This course aims to lay bare the interrelationships among technology and other human enterprises that shape a society, paying special attention to the arts, and thereby to understand society in terms of its various dynamics.  A central activity in the course is the pursuit of certain definitions, with an eye to the human technological enterprise; these definitions--of sublimity, beauty, art, and esthetics--shade one into the other, as each helps to comprehend the others, the arts, culture more broadly, and technology as well. To avoid confusion, it may be necessary to stress here that this is a humanities course that requires a substantial amount of reading and analysis, as well as writing. Students who have trouble with humanities courses because they require a lot of analytical reading and coherent writing should not sign up for this course.

There will be two exams (a midterm and final), essay in format, and a research paper. The entire course will transpire in a “distance” format using WebCT as its venue. Exam questions will be posted at a certain time and your essay or essays (depending on how many questions) will have to be e-mailed using the WebCT mail by a certain deadline. Check the course Calendar, which you can find either listed on your navigation bar to the left of your screen in WebCT or by clicking on its icon on the course homepage, for dates and times.

Below I’d like to sketch out in more detail for you how this course is going to work, what is expected of you, and what you can expect from me, your course instructor. Let me begin by saying that you can easily do well in this course; but in order to do well you will have to follow the course guidelines and especially the course calendar. Because this is a distance course, the course structure becomes especially important. Success usually comes to people who are proactive, that is, who look ahead at what is coming and prepare for it. This strategy is especially key to succeeding in a course that operates on-line, in a distance format, and particularly in what is known as an asynchronous format (that is, you have the freedom of “attending class” at your convenience, not at a specified time, but that freedom can turn out to be a burden if you are not going to be responsible, if you are not going to be disciplined). The fact that we are in summer school makes your drive and discipline of supreme importance. There is a lot of challenging reading in this course, so you will have to be very self-directed in order to succeed.

There are a number of texts assigned for this course (listed on the course syllabus—accessible from the WebCT course page). I hope these texts will provide you with a fertile reading and thinking experience. Besides reading, we will also be doing a lot of writing. If you wish to succeed in this course you will need, as I have already suggested, to adhere strictly to the course schedule by getting your reading and writing assignments done on time; indeed, you would be smart to start reading ahead of the scheduled class activities—moreover, as soon as possible, you should begin to think about your term research project and writing me about what you want to do.

I have tried to anticipate your needs as well as the needs of this course by setting up a number of venues for us to communicate among ourselves, as you can see, for example, by the topic headings in the Bulletin Board section (again, look on the navigation bar on the left or the Bulletin Board icon to the right of the bar). Please place comments in the appropriate topic sectors (such as you find them indicated in this section). Check for new postings in this Bulletin Board section and elsewhere at least three times daily, and respond to them as required or otherwise as you wish, with your comments or questions (daily classwork makes up a major portion of your course grade). Overall, you will need to familiarize yourself with all the various functions—which allow us as a class many ways to communicate—the WebCT class conferencing system provides. There is also a “Chat” venue that you can use with others in the class or with me—of course, you can always e-mail me—see the appropriate icons on the course homepage. If you and a group you are working in uses a WebCT chatroom then someone from the group should email me afterward so I can retrieve the chat transcript--in this way you will receive the credit due you; I can post the transcript in your group's discussion space.

It is STRONGLY recommended that you learn the WebCT system thoroughly right away; you may wish to begin your learning process by following the links listed under “Need Help?” at the main Web CT website (look for “Tutorials”).

The basic plan for this course is as follows.

Every few days you will have some reading to do. You will do the reading, and then you will work within a group of your classmates to point out its main motifs and salient features (this can be a bare-bones outline if you wish). Your group will also have to pose a study question based on what you have read. Your group will subsequently have to answer the study questions posed by the other groups in the class. All of this work needs to take place in the proper topic area in the Bulletin Board section. Your group may possibly (though it is not likely) wish to meet in a chat room in real time, as I have already suggested above; but please keep in mind that your discussions there will need to be summarized in your group’s Bulletin Board area, since I look there to determine the quantity and quality of each student’s participation, or else you will have to ask me by emailing me in WebCT to get the chat transcript. In the long run I think you'll find it easier to work with your group solely in your group's BB space; everyone will have a different schedule, I'm sure

Aside from questions, answers and discussions, you will have to write some papers. Please see paper guidelines on the course website. Again, don’t hesitate to e-mail me at my WebCT eddress with your ideas or queries about a term paper project as soon as possible. The project topic has to be approved by me. The topic for it is open so long as it falls within the purview of “Esthetics and Modern Technology.”

The exams will be open-book (but don’t kid yourself that you won’t have to study for them) and in essay format. Please also note that all your writing must be spell-checked and to the best of your ability grammar-checked. If it is not, then you will not receive credit for it. When posting comments to the class, you must make sure that they are spelled correctly and to the best of your knowledge gramatically correct. Cutting down on "noise" in a DL course is very important. By the same token, you must follow closely group and class posting protocols. If you cannot manage to do these things then you do not belong in this course.

