HUM2023 Humanities
Week 1 Discussion
Social Media
Over the years, one of the main focuses of the Humanities has been the "struggles" of many of the historical figures and all that they had to go through to become the giants that they were destined to be. Some of these figures suffered from mental illness, depression, and drug addiction. They had to overcome a number of obstacles. Overall, they suffered as they created the art that we have come to know and love. Some of those figures include, Vincent van Gogh, Emily Dickinson, Oscar Wilde, Virginia Woolf, Ray Charles, and Elvis Presley. In addition to struggling with their personal demons, some of these artists were only recognized posthumously (after their deaths).
Many would argue that today's artists, entertainers, and writers have to face few struggles, if any. Today's entertainers became overnight sensations because of vehicles like YouTube and shows like The Voice and American Idol. Instead of spending years as a "starving artist," one million views on YouTube can catapult a virtual unknown person into the spotlight. Once a video goes viral on the Internet, life for the featured "star" of that video will forever be changed.
In light of today's technology, is there such a thing as a "struggle" anymore? Explain your reasoning by giving examples.
HUM2023 Humanities
Week 2 Discussion
A Literary Adventure Options Menu: Forum
The written word has had an impact on the human condition for centuries. We have all been touched in some way or another by literature. This week, you will take a literary journey by searching the Internet for the pieces below. In addition to reading the story, you should find out something about the author of your chosen piece as well. After making your choice, come back and share your impressions of the story and explain how it contributes to our discussion of the Humanities.
Choose one of the following options (or find a piece of literature of your choosing to report on):
"A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner
"Girl" by Jamaica Kincaid
"The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin
"Exodus" by James Baldwin
HUM2023 Humanities
Week 3 Discussion
How Does Music Move You?
Often times, we as humans tend to gravitate to music that is familiar to us. Although we have a variety of music to choose from, rarely to do we try a genre of music that is new to us.
Option 1:
Listen to a song from a genre of music that you are not familiar with (Country, Classical, Rap, Pop, R&B, etc.) and share what you were most surprised about regarding this genre.
Option 2:
After listening to a song or piece from a genre that is new to you, explain why you would be open to hearing more music from this genre.
For both options, remember to share the:
Title of the song or musical piece
Artist or composer
Year the song or piece was made
Genre of music the piece falls under
HUM2023 Humanities
Week 4 Discussion
Reality TV and the Theater
"Today's generation didn't want to watch ancient actors reciting the same tired lines. They wanted to see themselves reflected onscreen - rude, raw, entitled. These kids needed to believe that they themselves were only one daring, controversial act away from being up on that screen themselves. "
- Melissa Jo Peltier, Reality Boulevard
Within the past few years, Reality TV has become a staple in the homes of people not just in America but around the world. Many celebrities have given in to the undeniable effect of Reality TV, choosing to have their own lives played out in front of the lens. The term "Reality TV Star" has been coined and is now being uttered on the lips of millions. However one feels about Reality TV, this wave of entertainment seems to be here to stay.
While form of low art achieves wild popularity and brings in significant profits to networks, attendance to Broadway theater performances is also at an all-time high. Perhaps low art and high art can thrive simultaneously.What do you think will be the lasting impact that Reality TV has on the Humanities and how we see ourselves as humans? Based on what you learned about the theater (which was not always considered high art) in this week's readings, what may be some future similarities and differences between Reality TV and the theater?
HUM2023 Humanities
Week 5 Discussion
Notes on Religion
Describe a religion that is not your own.
Choose from one of the following religions: Ancient Egyptian belief, Hinduism, Greek or Roman Polytheism, Native American Religion, Buddhism, Taoism, Judaism, Christianity, or Islam. You must choose a religion that is not your own.
Describe three features or tenets of the chosen religion.
Mention any written works and prophets.
Share how this religion compares to your religion or beliefs, even if you do not have a chosen "religion."
HUM2023 Humanities
Week 6 Discussion
My Hero
Choose a heroic figure you have read about. Examples might be: Theseus, Oedipus, Calaf in Turandot, King Arthur, Siddhartha, Moses, Mohammed, a cowboy hero, or Frodo from The Lord of the Rings.
Other examples may include people who are/were known for their humanitarian efforts, or who have led a movement (such as Mother Teresa or Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.).
