Extra Credit

Earn credit (or the equivalent) for 3 quizzes for each project completed. Answers are due no later than 11 p.m. on Tuesday, December 15. Include a Works Cited page, or no credit will be given for the assignment.

Assignment One

Write a 2-page paper discussing in some detail at least two cases in which the concept of substantive due process/unenumerated rights has been important.

Use at least 3 sources for your research.

Assignment Two

Write a 2-page paper discussing recent developments in infant cognition/cognitive development.

Use at least 3 sources for your research.

Assignment Three

Write a 2-page paper reviewing one of the following books (available at the library)

Next to the color line [electronic resource] : gender, sexuality, and W.E.B. Du Bois / Susan Gillman and Alys Eve Weinbaum, editors. Imprint Minneapolis : University of Minnesota Press, c2007.

Color of violence : the Incite! anthology / Incite! Women of Color Against Violence. Imprint Cambridge, Mass. : South End Press, c2006.

Guyland : the perilous world where boys become men / Michael Kimmel. Imprint New York : Harper, c2008. Edition 1st ed.

Beyond the dyad [electronic resource] : conceptualization of social networks / editors, Michael Lewis, Keiko Takahashi. Imprint Basel : S, Karger, c2005.

Assignment Four

Write a 2-page paper discussing the history of the concept of chivalry, beginning in the Middle Ages.

Final Short Paper Assignment

Here's your short paper assignment for next Tuesday. Let me know if you have questions; have fun!

Short Paper 3: Marriage and Family Arrangements

Reading for Thursday December 3

Hi All,

Here's the reading for Thursday. Note: scroll down, I've had you start in the middle of a chapter, so when you first open the PDF you won't see anything (I covered up the partial paragraph to make it obvious where to start your reading).

Don't forget, there will be a quiz on this reading, as well as the previous reading.

Marriage in U.S. History

Updated Schedule

Here's the newly updated schedule for the rest of the semester: Humanities 160 New Schedule

Femininity in America

Reading for Tuesday, December 1

Here's a link to your reading for when we get back from the holiday: Marriage, a History Chapter 1.

Let me know if you have any trouble with the link. Enjoy!

Presentation: Masculinity in America

Reading for November 10

Here's your reading for November 10; you can watch, listen to, or read the entire debate here: science of gender and science.

Reading for November 3

Here are links to your readings for Tuesday, November 3.

Trying again with the first reading. Email me if you have problems with these links. See you Thursday!

Reading 1

Reading 2

Group Work: Sex and Culture

1. Have each member of the group share the object they brought in, and they're essay, for the second short essay assignment. Everyone in the group should actively listen: ask questions, add insights, take notes, and participate as each person shares.
2. As a group, decide which of the cultural objects has the most potential for a deep analysis. That will be the object you present and talk about to the class.
3. Then, as a group, think about what messages we can take about cultural attitudes to sex from that object. What messages do you get about whether it's good, bad, or neutral to have sex, when, under what conditions, and with whom. Do you get different messages if you're a man or a woman? Are there messages there about what kind of sex is deemed socially "good" and what's deemed "bad"? What messages do you get about what it means to be sexy, or what it means to be sexual? Are those different if you're a man or a woman? Are they different if you're heterosexual, homosexual, bi-sexual, asexual? What messages do you get about gender roles? What it is to be masculine or feminine?
   
4. On Tuesday you'll give your presentations. You'll show whatever you brought in to the class as a whole, and then discuss it in depth. If you've brought a film, you might want to give a brief introduction, show a whole clip, then talk about it a bit more at length. You will have about 10 minutes to present.
   

The Nude

Don't forget to do your readings, posted below, so that you have the background information to follow the presentation.

Short Paper 2

Humanities 160: Birth, Sex, and Death
Short Paper 2
Sex and Culture

Bring in some cultural object that you think reflects ideas or attitudes about sex. It can be a scene from a movie, a magazine, a game, a book, what have you.

