Humanities 9 Syllabus

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Humanities 9: The Ancient World — 2021-22

About the Course

Humanities at Eagle Ridge focuses on the study of the Great Books of the Western Tradition and is designed to meet the state of Minnesota graduation requirements for both History and English. Students will become familiar with many of the most important human efforts to understand what is true, good, and beautiful in the world around us and in ourselves, and will pursue the important questions humans have asked regarding morality, politics, religion, happiness, and human nature itself.

 

In Humanities 9 students will be introduced to the great texts, ideas, and events of the ancient world, specifically those of the Greek, Roman, and Hebrew cultures that form the foundation of Western civilization. The class employs a Socratic style of learning, which involves daily discussion of the assigned readings. The course meets for two periods daily.  

 

Primary Course Objectives

As a result of participating in this course, students will:

• Be introduced to some of the greatest and most influential texts ever written.

• Learn to appreciate and discuss the literature, ideas, and events in which Western civilization is rooted.

• Develop the skills of oral presentation and thoughtful dialogue as part of Socratic discussion.

• Develop the skills of cogent written expression through regular writing assignments and activities.

• Utilize note-taking skills throughout the class to use as a resource for further reflection and study.

• Explore the values of truth, goodness, and beauty in human experience.

• Become bigger, richer people.

 

Course Texts

The following are the most significant texts that we will be reading this year. We will not be reading each text in its entirety. These may be supplemented by smaller primary source texts and secondary source readings.

Semester One Texts:

• The Iliad, Homer

• The Odyssey, Homer

• The Peloponnesian War, Thucydides

• Greek Lives, Plutarch

• The Oresteia Trilogy, Aeschylus

• The Oedipus Trilogy, Sophocles

• Selected dialogues of Plato

• Selections from The Basic Works of Aristotle

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Semester Two Texts:

• The Early History of Rome, Livy

• The Rise of the Roman Empire, Polybius

• Roman Lives, Plutarch

• On Duties, Cicero

• The Aeneid, Virgil

• On the Nature of Things, Lucretius

• Meditations, Marcus Aurelius

• Selections from Genesis and Exodus

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Required Materials

You will be expected to have the following with you every day at the beginning of the class:

• Writing utensils: black or dark blue pens.

• Dedicated Humanities notebook for taking notes in class.

• Loose-leaf lined paper for in-class writing assignments.

• Folder or 3-ring binder for course handouts and papers.

• Current course text, which will be provided by the school.

• Eagle Ridge Planner for entering homework assignments.

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Coursework

• The structure of this course is simple: challenging readings, thoughful discussions, weekly written responses.

• Homework will primarily involve nightly readings from the current text plus regular writing assignments that explore the readings and class discussion.

•    Except for quizzes, which may be unannounced, homework assignments and due dates will be presented in class and posted online.

 

Academic Honesty

Be careful when writing to give credit if you are using someone else’s idea or wording — when in doubt, cite your source. The Eagle Ridge Academic Honesty policy states, “Any willful misrepresentation of another’s work or ideas as one’s own, cheating on an assignment or test, or plagiarizing, will result in a zero on the assignment for the first occurrence and a pillar referral. Further occurrences may result in the failure of the course.” This policy will be strictly enforced.

 

Homework Policy

This course meets for two periods daily, so there will be a greater volume of homework as well as more in-depth analysis than experienced in single-period courses. Because the course so heavily relies upon preparation outside of class, having your homework done prior to class is imperative. To do well, you must come to class prepared.

• All work is due at the beginning of class on the due date.

• All written work must be submitted in printed form (hard copy) — not via email or flash drive.

• Unless you are extremely ill, you are expected to complete all assignments, even if your absence is excused.

• For any absence, it is the your responsibility to obtain and complete missed work.

• Any unexcused late work will receive no more than 80% credit.

• All missing work — whether late or due to excused absence — is marked as missing in Infinite Campus.

 

Grading

Quarter grades are a composite of the following categories:

• 40% — Participation in Classroom Discussions

• 40% — Writing Assignments

• 20% — Quizzes / Other Assignments

Semester grades include both quarter grades (40% each) as well as the final exam (20%).

