Catalog Description

An interdisciplinary assessment of cultural, political, philosophical and aesthetic factors critical to the formation of values that shape the historical development of the individual and society. Three hours credit.

Required Texts

The Art of Creative Non-Fiction by Lee Gutkind

Deep in the Heart of San Antonio by Char Miller

Handouts and Internet web sites as assigned by instructor

Website: http://www.accd.edu/pac/lrc/humaniti1301sa.htm

Format

This is a non-traditional, interdisciplinary course in the Humanities whose focus is San Antonio and Bexar County. We will study and experience our city through history, film, the environment, visual arts and music and their connection to our lives. The primary instructional medium for this course is the Internet, in-class discussions and field trips. 

General Goals

1. To recognize that the art of being human (humanism) involves more
    than meeting one's "survival" needs, psychological and physiological.

2. To recognize one's inner resources for practicing the art of being 
    human, that is, the humanist's way of life.

3. To identify the ideas of the great thinkers and explore some enduring
   questions for which there are no absolute answers.

4. To recognize those unresolved philosophical questions which are
    personally relevant.

5. To become familiar with characteristics of recognized works of  art,
    music, film and drama that are encountered in this course.                                                                                     

Course Objectives

1. The Humanities course will greatly utilize community resources.
    Students will have the opportunity to travel around San Antonio
    to avail themselves of museums, art galleries, libraries, other 
    colleges' special events, field trips and speakers.  A major objective of this 
    course is to have the students know, appreciate and evaluate their 
    city. 

2. The Humanities is a process, a method, a way of looking at life. 
    At the conclusion of this course, it is hoped that the student will 
    perceive with a keener vision, hear with an increased volume, 
    evaluate with a larger set of scales, and live to a fuller extent. 

3. The disciplines covered are to function as springboards for
    intellectual activities far beyond this course. 

4. As students learn to connect and link disciplines, they should find 
    themselves the keeper of knowledge, not just aware of specific 
    facts in separate disciplines.  The application of this knowledge to 
    the community and its needs should make students, as good citizens,
   aware of their responsibility to their community.

5.  Students will have the opportunity to strengthen their writing skills 
     through formal essays and other assignments

Course Requirements

Class Participation and Attendance

Your attendance and participation are vital to the success of this course! I hope this class will excite and engage you with the place where you live. My teaching style is not based on a lecture format but rather class discussions and group work. Therefore, I expect you to read assignments I give before you come to class. We will be going on a number of field trips during this course, some as a class and others on your own so that you can experience your city. If you are absent, it is your responsibility to bring yourself up to speed! Feel free to e-mail or call me anytime. My contact information is just before the tentative course calendar.

 I reserve the right to drop any student who has "absences equivalent to two weeks of instruction", as stated in the Excessive Absence Policy in the PAC Catalog.  This means that any student who does not communicate with me during a two week period without prior notification may be dropped from the course. Class participation is 20% of your final grade.

If you wish to earn a high participation grade in the course, then you must consistently attend class, take part in discussions and attend field trips.  Although you will have access to a computer in class, this does NOT mean you can use it to cruise the internet, check e-mail, or work on assignments for other classes. I expect you to be engaged at all times. If you are not, your participation grade will be significantly lower!

WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS – GENERAL COMMENTS

I believe that writing can make learning more meaningful and practical. This class is about rediscovering your city, and you will have the opportunity to share your experiences with your classmates and the world by creating your very own blog on blogger.com. You must post all assignments there. As a class, we will visit this site to set up your blogs. While I will require the same high standards of spelling, grammar and punctuation, I do hope that you will find writing on this medium more appealing and fun. The Art of Creative Non-Fiction, one of our texts, will also provide many helpful tips about writing content in interesting ways.

TYPES OF ASSIGNMENTS

1.  Field blogs

You will submit 6 (six) short assignments (250 words minimum) in conjunction with class and/or individual field trips related to each module. Such visits will include time spent at the missions, the Alamo, libraries, parks, museums and other venues. These assignments will comprise 30% your total grade.

2. Unit stories

After we complete a module, you will write a 500 word (minimum) blog related to the material studied. There are six units. You must post five out of six stories.  Most of the time, you will have the opportunity to choose among types of activities which include personal essays, internet assignments and community events. These five assignments will consist of 30% of your total grade. Each assignment has a set of criteria by which I will evaluate your work such as content, organization and writing mechanics. All assignments handed in and/or posted after the deadline will receive a 10 point deduction for each calendar day late.

Good writing is essential for success in college and employment. For this reason, I will give you the option to resubmit papers graded below 90, if you make all corrections I have indicated..  I will reevaluate your paper and give you the higher grade.  To take advantage of this option, you must submit the revised paper together with the original version within one week after you receive my corrections, otherwise I will not accept it. If you do not feel confident about writing, I would be happy to help you or you can work with a tutor at the English Language Center The Center is located in EL 121.

SEMESTER PROJECT

There is no final exam in this course! For your final project, you will write a feature news story of 1000 words (4 pages hard copy) as a major writing project on anything that sparks your curiosity about San Antonio or Bexar County. You must obtain prior approval from me about your topic. You will have until March 3 to choose your subject. To assure that all papers are well written, students will submit two drafts which are subject to peer and professor review. We will dedicate the last week of class to reviewing your drafts and posting the final version on your blog sites

PLAGIARISM

Palo Alto College prohibits plagiarism in all student academic work. Any student caught plagiarizing material in a course assignment will either receive a ZERO for that assignment or an "F" in the course depending on the severity of the offense.