Guide to HUM 210 Concept Map

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Guide to HUM 210 Concept Map
When we learn, several levels of learning take
place, sometimes at the same time. But basically,
most of what happens can be talked about by
referring to three components.
The first component is our motivation for
learning, that is, why we are doing it. Often
this component isnt as clear as it should be and
we end up using to get a grade as our
motivation. Or sometimes our motivation is a
pretty big one like to get a better job, which
actually includes other areas of our life. But if
our motivation comes from knowing what a
particular learning situation can do for us then
what you need to do and why youre doing it is
much clearer and, consequently, there is less
frustration. The second component is the
goals we need to set in order to accomplish the
learning. These can vary from person to person
depending upon what background he or she brings
to the learning situation. If a person is a
musician then she would NOT need to learn the
vocabulary for a music appreciation class. But a
non-musician would have to make learning the
vocabulary used in music one of his goals for
understanding the course content. And often there
are little goals inside bigger goals.
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Guide to HUM 210 Concept Map-2
The third component is the tools we use to
accomplish the goals. This component includes any
reading, activities, tests, lectures,
presentations, etc. that we DO for the learning
situation. Tools also include using a dictionary,
practicing skills (such as using the library or
the Internet, writing a bibliography, or
practicing an instrument), watching a video
outside of class--that is, any object or activity
we use to accomplish our goals. Now lets look
at these three components as they apply to HUM
210-- Motivation--The main motivation for taking
HUM 210 (and a large part of why the State of
Illinois requires students to take humanities
courses) is to help you master the thinking
skills associated with the Arts. A good thinker,
someone who can handle any situation which comes
her way, has more than one way of thinking about
things. The logical approach we gain from the
sciences and math is not always the best way to
deal with a situation. Sometimes we need to make
connections between ideas, be more creative,
brainstorm a little and this may require us to
notice details and look for patterns, a skill we
can acquire by engaging with the arts.
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Guide to HUM 210 Concept Map-3
How we do this is through the approach called
hermeneutics. Hermeneutics teaches us to look at
a subject from many different perspectives and
make connections between and among those
perspectives. It is a very global way of looking
at things--and very creative. But in order for
the arts to help us think more hermeneutically,
we must engage with them, really look and listen
and touch. We must make decisions about them, see
how they connect up, and discover how they are
made. A second motivation for studying the arts
which is a little harder to turn into a syllabus
is that the arts make your life fuller, your
imagination more detailed, and your sense of the
world larger. Were not talking about that
well-rounded person line that is often given as
a justification for studying the arts. What were
talking about is the fact that making things is
one of the most basic human practices there is
and we just simply are meant to DO art. It may
be, in the end, that thing which makes us most
fully human. (After all, whens the last time you
saw a bear decorate his cave?)
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Guide to HUM 210 Concept Map-4
Goals--An example of one of the specific goals
included in this course is learning the
vocabulary associated with hermeneutics and the
arts. Although there arent long lists of words
to memorize, there are terms which you will have
to learn and will then be expected to use in your
assignments. Another goal will be to become
familiar with several examples of the arts from
the Western European tradition. In order to do
this you will be visiting various websites as
well as using the material posted on the course
website. Therefore, if you are not too familiar
with getting around the Internet, one of your
smaller goals within the larger goal will be to
become familiar with how your browser works, how
to save pages and images, and how to search for
other material on your own. There are specific
goals for the course, but everyone may have
different smaller goals they need to accomplish
in order to do the larger ones. But thats where
the teacher comes in. I am available (via email,
the Agora, and the MOO) to give you any help you
may need in accomplishing whatever goals you have.
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Guide to HUM 210 Concept Map-5
Tools--The tools for HUM 210 include the
activities, readings/lectures, Agora postings,
MOO sessions, related sites, etc.--any activity
or object you use to work toward your goals. They
may also include anything you use or do to reach
the smaller goals, like instructions on how to
use your web browser. That is, tools include
anything used to accomplish a goal including
material objects as well as tools for
thinking. The Object Goals result in
objects--something which demonstrates the accomp-
lishment of the goal. An object can be a material
thing or something less tangible such as a plan
or idea. These objects also demonstrate the
outcome of your motivation. So heres the real
deal. If your motivation is just to get a grade
then your objects will reflect that. But if
your motivation is to acquire the thinking skills
associated with the arts, your objects will be
well-thought out and demonstrate your best
efforts. Now, on to a concept map to help you
connect all this up- ah, were using
hermeneutics already!
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Concept Map
HUM 210
Motivation-To acquire the thinking skills
associated with the Arts
Goal-To become familiar with examples of the
Western European arts
Goal-To understand the role of the Arts in our
lives
Goal-To learn the methods of hermeneuticalanalys
is
Goal-To understand the arts as cultural practices
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HUM210 Concept Map-cont.
Goal-To understand the role of the Arts in our
lives-e.g.Visual Discrimination
Tools-Read Art and Culture Who We Are
Tools-Respond to the fonts used in the syllabus
Tools-Design flyer for lecture by Geertz and
Langer
Tools-Read Lecture materials for Unit One
Tools-Do an activity from the Eyes on Art
website
Objects-Agora posting based on your activity in
Eyes on Art and the flyer assignment. Writing
Assignment One
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HUM 210 Concept Map--Summing Up
Ive only created a concept map for the first
goal to give you an idea of how things connect
up. I also only included the tools found in the
first unit, but there would be tools from each
unit that would help you to reach this goal. Yet
another tool for you to use would be to make your
own concept maps for the other three goals. Many
of the tools go with more than one goal. For
example, the article Art and Culture Who We
Are will also be a tool for the fourth
goal--understanding the arts as cultural
practices. The visit to the website Eyes On Art
will also help you toward the goal of learning
representative examples of Western European
artworks. One of the reasons we use hermeneutics
is that it prepares us for dealing with material
that does not neatly break down into separate
categories. As you make your concept maps notice
how many tools work for more than one goal or how
sometimes goals temporarily act as tools for
other goals--e.g., learning to understand the
role of the arts in our everyday life acts as a
tool for understanding the arts as cultural
practices. This course is going to allow you to
do something many other courses do not--create
your own knowledge and present your own reactions
to that knowledge. And you will do that by making
connections and commenting on those connections.
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As a friend of mine once said--the arts help us
to know what may be thought.