Hello Students!

I will be guiding you through the course and grading your papers and other work. I have included some important guidelines and information in this lecture and the course syllabus. Please read all of the information carefully so that we can develop a win-win situation for this course. I am here to help you succeed.

The first step you must take is to carefully read through the syllabus and print a copy for your records. ALL assignments are due on Sunday of the week indicated. For instance, your first assignment is due on the Sunday at the end of the first week the course starts. Make sure you take the time to read through your syllabus carefully. Most of your questions can be answered in the syllabus.

Your textbook has been chosen with care. As the author of our text notes in the preface, our text "teaches basic principles and practices of the arts – drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture, architecture, music, theatre, dance, cinema, and literature – in Western and other cultures". As you can imagine, our course is as fascinating as it is overwhelming in scope. Therefore, we shall proceed selectively through the abovementioned fields.

Our textbook contains the basic facts, and also provides hints and a great amount of inspiration for many additional discoveries. We should consider our endeavor as a journey, not through the past, but rather through ourselves. I consider your understanding with both mind and heart a worthwhile goal in this class.

This week you will need to read Chapter 1 of our text. In the weekly lectures I will oftentimes supplement the information that is presented in the text by providing some historical background and additional things to consider. Remember that quiz questions may cover the lectures, as well as the assigned reading.

As the author of our text notes, there are many ways to approach the humanities. We should first note that one of the reasons we study the humanities is to understand our relationship to ourselves, to others, to our past, to the future, to nature, and to God. Indeed, our course gives us the opportunities to stretch our imagination, enrich our experiences, and see similarities between our lives and those who have come before or live in another culture.

The Humanities Council of Washington explains that "the humanities tell us what it means to be human. They help us to understand our story’s past: history, anthropology, archaeology; our story’s expression: literature, linguistics, languages, art history, theory &criticism; [and] our story’s values: ethics, philosophy, comparative religion, jurisprudence".

Moreover, the humanities are part of the liberal arts and provide us with strong skills in order to freely pursue our own interests and professions. As an undergraduate I remember reading a pamphlet which summed up how the humanities help us find success in life: they get us thinking about others’ accomplishments and discoveries so that we begin to make connections that lead to our own ideas and choices. It’s also important to keep in mind that no matter how much technology and science have changed us throughout the years, humans basically remain the same.

Learning about the arts and the cultures who have created them is especially important in modern times. We now live in a global age where information, knowledge, ideals, and styles spread throughout the world almost instantaneously. Nowadays, cultural ideals – both Western and non-Western – are moving rapidly from continent to continent.

Our course is truly a fascinating – and in many ways – positively overwhelming undertaking. Consequently, we shall travel selectively through the various aspects of the arts. I would like you to consider our journey as one inside yourself because we all want to live a life connected to beauty, pleasure and meaning.

Finally, a brief note about plagiarism. I do check! In addition, you will find me particularly unforgiving when it comes to academic dishonesty. It’s not worth failing the entire course, so don’t do it!

Welcome to the class. I am happy to have you in the course and proud to serve as your professor. I look forward to working with you.

Your only submission this week is to introduce yourself to the class by posting a brief biography (200-400 words) in the Discussion Group. Share any information you would like: where you are from, your profession, family, interests, etc. After you’re finished please respond to at least one classmate. Enjoy!