Or, choose a heroic figure from a book, a film, or a comic/cartoon series with which you are familiar.
Introduce your chosen hero at the beginning of your response, and apply at least two of Campbell's characteristics as you elaborate on the person's life.
HUM2023 Humanities
Week 1 Assignment
Profiles in Humanities
Have you ever wondered what William Shakespeare's Facebook profile would look like, assuming he was alive today? Many of the historical figures from the Humanities died long before the advent of social media; however, that doesn't mean that we can't use what we know about a historical figure to suppose what their social media profile might look like.
Using the list of Humanities figures and the social media profile template that follow, you will research the Internet and the Online Library to find common information that your figure might use in his or her own social media profile. Approach the creation of the profile as though this figure is alive today and make the profile look and feel like an actual Facebook (or other social media) profile. Feel free to add any additional information that you feel would make this profile really stand out and be sure to add both a profile picture and a cover photo. Your written assignment requires APA format, as well as in-text and full reference page citation.
Click here to download a template that you can use to create a social media profile for the figure who you chose.
List of choices: Ludwig van Beethoven, Emily Dickinson, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Frank Lloyd Wright, Zora Neale Hurston, Vincent van Gogh, Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, Leonardo DaVinci, Mary Shelley, Alfred Hitchcock, Langston Hughes, Virginia Woolf, Albert Einstein, Ansel Adams, Joseph Campbell, Billie Holliday, Jane Austen, Edgar Allen Poe, Duke Ellington.
HUM2023 Humanities
Week 2 Assignment
Humanities Project - Thesis and Outline
For this piece of the Humanities Project, you will submit your topic choice along with your thesis and outline as a single 1-2 page Word document. This outline will be a guide of how your paper will flow.
For more details on writing your thesis and outline, see the Study Guide for Thesis and Outline in the Course Materials folder.
HUM2023 Humanities
Week 3 Assignment
Musical Artist
Choose a musical artist (from any music era) and provide a 1-2 page summary of the background or history of the artist. Next, pick one of his or her main works (songs or compositions) and explain:
The meaning
The musical elements
The contribution that this piece has had to the development of music
If possible, find a way to listen to the piece so that you can comment on your reaction to the work. Your written assignment requires APA format, as well as in-text and full reference page citation.
HUM2023 Humanities
Week 4 Assignment
Pick a Genre Choose your favorite film of all time. If you are not a fan of film, conduct some research on notable films from cinema history and choose one that appeals to you.
In a 1-2 page paper, describe unique features of your chosen film and genre and explain what you like and/or dislike about the genre. You are to analyze what makes your chosen film a good representation of the genre. Name the genre that your favorite film falls under (film noir, romantic comedy, the screen musical, the western, horror, suspense, thriller, documentary/docudrama, fictionalized biography, comedy drama, etc.). Your written assignment requires APA format, as well as in-text and full reference page citation.
HUM2023 Humanities
Week 5 Assignment
Humanities Project - Final Comparative Analysis is Due
The time has come to submit your final and complete Humanities Project paper. As a reminder, the requirements for this paper are listed below.
This paper should be written in traditional research paper format, should include two figures from the Humanities (one from the past and one figure from the present, or a completely different era from the other), and should compare and contrast their achievements.
Original research paper that is a minimum of 4-5 pages in length, double-spaced, 12 point, with a standard font. In general, pages consist of:
Title Page - Captivating title, your name, title of the course, date.
Body - 4-5 pages in length. Follow this rough outline:
Introduction - introduce subjects - (Remember you are comparing and contrasting two figures from different eras) Bring focus to your study through thesis statement.
First Point coming out of thesis statement
Support #1 from research
Support #2 from research
Personal observation
Etc.
Second Point coming out of thesis statement
Support #1 from research
Support #2 from research
Personal opinion
Etc.
Third Point (if needed) coming out of thesis statement
Support #1 from research
Support #2 from research
Personal opinion
Etc.
Conclusion - Reiterate (do not simply restate) your thesis. Remember to mention both subjects here and close with a striking point.
References Cited page - in APA format.
Follow APA format for the paper and for citing your sources. APA guidelines are available through the Online Library.
Proper mechanics (clear, concise, and complete sentences and paragraphs), proper spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
Four to five sources for the paper from your research. Please use one or two sources as available from your college's Online Library. For assistance on researching in the library, see the Resources tab. Internet resources should be from credible sources.