Write a 2-page paper in which you say what attitudes and assumptions are reflected in your example. Try to analyze the object in as much depth as you can. Some questions you can ask yourself as you think about the example you chose:

o Are there any people portrayed in the example? Do they seem strong, weak, indifferent? What makes them seem that way?
o Who, if anyone, is sexually aggressive and who, if anyone, is sexually passive? Are men and women treated the same way (if both are featured)?
o Does the example seem to comment at all about the goodness, badness, or appropriateness of the objects or actions featured? What comment do you think it makes?
o Imagine switching the genders of the people featured – would the way they’re portrayed strike you as unusual or noteworthy in any way? Why or why not? What if you switched the sexuality of the people involved? What about the gender expression?
o Who do you think is the audience for this expression? What messages do you think it sends to that audience?
o What is the history of that object (for example, if you were looking at magazine advertisements, in what ways have they changed over time, and in what ways have they stayed the same)?

Your paper should be typed, double-spaced, in 11- or 12-point font, and with 1” margins (approx. – leave me enough room to write in the margins). Don’t use a cover page.


Here's a link to a PDF of the assignment.

Reading for October 8

Here's the link for your reading for Thursday. Let me know if you have any questions. See you then!

Don't forget we're doing 2 quizzes on Thursday.

Reading for October 6

Hi all; here's the link for your reading for Tuesday. There will be a short quiz at the beginning of class on the reading. Let me know if you have any questions.

Discussion Questions from 9.24

Please give your own response to these questions by 2 a.m. on Sunday morning; then read your colleagues' thoughts and respond to them by 2 a.m. on Tuesday morning. Have fun! I hope it'll be an interesting discussion.

Remember to treat everyone with dignity and respect.

1. The movie argues that romantic love could withstand quite profound changes in personal qualities - what do you think about that?
2. What do you think about the relationship between love and sex implied by the movie?
3. What else did you find particularly interesting about the concept of love raised by the movie?
   

Project for 9.29

…this touch binds and unbinds two others in a flesh that is still and always untouched by mastery. Dressing the one and the other without and within, within and without in a garment that neither evokes, not takes pleasure in the perversity of the naked but contemplates and adorns it, always for a first time, with an in-finite, un-finished flesh. Covering it, uncovering it again and again, like an amorous impregnation that seeks out and affirms otherness while protecting it...

The most subtly necessary guardian of my life is the other’s flesh.

--Luce Irigaray, An Ethics of Sexual Difference

Assignment
For Tuesday, bring in your favorite expression of love. That is, something that you think captures some insight about what love is, how it feels, what are its obligations, moods, or consequences.

This can be a poem, a section of a book, a scene from a movie, a song, a short story, or anything else that makes some statement, or asks some question, that you think is particularly insightful about love. A photograph of someone you love is not an expression of love. It's a more or less realistic depiction of that person. A song that you really really love is not an expression of love unless the song itself says something about love - the thing you bring in must actually express something about love.

Reading for Thursday September 10

Here's a link to a PDF of the reading for Thursday, 9.10.

Love, Law, and Civil Disobedience

This is an excerpt from a longer work; it's a very short reading, so be sure you spend time on it.

There will be a quiz on the reading this Thursday.

First Short Paper - Due 8.27

First Short Paper: Community Celebrations of Birth
Humanities 160 – Birth, Sex, and Death

Topic
When a new baby is born or adopted, she’s not merely entering the world, but also entering into a whole set of communities – her family; the set of friends and extended family that will know her and watch her grow up; the region she grows up in; and possibly ethnic or religious communities, among others.

Traditionally, many communities have recognized the arrival of a new member with a celebration, and the celebration will be full of symbols representing central values or ideals of the community. (A symbol is something that stands for or represents something else; for example, a lion is a symbol of courage.) The clothes people wear, objects used, gifts given, actions taken, the location of the party, and the way the baby is dressed, for example, might all be symbolic. In the act of welcoming the new member, the community reaffirms its defining values and beliefs.

Instructions
Write a 1- to 2-page paper in which you

1. Identify the values and beliefs that are central to your way of thinking about yourself and your communities, then

2. Suggest some ways in which each of those values or beliefs could be represented in a community celebration of the birth or adoption of a new child. Explain in detail how each symbol you suggest is meant to represent a particular value or belief.

Think of yourself as creating a new celebration. If you’re a member of a religious group that has its own ritual for a new child, imagine a celebration that would happen in addition to the religious ritual, for example.

