San José State University Humanities Department 177AB_Syllabus.pdf · Chris Mooney, Storm World:...

Course Name, Number, Semester, and Year of 16 Please verify all web links are active prior to online publication. Revised on August 6, 2013

San José State University Humanities Department

-- SEMINAR SYLLABUS DRAFT-- Humanities 177A, ADVANCED HONORS IN INTEGRATED

SCIENCE, SOCIAL SCIENCE AND HUMANITIES, Fall, 2014

Contact Information

Instructor: James Lindahl, David Mesher, Lawrence Quill, Cynthia

Rostankowski, Janet Stemwedel, Bradley Stone (There will be

three instructors for this team-taught course; each will have

his/her own seminar syllabus. The lecture syllabus for the

course will include all lecture information, as indicated below.)

Office Location: Clark Hall 441

Telephone: (408) 924-4508

Email: [email protected]

Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays 3:00 to 5:00 p.m., Wednesdays 12:00

to 3:00, and by appointment.

Class Days/Time: Lecture: Tuesdays and Thursdays 10:30 -11:45

Seminar: Tuesdays and Thursdays 12:00-1:15

Classroom: Lecture: Washington Square Hall 207

Seminar: Dudley Moorhead Hall 208

Prerequisites: Successful completion of WST with an Objective score of 60 or

above and essay score of 8 or above; cumulative college GPA of

3.0 or above. 100W is a prerequisite, or co-requisite for the

course.

SJSU Studies Category: Over the two semesters of the course, the Studies Honors

Program satisfies areas: R (Earth and Environment), S (Self,

Society, & Equality in the US), and V (Culture, Civilization &

Global Understanding)

Faculty Web Page and MYSJSU Messaging

Copies of the course syllabus and major assignment sheets may be found on my faculty web page

at http://www.sjsu.edu/people/cynthia.rostankowski/courses/StudiesHonors/ accessible through

the quick links/faculty web page links on the SJSU home page after the first week of classes. You


are also responsible for regularly checking with the messaging system through MySJSU. This

will be used for updates, etc. I encourage you to check your MySJSU site at least once a week.

Course Description

SJSU Studies Honors is an integrated course that cultivates scientific study of the physical

universe and its life forms, studies individuals and groups with respect to their diversity, equality,

and the inequalities of institutions and practices of the USA, and develops appreciation for human

cultures and their diverse development globally over time. The upper division honors program,

SJSU Studies Honors, aims to accomplish several goals: 1. satisfaction of SJSU Studies

requirements (areas R, S, V) in a two-semester, lecture/seminar course sequence, 2. cultivation of

a learning community among students and the three-member faculty teaching team, 3. integration

of learning by disciplines and methodologies, 4. incorporation of the guidance and services of the

SJSU Career Center to prepare students optimally, and 5. effective retention and graduation of

both native and transfer upper division students.

Course Goals and Learning Objectives

SJSU Studies Learning Outcomes (SLO)

Area R - SLO1: Demonstrate an understanding of the methods and limits of scientific

investigation; distinguish science from pseudo-science; and apply a scientific approach to answer

questions about the earth and environment.

Area R - SLO2: Writers must understand material, be able to organize it logically, compare and

contrast facts and ideas, and draw conclusions. Students will apply their comprehension and

thinking skills in working with research materials to help them reach a level of understanding that

leads to clarity, conciseness and coherence in writing.

Area R - SLO3: Encourage students to act, listen and speak with open minds; to value individual

experiences and perspectives; to develop skills to work together in a cooperative manner on

behalf of the common good; and to appreciate differing viewpoints and ways of knowing, for the

purpose of promoting the free exchange of ideas that fosters a healthy and productive society.

Area R - SLO4: Issues of diversity shall be incorporated in an appropriate manner.

Area R - SLO5: Apply a scientific approach to answer questions about earth and the environment.

* * *

Area S - SLO1: Understand the issues of diversity, equality, and structured inequality across U.S.

cultures and institutions via perspectives from the social sciences, humanities and the arts.

Area S - SLO2: Students must satisfactorily complete a set of in-class/out-of class writing

assignments. Students will also be able to articulate their own cultural values and practice

engaging in civi1 discourse.

Area S - SLO3: Analyze issues of culture, diversity, equality, and structured inequality in the U.S.

context. In addition, students are able to take this knowledge and recognize, appreciate and

facilitate constructive interactions between people from different cultural, racial, and ethnic

groups within the U.S.


Area S - SLO4: From a macro perspective, students are able to examine and describe ethical

issues related to historical, social, political and economic processes that produce diversity,

equality, and structured inequalities in the U.S. On a more personal level, students examine the

ethical limits of interacting with culturally different persons.

Area S - SLO5: Satisfactory completion of writing assignments and assignments that require

library research and oral communication skills.

Area S - SLO6: Describe historical, social, political, and economic processes that produce

diversity, equality, and structured inequalities in the U.S.; describe social actions which have led

to greater equality and social justice in the U.S.; and recognize and appreciate constructive

interactions between people from different cultural, racial, and ethnic groups within the U.S.

Area S - SLO7: Examine how different identities (religious, gender, ethnic, racial, class, sexual

orientation, disability, and or age) are shaped by cultural and societal influences within contexts

of equality and inequality; and articulate and share their own cultural values with one another.

Area S - SLO8: Gain a deeper understanding of cultural identity, diversity, equality and

structured inequality in the U.S.; and reflect upon, analyze, and address the complex issues of

diversity and inequality in society.

* * *

Area V - SLO1: Appreciate human expression in cultures outside the U.S. and understand how

that expression has developed over time.

Area V - SLO2: Completion of writing requirement and demonstration of oral communication

skills.

Area V - SLO3: Compare systematically the ideas, values, images, cultural artifacts, economic

structures, technological developments, and/or attitudes of people from more than one culture

outside the U.S.

Area V - SLO4: Demonstrate their ability to articulate and discuss their values and engage in civil

discourse.

Area V - SLO5: Identify the historical context of ideas and cultural traditions outside the U.S. and

how they have influenced American culture. Assignments must utilize library research.




that expression has developed over time. An increased understanding of how traditions of cultures

outside the U.S. have influenced American culture and society, as well as how cultures in general

both develop distinctive features and interact with other cultures.

Area V – SLO8: Understand and appreciate different ideas, cultures, values, religions,

institutions, languages, and peoples of the world.


Required Texts/Readings

Your SJSU Studies Honors Reader is required for this course, and is available exclusively online

at my faculty website: http://www.sjsu.edu/people/cynthia.rostankowski/courses/1??A2013/

(please note, Reader is not yet available)

You will be asked to have reading assignments from this source available to you for class

discussion during seminar sessions. Please make sure you do so either by printing the

relevant material for the day, or having your electronic copy available in class. Class

participation will be negatively affected when students do not bring assigned readings to class.

Textbooks

Please note, students will read selections from many the works listed below. In some cases,

several books are listed, but readings from only one may be chosen. The aim is to provide a set

of rich and varied possibilities from which the teaching team may choose.

George J. Annas and M. A. Grodin (eds.), The Nazi Doctors and the Nuremberg Code

H. Arendt, Lying in Politics

C. Baudelaire, The Flowers of Evil

Z. Bauman and Lyon, D. Liquid Surveillance

E. Bernays, Propaganda

S. Bok, Lying

M. R. Calo, The Drone as Privacy Catalyst

Aimé Césaire, “Mississipi”

Robert Chambers, Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation

Charles Darwin, On the Origin of Species

Adrian Desmond and James Moore, Darwin: The Life of a Tormented Evolutionist

John Dewey, The Public and its Problems

Dingxin Zhao, The Power of Tiananmen: State-Society Relations and the 1989 Beijing Student

Movement

Martin Duberman, Stonewall

W.E.B. DuBois, The Souls of Black Folks

Esi Edugyan, Half Blood Blues

Ralph Ellison, Living with Music: The Jazz Writings

D. Ellsberg, Secrets

Buchi Emecheta, The Joys of Motherhood

Frantz Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth

Sigmund Freud, Civilization and Its Disicontents

Betty Friedan, The Feminine Mystique

Milton Friedman, Capitalism and Freedom

Peter Galison, Einstein's Clocks, Poincare's Maps

M. K. Gandhi, Hind Swaraj

Tejaswini Ganti, Bollywood: A Guidebook to Popular Hindi Cinema

Peter Godfrey-Smith, Theory and Reality

Alice Gorman and Beth O’Leary, A Fearsome Heritage: Diverse Legacies of the Cold War

John Gribbin, The Scientists, Random House, 2001

Paul Griffiths, A Guide to Electronic Music

Vaclav Havel, “A Call for Sacrifice: The Co-Responsibility of the West”

J.T. Howard and J. Lyons, 1942, Crowell, Modern Music: A Popular Guide to Greater Musical

