Professor Pat Swenson, Humanities 101OL Syllabus

Page Description

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Contact Information

Prof Pat Swenson

Sierra Tower 812

Phone: 818.677.3410

Office Hours: T 1-2pm

Campus Email:
pat.swenson@csun.edu

ProfPat's Main Page

ProfPat's Education Links

ProfPat's Art Gallery

ProfPat's MySpace Page

Course Links

Course Assignments

Lectures & Readings

Major Assignments
(email in a Word doc!!!)

Accessibility

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The California State University System is undertaking an unprecedented and coordinated effort to bring the CSU into compliance with federal and state laws pertaining to the Americans with Disabilities Act. Under Section 508, agencies must give disabled employees and members of the public access to information that is comparable to the access available to others.

Students concerned with accessibility to digital course materials should contact the Center on Disabilities (COD) for assistance.

Required Materials

1. THE ART OF BEING HUMAN, 9th EDITION

by Janaro & Altshuler

2. SIDDHARTHA

by Hermann Hesse

3. TAO TE CHING

translated by Stephen Mitchell

4. THE LORD OF THE RINGS, THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING

2001 Peter Jackson Film

5. WHAT THE BLEEP DO WE KNOW!? - 2004 Film

(Do Not Watch the "What the Bleep - Down the Rabbit Hole" Version!!!)

Course Policies

Grading

Your final grade will be determined as follows:

1. Response to Textbook Readings: 35%

2. Art Analysis Paper: 20%

3. Lord of the Rings - Film Analysis: 15%

4. Siddhartha Analysis: 15%

5. What the Bleep Do We Know - Film Analysis: 15%

Attendance & Late Work

Please post your responses by the due dates in our schedule. Since this online class is "time arranged" you may post your work early, but remember to re-visit the whole-class forums to read/respond to your peers. Please note that late posts will be marked down one full grade per week. You will not receive credit for assignments posted more than three (3) weeks late.

Carefully read each homework assignment -- our week to week schedule will vary. For some chapters and assignments, you will be required to respond in a whole-class WebCT forum or you will be asked to email your analysis to the Instructor. For our "major" assignments (Art Paper, LOTR, Siddhartha, Bleep), you will be asked to post in a forum and send an additional paper via email. Please paste your analyses into the body of your email!!!

Whole-class forum postings will be graded 'A' for effort and thoughtfulness. Please leave yourself enough time to read and respond to your peers. You will receive a letter grade for each assignment sent to the Instructor via email.

Note that each Whole-Class Forum has its own question and posting instructions - please click on the threaded discussion link listed on our WebCT page. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email me.

Academic Dishonesty

According to the CSUN catalogue, plagiarism is the act of “intentionally or knowingly representing the words, ideas, or works of another as one’s own in any academic exercise,” and will result in a failing grade for the assignment. In addition, it may result in a failing grade for the course and disciplinary action on the part of the university. Internet software is available to assist CSUN faculty to scan student writing. ALL student assignments will be scanned for plagiarism.

Please adhere to the CSUN Student Conduct Code for all course activities, including email and forum discussions, and written analyses.

Course Description & Requirements

Humanities 101OL - The Forms & Ideas

Course Number: 13548

Online/WebCT - Time Arranged

Course Prerequisites:

EPT score of 151 or higher or completion of the lower division writing requirement.

Enrollment Procedures

CSUN regularly enrolled students register for online courses in the same manner as they register for any course. If you wish to add the course after the semester begins, you must email the course Professor for a permission number.

Students must email the instructor and receive an acknowledgement to complete the enrollment procedure. Directions will be given by the instructor about how to access the course website and complete the specific enrollment requirements for the course.

Students from other CSU Campuses who wish to enroll, must submit the Concurrent Enrollment Form to their home Campus. Anyone in the world may take the Online Courses through CSUN's Open University!

Student Learning Objectives

At the completion of Humanities 101, you will be able to:

1. Demonstrate knowledge of the diversity of world cultures.

2. Draw on the insights of various Humanities and Humanities-related disciplines.

3. Understand and apply cultural theory.

4. Write effective analyses of multiple forms of cultural expression and creativity.

5. Successfully navigate the Internet.

6. Engage in asynchronous (bulletin board forum) discussions.

Course Requirements

Welcome to Humanities 101OL! This is an active participation course that explores the various forms of human expression and thinking. During the semester we will explore the worlds of art, music, philosophy, poetry, literature, morality, religion, and mythology. You will learn to successfully navigate the Internet and to engage in WebCT's asynchronous (bulletin board) forum discussions online.

Since this is mostly a discussion class, the success of this course depends on active participation. We will apply "Reader Response Theory" to all discussions. In other words, I want to hear how you, the reader, interact with the readings. All thoughtful opinions and insights are valued and welcomed -- just be prepared to explain your theories!

During the course of the semester, you will be required to post written responses in whole-class WebCT forums and to email several major assignments to the instructor. All responses are designed to reinforce the ideas presented in our course, enabling you to have a better understanding of the material.

Technical Requirements

Students will need to have access to the Internet, either Microsoft Explorer, Firefox, or Safari, and an active CSUN email account to access the WebCT system. To activate your CSUN e-mail address or reset its password use the account utility page.

Can't login? If you see the main WebCT login screen repeatedly, despite entering a valid e-mail address and password, then you may need to enable cookies in your web browser's options or preferences area. WebCT requires access to cookies and will not allow a successful log-in until and unless your web browser has them enabled. Please visit the WebCT browser tune-up page to check your computer settings.

Instructions will be provided for all computer activities; you may visit CSUN's Office of Online Instruction site for information on online courses and programs. CSUN also provides information on computer resources and availability.

NOTE: You may need to install Java before using WebCT!!! Because of a legal dispute between Microsoft and Sun, recent versions of Internet Explorer / Windows do not come bundled with Java, a program that WebCT chat relies on. If you try to use a Java-based program and Java has not been installed on your system, you will see a message indicating that you need to download "JAVA Virtual Machine." You may download and install Java directly from Sun at http://www.java.com/en/index.jsp (click the big yellow Get It Now button on that page). Follow the directions for installation, closing your web browser and/or restarting your system as it suggests. Once Java has been installed you should encounter no further trouble with WebCT.