Try to imagine something that you and your friends/community would actually do, and be creative in the symbols you think of to represent your values and community!

Your paper should be in essay form and typed, double-spaced, and in 11- or 12-point font.

* I would suggest giving the new mother/parents some time to rest and holding the party at least a few days after the actual birth.

Here's a link to a pdf of the assignment: Community Celebrations of Birth

Birth Customs and Rituals

Here is a PDF of the reading for Thursday, 8.20

"Defining the Moral Community" by Mary Anne Warren.

Syllabus Fall 2009

Adapted from image (c) Piotr Gryko under Creative Commons attribution/share alike

Humanities 160:
Mystery of Humanity—Birth, Sex, and Death

Fall 2009 Professor Colleen Boyle
Room B-2 devushka99@gmail.com
9:40 – 11 a.m. PS-117, x4289
Section 8627 Office hours: 12:40 – 1:30 p.m.

Introduction
In what ways are humans unique among beings, and in what ways are we similar to other beings? What is the process by which we interact with and perceive the world, and how does this shape our experiences and view of ourselves? How does culture affect our perception and interaction with the world? To what extent are human qualities universal, and to what extent are we irreconcilably different from one another, either as individuals or as members of a culture? What duties do we owe ourselves by virtue of our humanity? What do we owe to others? These are all questions that we wrestle with as we struggle to find out place in the world as human beings.

Course Description
This course examines the uniqueness of humans, drawing from multiple disciplines and focusing on five life events and questions: birth, death, gender and sex, marriage, and the question of how to live a good life. It will look at cultural impact and possible universal human qualities.

Course Goals
By the end of the course, the student will have learned

1. How disciplines like biology, psychology, cognitive science, philosophy, religion, the creative arts, and law contribute indispensably to our understanding of ourselves as humans and our attempts to discover what it is to live a fulfilled human life.
2. To develop concise, detailed 1-2 page papers in which they explore an issue raised in class presentations and discussion, present a clear point of view on the issue, and present their own carefully developed ideas in support of that point of view.
3. To word together effectively in groups to develop and clearly present an extended consideration of a topic raised in lecture and class discussion.
4. To begin to synthesize, compare, and critically evaluate the contributions of different disciplines to our exploration of human nature and meaning.
5. To have a more sensitive understanding of the ways in which grappling with the issues raised by the humanities helps us to develop a more engaged, perceptive, and nuanced life.

Required Books
Materials to be handed out in class or accessed on-line. Copies of the readings are also available on reserve in the library. See the schedule (attached) for details.

Requirements
1. Students should come to class regularly and be prepared to discuss the assigned reading, the previous class lecture, and the issues raised by both. Being prepared means being able to reiterate the central points of the reading or other assignment, to point out questions that call for further study, and to respond respectfully and intelligently to other students.

2. We will have a short quiz on the assigned reading at the beginning of every class meeting. The quizzes make up 10% of your grade, so be sure to keep up with the reading and come to class on time!

3. Students will complete the following assignments:

Three 1-2-page short essays: 20%
Midterm Examination: 15%
Final Examination: 15%
Group Projects: 25%
Participation: 15%
Daily Quizzes 10%

3. All projects should be submitted on time. Late projects will be graded down by 1/3 of a grade for every day of lateness, including weekends. If you must miss class because of a serious illness or emergency, contact me right away so that we can arrange an extension to the project.

4. It is essential for success in the course that you complete all assignments and readings on time, that you set aside time to engage with the assignments seriously and openly, and that you come to each class prepared. Group projects, daily quizzes, and participation together count for 55% of your course grade, so you cannot pass the course if you have excessive absences. Contact me if you must miss any portion of the class because of an emergency or illness to schedule a make-up assignment. You should be prepared to spend 4 – 6 hours outside of class each week working on reading, writing and other homework assignments, reviewing notes, completing projects, and working with your group.

Standards
For this course, it doesn’t matter if your grammar is imperfect. It does matter that you approach all of your projects with honesty, openness, clarity, and rigor; that you approach the issues raised by your reading, class discussion, and lectures with all of your intelligence and sensitivity, and that you genuinely try to incorporate your deepening understanding into your own projects and group work. You should express yourself as clearly and concisely as possible in your essays and answers. It does not matter what position you choose to defend in your work. It does matter that you clearly present your position, think carefully about your reasoning, and take account of issues and arguments we have covered in class.

