1. INTRODUCTION TO HUMANITIESProfessor Will Adams • Wadams5@valenciacollege.edu • Building 2, Room 234
Mondays & Wednesdays, 3:00 – 5:45 PM • ProfessorAdamsRules.blogspot.com
“The humanities give us a chance to read across languages and cultural differences in order to
understand the vast range of perspectives in and on this world. How else can we imagine living
together without this ability to see beyond where we are, to find ourselves linked with others
we have never directly known, and to understand that, in some abiding and urgent sense, we
share a world?”
- Judith Butler
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Introduction to Humanities is a three credit hour course that familiarizes the student with the
world of humanities. Students will explore the essential concepts, historical evolution, and
fundamental nature of art, religion, architecture, music, language, politics, and philosophy.
These concepts will be presented and dissected by the professor so that the student will
understand how they continue to impact the contemporary world.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
§ To understand the continuation and evolution of the human experience by thinking
critically about humanity’s artistic, cultural, and intellectual development.
§ To learn of diverse civilizations’ contributions to the spheres of politics, religion, and art; as
well as to analyze how and why those contributions helped shape the contemporary
world.
§ To learn skills essential to critical thinking and synthesis of thought by carrying out
scholarly research and authoring thoughtful essays.
§ To analyze the philosophical development of humankind as a civilization and how that
may apply to today’s societal ideals.
REQUIRED TEXTBOOK
Gloria K. Fiero, Landmarks in Humanities. 3rd
Edition
Additional readings as assigned by instructor
EVALUATION FORMULA

2. 1. Attendance & Class Participation 25%
§ Attendance will be taken at the beginning of each class meeting, and count as part of
the attendance & participation grade.
§ Please be aware that, under Valencia’s Attendance Policy, there is no such thing as an
“excused absence”.
2. Cultural Event with Written Evaluation 10%
§ You will be required to attend one cultural event throughout the class’s duration.
§ Proof of attendance at said event must be furnished (i.e. ticket stub, program, souvenir,
etc).
§ A two-page “reaction” (i.e. non-research) paper is required. Be sure to answer the
following questions: What did I do? What did I think of it? What did I learn?
3. Research Project 20%
§ One three-page written research project is required.
§ Proper MLA style citation should be used for all written assignments.
§ One draft may be turned in for the professor’s review two weeks prior to the due date.
§ Wikipedia = A grade of zero. No exceptions.
§ All research projects should be stapled or bound by the student. This is not the
professor’s responsibility.
§ A detailed research project description will be distributed at a later date.
4. Quizzes 30%
§ Two short-form quizzes will be administered throughout the course of the class.
§ The format in which the quizzes are presented may vary.
5. Examination 15%
§ One long-form examination will be administered.
§ You will be given a study guide for the exam, at the instructor’s discretion.
GRADING SCALE
100 – 90% = A
89 – 80% = B
79 – 70% = C
69 – 60% = D
59 – 0% = F
SCHEDULE OF CLASS MEETINGS
DATE TASK
Monday, March 16
Introduce class
Distribute & discuss syllabus
Art of the Stone Age lecture
Cave art class activity
Proust Questionnaire homework