Enjoyment

Langston Hughes, First Book of Jazz

A. Huxley, Brave New World

http://www.sjsu.edu/people/cynthia.rostankowski/courses/2A2013/


T. Huxley and Matthew Arnold, The Debate over Literature and Science

Mara Hvistendahl, Unnatural Selection: Choosing Boys Over Girls, and the Consequences of a

World Full of Men

James H. Jones, Bad Blood: The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment

LeRoi Jones, Blues People: The Negro Experience in White America, and the Music That

Developed From It

Maynard Keynes, The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money

Martin Luther King, Jr., “Letter from Birmingham Jail”

Stephen Kent, Ultimate History of Video Games

Philip Kitcher, Abusing Science: The Case Against Creationism

F. Kleiner, Garner’s Art through the Ages, 14th ed.

Thomas S. Kuhn, Structure of Scientific Revolutions

Keith J. Laidler, To Light Such A Candle, Oxford University Press

Timothy Lenoir, The Strategy of Life: Teleology and Mechanics in Nineteenth-Century German

Biology

Sinclair Lewis, Babbitt

W. Lippmann, The Phantom Public

Wynton Marsalis, Moving to Higher Ground: How Jazz Can Change Your Life

Chris Mooney, Storm World: Hurricanes, Politics, and the Battle Over Global Warming

G. E. Moore, Principia Ethica, on the Naturalistic Fallacy

Toni Morrison, Jazz

Friedrich Nietzsche, The Gay Science and Twilight of the Idols

Michael Ondatjee, Coming through Slaughter

G. Orwell, 1984

Marvin Perry, M. Berg and J. Krukones, Sources in European History Since 1900

Gerard Piel, The Age of Science, Basic Books, 2001

Karl Popper, “The Problem of Induction”

T. Pynchon, The Crying of Lot 49

L. Quill, Civil Disobedience – (Un)common Sense in Mass Democracies

John Rawls, A Theory of Justice

Dagobert D. Runes (ed.), Twentieth Century Philosophy: Living Schools of Thought Bertrand Russell, The Problems of Philosophy

Gene Santoro, Stir It Up: Musical Mixes from Roots to Jazz

Sapir-Worph Hypothesis

J. P. Sartre, Existentialism is a Humanism

Katherine Sharpe, Coming of Age on Zoloft

Léopold Sédar Senghor, “Black Woman,” “To New York”

P.W. Singer, Wired for War: The Robotics Revolution and Conflict in the 21st Century

Rebecca Skloot, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Tolstoy, “How Much Land Does a Man Need?”

M. Walzer, Political Action and the Problem of Dirty Hands

Booker T. Washington, Up from Slavery

James D. Watson, The Double Helix

H.G. Wells, J. Huxley, G.P. Wells, The Science of Life, 1929, The Literary Guild

Ludwig Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations

Malcolm X and Alex Haley, Autobiography of Malcolm X

Library Liaison

The Humanities Librarian is Peggy Cabrera . Please feel free to contact her and make an

appointment for advice and assistance as you research your essay. Her email address is

mailto:[email protected]


[email protected]. She is also available by appointment in the King Library, at 408-808-

2034. Additional information about humanities research is available at:

http://libguides.sjsu.edu/humanities.

Classroom Protocol

Each person is of intrinsic worth and is thus worthy of respect in all interactions; please keep this

awareness at the forefront of your considerations as you enter and exit your lecture and seminar

classrooms, and as you comport yourself in those classes (and in all of your other classes as well).

Treat guests with respect and courtesy. Respectful behavior includes silence when others are

speaking, entering the room quietly and inconspicuously, leaving the room during session only as

a matter of greatest urgency, being attentive to the class in progress, raising your hand if you wish

to be acknowledged, and refraining from all other interactions (personal and electronic) while

class is going on. This specifically includes refraining from cell phone use in any way during

class, and engaging in the use of your computer only for note-taking and referencing electronic

readings assignments. Please note that University policy recognizes any unauthorized use of a

cell phone or other technological device during an examination as grounds for failing the

examination.

Course Requirements, Grading Policy, and Assignments

SJSU classes are designed such that in order to be successful, it is expected that students will

spend a minimum of forty-five hours for each unit of credit (normally three hours per unit per

week), including preparing for class, participating in course activities, completing assignments,

and so on. More details about student workload can be found in . at

http://www.sjsu.edu/senate/docs/S12-3.pdf.

This course requires a significant amount of reading. Students are asked to read each scheduled

assignment prior to coming to class. This means that the readings listed by date on the reading

assignment schedule are to be read before the day those readings are listed. This also means that

students are to strive to understand the readings as well, not merely go through the motions of

poring over pages. Since the readings are often challenging, they should also be a source of

questions to keep in mind while listening to lecture, and to ask about during seminar. Expect to

spend approximately four to six hours per week in doing only the readings for this course. It is

not possible to work effectively in this course if one were to rely on the lectures and class

discussions alone. A variety of writing assignments will be assigned for this course, and they will

differ among instructors, but all instructors will assign topics that meet the writing requirements

for the various core areas. Please see the chart in this section for additional information about

the specific kinds of written assignments you will be asked to accomplish. Students will also be

asked to complete a lecture mid term examination, and final examinations for both the lecture

component of the class as well as the seminar component. In SJSU Studies Honors, one speech

during the first semester will be required. The speech during the seminar will be a persuasive

speech, four to five minutes in length, related to topics of the semester, and requiring research.

Examples might include advocating the acceptance of a new mode of governance in a developing

nation, or advocating new occupations and opportunities for women. A complete full sentence

outline of at least two pages is required, as well as a bibliography of sources. In preparation for

their speeches, students will be provided with evaluation guidelines to help prepare and assess

work. Explanations of the speech requirements are described in the SJSU Studies Honors 1??A

Reader, as well as in seminar discussions.

Written Assignments


http://libguides.sjsu.edu/humanities

../Downloads/University%20Policy%20S12-3


Your written assignments for this course are listed in the table below. Some are indicated as

“required,” that is, they must be completed and turned in to your instructor in order for it to be

possible for you pass the course (although completing them is, of course, no guarantee of passing).

Other assignments are indicated as both “required and rewritable” and are both required and may

be re-written so you may have the opportunity to improve your work. You will be required to

present a speech, and you must turn in an outline for your speech on the day of your presentation.

Although completing journal assignments is not required, it will be difficult to succeed well in

class without accomplishing them, since they are based upon the scheduled readings, and their

cumulative worth becomes significant in determining your end-of-semester grade. Failure to

complete and turn in a journal in a timely manner will be recorded as an “F” for that work. Due

dates for journals will be listed in the journal assignment handout.

Please note that the professor may change any of the following information for the benefit of the

class, should the need arise. Any change will be announced in class, and via MySJSU, if

necessary.

Table 1 Assignments Assignments Due

Date Value

Speech (outline about 2 pages) required day of 5%

Mid-term examination (in seminar) required 15 Oct. 10%

Final Exam (Lecture) required 12 Dec. 10%

Final Exam (Seminar) required 11 Dec. 10%

Reasoning in the Social Sciences Essay (4 pages) required and

rewritable

26 Sept. 10%

Research in Sciences Essay Project Topic (1-2 pages) required

and rewritable

10 Oct. 5%

Research in Sciences Essay Project: Annotated Bibliography (1-2

pages) required and rewritable

24 Oct. 5%

Research in Science Essay Project: The Essay (4-5 pages)

required and rewritable

11 Nov. 10%

Experiencing Art and Culture essay (3 pages) required and

rewritable

26 Nov. 5%

Reading Journals, quizzes, etc. (ten in all, 1.5% of grade each) day of 15%

Class participation 15%

Please note, this course must be passed with a C or better as a CSU graduation requirement to

complete each SJSU Studies Honors semester successfully. If a course grade of less than C is

earned, the student must repeat the course. Note that University policy F69-24 states, “Students

should attend all meetings of their classes, not only because they are responsible for material

discussed therein, but because active participation is frequently essential to insure maximum

benefit for all members of the class. Attendance per se shall not be used as a criterion for grading.”

All coursework will be evaluated in terms of letter grades A+ through F, with the values of the

letter grades as follows:

Table 2 Grade Values

A+ = 4.3 A= 4.0 A- = 3.7

B+ = 3.3 B = 3.0 B- = 2.7

C+ = 2.3 C = 2.0 C- = 1.7

D+ = 1.3 D = 1.0 D- = 0.7


F+ = 0.3 F = 0

University Policies

Dropping, Adding, Grade Forgiveness and Incompletes

Students are responsible for understanding the policies and procedures about add/drop, grade

forgiveness, etc. Refer to the current semester’s catalog policies section at

http://info.sjsu.edu/static/catalog/policies.html for University policies information. Specific

add/drop deadlines can be found under current academic calendar at

http://blogs.sjsu.edu/mysjsu/2011/08/17/fall-2011-registration-and-deadlines. Additional

Registrar’s calendar information for this semester can be found at this link

http://www.sjsu.edu/registrar/calendar/2114/index.htm. Late drop policy is available at

http://www.sjsu.edu/aars/policies/latedrops/policy/. Students should be aware of the current

deadlines and penalties for dropping classes. Grade forgiveness policy is available at

http://info.sjsu.edu/web-dbgen/narr/static/soc-spring/forgiveness.html. Information about the

latest changes is available at the Advising Hub, http://www.sjsu.edu/advising.

