Faculty Syllabus

The Great Questions Seminar is an introduction to the great questions of humankind. This seminar is your initiation into the academic life of the college and your invitation to a seat at the table, centuries-long and shared by college and university students from all over the world. This course welcomes you as a member of this grand community of learners through an interdisciplinary study of representative samples of literature, art, mathematics, and music of various periods and cultures from prehistory to the Renaissance. It is the study of the interrelationships of the arts and how philosophies emphasize an understanding of human nature and the values of human life.

YOUR GRADE

Class Participation/Attendance 30%

3 Study Question Assignments -- 10% each or 30% total

3 Making Connections - 10% each 30 % total

Journal Posts    10% total

Course Objectives/Outcomes

As a result of having taken this course, students will be able to:

• Demonstrate awareness of the scope and variety of works in the arts and humanities.
• Articulate how these works express the values of the individual and society within a historical and social context.
• Articulate an informed personal response and critically analyze works in the arts and humanities.
• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the influence of literature, philosophy, and the arts on cultural experiences.
• Demonstrate an awareness of the creative process and why humans create.

Student Success Learning Outcomes

1. Set goals to support personal motivation and achievement.

2. Adopt a growth mindset toward personal education and career goals that fosters hard work, grit, a desire for continual improvements, and persistence in the face of failure.

3. Distinguish between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, and examine how intrinsic motivation encourages life-long learning.

4. Apply principles of metacognition to increase self-awareness of the learning process and personal strengths and weaknesses as a learner.

5. Enhance emotional intelligence, thereby improving interpersonal, leadership, and self-management skills.

Homer’s Odyssey

The Odyssey is Homer’s epic poem of Odysseus’ journey home after 10 years of war in Troy. We will follow along on Odysseus' epic journey, all the while analyzing his ultimate goal, the factors that motivate him to undertake such a journey, and the ways in which he is able to keep going even in the face of temptations and obstacles. Throughout our discussions, you will be encouraged to reflect on your own educational journey in a similar light. This story has inspired men and women for the past 3,000 years to set high goals for themselves and develop a plan to achieve them. It has helped countless people see that even when one suffers detours and setbacks like Odysseus, reaching one’s goals is still possible.

Plato’s Meno and Euclid’s Elements

Plato’s Meno deals with the timeless struggle of how to learn something new. Sometimes people think that if they don’t understand something right away that it is just not in them to learn it. They may say something like, “I’m not a math person” or “I’m not smart enough” and then give up on trying. In the Meno, Socrates confronts a boy who has a similar reaction when working on a difficult mathematical problem and gets him to overcome his false assumption that he cannot learn by guiding him through the process of solving it. After a discussion with Socrates the boy experiences a shift in mindset from assuming he is not intelligent enough to solve the problem to realizing the solution was in him all along, and that by engaging with the problem and persisting in the face of uncertainty he could indeed unlock the knowledge needed to find the solution.

Throughout the text, Plato challenges us to think about our thinking. How do we know when we know something? How do we know when we still need to do more work before we can know it? In the Meno, Socrates teaches that all real learning begins when we recognize that we don’t know.

Euclid’s text is a model for how to think clearly and logically. Through the study and demonstration of his geometrical proofs, we will learn the structure of logical arguments and what it means to prove something. This text will help us apply principles of metacognition to our studies by introducing us to the experience of what it is like to really know something. After you understand an entire proof of Euclid’s, you will feel what it is like to really know that something is true. His proofs provide a window onto the beauty of truth and will inspire us to want to open it further. Studying this text will provide you with a benchmark by which you can judge how well you know other things. You should ask yourself about future topics of study, “is this as clear to me as a Euclid proof?” Applying this question is a great way to gauge how well you understand a thing.

