Course SyllabusHUM 2220 – Greek / Roman Humanities

Valencia CollegeOnline Ten-Week Course, Fall 2018, CRN: 11788, 12960

Patrick Szymanski, Instructor

Instructor: Professor Patrick SzymanskiCollege Main Phone: (407) 299-5000Email: pszymanski@mail.valenciacollege.edu, or email me through Canvas.Office Hours: Anytime via email, please allow at least one day for responseHumanities Department Office: East Campus 6-118, phone extensions: 2341 and 2036

Required Texts: Each of the following texts is required and must be purchased by each student for successful completion of the course.

Sayre, Henry M. The Humanities: Culture, Continuity & Change. Book 1: The Ancient World and the Classical Past. 3rd Ed. ISBN: 978-1-269-78172-5(Abbreviated: Sayre)

Credit Hours: 3.0

Prerequisite: ENC1101 or equivalent.

Course Description: Prerequisite of ENC 1101 or ENC 1101H is required. Integrated examination of dominant ideas in Western culture as expressed in art, literature, music, philosophy and religion. Covers early Greek civilizations through the Roman era, emphasizing the development and influence of classical ideas. Students must demonstrate college level writing skills through multiple written assignments. Minimum grade of C required if used to satisfy Gordon Rule requirement.

Credit: Satisfactory completion of this course will satisfy three of the nine hours required in Area 2 (Humanities) of the General Education Requirements of all Degree Programs. It is a writing course; therefore, it will satisfy the requirements of State Board of Education Rule 6A-10.30 (“Gordon Rule”).

Basis of Evaluation: This is an accelerated, Ten-Week course that will move along quickly. Students will be evaluated based upon the following: 2 exams consisting of multiple choice, matching, art identify, short answer and essay questions; a 3 page Analysis paper; weekly discussion postings and responses; and weekly reading quizzes. Grade distribution will be as

follows:

Points Final Grade 450 – 500 A 400 – 449 B 350 – 399 C 300 – 349 D 0 – 299 F

Greece Exam (Midterm) – 125 pointsRome Exam (Final) – 125 pointsAnalysis Paper – 100 pointsReading Quizzes (7 total + Syllabus quiz) – 75 pointsOnline Discussions (7 total + Introduction) – 75 pointsTotal points = 500

Reading Quizzes: On most weeks, you will have to complete a reading quiz that will consist of ten multiple-choice questions pertaining to both the readings as well as my PowerPoint lecture slides. You will have a 30 minute time limit to complete all reading quizzes.

Discussions: On most weeks, you will also have to post a discussion thread that pertains to a question I will ask based upon that week’s reading. In addition to your initial post, you will need to post at least two responses to two different initial posts from other classmates. The following example will give you an idea of what a good post and response looks like:

Question – Is our popular culture’s current fascination with zombies in any way connected to the historical tradition of zombies in Haitian Vodoun?

Initial Post – Student 1: I feel that our culture’s current zombie fascination is not connected to the historical underpinnings as found in Vodoun. In shows like

The Walking Dead, characters become zombified through infection via other zombies. In Vodoun, a single individual is put under a zombie curse by a priest, in order for that person’s will to be controlled. Additionally, Davis’s mention of zombie “drugs” throughout The Serpent and the Rainbow does not square up with popular culture’s contemporary understanding of zombies.

Response – Student 2: I agree with your post, student 1, and I feel that Hollywood has taken the original, historical idea of what a zombie is and has decided to run with it. I have a feeling that if Hollywood presented a movie featuring a true

zombie, few people would get the historical connection. Good insight!

Make sure that when it comes time for you to respond to your classmate’s answers, you respond to at least two different initial posts (and don’t forget to create your own initial post, as well). You can disagree with another student’s initial post, but be sure that your disagreement is civil and you critique the person’s post, not the person themselves.

Examinations: You will have two examinations in this course (a midterm and a final). The final will not be cumulative. Both exams will consist of the following parts:

Multiple Choice – choose the best answer among four available options.Matching – match words from a word bank to corresponding sentences.Art Identify – identify pictures of various pieces of Greek and Roman art and architectureShort Answer – type 3-4 sentence answers to given questions.Essay – type 300-400 words on an essay topic.

Both exams will have study guides that will be available one week before the exam, and are optional to complete (e.g. – you don’t have to turn them in). The midterm will cover the early Aegean cultures as well as Classical and Hellenistic Greece, while the final will cover the Roman Republic and Empire. Both exams will be timed and you will have 1 hour and 30 minutes to complete them.

Very Important - Our course is meant to be navigated and completed using either a desktop PC, laptop or Mac. Thus, our course is not completely compatible with tablets and smartphones. This is especially true when considering technical errors that often occur while taking a quiz or exam on a tablet or smartphone. As a result, I ask that you do not use tablets or smartphones to complete work for our course. If you do not own a PC/laptop or Mac, you may always use any desktop PC on any Valencia campus to complete your work for the course.