Use statements and ideas that are your own writing and blend these in with your research. If you want to use actual words from a source, put them in quotation marks followed by an in-text citation showing that particular source.
HUM2023 Humanities
Week 1 Quiz
• Question 1 The humanities can be the starting point for a journey into self-knowledge.
True
False
• Question 2 Which of the following figures has been called both a “universal man” and a “Renaissance man” for his wide ranging contributions to both the humanities and the sciences, including the creation of the Mona Lisa and plans for an early version of an airplane?
Michelangelo
Leonardo da Vinci
Rembrandt
Vincent van Gogh
• Question 3 For some poets and writers in the late Middle Ages, nature was viewed as a sacred escape from the death and decay that the plague and poverty brought upon city life.
True
False
• Question 4 Which ancient Greek philosopher was famous for his method of teaching that emphasized asking a series of questions?
Aristotle
Diogenes
Socrates
Zeno
• Question 5 Which of the following passages from the Bible do environmentalists point to as evidence that humanity should be caretakers and not owners of the earth?
“So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27)
“God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.’” (Genesis 1:28)
“The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it” (Genesis 2:15)
“And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.’" (Genesis 2:16-7)
• Question 6 Many Native American cultures have long traditions of deeply spiritual relationships with nature that emphasize oneness between humanity and nature.
True
False
• Question 7 Romanticism emphasizes reason over emotion, the head over the heart.
True
False
• Question 8 All are aspects of the humanities except :
Philosophy
Mathematics
Music
Literature
• Question 9 The pleasure that beauty inspires within us is called "aesthetic."
True
False
• Question 10 Which of the following terms represents the portrayal of nature as “balanced, serene, and pleasing to the eye”?
Beautiful
Sublime
Picturesque
Naturalistic
HUM2023 Humanities
Week 2 Quiz
• Question 1 An emotional response to the humanities, which is named after an ancient Greek god is:
The Dionysian response
The Apollonian response
• Question 2 “Blank Verse” has
rhyme but no rhythm
rhythm but no rhyme
Alternating rhyme
Neither rhythm nor rhyme
• Question 3 How many lines does a Sonnet have?
14
7
12
10
• Question 4 Holden Caulfield is a hero in which of the following novels:
Ulysses
The Member of the Wedding
A Farewell to Arms
The Catcher in the Rye
• Question 5 Emily Dickinson had how many poems published in her life time?
3
7
10
12
• Question 6 Non-critical thinkers may be called:
Literalists
Figuratists
• Question 7 Which one of the following novels by John Steinbeck was about the westward migration of dispossessed Oklahoma farmers of the 1930’S?
East of Eden
The Grapes of Wrath
The Winter of our Discontent
Of Mice and Men
• Question 8 Which of the following is a novel written by James Fennimore Cooper?
The House of Seven Gables
Moby Dick
The Last of the Mohicans
Huckleberry Finn
• Question 9 The 1990 music drama “Miss Saigon” was based on which Opera?
Madame Butterfly
La Traviatta
Carmen
La Giaconda
• Question 10 Which of the following is considered the first Epic?
The Iliad
Aeneid
The Odyssey
Gilgamesh
HUM2023 Humanities
Week 3 Quiz
QUESTION 1“Lady Sings the Blues” is a song performed by which of the following blues singers?
QUESTION 2Which of the following musical techniques or styles was not used by J.S. Bach?
QUESTION 3Which of Beethoven’s symphonies is called “The Eroica”?
QUESTION 4Which of the following terms is not a musical term?
QUESTION 5When the melodic line of a piece of music is played against, not with, the accented beats of the rhythm accompaniment it is called what?
QUESTION 6The Beatles’ music was influenced by the culture and religion of which country?
QUESTION 7“Rap” had its origins in the 1970’s in the urban setting of which city?
QUESTION 8“Rock around the clock” was the theme song to which movie in the 1950’s?
QUESTION 9Which of the following singers is/was considered a “folk singer”?
QUESTION 10Which major American composer brought Jazz to Carnegie Hall in New York in the 1930’s?George Gershwin
HUM2023 Humanities
Week 4 Quiz
• Question 1 Which of the following film directors was considered “a master of suspense”?