Consent for Recording of Class and Public Sharing of Instructor Material

University Policy S12-7, http://www.sjsu.edu/senate/docs/S12-7.pdf, requires students to obtain

instructor’s permission to record the course.

Common courtesy and professional behavior dictate that you notify someone when you are

recording him/her. You must obtain the permission of the course instructor to make audio or

video recordings in this class. Such permission allows the recordings to be used for your private,

study purposes only. The recordings are the intellectual property of the instructor; you have not

been given any rights to reproduce or distribute the material. If you wish to record a class

presentation, or specific material from the course, please discuss the specific request with your

instructor, and your request will be specifically approved or denied at that time. In classes where

active participation of students or guests may be on the recording, permission of those students or

guests should be obtained as well.

Course material developed by the instructor is the intellectual property of the instructor and

cannot be shared publicly without his/her approval. You may not publicly share or upload

instructor-generated material for this course such as exam questions, lecture notes, or homework

solutions without specific and explicit instructor consent.

Academic integrity

The University’s Academic Integrity Policy S07-2 is available at the following website:

http://www.sjsu.edu/senate/docs/S07-2.pdf . Your own commitment to learning, as evidenced by

your enrollment at San Jose State University and the University’s integrity policy, requires you to

be honest in all your academic course work. Faculty members are required to report all infractions

to the office of Student Conduct and Ethical Development. The website for Student Conduct and

Ethical Development is available at http://www.sjsu.edu/studentconduct/.

Instances of academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. Cheating on exams or plagiarism

(presenting the work of another as your own, or the use of another person’s ideas without giving

http://info.sjsu.edu/static/catalog/policies.html

http://blogs.sjsu.edu/mysjsu/2011/08/17/fall-2011-registration-and-deadlines/

http://www.sjsu.edu/registrar/calendar/2114/index.htm

http://www.sjsu.edu/aars/policies/latedrops/policy/

http://info.sjsu.edu/web-dbgen/narr/static/soc-spring/forgiveness.html

http://www.sjsu.edu/advising

http://www.sjsu.edu/senate/docs/S12-7.pdf

http://www.sjsu.edu/studentconduct/



proper credit), and use of unauthorized electronic technology during examinations will result in a

failing grade and sanctions by the University. For this class, all assignments are to be completed

by the individual student unless otherwise specified. If you would like to include in your

assignment any material you have submitted, or plan to submit for another class, please note that

SJSU’s Academic Policy S07-2 http://www.sjsu.edu/senate/S07-2.htm requires approval of

instructors.

Campus Policy in Compliance with the American Disabilities Act

If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability, or if you need to make

special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please make an appointment with

me as soon as possible, or see me during office hours. Presidential Directive 97-03 at

http://www.sjsu.edu/president/docs/directives/PD_1997-03.pdf requires that students with

disabilities requesting accommodations must register with the Accessible Education Center

(AEC) at http://www.sjsu.edu/aec to establish a record of their disability.

In 2013, the Disability Resource Center changed its name to be known as the Accessible

Education Center, to incorporate a philosophy of accessible education for students with

disabilities. The new name change reflects the broad scope of attention and support to SJSU

students with disabilities and the University's continued advocacy and commitment to increasing

accessibility and inclusivity on campus.

Student Technology Resources

Computer labs for student use are available in the Academic Success Center at

http://www.sjsu.edu/at/asc/ located on the 1st floor of Clark Hall and in the Associated Students

Lab on the 2nd floor of the Student Union. Additional computer labs may be available in your

department/college. Computers are also available in the Martin Luther King Library.

A wide variety of audio-visual equipment is available for student checkout from Media Services

located in IRC 112. These items include DV and HD digital camcorders; digital still cameras;

video, slide and overhead projectors; DVD, CD, and audiotape players; sound systems, wireless

microphones, projection screens and monitors.

SJSU Peer Connections

Peer Connections, a campus-wide resource for mentoring and tutoring, strives to inspire students

to develop their potential as independent learners while they learn to successfully navigate

through their university experience. You are encouraged to take advantage of their services

which include course-content based tutoring, enhanced study and time management skills, more

effective critical thinking strategies, decision making and problem-solving abilities, and campus

resource referrals.

In addition to offering small group, individual, and drop-in tutoring for a number of

undergraduate courses, consultation with mentors is available on a drop-in or by appointment

basis. Workshops are offered on a wide variety of topics including preparing for the Writing

Skills Test (WST), improving your learning and memory, alleviating procrastination, surviving

your first semester at SJSU, and other related topics. A computer lab and study space are also

available for student use in Room 600 of Student Services Center (SSC).

Peer Connections is located in three locations: SSC, Room 600 (10th Street Student Services

Building on the corner of 9th and San Fernando Street), at the 1st floor entrance of Clark Hall, and

http://www.sjsu.edu/senate/S07-2.htm

http://www.sjsu.edu/president/docs/directives/PD_1997-03.pdf

http://www.sjsu.edu/aec

http://www.sjsu.edu/at/asc/


in the Living Learning Center (LLC) in Campus Village Housing Building B. Visit Peer

Connections website at http://peerconnections.sjsu.edu for more information.

SJSU Writing Center

The SJSU Writing Center is located in Clark Hall, Suite 126. All Writing Specialists have gone

through a rigorous hiring process, and they are well trained to assist all students at all levels

within all disciplines to become better writers. In addition to one-on-one tutoring services, the

Writing Center also offers workshops every semester on a variety of writing topics. To make an

appointment or to refer to the numerous online resources offered through the Writing Center, visit

the Writing Center website at http://www.sjsu.edu/writingcenter. For additional resources and

updated information, follow the Writing Center on Twitter and become a fan of the SJSU Writing

Center on Facebook. (Note: You need to have a QR Reader to scan this code.)

SJSU Counseling Services

The SJSU Counseling Services is located on the corner of 7th Street and San Fernando Street, in

Room 201, Administration Building. Professional psychologists, social workers, and counselors

are available to provide consultations on issues of student mental health, campus climate or

psychological and academic issues on an individual, couple, or group basis. To schedule an

appointment or learn more information, visit Counseling Services website at

http://www.sjsu.edu/counseling.

http://peerconnections.sjsu.edu/


http://www.sjsu.edu/writingcenter

http://www.sjsu.edu/counseling


HUM 1??A, SJSU Studies Honors, Fall Semester, 2014 Course Schedule

Electronic Devices Policy – Required – Please read

To help foster the best possible learning environment for yourself and those around you, please avoid doing

anything in class that might distract the attention of others. Mobile technology can be especially

disruptive. During lectures, portable electronic devices may be used only for class-related purposes such as

taking notes; otherwise, they must be turned off. During seminars, portable electronic devices may only be

used in accordance with your seminar instructor's guidelines. During examinations, portable electronic

devices may never be used (except under supervision at the Disability Resource Center).


Table: Seminar Sections

Professor Location

Professor Mesher (tentative) Clark Hall 216

Professor Quill (tentative) Clark Hall 306

Professor Stone (tentative) Dudley Moorhead Hall 149B

What is listed below is a working schedule of projected lectures for SJSU Studies Honors,

1??A. Indications (by initials) of who would give which lectures is hypothetical, as are

dates, but the entire arrangement of this part of the syllabus suggests our current working

plans.

Course Schedule

Class Date Topics, Readings, Assignments, Deadlines

1. LQ

22

August.

Introduction to SJSU Studies Honors; explanation of the course, introductions of faculty. Our narrative plan for the course: Nature and Society – Who are we, and how do we make sense of our world? What do we endorse within our community, other communities? What is shared? n.b. Reading assignments for each lecture will be listed at the bottom of each cell.

2. BS

1859-1918

27

August.

The evolution of Evolution: a perspective on the development of theories of the

origin of our species, and the transformations of Social Darwinism.

Readings:

Darwin, On the Origin of Species, Chapter II “Variation Under Nature,” Chapter

III “Struggle for Existence,” Chapter IV “Natural Selection,” Chapter XIV

“Recapitulation and Conclusion;” Desmond and Moore, Chapter 21 “Murder;”

Lenoir, Chapter 6 “Teleomechanism and Darwin’s Theory;” Kitcher, Chapter 1

“Evolution for Everyone,” Chapter 3, “Darwin Redux.”




3. DM

29

August.