The following are general grading standards: A an excellent, detailed account of the issue assigned, demonstrating an unusual level of
sensitivity in the attempt to grapple with the assigned project, and making use of careful and original reflection and a strong attempt to engage the issue.
B a good grasp of the issue, demonstrating sensitivity in the attempt to grapple with the assigned project, and making use of some original reflection and an attempt to engage the issue.
C a basic grasp of the issue, demonstrating some sensitivity in the attempt to grapple with the assigned project, with little evidence of original reflection or attempt to engage the issue.
D failure to grasp the issue, demonstrating little sensitivity in the attempt to grapple with the project; demonstrates a low level of knowledge gained from reading, lecture, and discussion.
F no attempt to engage the assigned project; demonstrate a very low level of knowledge gained from reading, lecture, and discussion.

Slight variations will be indicated with a +/-

Group Projects
A major component of your grade will be the group projects you’ll work on throughout the semester. Your grade for group work will be comprised of two equal parts: one will be the overall quality of the group project itself; the second part will be the level of your own participation in the creation of the content of your group’s project. You will be expected to attend every in-class group meeting, to participate actively in those meetings, to have your own contribution to the group project prepared on time, and to work cooperatively and constructively with your fellow group members. Failure to do so will be reflected in the individual portion of your group project grade.

Plagiarism and Academic Integrity
The standard penalty for violations of academic integrity in this course will be an F grade for the course. Such violations include cheating on an exam, helping someone else to cheat, resubmitting a paper written for another class, and plagiarism. Plagiarism is the representation of someone else’s words or ideas as one’s own. The most egregious cases of plagiarism are easy to avoid because they are so obviously dishonest:
• turning in someone else’s paper as your own
• allowing someone else to turn in a copy of your paper as his or her own
• downloading a paper from the internet and altering it a little to fit the class
• employing a “research service”
Be warned: instructors are quite adept at recognizing cases of plagiarism.

Other cases of plagiarism are more subtle. Sometimes students plagiarize unwittingly, out of carelessness or ignorance of the standards for attributing ideas to their sources. However, ignorance is no excuse. You are responsible for knowing the standards and taking care to follow them.

Whenever you make use of another’s words or ideas in a paper, you must give proper credit. Usually this means inserting a footnote or a parenthetical reference. If you’re not sure how to give a proper reference, consult a style guide or your instructor. Your instructor can also answer questions about when you must give a reference. If in doubt, play it safe.

You must provide a reference not only when you use the exact words of another, but also when you paraphrase her words, summarize her ideas, or borrow her metaphors.

When you do use someone’s exact words, be sure to mark them as such, either by putting them in quotation marks or by setting them off from the main text and indenting them on both sides. Be careful not to change the wording at all in a direct quotation; if you must change it, use square brackets

When you paraphrase, state the author’s ideas in your own words. Don’t just rearrange the words in the sentence and replace some of the words with synonyms. Note: even though you’re using your own words, you still need to give a reference, since the idea is not yours.

You may not work with anyone else on any of the assignments unless I specifically instruct you to do so. All of your written work must be original and unique.

Etiquette
During the class period, please turn off all non-medical electronic devices. Yes, that means your laptop and your phone, even for texting. For emergency contact, please instruct your contact to call police services. Private conversations are not appropriate during class.

We will be discussing a variety of sensitive issues in the course. You may hold passionate beliefs about some or all of those issues. Please remember to always treat the opinions and beliefs of your classmates with dignity and respect, even when you strongly disagree with those opinions. You may be asked to leave the class if you fail to treat any of your colleagues with civility.

Be respectful of the class and of your colleagues. You are not forced to attend class; therefore, if you would prefer to engage in other activities such as checking email, texting your friends, chatting with friends, or surfing the web, please do so elsewhere. Many students make enormous personal sacrifices to attend college; please don’t disrupt their class. You will be asked to leave if you’re disrupting class. While you are in the classroom, you are expected to make a genuine attempt to engage with the classroom activities.