• Question 2 Which early twentieth century Disney production introduced highly innovative color and artwork into the field of animated film and continues its popularity to the present day?
• Question 3 The Proscenium in a theater refers to what?
• Question 4 The song “As Time Goes by” was played in which of the following films?
• Question 5 In a film, the way that the camera is positioned in any given scene so it is clear which character is experiencing the action is called a
• Question 6 Aristotle divided tragedy into six parts. Which of the following is not one of the parts?
• Question 7 Which one of the following was not one of the Marx brothers?
• Question 8 Which American playwright wrote “Death of a Salesman” in 1949?
• Question 9 According to an Elizabethan stage convention, when an actor is alone on stage, speaking his thoughts aloud, this is called a
• Question 10 When a drama on stage or on film has exaggerated situations and emotions it is called what?
HUM2023 Humanities
Week 5 Quiz
• Question 1 Mahatma Gandhi was a lawyer.
True
False
• Question 2 Which French novelist wrote the novel “Les Miserables” in 1862, which called powerful attention to the poor in France?
Voltaire
Rousseau
Victor Hugo
Alexandre Dumas
• Question 3 The concept of “yin and yang” comes from which tradition?
Taoism
Confucianism
Hinduism
Buddhism
• Question 4 Who was the first major advocate of Stoicism?
Aristippus
Socrates
Plato
Zeno
• Question 5 The Dalai Lama is the leader of which segment of Buddhism?
Mahayana Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism
Tantric Buddhism
Zen Buddhism
• Question 6 What does the word “Zen” refer to in Zen Buddhism?
Piety
Obedience
Renunciation
Meditation
• Question 7 The fables of which Greek writer contain many stories and morals that stay with humanity from age to age?
Sophocles
Herodotus
Aesop
Homer
• Question 8 “The Great Spirit” is/was a concept in which society’s beliefs?
Ancient Egyptians
Ancient Greeks
Native Americans
Buddhists
• Question 9 Which American poet was greatly influenced by the religious thought of India?
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Walt Whitman
Robert Frost
Carl Sandburg
• Question 10 The concept of “Carpe Diem” is based on which theory of happiness?
Hedonism
Epicureanism
Stoicism
Aristotle’s philosophy of happiness
HUM2023 Humanities
Week 6 Quiz
QUESTION 1Who was the king of the gods in Roman mythology?
Juno
Apollo
Poseidon
Jupiter
QUESTION 2Early peoples acted out ceremonies to affect the behavior of the gods. What was this called?
Olympian chanting
Supplicant ceremony
Sympathetic magic
Ritual pleading
QUESTION 3Which of the following is not one of the characteristics of a hero according to Joseph Campbell?
A hero gives his or her life to something bigger than him/herself, to some higher end.
A hero performs a courageous act, either physical or spiritual.
A hero never has doubts about his or her actions
A hero is usually someone from whom something has been taken or who feels there's something lacking in the normal experience available, or permitted, to members of his society.
QUESTION 4In Greek mythology, the souls of brave warriors were believed to reside in an eternal paradise called
Atlantis
Elysian Fields
Avalon
Shangri-La
QUESTION 5Oedipus the King is a play written by which ancient Greek playwright?
Aeschylus
Sophocles
Euripides
Aristophanes
QUESTION 6Archetypes are mythic characters, events, symbols, and buried assumptions transmitted from one generation to another by the collective unconscious. Which psychologist developed this concept?
Sigmund Freud
Carl Jung
Alfred Adler
Abraham Maslow
QUESTION 7Which English poet wrote “Prometheus Unbound” in the 1800’s?
John Milton
Percy Shelley
Lord Byron
Robert Browning
QUESTION 8In the 1959 Brazilian film, Black Orpheus , based on an ancient Greek myth, Orpheus is in love with a mythical woman who dies, and he follows her to the underworld . What is her name?
Aphrodite
Athena
Eurydice
Aurora
QUESTION 9Stonehenge, an ancient stone circle, was erected as a means of predicting the seasons. Where is it located?
Ireland
Scotland
Wales
England
QUESTION 10The hero is an archetype found in almost every culture. The Irish novelist James Joyce coined what term to convey the belief that the concept of a hero is pretty much the same everywhere?
Monomyth
Panamyth
Unimyth
Equimyth
