USU 1320 Civilization: Humanities Syllabus

Instructor: Aaron L. Crawford, Box Elder High School

E-mail: aaron(dot)crawford(at)besd.net

Phone: (435) 734-4840

Webpage: www.historyofcrawford.com

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

Text: Rossinow, Doug and Rebecca S. Lowen. The United States Since 1945: Historical Interpretations.

We will also examine many primary documents. These are listed in the course schedule. A few of these will be linked from my website; others will be given in class.
Note that we will consider excerpts instead of entire documents in most cases (except the articles in Rossinow & Lowen).

A note about the syllabus:    I've found that students attempt to find loopholes in rules and policies and people occassionally get upset over unforeseen issues. Therefore, I reserve the right to change policies and procedures at any time. Such changes will be posted here and announced in class. However, since I've found that students tend to ignore anything resembling announcements, I suggest you check back here from time to time to ensure you have not missed any changes.

Objectives:

By the end of the class, you will:
1. Increase your cultural literacy (understanding and awareness ) of divergent cultures that participate in modern society,
2. Identify broad themes that cut across human history and culture,
3. Understand the nature, history, and methods of the humanities, especially historical & cultural methodologies.

Scope & Content:

The purpose of this course is to provide a “basic understanding of a broad range of themes, which cut across human history and continue to be important in contemporary society.” Such an endeavor entails a journey of self-discovery. We will examine our own humanity in an attempt to achieve self-understanding via a number of the humanities including History, Folklore, Anthropology, American Studies, Philosophy, Literature, and others. The humanities are a broad subject, and while all of these disciplines will inform our study in this course, we will focus primarily on certain events selected from recent American history. I have chosen to examine the broad themes of history thematically rather than chronologically as a way to analyze varying responses to similar issues in different times and cultures.

Instruction/Pedagogy:

• We will visit three large topics (Nationalism & War; Culture & Ethnicity; and Economics & Poverty) by examining a new case study each week. While we consider a topic, we will combine lecture, video, audio, guest speakers, and readings to ensure a thorough understanding of the issue.
• As we progress through the week, we will shift from a lecture format to a discussion format. You are required to critically analyze the information given and form an informed opinion, then to share this opinion with the class during class discussions. Class discussions are graded according to your participation and the thoughtfulness of your arguments.
• Assigned readings are in your syllabus. Refer to the course calendar, so you know the completion date for each reading. I expect you to come to class prepared to discuss the readings.
• You will complete a weekly writing assignment.
• You will learn to critically analyze both primary and secondary documents, including journals (academic and historic/personal), speeches, novels, narratives, newspaper reports, music, poetry, and movies/television.
• The teachers' code of ethics for the state of Utah requires me to inform you that students will be discussing their personal political beliefs.
• Note that in the course you will be exposed to opinions that differ from your own. This is intentional and essential. If you prefer not to hear a speech by a president that you don't like, or learn about a person with whom you disagree, then this class is not for you.
• You should also note that we view images and videos with some difficult content, like the aftermath of the atomic bombings or the victims of the 9/11 attacks. Most are viewed as images with my in-class narration, but a few have accompanying videos, like National Geographic's 24 Hours after Hiroshima or The History Channel's 102 Minutes that Changed America (9/11). School policy requires me to make you aware of any videos other than those rated TV-G or G. A full list is in the calendar.

Assignments:

Assignments are designed to foster well-reasoned, critical thought utilizing a variety of alternative perspectives, thoughts, and approaches to the humanities. The first week of class, we will learn about various approaches/disciplines within the humanities. You will solidify this learning as you complete your assignments.

Categories of assignments are weighted and individual assignments may be weighted also. There may also be some small assignments as the course progresses to help students understand the concepts we examine. There is no extra credit, nor can you redo assignments.

Participation

Participation is worth 60 pts (5 pts/wk). Participation points missed for any reason other than school-excused absence cannot be made up.

Weekly Written Responses

Each Monday, you will turn in a written overview of what you learned the week before and how this knowledge applies either to your own life and/or to current events. This overview must be between one and two pages (double-spaced, Times New Roman, 12 pt font). In your written responses, you should demonstrate that you have critically and carefully considered the topic according to at least one of the humanistic disciplines we examined during Week One. Full credit will require you to demonstrate insight across the humanities. These assignments are worth 10 points each (90 pts total).

I will accept this assignment as late as Tuesday morning BEFORE first hour begins. You may turn in one late assignment for any reason without loss of credit. Any subsequent late assignments will not be graded under ANY circumstances. My advice: Save your one late assignment for a broken printer, death in the family, etc. Assignments that fail to match the proper formatting and typesetting will be returned ungraded. Should you choose to hand it in later, it counts as your one late assignment.

Research Paper

In the course of the term, we will do one major research assignment. We will begin with a visit to the library, where we will learn to do college-level research, utilizing both paper and electronic sources. You will then find one current news story to research. You will look into the history of the issue presented in the news story and use the sources described above to summarize the key historical issues from both sides. This assignment is worth 20 points, but may be weighted in the gradebook.

Historical Archive Assignment

In order to better understand the creation of secondary sources, we will have our librarian assist us in the use of Box Elder High’s own historical archives. She will instruct us in the use of the primary documents in the library’s collection. You will then use these archives to research a local person who attended our school. This assignment is worth 20 points.

Group Cultural Research Project

The course final requires the use of all knowledge and skills you will have accumulated in the course of the term. Using primary, secondary, paper, and electronic sources, you will research the beliefs, practices, and problems of a major American culture during one era and in one location. These projects will be presented to the class. Because the course deals with understanding yourself and others as humans, you will work in groups for this project. This assignment is worth 50 points.

Course Schedule:

As mentioned above, we will visit three large topics (Nationalism & War; Culture & Ethnicity; and Economics & Poverty) by examining a new case study each week.  While we consider a topic, we will combine lecture, video, audio, guest speakers, and readings to ensure a thorough understanding of the issue.  As we progress through the week, we will shift from a lecture format to a discussion format.  You are required to critically analyze the information given and form an informed opinion, then to share this opinion with the class in class discussions.

The course schedule is tentative.