Disabled Students Programs and Services
The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 504, requires Contra Costa College to make all programs accessible to qualified individuals with learning, physical, or psychological disabilities. Students who would like to receive accommodations for their learning, physical, or psychological disabilities should contact the Disabled Students Programs & Services (DSPS) office (in the Student Services building) and schedule an appointment. (510) 235-7800 ext. 7220.

Please feel free to come see me in my office or to send me an email is you have a disability you think I should know about, or if there’s anything else I should know about.

Schedule Spring 09

This schedule is provisional and subject to change. Students are responsible for keeping abreast of changes, which will be announced in class.

All homework and essay assignments should be typed.

Assignments should be completed for the day on which they’re listed.

Introduction

8.18 Introduction: What are the Humanities?

Birth

8.20 Homework: read “Defining the Moral Community” by Maryanne Warren. In class: Humans and Persons.

8.25 Community Practices and Rituals of Birth.
8.27 First Short Paper due: what communities do you identify with? What values do those communities hold? Group work in class – create your own community celebration of birth.

9.1 Group work in class – create your own community celebration of birth.
9.3 Group presentations in class – community celebration of birth.

9.8 Group presentations in class – community celebration of birth.

Love

9.10 Homework: read excerpt from Love, Law, and Civil Disobedience. In class: the ethics of love.

9.15 In class – group brainstorm and class discussion: what is love?
9.17 Love as Valuing the Relationship.

9.22 Movie (Normal).
9.24 Movie continued; freewrite and discussion in class.

9.29 Homework: bring in your favorite description or expression of love.

Sex

10.1 Meanings of Sex.


10.6 Homework: read “Like a Virgin” by Hannah Blanke. Group project in class: make a quiz.
10.8 Homework: read “Disgust and Group Oppression” by Martha Nussbaum. In class - lecture: the Nude in Art.

10.13 Second Short Paper due! Write up of your cultural object: choose an example of some object of culture (a film, magazine, game, book, etc.) that reflects a particular view about sex. Write a 1- to 2-page paper describing all of the ideas you can think of reflected in the example. Bring your object into class. Group work in class.
10.15 Group work continued.

10.20 Group presentations in class.
10.22 Midterm Review. Midterm review sheet handed out.

10.27 Midterm

Gender

10.29 Homework: read “From Mama’s Boy to He-Man” by Stephen Ducat. What is it to be male? Sex, gender, and society.

11.3 Homework: read “Excerpts from Remarks at the Science of Gender and Science” by Elizabeth Spelke. What is it to be female? Sex, gender, and society.
11.5 Group work in class: how does your gender affect your view of yourself and your life?

11.10 Group work in class continued.

Marriage

11.12 Homework: read “What is Marriage For?” by E.J. Graff. What does marriage mean? What has marriage meant?

11.17 What is Marriage for? continued.
11.19 Third Short Paper due! Family arrangements in other cultures. In-class: discussion and presentations.

11.24 Grade update and counseling
11.26 No class: Thanksgiving

12.1 Homework: read “The Fundamental Right to Marry” by Evan Gerstmann. Equal Protection and the Right to Marriage.

Death

12.3 In class: freewrite and discussion.

12.8 Lecture: Death in Art.
12.10 Final Exam Review; take-home final exam handed out.

12.17 Final Exam due in my office, PS-117, no later than 11:10 a.m.

Updated Schedule Spring 2009

Humanities 160 Spring 09
Newly Updated Schedule

Note: Meet in room B-7 May 5 & 7!

5.5 Homework: read "The Right to Marry." In-class: discussion
5.7 The Right to Marry continued

5.12 Third Short Paper due! How does death influence life?
5.14 Final Exam review; take-home Final Exam given out

5.21 Final Exam due in my office, PS-117, no later than 11:10 a.m.

Femininity and American Culture

Here's the presentation from our discussion of femininity in American Culture, in case you missed it or want to review.

Don't forget to do your reading. Here's a link to the Spelke argument in case you've lost the reading.

Masculinity and American Culture

Here's the presentation from our discussion on masculinity, in case you missed it or want to review it again.

Don't forget to read your chapter "From Mama's Boy to He-Man" in the Steven Ducat book - this presentation assumes that you've done the reading.