Nietzsche: The demise of Metaphysics and the Re-valuation of Values: “God is dead,” and the critique of morality. Readings: Nietzsche, “The Madman” and “Critique of Morality”

4. DM

3 September.

The Natural world in Literature and Art : the shift from Romanticism and Transcendentalism (i.e. American Romanticism) to Realism and Naturalism Readings: Wordsworth, “Tintern Abbey;” Tennyson, “In Memoriam A.H.H.;” Matthew Arnold, “Dover Beach;” Whitman, “Passage to India;” Chambers, Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation (selection)

5. LQ

5

September.

The Sources of the Unhappy Self: The ‘scientific’ discovery of modern notions of selfhood – the impact of the first world war on ideas of ‘progress’ – the unconscious – reason and irrationality – why we all speak ‘Freud’ now. Reading: Freud, Civilization and its Discontents

6.

BS

10 September.

How to understand artworks one has never encountered before: New Ideas of Creativity – Music doesn’t have to be pleasing, Art doesn’t have to be beautiful. Music: Classical music in the modern era: atonality, radical harmony, and the birth of electronic music Art: Van Gogh, Japanese prints, African masks, Australian Aboriginal art, Indonesian Gamelan music Readings: Griffiths, A Guide to Electronic Music (selections),; Kleiner, Gardner’s Art through the Ages (selections)

7. LQ

12 September.

Education and Society: Shifting sense of place of the USA in the world; Herbert Spencer, W.E.B. Du Bois, and Booker T. Washington and the Huxley-Arnold Debate – science vs literature. Readings: DuBois, Souls of Black Folks (selections); Washington, Up from Slavery (selections); Huxley and Arnold, The Debate over Literature and Science (selections)

8. DM

1919-1939

17 September.

World War I: Technology changes the way people make war, but the ways of the military change slowly; colonialism coming home to roost. Readings: Perry, Berg & Krukones; Sources in European History Since 1900 (selections)

9. JL 19 September.

The Roaring 20’s and the rise of Consumer Culture Readings: Time Magazine, vol.1 (1923) (a facsimile); S. Lewis Babbitt; Perry, Berg & Krukones; Sources in European History Since 1900 (selections)

10. BS

24 September.

The light bulb goes on: electricity, quantum theory and the startling changes they caused.

Readings: Laidler, To Light Such A Candle (selections); Gribbin, Chapter 11 “Let there be

Light;” Piel, Chapter 3 “Light and Matter;” Galison, Einstein's Clocks, Poincare's Maps (selections)



11. DM

26 September.

The Vienna Circle: science as a path to verifiable knowledge, and as a model for human interaction in an increasingly divided world, and Karl Popper: the role of falsifiability in the scientific method, the line between science and pseudoscience Readings: Godfrey-Smith, Ch. 2 “Logic Plus Empiricism;” Runes (ed.), Feigl, “Logical Empiricism,” and Popper, “Science: Conjectures and Refutations;”Popper, “The Problem of Induction”

12. DM

1 October. Modernism in the Arts and Literature – Modernism as rejection of pre-WWI world, Victorian values. De-humanization: Art influenced by new science and technology – the world no longer viewed on a human scale. Modernism as messenger of Quantum theory, etc. And in that role, rejected as decadent. Form follows function, Bauhaus, Cubism; Realism in the arts – German Expressionism and Hitler’s “degenerate art,” Political art in the USA: the WPA and the professional artist; Art in the Soviet Union and Communist China, populist art, Diego Rivera and Freda Kahlo Readings: Joyce, “Araby”; Kafka, “Metamorphosis”; Mann, “Death in Venice”; Faulkner, “A Rose for Emily”; poems by Amy Lowell, H.D., T.S. Eliot, E. E. Cummings. Colette, “Gribiche.” Kleiner, F. Gardner’s Art through the Ages, 14th ed. Chapter 29, “Modernism in Europe and America, 1900-1945”

13. BS

3 October. The Rise of analytic philosophy: Bertrand Russell, G.E. Moore and the Naturalistic Fallacy; Wittgenstein and new models of language and Linguistics; the Sapir-Worph hypothesis and linguistic relativity. Readings: Russell, The Problems of Philosophy (selections); Moore, Principia Ethica on the Naturalistic Fallacy; Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations (selctions); The Sapir-Worph Hypothesis (selections)

14. LQ

8 October. The Science of Emotion Management: How emotion displaced reason in politics – ‘constantly moving happiness machines’ – how cigarettes were sold to women – why Better Crocker says ‘add an egg’ – how citizens became consumers and loved it Readings: Bernays, Propaganda (selections), Dewey, The Public and its Problems (selections) Lippmann, The Phantom Public (selections) Seminar: MIDTERM EXAMINATION

15. BS

1940-

1960

10 October. Scientific Achievements and Shifting Paradigms: Kuhn on scientific paradigms and scientific revolutions ; Biology: discovery of the structure of DNA; Psychology: the birth of the Diagnostic Statistical Manual (DSM) Readings: Watson, The Double Helix (selections), Sharpe, Chapter 2 “A Short History of Medication;” Kuhn, Chapters II through IV, and Chapter X .

16. DM

15 October. Twentieth Century Economics - Keynes vs Friedman, and the rest of the World Readings: Friedman, Capitalism and Freedom (selection); Keynes, The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money; readings on twentieth century Communist economies.



17. LQ

17 October. Choice is not an Algorithm: ‘To be or not to be?’ Why making choices is what makes us human – How freedom survives in dark times – Why existentialism won and lost – Whither the humanist self? Readings: Sartre, Existentialism is a Humanism

18. BS

22 October. Human Striving, Human Rights: The Holocaust and other 20th century genocides. Harms done to humans in the name of scientific research (Nazi medical experiments, Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment, U.S. government syphilis research in Guatemala) Statements of human rights and the rights of human subjects of scientific research (Nuremberg Code, Belmont Report) What do we value as humans? What keeps us from seeing each other as fully human? Readings: Annas and Michael A. Grodin (eds.), T. Taylor, "Opening Statement of the Prosecution, December 9, 1946," "Judgment and Aftermath" J. Jones, Chapter 1,"A Moral Astigmatism,” Chapter 12 "Nothing Learned will Prevent, Find, or Cure a Single Case;" The Belmont Report.

19. LQ

24 October. The arts after WWII; film as art, avant-garde, cinema verite, new wave; abstract expressionism and the new center of the Artworld: the USA; world architecture responds to the wars. Readings: Kleiner, Gardner’s Art through the Ages, 14th ed. Chapter 30, “Modernism and Postmodernism in Europe and America, 1945-1980,”

20. BS

29 October. Jazz: American classical music, or the ultimate world music? Ragtime and Other Origins, From New Orleans to Kansas City, Soundtrack for the Harlem Renaissance, Race in the Big Band Era, Bebop and Free, Birth of the Cool, Latin Impact from Orfeu Negro to Buena Vista Social Club, European Recognition and American Reaction, Back to Africa – and Back. Readings: L. Jones, Blues People: The Negro Experience in White America, and the Music That Developed From It; Santoro, Stir It Up: Musical Mixes from Roots to Jazz; Esi Edugyan, Half Blood Blues; Toni Morrison, Jazz; Michael Ondatjee, Coming through Slaughter.

21: LQ

31 October. The Politics of Disobedience: Imperialism and colonialism – terrorism – non-violent resistance – technology and politics – non-violence today. Readings: Gandhi, Hind Swaraj, Quill, L. Civil Disobedience – (Un)common Sense in Mass Democracies (selections)

22: DM

1961-1980

5 November.

Revolutions of Resistance: Civil Rights Movements in the US. From Harlem Renaissance through March on Washington to present day issues. (International dimensions of civil rights struggle in US (Negritude, Malcolm X; AIM, Stonewall, other civil rights movements) Readings: King, Jr., “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” “I Have a Dream” Speech Autobiography of Malcolm X, “Mecca,” Ellison, Invisible Man, Prologue and Chapter 1; Duberman, Stonewall, Part Six, “1969,” Léopold Sédar Senghor, “Black Woman,” “To New York”; Aimé Césaire, “Mississipi.” Documentary: Stonewall Uprising from PBS, The American Experience



23: DM

7 November.

Science Big and Small: The Race to the Moon and the War on Cancer: Sputnik, manned space flight, the race to the moon and American self-image within international science and geopolitics. The war on cancer and the use of HeLa cells in culture to try to win it. Readings: Gorman & O’Leary. "An ideological vacuum: The Cold War in outer space." In A Fearsome Heritage: Diverse Legacies of the Cold War; Skloot, Chapter 1 “The Exam,” Chapter 4,“The Birth of HeLa,” Chater 17 “Illegal, Immoral, and Deplorable,” Chapter 22 “The Fame She So Richly Deserves.”

24: LQ

12 November.

The Rise of Human Welfare and the New Social Contract as a Political Goal: the Welfare State in the Western World; the Women’s Movement, communism, social re-construction: what should a society provide for its people? What does a thriving society owe other societies? Readings: Rawls, A Theory of Justice (Selections); Friedan, The Feminine Mystique (selections); Emecheta, The Joys of Motherhood (1st half)

25: DM

14 November.

Social Movements: Anti-Colonialism throughout Africa; Fanon, Algeria, and the Necessity of Violence: more influential than non-violence; Models of anti-colonial struggles in Africa: Algeria, Nigeria, South Africa - Post-independence examples. Readings: Emecheta, The Joys of Motherhood, (2nd half); Fanon, “Concerning Violence” and “Conclusion” Film: The Battle of Algiers

26: DM

19 November.

What is Art? Quantum Theory as Popular Culture: The Crying of Lot 49; PONG: the video game is born; Bollywood and the rise of World Cinema; Earth, Pop, and Site Art, Happenings Readings: Pynchon, T. The Crying of Lot 49 ; Kent, “Pong,” Ganti. Bollywood: A Guidebook to Popular Hindi Cinema (selections); Kleiner, F. Garner’s Art through the Ages, 14th ed. Chapter 31, “Contemporary Art Worldwide”

27: LQ

1981-

now

21 November.

The End of Innocence after ’68: Political disillusionment – Vietnam and its aftermath – Watergate – Lying in Politics – Dirty Hands. Readings: Ellsberg, Secrets (selections), Arendt, Lying in Politics (selections), Walzer, Political Action and the Problem of Dirty Hands (selections), Bok, S. Lying (selections).

28: DM

26 November.

New Science or Science Conundrums? The potential for new technologies: if we can make it, should we use it? GMOs, climate theories: political storms and actual storms; new reproductive technologies and the future of the family, and the role of ethics when no one knows you’re there (Ring of Gyges for the 21st century) Readings: Mooney, Storm World, Chapters 7through11; Hvistendahl, Part One, “Everyone Has Boys Now”



28 November.

Thanksgiving – no classes.

29: LQ

3 December.

iSPY – Big Brother or Brave New World? Surveillance – The rise and rise of ‘risk society’ – drones, micro-drones, nano-drones, and cyborgs – biometric security. Readings: Orwell, 1984 (selections), Huxley, Brave New World (selections), Calo, M. R. The Drone as Privacy Catalyst (selections), Bauman, Z. and Lyon, D. Liquid Surveillance (selections).

30: DM

5 December.

Freedom: Tanzania and Ujamaa, Tienanmen Square, Rwanda and Syria: Global Justice How do we change the world? Readings: Julius Kambarage Nyerere, “Ujamaa,” speech; Vaclav Havel, “A Call for Sacrifice: The Co-Responsibility of the West;” Dingxin Zhao, The Power of Tiananmen: State-Society Relations and the 1989 Beijing Student Movement (selections)

Final Exam

11 December.

Wednesday, December 11, 9:45-12:00 In Seminar Room. Bring green exam books!

Final Exam

12 December.

Thursday, December 12, 7:15-9:30, in Lecture Room, WSQ 207. Set your alarms!

San José State University Humanities Department

-- LECTURE and SEMINAR SYLLABUS DRAFT-- Humanities 177B, ADVANCED HONORS IN INTEGRATED

SCIENCE, SOCIAL SCIENCE AND HUMANITIES, Spring 2015

Contact Information

Instructor: James Lindahl, David Mesher, Lawrence Quill, Cynthia

Rostankowski, Janet Stemwedel, Bradley Stone (There will be

three instructors for this team-taught course; each will have

his/her own seminar syllabus. The lecture syllabus for the

course will include all lecture information, as indicated below.)

Office Location: Clark Hall 441

Telephone: (408) 924-4508

Email: [email protected]

Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays 3:00 to 5:00 p.m., Wednesdays 12:00

to 3:00, and by appointment.

Class Days/Time: Lecture and Seminar: Tuesdays and Thursdays 10:30 -11:45

Classroom: Lecture: Washington Square Hall 207

Seminar: Dudley Moorhead Hall 208

Prerequisites: Successful completion of WST with an Objective score of 60 or

above and essay score of 8 or above; cumulative college GPA of

3.0 or above. 100W is a prerequisite, or co-requisite for the

course.

SJSU Studies Category: Over the two semesters of the course, the Studies Honors

Program satisfies areas: R (Earth and Environment), S (Self,

Society, & Equality in the US), and V (Culture, Civilization &

Global Understanding)

Faculty Web Page and MYSJSU Messaging

Copies of the course syllabus and major assignment sheets may be found on my faculty web page

at http://www.sjsu.edu/people/cynthia.rostankowski/courses/StudiesHonors/ accessible through

the quick links/faculty web page links on the SJSU home page after the first week of classes. You

are also responsible for regularly checking with the messaging system through MySJSU. This

will be used for updates, etc. I encourage you to check your MySJSU site at least once a week.

Course Description

SJSU Studies Honors is an integrated course that cultivates scientific study of the physical

universe and its life forms, studies individuals and groups with respect to their diversity, equality,

and the inequalities of institutions and practices of the USA, and develops appreciation for human

cultures and their diverse development globally over time. The upper division honors program,

SJSU Studies Honors, aims to accomplish several goals: 1. satisfaction of SJSU Studies

requirements (areas R, S, V) in a two-semester, lecture/seminar course sequence, 2. cultivation of

a learning community among students and the three-member faculty teaching team, 3. integration

of learning by disciplines and methodologies, 4. incorporation of the guidance and services of the

SJSU Career Center to prepare students optimally, and 5. effective retention and graduation of

both native and transfer upper division students.

Course Goals and Learning Objectives

SJSU Studies Learning Outcomes (SLO) Area R - SLO1: Demonstrate an understanding of the methods and limits of scientific

investigation; distinguish science from pseudo-science; and apply a scientific approach to answer

questions about the earth and environment.

Area R - SLO2: Writers must understand material, be able to organize it logically, compare and

contrast facts and ideas, and draw conclusions. Students will apply their comprehension and

thinking skills in working with research materials to help them reach a level of understanding that

leads to clarity, conciseness and coherence in writing.

Area R - SLO3: Encourage students to act, listen and speak with open minds; to value individual

experiences and perspectives; to develop skills to work together in a cooperative manner on

behalf of the common good; and to appreciate differing viewpoints and ways of knowing, for the

purpose of promoting the free exchange of ideas that fosters a healthy and productive society.

Area R - SLO4: Issues of diversity shall be incorporated in an appropriate manner.

Area R - SLO5: Apply a scientific approach to answer questions about earth and the environment.

* * *

Area S - SLO1: Understand the issues of diversity, equality, and structured inequality across U.S.

cultures and institutions via perspectives from the social sciences, humanities and the arts.

Area S - SLO2: Students must satisfactorily complete a set of in-class/out-of class writing

assignments. Students will also be able to articulate their own cultural values and practice

engaging in civi1 discourse.

Area S - SLO3: Analyze issues of culture, diversity, equality, and structured inequality in the U.S.

context. In addition, students are able to take this knowledge and recognize, appreciate and

facilitate constructive interactions between people from different cultural, racial, and ethnic

groups within the U.S.

Area S - SLO4: From a macro perspective, students are able to examine and describe ethical

issues related to historical, social, political and economic processes that produce diversity,

equality, and structured inequalities in the U.S. On a more personal level, students examine the

ethical limits of interacting with culturally different persons.

Area S - SLO5: Satisfactory completion of writing assignments and assignments that require

library research and oral communication skills.

Area S - SLO6: Describe historical, social, political, and economic processes that produce

diversity, equality, and structured inequalities in the U.S.; describe social actions which have led

to greater equality and social justice in the U.S.; and recognize and appreciate constructive

interactions between people from different cultural, racial, and ethnic groups within the U.S.

Area S - SLO7: Examine how different identities (religious, gender, ethnic, racial, class, sexual

orientation, disability, and or age) are shaped by cultural and societal influences within contexts

of equality and inequality; and articulate and share their own cultural values with one another.

Area S - SLO8: Gain a deeper understanding of cultural identity, diversity, equality and

structured inequality in the U.S.; and reflect upon, analyze, and address the complex issues of

diversity and inequality in society.

* * *



Area V - SLO2: Completion of writing requirement and demonstration of oral communication

skills.

Area V - SLO3: Compare systematically the ideas, values, images, cultural artifacts, economic

structures, technological developments, and/or attitudes of people from more than one culture

outside the U.S.

Area V - SLO4: Demonstrate their ability to articulate and discuss their values and engage in civil

discourse.

Area V - SLO5: Identify the historical context of ideas and cultural traditions outside the U.S. and

how they have influenced American culture. Assignments must utilize library research.




that expression has developed over time. An increased understanding of how traditions of cultures

outside the U.S. have influenced American culture and society, as well as how cultures in general

both develop distinctive features and interact with other cultures.

Area V – SLO8: Understand and appreciate different ideas, cultures, values, religions,

institutions, languages, and peoples of the world.

Required Texts/Readings Your SJSU Studies Honors Reader is required for this course, and is available exclusively online

at my faculty website: http://www.sjsu.edu/people/cynthia.rostankowski/courses/1??A2013/

(please note, Reader is not yet available)

You will be asked to have reading assignments from this source available to you for class

discussion during seminar sessions. Please make sure you do so either by printing the

relevant material for the day, or having your electronic copy available in class. Class

participation will be negatively affected when students do not bring assigned readings to class.

Textbooks Please note, students will read selections from many the works listed below. In some cases,

several books are listed, but readings from only one may be chosen. The aim is to provide a set

of rich and varied possibilities from which the teaching team may choose.

David Z. Albert, Quantum Mechanics and Experience, (Harvard University Press, 1994).

Joseph S. Alper et al. (eds.), The Double-Edged Helix: Social Implications of Genetics in a

Diverse Society.

L. Andrews (2012) I Know Who You Are And Saw What You Did: Social Networks and the Death

of Privacy (New York: Free Press) [selections];

Misha Angrist, Here Is a Human Being: At the Dawn of Personal Genomics

Kwame Anthony Appiah, Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers

Hannah Arendt, World Alienation

J. Assange, State/Terrorist Conspiracies

A. Aspect, J. Dalibard, G. Roger, “Experimental Test of Bell’s Inequalities Using Time-varying

Analyzers” Physical Review Letters 49 1804 (1982).

B. Baack and Ray, E. The Political Economy of the Origins of the Military-Industrial Complex in

the United States

J.S. Bell, “On the Einstein Podolsky Rosen Paradox” Physics 1 #3 195 (1964).

W. Benjamin, “The Work of Art in an Age of Mechanical Reproduction”

Albert Borgmann, Technology and the Character of Contemporary Life

M. Born, The Bohr Einstein Letters, (Walker and Company, 1973).

Fritz Capra, The Tao of Physics: An Exploration of the Parallels Between Modern Physics and

Eastern Mysticism (Shambhala Publications, 1975)

Bernard Carr, ed. “Observation Selection Effects, Measures and Infinite Spacetimes”, N.

Bostrom (Universe or Multiverse, Cambridge University Press, 2007).

Rachel Carson, Silent Spring

Katherine Dahlsgaard, Christopher Peterson, and Martin EP Seligman. "Shared Virtue: The

Convergence of Valued Human Strengths Across Culture and History." Review of General

Psychology 9.3 (2005): 203

Heather Douglas, Science, Policy, and the Value-Free Ideal,

Gwynne Dyer, Climate Wars

A. Einstein, B. Podolsky, N. Rosen, “Can Quantum-mechanical Description of Physical Reality

Be Considered Complete?” Physical Review 41 777 (1935)

Francesco Francioni, "Beyond state sovereignty: the protection of cultural heritage as a shared

interest of humanity." Mich. J. Int'l L. 25 (2003): 1209.

Francis Fukuyama,. Our Posthuman Future (selections)

P. Galison and M. Minow (2005) ‘Our Privacy, Ourselves in the Age of Technological Intrusions’

in Human Rights in the ‘War on Terror’ ed. Richard A. Wilson (Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press), 258-94.

http://www.sjsu.edu/people/cynthia.rostankowski/courses/2A2013/

Edmund Gosse, Father and Son

John Gribbin, In Search of Schrodinger’s Cat: Updated Edition, (Black Swan, 1985)

Nick Herbert, Faster Than Light: Superluminal Loopholes in Physics, Nick Herbert (New

American Library, 1989)

R. Hofstadter, The Paranoid Style in American Politics (selections)

Jeffrey Johnson, "From Open Data to Information Justice." Midwest Political Science Association

Annual Conference. 2013

Philip Kitcher, Science, Truth, and Democracy

N. David Mermin, “Is The Moon There When Nobody Looks? Reality and the Quantum Theory,”

Physics Today, 85 38 (April, 1985)

Seth Mnookin, The Panic Virus

Nicoli Nattrass, The AIDS Conspiracy: Science Fights Back

Naomi Oreskes, "Science and public policy: what’s proof got to do with it?," Environmental

Science & Policy 7.5 (2004)

Chad Orzel, How to Teach Quantum Physics To Your Dog, (Oneworld Publications, 2010)

Neil Postman, Technopoly: the Surrender of Culture to Technology

Alastair I.M. Rae, Quantum Physics: A Beginner’s Guide, (Oneworld, 1985).

J. Savulescu and Bostrom, N. Human Enhancement (selections).

Gary Snyder, Turtle Island

Richard A. Spinello, and Herman T. Tavani, eds. Readings in Cyberethics. Jones & Bartlett

Learning, 2004. (selections)

Sherry Turkle , Alone, Together

Sharon Welch, "An ethic of solidarity and difference." Postmodernism, feminism, and cultural

politics: Redrawing educational boundaries (1991): 83-99

Noah Zerbe, "Feeding the famine? American food aid and the GMO debate in Southern

Africa," Food Policy 29.6 (2004)

Gary Zukav, The Dancing Wu-Li Masters (William Morrow, 1979).

Library Liaison

The Humanities Librarian is Peggy Cabrera . Please feel free to contact her and make an

appointment for advice and assistance as you research your essay. Her email address is

[email protected]. She is also available by appointment in the King Library, at 408-808-

2034. Additional information about humanities research is available at:

http://libguides.sjsu.edu/humanities.

Classroom Protocol

Each person is of intrinsic worth and is thus worthy of respect in all interactions; please keep this

awareness at the forefront of your considerations as you enter and exit your lecture and seminar

classrooms, and as you comport yourself in those classes (and in all of your other classes as well).

Treat guests with respect and courtesy. Respectful behavior includes silence when others are

speaking, entering the room quietly and inconspicuously, leaving the room during session only as

a matter of greatest urgency, being attentive to the class in progress, raising your hand if you wish

to be acknowledged, and refraining from all other interactions (personal and electronic) while

class is going on. This specifically includes refraining from cell phone use in any way during

class, and engaging in the use of your computer only for note-taking and referencing electronic

readings assignments. Please note that University policy recognizes any unauthorized use of a



http://libguides.sjsu.edu/humanities

cell phone or other technological device during an examination as grounds for failing the

examination.

Course Requirements, Grading Policy, and Assignments

SJSU classes are designed such that in order to be successful, it is expected that students will

spend a minimum of forty-five hours for each unit of credit (normally three hours per unit per

week), including preparing for class, participating in course activities, completing assignments,

and so on. More details about student workload can be found in . at

http://www.sjsu.edu/senate/docs/S12-3.pdf.

This course requires a significant amount of reading. Students are asked to read each scheduled

assignment prior to coming to class. This means that the readings listed by date on the reading

assignment schedule are to be read before the day those readings are listed. This also means that

students are to strive to understand the readings as well, not merely go through the motions of

poring over pages. Since the readings are often challenging, they should also be a source of

questions to keep in mind while listening to lecture, and to ask about during seminar. Expect to

spend approximately four to six hours per week in doing only the readings for this course. It is

not possible to work effectively in this course if one were to rely on the lectures and class

discussions alone. A variety of writing assignments will be assigned for this course, and they will

differ among instructors, but all instructors will assign topics that meet the writing requirements

for the various core areas. Please see the chart in this section for additional information about

the specific kinds of written assignments you will be asked to accomplish. Students will also be

asked to complete a lecture mid term examination, and final examinations for both the lecture

component of the class as well as the seminar component. In SJSU Studies Honors, one speech

during the first semester will be required. The speech during the seminar will be a persuasive

speech, four to five minutes in length, related to topics of the semester, and requiring research.

Examples might include advocating the acceptance of a new mode of governance in a developing

nation, or advocating new occupations and opportunities for women. A complete full sentence

outline of at least two pages is required, as well as a bibliography of sources. In preparation for

their speeches, students will be provided with evaluation guidelines to help prepare and assess

work. Explanations of the speech requirements are described in the SJSU Studies Honors 1??A

Reader, as well as in seminar discussions.

Written Assignments Your written assignments for this course are listed in the table below. Some are indicated as

“required,” that is, they must be completed and turned in to your instructor in order for it to be

possible for you pass the course (although completing them is, of course, no guarantee of passing).

Other assignments are indicated as both “required and rewritable” and are both required and may

be re-written so you may have the opportunity to improve your work. You will be required to

present a speech, and you must turn in an outline for your speech on the day of your presentation.

Although completing journal assignments is not required, it will be difficult to succeed well in

class without accomplishing them, since they are based upon the scheduled readings, and their

cumulative worth becomes significant in determining your end-of-semester grade. Failure to

complete and turn in a journal in a timely manner will be recorded as an “F” for that work. Due

dates for journals will be listed in the journal assignment handout.

