As the course title suggests, this is a course on arts and ideas in American culture. The course is organized in three ways: (1) biographically, (2) chronologically, and (3) thematically. Each lesson begins with (1) a pivotal individual in American cultural tradition, some of whom you will have heard of: Thomas Jefferson, Herman Melville, Frank Lloyd Wright. The persons used to anchor each lesson are organized (2) chronologically: thus we'll look at Thomas Jefferson after the Puritan John Winthrop but before Herman Melville. Finally, each lesson will focus on (3) a general theme associated with the individual who anchors the lesson. Thus, the lesson on the Puritan John Winthrop will look at the theme of religion in American culture and will include materials from multiple periods in American history.

The chronological and biographical aspects of the lesson should help keep some structure to the course, but it is the evolution of American arts and ideas that are the focus of the class. We will not look at arts and culture in a vacuum but at the way arts and culture reflect on the social, economic and political landscape of American society. The focus of the class will be reading and (online) discussion. I will sometimes express my views and I hope that you will express yours, and that you will feel free to disagree (politely) with me and with your classmates.

The lessons that I have written are generally brief, and their purpose is to introduce you to the readings and media for each lesson. There will be multiple readings for each lesson. Most of the readings are short but challenging. The materials we will read are provided for you to reflect on and write critically about.

My goals for this course fall into three broad categories: (1) the content of the class, (2) your sense of the diversity and variety of thinking in American culture, and (3) the way your academic skills--especially organization, reading, writing and critical thinking--will be developed to succeed in the course.

It is incumbent on us as residents of this country to know something about its cultural traditions. It is also fascinating to learn about the cultural traditions of the United States, since doing so helps us better understand the culture we are a part of and why we are the way we are, both individually and collectively. (Note that I will use "United States" and "America" interchangeably in this class.)

You will become a more independent learner through the self-discipline that success in this course will require. You'll also do a lot of writing: if you complete all the requirements of the class, you will write the equivalent of 50 pages of double spaced academic writing. That workload is spread fairly evenly throughout the class so it should not be onerous if you keep up.

Prerequisite & Workload

While there is no prerequisite for this course, all formal requirements of this section require good writing skills, and eligibility for English 1A would be a distinct advantage—having completed English 1A would be better still. There is a fair amount of reading for this course. Students should expect to spend at least 10-12 hours per week on work related to the course.

Grading

Points in the class will be accrued on the following basis: weekly quizzes, 14 x 10 points each (25%); weekly bulletin board postings, 14 x 10 points each (25%); first essay, 140 points (25%); final essay, 140 points (25%), for a total of 560 points.

Earning 90% or more of the points will earn an A, 80%, a B, 70% a C; 60% a D.

Lessons & Quizzes

We will take weekly quizzes whose intent is to "encourage" you to keep up with the reading, so it is important that you don't procrastinate. Once you begin the quiz, you have 30 minutes to respond to two questions (you'll have four to choose from). Web CT will not disconnect you when the thirty minutes have elapsed. The quizzes will ask questions about specific aspects of the week's reading

This syllabus includes only the major reading assignment for the lesson. Most lessons also include additional shorter reading assignments, either within the lessons themselves or via links to other websites.

Each week's lesson becomes available on Thursday at noon so that you can get started on the reading. The quizzes for each lesson open (become available) on Saturdays at noon. You must start the quizzes by the following Tuesday at 11 pm--thus you have four days to take each quiz. I am not very sympathetic about computer problems that arise in the last hour that a quiz is available; as a rule, I do not extend quiz deadlines. The software will bar your access after 11 pm on the due date. I will score each question (two per quiz) from 0-5. For each question, you'll receive 5 points for an answer which is correct, generally accurate in spelling and grammar, and of appropriate length (at least 125 words each--approximately one half of a double-spaced typewritten page); you will receive fewer points for answers which are lacking in one of these areas. I will not only score your quizzes but comment on the strength and weakness of your work: these comments are available by returning to the quiz and reviewing your answers and my comments. There are 14 quizzes and thus 140 points possible for quizzes.

Reflections

This is a "discussion" class, except that our discussions will be in written form and will take place on the class bulletin board. You will write "reflect posts" in response to questions I will ask about each lesson's readings and you will post your comments to the class discussion board. You can earn up to 7 points for your comments. I also expect you to read and comment on the postings of your classmates, and up to 3 points for each lesson will come from these "responding posts." Your primary (7 point) posts should be 250-500 words and your responding posts should be at least 125 words. Shorter posts will receive fewer points. your "primary"Reflect posts are due by Wednesday night--this is the post where you'll address the qquestions I ask in the lesson. Your "responding" post is due on Thursday (as late as you want--I won't begin to read them until Friday morning.)

Thus you'll have a bit of work due on Tuesday (a quiz), Wednesday (your primary discussion post) and Thursday (your response to at least one classmate on the discussio board).

Essays

Students will write two five-seven page essays for the course. The first will be due by Oct. 19, the second by Dec. 14.

I wish it were unnecessary to point this out, but. . . The Internet makes it very easy to find information to submit as though it were your own work. This is called plagiarism, a form of cheating. The Internet also makes it not very difficult to locate the source of text that doesn't quite sound like it was written by a student in an introductory course. Plagiarism on any course assignment will result in you forfeiting all credit for the assignment. Feel free to use the internet as a resource but remember to always acknowledge work which is not your own.

First essay: The themes and biographical figures for the first half of the course come from the 17th through the 19th century in American culture: Winthrop, Jefferson, Emerson, etc. are all long dead. For your first essay, choose one person, one prose text, one poem, and one painting from prior to the year 1900 to describe an aspect of American culture which is "extinct," an idea, a value, a way of life, that is no longer part of American culture, or is such a small part as to be unnoticeable. Also discuss whether the decline of your theme is a good or a bad thing, or how good and bad are mixed in the change you see. A large part of your grade will be based on your ability to use materials from the class or related to the class in your essay.

Second essay: The themes and biographical figures for the second half of the course come from the 20th century in American culture. For your final essay, choose one person, one prose text, one poem, and one painting from after the year 1900 to describe an aspect of American culture which is "new," an idea, a value, a way of life, that was not previously a part of American culture, or was such a small part as to be unnoticeable. A large part of your grade will be based on your ability to use materials from the class or related to the class in your essay.

The following chart indicates how I will convert essay scores and class point accumulations into letter grades. Note that the left column refers to essays while the right colum refers to your final class grade. RCC does not allow the awarding of +/- grades for courses.