Grades will be updated regularly on Infinite Campus.

 

Participation in Classroom Discussions

Discussion is the cornerstone of the Eagle Ridge Humanities courses, and your active participation makes up 40% of your course grade. Socratic seminar involves the whole class in an open discussion that, while facilitated by your instructor, is essentially student-driven. We will be engaging in discussion daily as we explore the texts we read and connect them with ideas formed by our own background knowledge and the historical context that we cover in class. You will receive a participation grade every two to three weeks. Keep in mind that participation includes your contribution to the discussions as well as evidence of active listening and note-taking.

• Come to class prepared to participate.

• Be an active listener — i.e., track the speakers and take notes.

• Take initiative but be respectful of others when sharing thoughts.

• The most fruitful discussions occur when all students participate and engage with one another, not when only a few voices dominate the conversation. Encourage your classmates to join in the discussion.

 

Writing Assignments

• Because the Humanities program is a synthesis of both social studies and language arts content, this is a writing-intensive course. Expect to write a five-paragraph essay nearly every week. There will be one longer research paper assigned during second semester.

• All formal writing assignments are expected adhere to the MLA format and be typed and printed.

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Quizzes / Other Assignments

Quizzes are not always announced. Questions generally are in short answer or multiple choice format. Other assignments will take the form of reading comprehension questions, and grammar and vocabulary exercises.

 

Attendance Policy

• Please notify your instructor either in person or via e-mail if you know you are going to be absent so that you can receive any assignments or materials you may miss. It is your responsibility to be proactive.

• You are expected to be on time for class each day. Please talk to your instructor after class if there are extenuating circumstances.

• Students are expected to have taken care of restroom needs during passing time prior to the start of class.  

 

Technology

Eagle Ridge Academy policy defers to each instructor’s discretion whether technological devices may be used in class. Humanities 9 students are not allowed to use their devices during class time; this includes computers, phones, and smart watches.

 

Things to Note

• Preparation is the key to success. Completing your readings and coursework will dramatically improve the chances of you doing well. Plan to do your homework and participate in class; both will impact each other. Not doing your assignments is almost the only way to fail this course.

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• “What the hand does, the mind remembers,” so take careful notes in class. This includes during direct instruction as well as during class discussions. Note-taking helps you process the ideas discussed in class, and also helps you prepare for quizzes and writing assignments. (Remember: note-taking is a part of your participation grade.)

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• If you have a question about class materials or assignments, ask your instructor about it, either in or outside of class. It is your responsibility to take the initiative: ask, email, or see your instructor before or after class.

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• Socratic dialogue and seminar discussion are what YOU make of them. This class is a community and we are all learning together. You will get much more out of seminar discussion when you are prepared and choose to engage in the Great Conversation with each other and with our ancient texts. Take advantage of this opportunity to have challenging, thought-provoking discussions. 

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A Personal Note from Mr. Magnuson:

My hope is that each student will find this course challenging and that our work in the class will help each of you to become better readers, better writers, and better people.

 

To a great extent you will be able to choose the direction of our daily discussions in this course. I know that is a lot of responsibility to put upon you. Until now much of your education may have seemed merely like being told things you need to remember. This course is meant to be different: I expect you to discover things yourself, to make your own connections, to develop your own ideas that you can share and support with the evidence available to us.

 

That is how I see education (from Latin educere, (“lead out”). I only teach (from Old English taecn, “show, present, point out”). It is you who must learn. A teacher invites, but you must choose to come. A teacher points you toward sources, but you must go there and gather what you can find. This is not a safe way to learn. Education is not safe; it is not predictable; it is not uniform. It is an adventure. It is a journey we make with each other. Not all of us arrive at the same destination, and certainly we do not each notice the same things along the way. At its best, it is a communal activity.

 

You will receive a number grade for this class. That always troubles me. You are not a number, although our education system and our society often finds it convenient and efficient to treat you as such. A number cannot reflect who you are or what you know. However, that is how the system works, and I try to be fair and equitable, knowing that the number grades you receive influence your future. My intention is to structure my classes so that everyone has an opportunity to achieve a high grade.