1. Twentieth Century Humanities: HUM2250
Professor Will Adams · Wadams5@valenciacollege.edu
Course Blog: hum2250-1800-sm.blogspot.com
Office hours by appointment · Building 2, Room 234
Class Meeting: Thursdays, 6:00 – 9:20 PM
“Life in the twentieth century is like a parachute jump: you have to get it right
the first time.”
- Margaret Mead (1901 – 1978)
Course Description
Twentieth Century Humanities offers the student integrated examinations of dominant
ideas in Western Culture expressed in art, literature, music, philosophy and religion during the
twentieth century. The course will cover the period from 1901 through 1999, emphasizing
development and influence of modern and postmodern ideas.
This course is a Gordon Rule course in which the student is required to demonstrate
college-level writing skills through multiple writing assignments. A minimum grade of C
required if used to satisfy Gordon Rule requirement. In addition, this class will require the
student to utilize the Valencia Core Competencies: Think, Communicate, Value, and Act.
Course Objectives
 To understand the continuation and evolution of the human experience by thinking
critically about humanity’s artistic, cultural, and intellectual development.
 To broaden the student’s knowledge of the ideas and personalities of members of the
20th century.
 To learn skills essential to critical thinking and synthesis of thought by carrying out
scholarly research and authoring thoughtful essays.
 To attend cultural events in order to recognize the continued relevance of the ideas
being discussed throughout the class’s duration.
Required Text
Gloria K. Fiero, The Humanistic Tradition, Book 6, ISBN: 0-07-291023-2
Additional readings as assigned by the instructor throughout the semester.

2. Student Evaluation Formula
1. Attendance & Class Participation 20%
Attendance will be taken at the beginning of each class meeting, and count as part of the
attendance & participation grade.
The professor should hear each student’s voice at least once per class meeting.
Tardiness of more than 15 minutes after the scheduled beginning of class constitutes an
absence.
Please be aware that, under Valencia’s Attendance Policy, there is no such thing as an
“excused absence”.
2. Cultural Event with Written Evaluation 10%
You will be required to attend one cultural event throughout the class’s duration.
Various events may be suggested to you by the instructor throughout the class’s duration,
but it is ultimately your own responsibility to find and attend an approved cultural event.
Proof of attendance at said event must be furnished (i.e. ticket stub, program, etc.)
A two-page “reaction” (i.e. non-research) paper is required. Be sure to answer the
following questions: What did I do? What did I think of it? What did I learn?
3. Research Project 25%
One six-to-seven page written research project is required.
Proper MLA style citation should be used for all written assignments.
One draft may be turned in for the professor’s perusal two weeks prior to the due date.
Plagiarism = A grade of zero. No exceptions.
Wikipedia = A grade of zero. No exceptions.
A detailed research project description will be distributed at a later date.
4. Quizzes 15%
Two short-form quizzes will be administered throughout the course of the class.
The format that the quizzes come in may vary from quiz to quiz.
Pop quizzes to ensure student comprehension and attention are also possible without
warning.
5. Examinations 30%
Four long-form examinations will be administered, once at week4, once at midterm, once,
at week 12, and once at final class meeting.
Examinations will not be cumulative in their subject matter.
You will be given a study guide for most exams, at the instructor’s discretion.
Grading Scale
100 – 90% =A
89 – 80% =B
79 – 70% =C
69 – 60% =D
59 – 50% =F

3. Schedule Of Class Meetings
Class Meeting Task
Thursday, May 10th Introduce class, distribute & discuss syllabus
The Analytical Life of Sigmund Freud
Read for next class: Pages 1 – 24 (The
Triumph of Modernism – The Beginnings of
Modern Dance).
Thursday, May 17th The Wildness of the Fauves Lecture
Fauvism Activity
Read for next class: Pages 26 – 47 (The
Freudian Revolution – The New Psychology
and Music).
RESEARCH PROJECT DISTRIBUTED &
LIBRARY VISIT
Thursday, May 24th EXAM #1
Come One, Come All!: The Story of
Vaudeville, Burlesque & Cabaret
Begin watching Chicago
Read for next class: Pages 49 - 65 (Total War,
Totalitarianism, and the Arts – Picasso’s
Guernica).
Thursday, May 31st Conclude watching Chicago
A Delicate Balance: Frank Lloyd Wright &
Fallingwater Lecture
Cantilevering Class Activity
Thursday, June 7th The Art Of Recovery: The New Deal, The
WPA, & The FAP Lecture
Read for next class: Pages 66 – 68 (Music in
the War Era – Summary).
Thursday, June 14th EXAM #2 (MIDTERM)
C’mon, Get Rhythm!: Blues, Jazz, &
Rockabilly: The Forerunners of Rock Lecture
Thursday, June 21st RESEARCH PROJECT DUE &
PRESENTATIONS
Thursday, June 28th The Scene Inside: The Life & Work of Jackson
Pollock Lecture
What Is Film Noir? Lecture
Begin watching Casablanca
Read for next class: Pages 78 – 83 (The Visual
Arts at Mid-Century – Painting).
Thursday, July 5th EXAM #3