Analysis Paper: You will have to craft one 3 page, five-paragraph style essay that will be checked for plagiarism via the document checking program Unicheck. There is a separate submission area for the paper. Please submit all papers in PDF, .DOC, or .DOCX format.

**NOTE: As this is a Gordon Rule course, students who fail to turn in all the major writing assignments during the semester will automatically fail the course.

Late Work Policy for Papers

All papers are expected to be submitted to Canvas on the due date in which they are listed on the course schedule, which is attached to this syllabus. Prompts for papers will be given weeks in

advance. Papers received after the weekly deadline will receive 20 points off of the final paper grade. Each additional week brings another 20 point reduction in the grade. There are no rewrites/redos or extra credit papers offered.

Withdraw Deadline / Absences Policy

The withdraw deadline for this course (Fall 2018 – Online Ten-Week) is: November 16th. If you withdraw from a course by this date, you will automatically receive a “W,” regardless of the grade you were earning at the time. The policy on absences is as follows – each student must regularly “attend” the course (meaning complete work for a given week), and will only receive 4 absences (non-“attendance” / no completed work) for the entire semester. After the fourth absence, the student will be withdrawn by the professor. Inclusive in these 4 allowed absences are any absences for medical reasons, deaths, etc. Essentially, no student can miss more than 4 class meetings / weeks in the semester and remain in the course.

For severe medical conditions that result in excessive absences, consult the Dean of Students concerning Valencia’s medical withdrawal policy.

International students, and students receiving financial aid, should be aware of how a “W” will affect their status.

 http://international.valenciacollege.edu/current-students/maintaining-visa-status/ http://valenciacollege.edu/finaid/satisfactory_progress.cfm

Academic Honesty

Plagiarism is defined as: "to take (ideas, writing, etc.) from another and pass them off as one's own." It is morally and academically indefensible. Any assignment showing signs of plagiarism will be graded zero. Students are advised to keep planning notes and outlines should the need for authentication arise. Plagiarism is a serious academic offence that may result in failure of a particular assignment, failure if a particular class and or exclusion from the college. If you are unsure as to what constitutes plagiarism on an essay, consult the professor. Plagiarism determinations will not be reversed for any reason short of an error in judgment on the part of the instructor.

Student Behavior

Valencia College is dedicated to promoting honorable personal and social conduct. By enrolling at Valencia, a student assumes the responsibility for knowing and abiding by the rules articulated in the Student Code of Conduct (6Hx28:10-03). The instructor reserves the right to refer students who engage in activities that are disruptive to the learning environment to the Dean of Students for disciplinary action.

Opening Times: The graded requirements contained within each week will be open for a set amount of time. Reading Quizzes and Discussions will be open for two weeks – the week they are due and the week prior. Exams will only be open and available to take during the week they are due. The analysis paper will be open the week prior to its due date, and will remain open for the remainder of the semester. Note – The Introductory and Week 1 assignments are open for one week only (the first week of the course).

Example: Week 3 Reading Quiz and Discussion will be open from 10/8 to 10/21.

Date Material to be Covered and Assignments Due on That Date

10/1-10/7 Week 1: Course introduction and syllabus review, Notes on Cycladic, Minoan and Mycenaean Civilizations, Archaic Art and Architecture Presentation. Reading: Sayre: p.106 – 115.

10/8-10/14 Week 2: Notes on Greek Mythology and Presocratic philosophy, Iliad reading and discussion. Reading: Sayre: p.115 – 123, 160, Iliad reading document.

10/15-10/21 Week 3: Notes on the Persian Wars, Notes on the Greek Golden Age, Classical Art and Architecture Presentation. Reading: Sayre: p.146 – 148, 124 – 135, 148 – 159.

10/22-10/28 Week 4: Notes on Greek theater, Notes on Classical Greek Philosophy, Plato reading and discussion. Reading: Sayre: p.163 – 168, 159 – 163, 171 – 172,

Allegory of the Cave document.

10/29-11/4 Week 5: Notes on the Hellenistic Age, Exam Review. Reading: Sayre: p.168 – 177. Analysis Paper Due on Canvas.

11/5-11/11 Week 6: Ancient Greece Exam

11/12-11/18 Week 7: Notes on Early Rome, Roman Mythology and the Roman Republic. Livy reading and discussion. Reading: Sayre: p.188 – 199, Livy document

11/19-11/25 Thanksgiving Break

11/26-12/2 Week 8: Notes on the Roman Empire, Roman Art and Architecture presentation. Reading: Sayre: p.199 – 225.

12/3-12/9 Week 9: Notes on Roman Philosophy, Marcus Aurelius reading and discussion, Exam review. Reading: Sayre: p.202 – 203, Meditations document.

12/10-12/15* Week 10: Ancient Rome Exam (Final). *Note – Final Exam closes on a Saturday night, not a Sunday night.

INSTRUCTOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO MAKE CHANGES TO THE SYLLABUS AS HE DEEMS NECESSARY.