An on-line multimedia interdisciplinary cross-cultural class on the great revolutions in thought which took place in Western Europe between 1750 and 1914, laying the foundations for the modern world. Normally offered Fall semesters only, beginning in August.
Hum 303 may be used to fulfill a General Education "H"
(humanities) or "M" (writing-intensive) course requirement for
students taking a degree at WSU, including those earning a BA in
Social Sciences through Distance Degree Programs. It may also be used by students at all WSU branches to fulfill the same General Education requirement for other degrees, including a degree in General Studies, Humanities. It may also be taken by WSU English majors doing a
concentration in Humanities and World Literature as part of that
concentration.
It may also be taken as an elective by anyone interested in
developing further an understanding of how the modern world came into
being and who enjoys the challenge of tackling rich, influential
works in a supportive environment. You do not have to be an enrolled
college student to take this class. If you wish to receive credit for
it at another institution you will have to negotiate credit for it at
that institution.
The course will involve reading classic literary and philosophical texts, examining works of art and music, discussing them on-line in threaded discussion groups, and creating written assignments to be submitted and graded by e-mail. This course can be taken from anywhere in the world. On-line students will be taking the course simultaneously with students doing a conventional version of the course on the Pullman campus of WSU, but will interact with them in Web-based discussions. Because DDP students do not do some of the written paper assignments turned in by Pullman students and do not participate in discussions in the physical classroom, they compensate by writing more in The Bridge on some assignments than the Pullman students.
Because these discussions are the heart of the
class, it is crucial that you be able to do your assignments by the
assigned due dates; this is not a traditional correspondence class in
which you can set your own schedule. You must be able to meet
deadlines consistently to pass.
Prerequisites are the ability to read sophisticated texts and
interpret them and appreciate and analyze great works of music and
art and the ability to write at the college level about the material
studied. Students should have some knowledge of European history, and
be prepared for complex, challenging, often controversial
material. This is not generally a suitable class for freshmen unless they have such background knowledge.
To take this course you will need:
Materials to be purchased for the course include six paperback
books. You will also rent from Distance Degree Programs a set of
prerecorded videotapes.
The books can be purchased from the Washington
State University Student Book Corporation at 800 937-4978, Extension
336 for Distance Degree Program courses. Specify that you need the
materials for Humanities 303. They can often supply inexpensive
second-hand copies. You are unlikely to save money buying new ones
from online book vendors.
Here are the required texts (do not substitute other
translations except where noted):
Click here to order books
online. Note that ours is a "semester-based course."
You can read more about the content of the course by clicking
here.
The on-line Classroom for Hum 303 (log in, using your login and ID). Although you cannot begin the course until the semester begins, you should familiarize yourself with the online environment of WebCT. If you are not yet registered for the class you can sample the syllabus online:
Off-campus DDP students use http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/hum_303/offcampus.html. On-campus students use http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/hum_303/oncampus.html.
The Distance Degree Programs home page. To contact Professor Paul Brians, write brians@wsu.edu.
Contact Washington State University Distance Degree Programs at 800-222-4978.
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