) Please email three possible times in order of preference, first preference first. Tues., Dec. 4, 2018 (10-15 min. each) 2:15 pm--Abdirisaq Hussein 2:30 pm--Abdirisaq Hussein 2:45 pm-- 3:00pm-- 3:15 pm-- 3:30 pm-- 3:45 pm-- 4:00 pm--Breanna Sandstrom (or 4:30)   Later is possible, even in early evening, but only if you can't make earlier times: let me know.     Skype, phone, or Minneapolis coffeehouse meeting: best time is early or mid-afternoon (but late afternoon also is possible, if needed), all on Mon., Wed., Fri., or Sat. Please email your request with three possible times in these timeframes, and the type of meeting you'd like. (See note below.) Thurs., Dec. 6, 2018 (10-15 min. each) 2:15 pm--Tanner Arkley (or 2:30 or 2:45) 2:30 pm-- 2:45 pm-- 3:00pm-- 3:15 pm--Anna Marcotte 3:30 pm-- 3:45 pm--Natalia Gimenez 4:00 pm-- 4:15 pm-- 4:30 pm-- 4:45 pm-- 5:00 pm-- 5:15 pm-- 5:30 pm-- Later is possible, even in early evening, but only if you can't make earlier times: let me know. Tues., Dec. 11, 2018 (10-15 min. each) 2:15 pm-- 2:30 pm-- 2:45 pm-- 3:00pm-- 3:15 pm-- 3:30 pm-- 3:45 pm-- 4:00 pm-- 4:15 pm--Annamarie Ryan or 3 pm) 4:30 pm-- 4:45 pm-- 5:00 pm-- 5:15 pm-- 5:30 pm--Gabi Falk Later is possible, even in early evening, but only if you can't make earlier times: let me know.   If none of these dates or times work for you, contact me for additional dates/times.  I also can set up a phone, Skype, or Minneapolis coffeehouse consultation with you on a Mon., Wed., Fri., or Sat. Early or mid-afternoon works best, but if necessary, a late afternoon or early evening time can work, too. Phone or Skype consultations require that you first send me an attachment or email of your paper so we can look at it at the same time while talking on the phone or Skype.      --Richard      Office: B-136.    Home Phone: 612-870-7024.    Office Phone: 651-450-3566 Skype: RichardJewell3 -- Send me your Skype name, too.                                                                                    Return to top.