4. Conclude watching Casablanca
A Whimsical Motion: The Oeuvre of Alexander
Calder Lecture
Mobile Class Activity
Read for next class: Pages 83 – 89 (Sculpture
– Summary).
Thursday, July 12th The Counterculture: The Revolution & The
Response Lecture
We Shall Not Be Moved: Civil Disobedience &
The Civil Rights Movement
Read for next class: Pages 93 – 104
(Liberation and Equality
– Walker’s Elethia).
Thursday, July 19th CULTURAL EVENT DUE
We Don’t Need Another Hero: The Art &
Agenda of Feminism Lecture
POP! Goes the World Lecture
Read for next class: Pages 147 – 148 (New
Realism).
Thursday, July 26th FINAL EXAM
Guidelines For Written Work
All written work should be set in Arial 12 point font, with double spacing and standard
1” page margins. Additionally, each written assignment (with the exception of the research
project) should begin with the following header, placed at the top, left side of the first page:
Your First & Last Name
HUM2250 – 6:00 PM
Prof. Will Adams
Assignment Due Date (MM/DD/YYYY)
Assignments of more than one page must be stapled by the student. The instructor will
not provide a stapler for your use.
Finally, minimum page totals for any written assignment require that the written page
be filled in its entirety to count as one page. In other words, if a written assignment requires 2
pages, but the student only writes 1.5, the student will not earn all possible points for the
assignment.

5. Extra Credit Policy
Each quiz or test throughout the class’s duration will include one extra credit question
equal to 10% of the quiz or test’s total point value (i.e. A five point extra credit question for a
fifty point test).
In addition, extra credit may be earned by writing more than the required number of
pages for any written assignment. Extra credit for extra written work will be given up to a
maximum of 15% of the assignment’s total point value (i.e. A two page written assignment is
usually valued at 20 total points, at ten points per page. If the student writes 2.2 pages, the
student will receive 22 points for the assignment, rather than the standard 20). No other extra
credit opportunities will be available.
Late Work/Make-Up Policy
 No late work will be accepted.
 No work will be accepted via e-mail.
 Quizzes or exams must be taken on, or before, the date assigned – and only with the
instructor’s explicit consent.
 The final exam must be taken on the date published for final exams.
Attendance
Students are expected to attend every class. Attendance will be taken and will count as
a portion of the final grade. After the SECOND absence, a student has missed two full weeks of
class. A notice of Excessive Absences may be issued and the student may be withdrawn at the
professor’s discretion. It is always the student’s responsibility to contact the professor about
issues that may lead to excessive absences. It is also the student’s responsibility to arrange to
receive class notes or handouts from missed classes from his or her fellow students. Do not
contact the instructor for this information without contacting your classmates first! Please
note that there is no such thing as an “Excused Absence” (even with a doctor’s note, death in
the family, etc.) under Valencia’s Attendance Policy.
Academic Honesty
Plagiarism is intellectual theft and will not be tolerated. Presentation of the ideas and
words of others as if they are your own work constitutes plagiarism. This includes use of
material from books, the internet or any other source. The student is expected to perform his
or her own research and present his or her own thoughts. Direct use of another author’s words
or ideas, as well as paraphrasing must be cited. Each student is expected to be in complete
compliance with the college policy on academic honesty as set forth in the college catalog and
the student handbook. Plagiarism in any work will result in a grade of zero for that
assignment.

6. Class Conduct
Be polite.
Computer/Equipment Use Policy
Use of computers in the Business, IT, and Public Service classrooms at Valencia
College is restricted to those activities designated by the instructor to enhance the class
materials. Any other use is strictly forbidden. Inappropriate use includes, but is not limited to:
 Use of computer to send E-mail or access Internet sites not specifically assigned in
class.
 Use of computer for job, internship, homework or other activities not assigned in class.
 Modifying any hardware or software system configuration or setting.
 Activities not in accordance with the Valencia Student Code of Conduct
 Use of computers in the departmental open lab is limited to those activities involved
with preparing homework or coursework in this department and is subject to the same
restriction as listed above.
Computer use is remotely monitored; any student using computers inappropriately may be
subject to dismissal from class or banishment from the lab. Subsequent offense may be sent to
the campus administration for further disciplinary action.
Students With Disabilities
Students with disabilities who qualify for academic accommodations must provide a
notification from the Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD) and discuss specific needs with
the professor, preferably during the first two weeks of class. The Office for Students with
Disabilities determines accommodations based on appropriate documentation of disabilities.
Disclaimer
This outline may be altered, at the instructor’s discretion, during the course of the term.
It is the responsibility of the student to make any adjustments as announced.