The Arts of Our Times

Harvey Mudd College
Humanities 1, Section 5
Jacobs 132, MTWF 10:00
Fall 2005

Professor Bill Alves Office: Parsons 1278 Phone: x74170 E-mail: alves @hmc.edu Office hours: Mornings 8:30-9:30, Tuesdays 1:00-2:00 and by appointment Office hours are subject to change -- please check the schedule posted on my door.

Claire Angelici Office: Parsons 1276 Phone: x76020, E-mail:cangelici @yahoo.com Office hours: Mon. 3-5, Tues. 1:30-3:30

Required Texts Texts Available at Huntley Bookstore: Andrea A. Lunsford, The St. Martin's Handbook (Fifth Edition). Italo Calvino, If on a Winter's Night a Traveler. Richard Dooling, White Man's Grave. Don DeLillo, Mao II. Required Readings on Electronic Reserve (eRes): http://eRes.claremont.edu/ Required Listening on Reserve: There are two audio CDs on reserve for this class at Sprague Library. Here is a list of their contents.

The Course:

The last fifty years have been a time of upheaval and explosive change, and this excitement is reflected in contemporary literature, music, and visual arts. In this course, we will explore the connections between these dynamic arts, as well as between the works of art, our society, and ourselves. Ours is an era when traditional boundaries have crumbled, boundaries between past and present, East and West, and popular and fine arts (though this course in general will not cover pop forms such as rock or techno). In addition to reading of novels, poems, stories, and articles, we will also view works of visual art and have regular listening assignments (though no previous musical experience is expected).

While this course content will be mainly "about" these arts, there are several goals that are at least as important as learning about the arts of our time. The skills of written and oral communication, research, and critical thinking are important not only for your future courses in the humanities and social sciences but all of your courses, as well as future professional and intellectual success. Therefore our focus on these skills is integrated to a degree with other first semester courses. Our goals include the expert organization of what you want to express, clarity of communication, and the depth of insights, in written papers as well as class discussion and presentations. Writing clearly about your interpretation of literature, music, and art is inseparable from the quality of the insights themselves. Creative interpretation and critical thinking is much more important than any memorization of facts.

Assignments:

Reading and Listening: It is your responsibility to complete all readings prior to the class meeting when they will be discussed. Be sure to bring the appropriate text to class so that we can refer to it during discussion. It is just as important to complete all listening assigments prior to the class meeting when they will be discussed. You do not have to be a musician to develop important critical insights about what you hear, but you do need to listen carefully, to take notes on what you hear, and to listen more than once to each selection.

Participation: Because this class is conducted as a seminar, it is necessary that you attend and speak up regularly. We want to see evidence that you are intellectually engaged in this class, though we recognize that your engagement might differ in character from someone else's. Your day-to-day contributions to class discussion will certainly be important, of course, because they will show us that you have been reading and thinking about the assignments. But your peer-editing efforts, work that you do outside of class, field trip attendance, and so on will also help determine this portion of your grade. We will feel free to reduce your final grade if you amass more than three unexcused absences during the semester.

In order to fully facilitate everyone's participation in discussions, there will be no open computers during class. Also, please make sure your cell phones are switched off.

Writing: While the course handbook contains a huge amount of useful information about grammar, mechanics, style, and argumentation, here are some brief writing guides for your use:

• Common mechanical issues
• Some style tips
• The thesis statement
• Outlines
• Writing an introduction
• When to cite
• Oral presentations

Papers: During the semester, you will write three thesis papers the last of which will have a research component. Timely completion of interim assignments for the paper, such as thesis proposals, outlines, annotated bibliographies, and rough drafts, and participation in peer editing will also be evaluated as part of the paper grade. The papers will be read by myself or the class tutor. In addition to writing three papers, you will also revise them for credit. At the end of the semester, you will turn in a portfolio that consists of the three revised papers and a two-page introduction. Your portfolio will be assessed by your instructor and by an outside reader drawn from the Humanities 1 staff. Two short essays reacting to the listening assignments will also be required, though they will not form part of your portfolio.

Grading:

We will grade papers on a High Pass, Pass, No Pass basis. We will award final grades of High Pass, Pass, and NC based on the number of points you accumulate during the semester. You need at least 75 points to pass the class. The portfolio must pass in order for you to complete the class. Also, all three papers must be turned in in order to pass. To finish the course with a High Pass, you must do exceptional work in all categories. Point values are as follows:

Submitting Written Work: All work must be submitted on time and in a proper format. Extensions will be granted only in case of illness or emergency. Late papers will be penalized 10% per day late, though late papers will always get some credit, no matter how late.

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Schedule: