Course Structure
Humanities is a two-hour team-taught class. The first hour is a large lecture class. All students should also be enrolled in a seminar hour, or small discussion group, which meets 2nd and 4th hours. In addition, most weeks we will have a Utility Hour. All of these are explained below.
A typical 5-day week will look like this:
A typical 5-day week will look like this:
Monday
1st hour lecture in Little Theater 2nd/4th hour history or literature seminar in D207/D211 |
Tuesday
1st hour lecture in Little Theater 2nd/4th hour history or literature seminar in D207/D211 |
Wednesday
1st hour lecture in Little Theater 2nd/4th hour "Utility Hour" in D207/D211 |
Thursday
1st hour lecture in Little Theater 2nd/4th hour history or literature seminar in D207/D211 |
Friday
1st hour lecture in Little Theater 2nd/4th hour history or literature seminar in D207/D211 |
See a sample weekly schedule here!
Lecture (First Hour)
Lecture is held first hour in the Little Theater. It is generally a college-style lecture delivered by one of the four Humanities teachers in his or her specialized discipline. This hour may also take the form of a team presentation, play, film, guest speaker, performance, panel, etc.
Seminar Hour (2nd or 4th)
Students also must be enrolled in a seminar hour, which meets either 2nd or 4th hours. Seminar hour alternates between history seminar and literature seminar. Students will generally attend two history seminars a week (with Ms. Bruggers) and two literature seminars a week (with Ms. Vail). (Art history will be covered during first hour only.)
While lecture will provide broad historical context and overviews of certain works, seminar is reserved for discussing specific readings. With only very few exceptions, these will all be primary documents, that is, documents written during the historical period in question. It is critical that you read these works in advance and come in with your questions and reactions. Please note that we do not expect you to fully understand these readings! In fact, we are delighted when students come in with questions about what they did not understand. These are often the most productive and stimulating seminars.
While lecture will provide broad historical context and overviews of certain works, seminar is reserved for discussing specific readings. With only very few exceptions, these will all be primary documents, that is, documents written during the historical period in question. It is critical that you read these works in advance and come in with your questions and reactions. Please note that we do not expect you to fully understand these readings! In fact, we are delighted when students come in with questions about what they did not understand. These are often the most productive and stimulating seminars.
Utility Hour
On normal five-day weeks, on Wednesdays during your seminar hour (2nd or 4th), we will have what we have dubbed the “utility hour.” This will be used for writing instruction/workshops, additional lectures, tests, on-line forums, and other activities. (Generally, students will report to either D207 or D211.) Please follow your schedule carefully!