Please note that the professor may change any of the following information for the benefit of the

class, should the need arise. Any change will be announced in class, and via MySJSU, if

necessary.

../Downloads/University%20Policy%20S12-3

Table 1 Assignments Assignments Due

Date Value

Experiencing Art and Sciences essay (3 pages) required and

rewritable

Mid-term examination (in seminar) required

15 Feb.

15 Mar.

10%

15%

Final Examination required 12 May 15%

Research in Sciences Essay Project Topic (1-2 pages) required

and rewritable

10 Mar. 5%

Research in Sciences Essay Project: Annotated Bibliography (1-2

pages) required and rewritable

24 Mar. 5%

Research in Science Essay Project: The Essay (10-15 pages)

required and rewritable

26 Apr. 20%

Reading Journals, quizzes, etc. (ten in all, 1.5% of grade each) day of 15%

Class participation – (includes three meetings with the Career

Center for evaluation and planning)

15%

NEED TO INCLUDE CAREER CENTER INFO!

Please note, this course must be passed with a C or better as a CSU graduation requirement to

complete each SJSU Studies Honors semester successfully. If a course grade of less than C is

earned, the student must repeat the course. Note that University policy F69-24 states, “Students

should attend all meetings of their classes, not only because they are responsible for material

discussed therein, but because active participation is frequently essential to insure maximum

benefit for all members of the class. Attendance per se shall not be used as a criterion for grading.”

All coursework will be evaluated in terms of letter grades A+ through F, with the values of the

letter grades as follows:

Table 2 Grade Values

A+ = 4.3 A= 4.0 A- = 3.7

B+ = 3.3 B = 3.0 B- = 2.7

C+ = 2.3 C = 2.0 C- = 1.7

D+ = 1.3 D = 1.0 D- = 0.7

F+ = 0.3 F = 0

University Policies

Dropping, Adding, Grade Forgiveness and Incompletes

Students are responsible for understanding the policies and procedures about add/drop, grade

forgiveness, etc. Refer to the current semester’s catalog policies section at

http://info.sjsu.edu/static/catalog/policies.html for University policies information. Specific

http://info.sjsu.edu/static/catalog/policies.html

add/drop deadlines can be found under current academic calendar at

http://blogs.sjsu.edu/mysjsu/2011/08/17/fall-2011-registration-and-deadlines. Additional

Registrar’s calendar information for this semester can be found at this link

http://www.sjsu.edu/registrar/calendar/2114/index.htm. Late drop policy is available at

http://www.sjsu.edu/aars/policies/latedrops/policy/. Students should be aware of the current

deadlines and penalties for dropping classes. Grade forgiveness policy is available at

http://info.sjsu.edu/web-dbgen/narr/static/soc-spring/forgiveness.html. Information about the

latest changes is available at the Advising Hub, http://www.sjsu.edu/advising.

Consent for Recording of Class and Public Sharing of Instructor Material University Policy S12-7, http://www.sjsu.edu/senate/docs/S12-7.pdf, requires students to obtain

instructor’s permission to record the course.

Common courtesy and professional behavior dictate that you notify someone when you are

recording him/her. You must obtain the permission of the course instructor to make audio or

video recordings in this class. Such permission allows the recordings to be used for your private,

study purposes only. The recordings are the intellectual property of the instructor; you have not

been given any rights to reproduce or distribute the material. If you wish to record a class

presentation, or specific material from the course, please discuss the specific request with your

instructor, and your request will be specifically approved or denied at that time. In classes where

active participation of students or guests may be on the recording, permission of those students or

guests should be obtained as well.

Course material developed by the instructor is the intellectual property of the instructor and

cannot be shared publicly without his/her approval. You may not publicly share or upload

instructor-generated material for this course such as exam questions, lecture notes, or homework

solutions without specific and explicit instructor consent.

Academic integrity The University’s Academic Integrity Policy S07-2 is available at the following website:

http://www.sjsu.edu/senate/docs/S07-2.pdf . Your own commitment to learning, as evidenced by

your enrollment at San Jose State University and the University’s integrity policy, requires you to

be honest in all your academic course work. Faculty members are required to report all infractions

to the office of Student Conduct and Ethical Development. The website for Student Conduct and

Ethical Development is available at http://www.sjsu.edu/studentconduct/.

Instances of academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. Cheating on exams or plagiarism

(presenting the work of another as your own, or the use of another person’s ideas without giving

proper credit), and use of unauthorized electronic technology during examinations will result in a

failing grade and sanctions by the University. For this class, all assignments are to be completed

by the individual student unless otherwise specified. If you would like to include in your

assignment any material you have submitted, or plan to submit for another class, please note that

SJSU’s Academic Policy S07-2 http://www.sjsu.edu/senate/S07-2.htm requires approval of

instructors.

http://blogs.sjsu.edu/mysjsu/2011/08/17/fall-2011-registration-and-deadlines/

http://www.sjsu.edu/registrar/calendar/2114/index.htm

http://www.sjsu.edu/aars/policies/latedrops/policy/

http://info.sjsu.edu/web-dbgen/narr/static/soc-spring/forgiveness.html

http://www.sjsu.edu/advising




http://www.sjsu.edu/senate/S07-2.htm

Campus Policy in Compliance with the American Disabilities Act If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability, or if you need to make

special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please make an appointment with

me as soon as possible, or see me during office hours. Presidential Directive 97-03 at

http://www.sjsu.edu/president/docs/directives/PD_1997-03.pdf requires that students with

disabilities requesting accommodations must register with the Accessible Education Center

(AEC) at http://www.sjsu.edu/aec to establish a record of their disability.

In 2013, the Disability Resource Center changed its name to be known as the Accessible

Education Center, to incorporate a philosophy of accessible education for students with

disabilities. The new name change reflects the broad scope of attention and support to SJSU

students with disabilities and the University's continued advocacy and commitment to increasing

accessibility and inclusivity on campus.

Student Technology Resources

Computer labs for student use are available in the Academic Success Center at

http://www.sjsu.edu/at/asc/ located on the 1st floor of Clark Hall and in the Associated Students

Lab on the 2nd floor of the Student Union. Additional computer labs may be available in your

department/college. Computers are also available in the Martin Luther King Library.

A wide variety of audio-visual equipment is available for student checkout from Media Services

located in IRC 112. These items include DV and HD digital camcorders; digital still cameras;

video, slide and overhead projectors; DVD, CD, and audiotape players; sound systems, wireless

microphones, projection screens and monitors.

SJSU Peer Connections

Peer Connections, a campus-wide resource for mentoring and tutoring, strives to inspire students

to develop their potential as independent learners while they learn to successfully navigate

through their university experience. You are encouraged to take advantage of their services

which include course-content based tutoring, enhanced study and time management skills, more

effective critical thinking strategies, decision making and problem-solving abilities, and campus

resource referrals.

In addition to offering small group, individual, and drop-in tutoring for a number of

undergraduate courses, consultation with mentors is available on a drop-in or by appointment

basis. Workshops are offered on a wide variety of topics including preparing for the Writing

Skills Test (WST), improving your learning and memory, alleviating procrastination, surviving

your first semester at SJSU, and other related topics. A computer lab and study space are also

available for student use in Room 600 of Student Services Center (SSC).

Peer Connections is located in three locations: SSC, Room 600 (10th Street Student Services

Building on the corner of 9th and San Fernando Street), at the 1st floor entrance of Clark Hall, and

in the Living Learning Center (LLC) in Campus Village Housing Building B. Visit Peer

Connections website at http://peerconnections.sjsu.edu for more information.

http://www.sjsu.edu/president/docs/directives/PD_1997-03.pdf

http://www.sjsu.edu/aec

http://www.sjsu.edu/at/asc/



SJSU Writing Center

The SJSU Writing Center is located in Clark Hall, Suite 126. All Writing Specialists have gone

through a rigorous hiring process, and they are well trained to assist all students at all levels

within all disciplines to become better writers. In addition to one-on-one tutoring services, the

Writing Center also offers workshops every semester on a variety of writing topics. To make an

appointment or to refer to the numerous online resources offered through the Writing Center, visit

the Writing Center website at http://www.sjsu.edu/writingcenter. For additional resources and

updated information, follow the Writing Center on Twitter and become a fan of the SJSU Writing

Center on Facebook. (Note: You need to have a QR Reader to scan this code.)