What you can expect from me is that I will be fair and helpful. But please keep in mind that on-line courses operate according to a different paradigm than the warm-body, classroom variety. In the real-time on-site physical classroom the course instructor is more the “sage on the stage” than, in our case, the “guide on the side.” This course is YOURS, not mine. Take control of it. Use it and it will pay off for you. When you are asking questions or volunteering your opinions, you are allowing the process of understanding and appreciation to go forward. The end result of this process, if you allow it to happen, is well thought-out exam essays and papers that earn high grades. If you are “silent” in this course, then the great likelihood is that you will do poorly in it and may even fail it.

What have I left out? How about plagiarism? Okay, then, here’s the deal: If I find you have plagiarized something, I’ll refer you to the Dean of Students; plagiarism at NJIT carries quite heavy penalties. If on occasion you are to make use of the ideas or words of someone else in your writing, then the source(s) of those ideas and/or words must be cited; that is, when appropriate, papers must be fully documented (you must cite sources--using footnotes, endnotes, or parenthetical documentation, which include when possible specific page numbers keyed to particular passages in one's text, and complete bibliographical information). If you are not sure about documentation principles and/or procedures, you should consult a freshman English textbook such as The Beacon Handbook or better yet The MLA Handbook. Both Writing and Documentation help can also be found at course website, or at my website (http://web.njit.edu/~kimmelma/) by clicking on "Writing Guide" (http://web.njit.edu/~kimmelma/writing.html) and "Documentation Guide" (http://web.njit.edu/~kimmelma/documentation.html ).

I cannot emphasize strongly enough the fact that this course will have a lot going on it; trying to take it all in will be easier if you participate often and in a forthcoming manner—a word to the wise. To be sure, you might wish to pause, now, and to ask yourself if you are really ready and willing to do what it takes to succeed in this course. A lot of people think Distance Learning is easy relative to sitting in a classroom. Well, let me tell you: Distance Learning is not any easier and may be for you a lot more difficult. Therefore please be careful; don't let yourself get in over your head in this course. I know I’m repeating myself but this is important: Don't go on with the course until it is too late to pull out of it unscathed. I have taught Distance Learning courses before, and I have seen time and again too many students who operate on an out-of-sight-out-of-mind basis. They don’t keep up and so they can’t catch up. Also, they are not willing to post messages, even when a sizable portion of their grade depends on doing just that! One more time: if you wish to pass this course (or do well in it), you will have to be disciplined.

Are you ready for this? Well, if you really, soberly, think that you are, then the very next thing I hope you'll do, now, once you have closed out this message from me, and then have familiarized yourself with Web CT, is to introduce yourself to the class, in the “Bulletin Board” topic sector called "Introducing Ourselves." Tell us about your likes and dislikes, about why you have signed up for this course, about what you hope to do in the future. What year of school are you in? What is your favorite book, movie, song? Do you have a hobby, a job?

Personal or private questions? E-mail me from within the WebCT system. DO NOT E-MAIL ME AT MY CAMPUS EDDRESS unless it is a real emergency. By the way, I will normally be e-mailing you if necessary within the WebCT system, but if there is an emergency then I will e-mail you at your NJIT eddress (so, if you do not regularly check your NJIT mail then you had better be sure that any mail going there gets forwarded to you at the eddress you use regularly).

Class-public questions? Post them in our Housekeeping section.

One final caution: Please MAKE ABSOLUTELY SURE THAT ALL COMMUNICATIONS YOU INITIATE ARE VIRUS-FREE.

I look forward to getting to know you, to our exchanges, and otherwise to our sharing of our reading experiences that I think you will find enriching and enlightening.

Oh, one final, final thing: We all must be aware of how we conduct our virtual selves on-line. Perhaps you have heard the term “flaming”; it means the verbal abuse of someone who is receiving your on-line message. People, if they don’t watch themselves, can end up flaming someone even without fully realizing what they are doing. Working on line has its frustrations, but that does not mean they should be taken out on someone. Below are some “Netiquette” concepts I ask you to adhere to when participating in this course.
- Respect. Treat all participants with respect and in a professional and courteous manner in e-mail, chat, and in discussions.
- Kindness: Refrain from using profanities, insults, or other disparaging remarks.
- Truth: Endeavor to cite only the truth and not knowingly misrepresent, mischaracterize, or misquote information.
- Responsibility: Take responsibility for your own actions instead of blaming others.
- Cooperation: Work together with other students and the instructor in cooperation toward our common goals of seeking and providing a quality education.
- Nondiscrimination: Respect the differences in people and their ideas and opinions.
- Civility: Always treat your fellow classmates and instructor civilly.

Okay?

Oh, Oh, one final, final, final thing: Please e-mail me (using the WebCT “Mail” function) to let me know that you have read all of the above and that you understand it completely. Thanks so much.
 

Yours cordially,

Burt Kimmelman
http://web.njit.edu/~kimmelma