3. Read for next class: Pages 1 – 5 Connecting with the Cosmos:
Read for next class: Pages 6 – 13
Wednesday, March 18
Egyptian Mythology & Funeral Practices lecture
Sarcophagus Lid homework assignment
Read for next class: Pages 13 – 20 Architecture of the Afterlife:
Read for next class: Pages 29 – 35
Monday, March 23
Enthroned Upon Olympus: The Mythology of Ancient Greece
lecture
QUIZ #1
Read for next class: Pages 41 – 58
Wednesday, March 25
For Love of Wisdom: Ancient Greek Philosophy lecture
We Who Are About To Die Salute You: The Coliseum’s Bloody
History & Its Legacy lecture
Read for next class: Pages 73 – 83
Monday, March 30
The Calm Before the Storm: Feudalism, The Manor, & Medieval
Cities lecture
Something Wicked This Way Comes: The Black Death lecture
Read for next class: Pages 125 – 157
Wednesday, April 1
The Majesty of Monasticism: Preserving the Past for Perpetuity
lecture
The Inquisition: Investigating the Human Soul lecture
Read for next class: Pages 157 – 165
Read for next class: Pages 167 & 170
Monday, April 6
QUIZ #2
RESEARCH PROJECT ASSIGNED & LIBRARY VISIT
Read for next class: Pages 173 – 182
Wednesday, April 8
Fooling the Eye: Brunelleschi, Alberti, & Linear Perspective lecture
Two-point perspective activity
Two-point perspective homework
Read for next class: Pages 183 – 188, 219 – 222
Monday, April 13 Will in the World: Shakespeare & Elizabethan Theatre lecture
Read for next class: Pages 226 – 235
Wednesday, April 15
Watch A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Read for next class: Pages 269 – 275, 277 – 280
Monday, April 20
RESEARCH PROJECT DUE
The Triumph of Liberty: The Enlightenment, Modern Democracy,
and the American & French Revolutions lecture
Read for next class: Pages 326 – 337
Wednesday, April 22
CULTURAL EVENT DUE
FINAL EXAMINATION: 3:00 PM
ATTENDANCE
§ Students are expected to attend every class. Attendance will be taken and will count as a portion of
the final grade. After the FOURTH absence, a student has missed two full weeks of class. A notice
of Excessive Absences may be issued and the student may be withdrawn at the professor’s
discretion.
§ It is always the student’s responsibility to contact the professor about issues that may lead to
excessive absences.
§ It is also the student’s responsibility to arrange to receive class notes or handouts from missed
classes from the blog or fellow students. Do not contact the instructor for this information without
viewing the blog or contacting your classmates first!

4. LATE WORK & MAKE-UP POLICY
§ No late work will be accepted.
§ Quizzes or exams must be taken on, or before, the date assigned – and only with the instructor’s
explicit consent.
§ The final exam must be taken on the date published for final exams.
EXTRA CREDIT POLICY
§ Each quiz or test throughout the class’s duration will include one extra credit question equal to
10% of the quiz or test’s total point value (i.e. A five point extra credit question for a fifty point
test).
§ In addition, extra credit may be earned by writing more than the required number of pages for any
written assignment. Extra credit for extra written work will be given up to a maximum of 15% of
the assignment’s total point value.
§ No other extra credit opportunities will be available.
GUIDELINES FOR WRITTEN WORK
§ All written work should be set in Times New Roman 12 point font, with double spacing and
standard 1” page margins.
§ Additionally, each written assignment (with the exception of the research project) should begin
with the following header, placed at the top, left side of the first page:
Your First & Last Name
HUM1020 – 12:00 PM
Prof. Will Adams
Assignment Due Date (MM/DD/YYYY)
§ Minimum page totals for any written assignment require that the written page be filled in its
entirety to count as one page.
§ In other words, if a written assignment requires 2 pages, but the student only writes 1.5, the
student will not earn all possible points for the assignment.
CLASS CONDUCT
Conduct yourselves with maturity and respect for others.
ACADEMIC HONESTY
Plagiarism is intellectual theft and will not be tolerated. Presentation of the ideas and words of others
as if they are your own work constitutes plagiarism. Direct use of another author’s words or ideas, as
well as paraphrasing must be cited. Plagiarism in any work will result in a grade of zero for that
assignment.
STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

5. § Students with disabilities who qualify for academic accommodations must provide a notification
from the Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD) and discuss specific needs with the professor,
preferably during the first two weeks of class.
§ The Office for Students with Disabilities determines accommodations based on appropriate
documentation of disabilities.
COMPUTER & EQUIPMENT USE POLICY
§ Use of computers in the Business, IT, and Public Service classrooms at Valencia
§ Community College is restricted to those activities designated by the instructor to enhance the
class materials. Any other use is strictly forbidden. Inappropriate use includes, but is not limited to:
§ Use of computer to send E-mail or access Internet sites not specifically assigned in class.
§ Use of computer for job, internship, homework or other activities not assigned in class.
§ Modifying any hardware or software system configuration or setting.
§ Use of computers in the departmental open lab is limited to those activities involved with
preparing homework or coursework in this department and is subject to the same restriction as
listed above.
§ Computer use is remotely monitored; any student using computers inappropriately may be subject
to dismissal from class or banishment from the lab. Subsequent offense may be sent to the campus
administration for further disciplinary action.
DISCLAIMER
This outline may be altered, at the instructor’s discretion, during the course of the term. It is the
responsibility of the student to make any adjustments as announced.