Humanities 30 is a survey of the cultures we look to as the foundations of Western Civilization--ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece, Rome, and the middle ages.  Art, architecture, music and literature are our entre into these rich traditions.

This is an intensive program designed for highly-motivated students.  Prepare to immerse yourself in the cultures of Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece, Rome and the Middle Ages.

The faculty of West Los Angeles College has identified a set of college-wide Student Learning Outcomes--what we agree every student should learn at West. You can read all nine Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) in the schedule of classes.  Of course, different classes will each stress different outcomes, in somewhat different ways.

Here is how I expect you to progress towards the SLOs in Humanities 30:

Cultural Diversity: Read literary, theological, and philosophical works from various cultures, and weigh their values in class discussion. 

Aesthetics: Engage with art, music, architecture and literature in developing your own opinions of the cultures included in the class.

Critical Thinking: In class, and in online class discussions, support an opinion with evidence of your own observations of specific works of art, literature, music or architecture.

Like any three-unit course, Hum. 30 requires at least 54 hours of class time.
    6 5-hour+ face-to-face classes = 34 hours
    Online discussion and quizzes = 20 hours

For 54 hours of class time, you should expect to spend an additional 108 hours working outside of class.  That is, between the online work and other homework, you need about 22 hours a week to devote to this class, outside of the time we spend together.

Each week, there will be an online quiz and a two-part online discussion. 

To do the open-book quiz, you need to read 2 or 3 chapters of our textbook carefully.
To do the discussion, you need to engage critically with at least one primary text from the textbook.

Part 1 of the discussion will be due in the middle of the week.
Part 2 of the discussion will be due the dady before class.
(Note: this means that you have to post twice during the week.)

The online deadlines are firm.

Plan to attend every class.  Missed class work cannot be made up.  Class work includes a quiz, student interpretive readings, discussions, films, and more. Most classes will end with a workshop at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Getty Villa, or the Getty  Center.

The first quiz, on the syllabus, will be done in class time during our first face-to-face meeting. 

In an interpretive reading, a student reads a text from the culture we are considering that day.  By picking the text, deciding what part of it to read, and reading it with appropriate feeling, the student gives it meaning for the class. 

For the poster session, each student will select a topic  and prepare a poster from which to share an analysis of at least two primary sources (texts or images).   Students also have the responsibility to serve as the audience for others' poster presentations, at the final class meeting. 

The museum workshops are oral activities, requiring each student to talk with small groups of students preparing for each group to present  to the class. 

Grades are determined on a point system, with about one third of the points coming from the onlinne quizzes and discussions; from the museum workshops; and from the poster session and interpretive reading.

Extra-credit opportunities generally involve seeing a play a the Getty Villa.  Students must pruchase tickets, but they are similar in price to a movie.

Plagiarism is the presentation of someone else's work as your own.  If you repeat what you have found online or in a book in such a way that a casual reader would not realize you were doing so, you will get a zero on the assignment.