SJSU Counseling Services

The SJSU Counseling Services is located on the corner of 7th Street and San Fernando

Street, in Room 201, Administration Building. Professional psychologists, social

workers, and counselors are available to provide consultations on issues of student mental

health, campus climate or psychological and academic issues on an individual, couple, or

group basis. To schedule an appointment or learn more information, visit Counseling

Services website at http://www.sjsu.edu/counseling.

http://www.sjsu.edu/writingcenter



HUM 177B, ADVANCED HONORS IN INTEGRATED SCIENCE, SOCIAL SCIENCE AND HUMANITIES, Spring

Semester, 2015 Course Schedule

Electronic Devices Policy – Required – Please read

To help foster the best possible learning environment for yourself and those around you, please avoid doing

anything in class that might distract the attention of others. Mobile technology can be especially

disruptive. During lectures, portable electronic devices may be used only for class-related purposes such as

taking notes; otherwise, they must be turned off. During seminars, portable electronic devices may only be

used in accordance with your seminar instructor's guidelines. During examinations, portable electronic

devices may never be used (except under supervision at the Disability Resource Center).


Table: Seminar Sections

Professor Location

Professor Mesher (tentative) Clark Hall 216

Professor Quill (tentative) Clark Hall 306

Professor Stone (tentative) Dudley Moorhead Hall 149B

What is listed below is a working schedule of projected lectures for SJSU Studies Honors,

1??B. Indications (by initials) of who would give which lectures is hypothetical, as are

dates, but the entire arrangement of this part of the syllabus suggests our current working

plans.

Course Schedule

Week Date Topics, Readings, Assignments, Deadlines

1

Lecture

22

January

Introduction to SJSU Studies Honors, second semester

n.b. Reading assignments for each lecture will be listed at the bottom

of each cell.

2 DM

Lecture

27

January

How Mother Nature became “the environment”: artistic, social and

scientific attitudes and repercussions.

Readings:

Carson, Silent Spring (selections); Dyer, Climate Wars (selections);

Gosse, Father and Son (selections); Snyder, Turtle Island

(selections)


3 BS

Lecture

3

February

Embracing Science, Rejecting Science. What are the factors that

lead people to trust scientific claims and /or scientists? What are the

factors that lead people to reject scientific claims and/or scientists?

What are the risks when non-scientists are unable to evaluate the

credibility of scientific claims or scientists? Particular examples will

include attitudes towards vaccines in the US and in the developing

world, climate science denialism in the US, AIDS denialism in South

Africa, and attitudes towards genetically modified organisms in the

US and in the developing world.

Readings:

Mnookin, The Panic Virus (selections); Nattrass, Conspiracy:

Chapter 2 “AIDS origin conspiracy theories in the United States and

South Africa,” Chapter 5, “Science, Conspiracy Theory, and the

South African AIDS policy tragedy.” Oreskes, "Science and public

policy: what’s proof got to do with it?," Noah Zerbe, "Feeding the

famine? American food aid and the GMO debate in Southern

Africa,"

4 JL

Lecture

10

February

Postmodernism and Quantum Mechanics revisited

Readings:

Pynchon, Crying of Lot 49; and some selections from some of the

following: “The Dancing Wu-Li Masters”, Gary Zukav (William

Morrow, 1979). “The Tao of Physics: An Exploration of the

Parallels Between Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism”, Fritz

Capra (Shambhala Publications, 1975). “Quantum Mechanics and

Experience”, David Z. Albert (Harvard University Press,

1994). “How to Teach Quantum Physics To Your Dog”, Chad

Orzel (Oneworld Publications, 2010). “In Search of Schrodinger’s

Cat: Updated Edition”, John Gribbin (Black Swan,

1985). “Quantum Physics: A Beginner’s Guide”, Alastair I.M.

Rae (Oneworld, 1985). “Can Quantum-mechanical Description of

Physical Reality Be Considered Complete?”, A. Einstein, B.

Podolsky, N. Rosen, Physical Review 41 777 (1935). “On the

Einstein Podolsky Rosen Paradox”, J.S. Bell, Physics 1 #3 195

(1964). “Experimental Test of Bell’s Inequalities Using Time-

varying Analyzers”, A. Aspect, J. Dalibard, G. Roger, Physical

Review Letters 49 1804 (1982). “The Bohr Einstein Letters”, M.

Born (Walker and Company, 1973). “Observation Selection Effects,

Measures and Infinite Spacetimes”, N. Bostrom (“Universe or

Multiverse”, ed. Bernard Carr, Cambridge University Press, 2007).

“Faster Than Light: Superluminal Loopholes in Physics”, Nick

Herbert (New American Library, 1989). “Is The Moon There When

Nobody Looks? Reality and the Quantum Theory”, N. David

Mermin, Physics Today 85 38 (April, 1985).

5 LQ

Lecture

17

February

Human Freedom: The Final Act; Genetic determinism –

Technocracy – Social Engineering; algorithms to predict human

behavior, business community using models from social psychology

to manipulate – What is to be done?

Readings: Arendt, H. World Alienation, Fukuyama, F. Our

Posthuman Future (selections), Savulescu, J. and Bostrom, N.

Human Enhancement (selections).

(Area R, SLO 6)

6 LQ

Lecture

24

February

Conspiracy Culture; the origins of conspiracy thinking – the

Internet as Conspiracy Catalyst – Conspiracy Theory as the antidote

to Hypocrisy - The Bible, JFK, the CIA and UFOs –Democracy and

the Military Industrial Complex; too much information but without

sound judgment; e.g. moon landing as “hoax”

Readings:

Assange, J. State/Terrorist Conspiracies, Hofstadter, R. The

Paranoid Style in American Politics (selections), Baack, B. and Ray,

E. The Political Economy of the Origins of the Military-Industrial

Complex in the United States

(Area V SLO, 1, 3, 5,)

7 DM

Lecture

3 March Homo Faber – The new self in the age of Hi-technology; does

technology make you who you are?

Readings:

Turkle, Alone, Together (selections); Borgmann, Technology and the

Character of Contemporary Life (selections)

8

Lecture

10 March Who am I? Who are you? Who are we? How does science shape

how we understand ourselves (as individuals and as communities)?

How do the ways we understand ourselves shape the direction of

science and the ways we use its products? How do we assert our

individuality or make common cause with others? What sorts of

“otherness” present special challenges to our solidarity?

Readings:

Appiah, Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers

(selections); Angrist, Here Is a Human Being: At the Dawn of

Personal Genomics (selections); Alper and Beckwith, “Genetics,

Race, and Ethnicity: Searching for Differences” Douglas, Chapter 4

“The Moral Responsibilities of Scientists.” Kitcher, Chapter 14

“Research in an Imperfect World.”

9

Lecture

17 March Re-thinking the arts; what counts as art in the age of technology?

Readings

Kleiner, F. Gardner’s Art through the Ages, 14th ed.

W. Benjamin, “The Work of Art in an Age of Mechanical

Reproduction”

10

Lecture

24 March Spring Recess – no classes

11

Lecture

31 March Cesar Chavez Day – no classes

12 JS

Lecture

7 April To whom do we have duties in a world of cyberspace?

Readings:

Spinello, Richard A., and Herman T. Tavani, eds. Readings in

Cyberethics. Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2004. (selections); Johnson,

Jeffrey. "From Open Data to Information Justice." Midwest Political

Science Association Annual Conference. 2013.

13

Lecture

14 April World Architecture: Iceland, Dubai

Readings:

Readings by and about the following architects: Zaha Hadid, Ieoh

Ming Pei (addition to the Louvre), Frank Gehry, Guenter Behnish,

Renzo Piano & Richard Rogers (Pompidou Ctr), Norman Foster

14 LQ

Lecture

21 April Cybersecurity in the age of Facebook: Who knows who we are, and

why do we let them?

Readings:

L. Andrews (2012) I Know Who You Are And Saw What You Did:

Social Networks and the Death of Privacy (New York: Free Press)

[selections]; P. Galison and M. Minow (2005) ‘Our Privacy,

Ourselves in the Age of Technological Intrusions’ in Human Rights

in the ‘War on Terror’ ed. Richard A. Wilson (Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press), 258-94.

15

Lecture

28 April

The new reading: Reading About instead of Reading; Critical

Thinking in the Age of Technology

Readings:

Neil Postman, Technopoly: the Surrender of Culture to Technology,

selections

16

Lecture

5 May Recognizing difference, recognizing shared humanity

Readings:

Tsitsi Dangaremba, Nervous Conditions (about Anorexia in Africa);

Welch, Sharon. "An ethic of solidarity and

difference." Postmodernism, feminism, and cultural politics:

Redrawing educational boundaries (1991): 83-99. Francioni,

Francesco. "Beyond state sovereignty: the protection of cultural

heritage as a shared interest of humanity." Mich. J. Int'l L. 25 (2003):

1209; Dahlsgaard, Katherine, Christopher Peterson, and Martin E.P.

Seligman. "Shared Virtue: The Convergence of Valued Human

Strengths Across Culture and History." Review of General

Psychology 9.3 (2005): 203.

17 DM

Lecture

12 May It is all about you – the students.

Final

Exam 17 May 9:45 a.m. in Seminar

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