Creation Reading Selections 

Devotion Reading Selections

Passion Reading Selections

The Heart of Chinese Poetry

These selections of Chinese poems represent over 1,000 years of poetic tradition in China. According to Prof. Greg Whincup, “Poetry is the heart of Chinese culture. Inasmuch as we are all members of one human race, Chinese culture is our culture. The heart of Chinese poetry beats in us, too.” Through these readings, you will learn not just about Chinese poetry but also about the culture, history, and language of China, whose soul is poetry  

Participation:

This course is all about participation. Thoughtful and consistent participation is a very important part of the class. Each student is expected to be an active participant. Your presence is requested and required. Each student will come to class with their thoughts written out about at least one study question. This assignments should be 250 words or less in order to facilitate classroom discussion.

Study Questions:

Each reading assignment will include several study questions to help direct your reading of the text. Careful thinking about the study questions while you are reading and before coming to class will help you form your thoughts and make class conversation easy and enjoyable.

Study Question Assignment:

You must complete three Study Question Assignments on **starred** study questions. Assignments must be between 450-500 words, exclusive of quotations. You should select a passage from the assigned reading that you think addresses one of the starred study question. Then, you should reproduce this passage, paraphrase it in your own words and explain why that passage addressed the study question. Finally, answer any additional parts of the questions. So, your assignment should take the following form:

1. A quotation from the assigned reading, which helps answer the study question

(please also list chapter, page and/or line number)

2. A paraphrase, in your own words, of the quotation you selected

3. An explanation of why that passage addresses the study question.

4. Your response to the study question.

Please review the grading rubric on blackboard to see how your faculty leaders will grade your assignment. This should be used to help guide your drafting of the assignment.  

Making Connections

Throughout this semester, each student will complete three “Making Connection” assignments in preparation for course meetings and discussions. On “Making Connections” days you will (1) explore a list of great works that humans have created, (2) select a work that interests you (3) conduct research to learn about the work, (4) share what you have learned with your classmates.

These assignments are designed to encourage students to explore works of cultural significance and broaden their cultural and historical knowledge base.

Faculty Meetings

Students will meet privately with their professor twice each semester. Remember, your faculty leaders are not just here to guide you in this course, but to help you understand how to navigate ACC as well. They will help introduce you to ACC resources and make sure you have the support you need to be successful.

One meeting will take place in the first 3 weeks of the semester and another in the second half of the semester. Each meeting will last between 10-15 minutes.

Reflection Journal

Your journal entries are viewable by you and your professor  - feel free to ask for advice and guidance about anything related to your first semester at ACC. You will create journal entries throughout the semester, so consider this an on-going conversation with your professor and yourself. These are intended to be reflective, and are not formal writing assignments. Use the prompts provided as a starting point, and make sure you write at least a good paragraph or two (at least 100 words).

The use of GAI, or generative AI, which is software that produces text for you based on prompts, is not acceptable as a replacement for written assignments. You need to write your essays and assignments.. Can you improve them? Yes. Do you need to? No. This is an introductory class. Your writing is fine; trust yourself to write, and let me figure out what you mean. My assignments are designed to help you craft your academic voice through personal projects. Your opinion is what I want, not AI’s. See Syllabus Addendum for how AI-generated content can backfire and how easy it is to spot.

• Rationale- AI use is a growing requirement in the job market. We will use some AI tools in this class. I encourage you to use AI to generate ideas and find information, but be sure to double-check. AI hallucinates sources, misrepresents facts, and combines disparate topics. It is a skill to use it properly.
• Definition of GAI- Software that produces text for you based on prompts. (i.e., Chat GPT 1-5, Claude, Gemini, Co-pilot, Perplexity, Grammarly (generative), Abode, Alexa, Siri, Google AI summaries)
• Resources- Google Docs Assistive AI, and Grammarly Assistive AI.
• Assessment- None
• Penalties- DO NOT submit AI-generated text for a grade. It will be marked as a zero, and you will be asked to resubmit with a 20% penalty.
• Exceptions- Assistive AI and AI use for the generation of ideas and sources.
• Usage Permissions –
  • Prohibited- DO NOT submit AI-generated text for a grade. It will be marked as a zero, and you will be asked to resubmit.
  • Permitted - You may use AI to generate ideas, sources, and to edit/revise your own written work.  

Required- None