Course Syllabus

Fall 2024 | HUM-2200-VO01 - Art & Culture in a Diverse United States

Online Class

Online courses take place 100% online via Canvas, without required in-person or Zoom meetings.

Faculty

Heath Fuller
View Faculty Credentials
View Faculty Statement
Hiring Coordinator for this course: Cindy Swanson

General Education Requirements

VSCS Arts & Aesthetics

Note

Many degree programs have specific general education recommendations. In order to avoid taking unnecessary classes, please consult with additional resources like your program evaluation, your academic program catalog year page, and your academic advisor.

Courses may only be used to meet one General Education Requirement.

Course Description

This interdisciplinary course offers the opportunity to re-examine 19th-21st century art and culture in the United States through the lens of postcolonial and anti-racist thought. Students examine how a Eurocentric worldview has shaped ideas and concepts of value and beauty. Students explore the value, quality, influence, and integrity of the artistic and cultural expressions of Native American and African American communities and of Americans from immigrant and refugee backgrounds. The course examines short fiction, poems, essays, visual art, and music to see how individual artists and thinkers deliberately tackle and seek to dismantle racist and Eurocentric ways of thinking and seeing.

Essential Objectives

1. Define important terms such as colonialism, postcolonialism, neocolonialism, ethnocentrism, racism, and antiracism.
2. Identify how power structures and systems of thought have shaped perceptions of art and culture.
3. Identify the ways that colonial and ethnocentric perspectives have shaped ideas of beauty and quality to deliberately exclude and denigrate non-European ideas of beauty and quality.
4. Discuss the effect of colonization and systemic racism on the arts and cultures of Native American, African American, and immigrant communities and individuals.
5. Identify the ways that individuals and communities demonstrate resilience, flexibility, and agency through art and culture.
6. Examine how particular art/cultural objects may project a specific, inaccurate, or limited image of a culture.
7. Evaluate how interacting with cultural/art objects through different perspectives can bring about a perceived loss or gain in one’s identity when the lens changes.
8. Critically read, view, analyze, and evaluate selected works as they relate to postcolonial and antiracist thought.
9. Examine the historical, social, economic, political, and cultural circumstances that surround the creation of art.
10. Critically view and analyze short fiction, poems, essays, visual art, music, and elements of culture that overturn and dismantle the colonial narrative.

Required Technology

More information on general computer and internet recommendations is available on the CCV IT Support page. https://support.ccv.edu/general/computer-recommendations/

Please see CCV's Digital Equity Statement (pg. 45) to learn more about CCV's commitment to supporting all students access the technology they need to successfully finish their courses.

Required Textbooks and Resources

This course only uses free Open Educational Resources (OER) and/or library materials. For details, see the Canvas Site for this class.

Methods

• Lectures
• Readings & Other Materials (videos, podcasts, etc.)
• Discussion Forums
• Art Reflection Assignments (Choose between a Blog, Artistic Response, Podcast or Essay)
• Material Review Quizzes
• Journal Check-Ins

Each week, students will review their readings, materials, and a lecture in the first part of the week and then respond and have conversation about the material with classmates and their instructor in the discussion forums. To complete the week, there will be an assignment. These will alternate between quizzes, journals, and art reflection assignments. Throughout the online course, structured guidance will be provided in the form of "Weekly Greetings" and "What's Happening This Week?" pages. As your instructor, I will be available via e-mail and zoom to answer questions and provide clarity about expectations and assignments.

Evaluation Criteria

• Discussion Forum Participation (50 points)
• Art Reflection Assignments (15 points)
• Material Review Quizzes (15 points)
• Dialogue Journals (15 points)
• Check-In Journals (5 points)

Grading Criteria

CCV Letter Grades as outlined in the Evaluation System Policy are assigned according to the following chart:

	High	Low
A+	100	98
A	Less than 98	93
A-	Less than 93	90
B+	Less than 90	88
B	Less than 88	83
B-	Less than 83	80
C+	Less than 80	78
C	Less than 78	73
C-	Less than 73	70
D+	Less than 70	68
D	Less than 68	63
D-	Less than 63	60
F	Less than 60
P	100	60
NP	Less than 60	0

Attendance Policy

Regular attendance and participation in classes are essential for success in and are completion requirements for courses at CCV. A student's failure to meet attendance requirements as specified in course descriptions will normally result in a non-satisfactory grade.

• In general, missing more than 20% of a course due to absences, lateness or early departures may jeopardize a student's ability to earn a satisfactory final grade.
• Attending an on-ground or synchronous course means a student appeared in the live classroom for at least a meaningful portion of a given class meeting. Attending an online course means a student posted a discussion forum response, completed a quiz or attempted some other academically required activity. Simply viewing a course item or module does not count as attendance.
• Meeting the minimum attendance requirement for a course does not mean a student has satisfied the academic requirements for participation, which require students to go above and beyond simply attending a portion of the class. Faculty members will individually determine what constitutes participation in each course they teach and explain in their course descriptions how participation factors into a student's final grade.

Participation Expectations

Discussions are the heart of the online class. That's why we have requirements for them. Please be sure to follow the posting requirements each week (they are included in every discussion forum prompt) in order to receive full points.

Each week, you will need to make one initial post responding to my discussion prompt/s. This first post should be thoughtful, substantial, and show good critical thinking. Your first post is due by 11:59pm Thursday each week. You will then need to respond to at least 2 of your classmates' posts. These 2 replies to classmates’ posts will be due by 11:59pm Saturday each week. Single-word or single-sentence replies that agree or disagree with a classmate’s post will not receive full credit. I want to see well-built, thoughtful, detailed original posts and replies.

To sum up, I will expect you to have at least one (1) original post in the Discussion and thoughtful replies to two (2) of your classmates each week. I also expect you to respond to any questions that I might ask. The discussion forum will remain open until Sunday evening. If you wish to continue the conversation with your classmates into Sunday, making additional comments and replies, you may earn a few points of extra credit!

Missing & Late Work Policy

All assignments are due by 11:59pm of the day that they are listed as due. Anything received after midnight will be considered one day late. Unless you have made a special arrangement with me, assignments that are turned in late will lose two (2) points per day and will not be accepted after they are one (1) week overdue. Assignments that are not submitted within one week of their due date will receive a zero.

Because time management is challenging, I understand that deadlines might not always be met. But, you’re in luck. We're on the same team. Late submissions will be accepted with a penalty for one week after the assignment is due. Don’t want the penalty? Here’s an incentive. If you recognize a due date might be a problem, advocate for your success by following these steps:

1. Identify the problem

2. Contact me to propose a solution

3. Let’s negotiate

Accessibility Services for Students with Disabilities:

1. Provide disability documentation to the Accessibility Coordinator at your academic center. https://ccv.edu/discover-resources/students-with-disabilities/
2. Request an appointment to meet with accessibility coordinator to discuss your request and create an accommodation plan.
3. Once created, students will share the accommodation plan with faculty. Please note, faculty cannot make disability accommodations outside of this process.

Academic Integrity