Course Syllabus

Course Information
(course number, course title, term, any specific section title)

Fall 2010

Instructor: Rainer Schulte

HUMA 6300Section 501

Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Arts and Humanities

Professor Contact Information

(Professor’s name, phone number, email, office location, office hours, other information)

Prof. Rainer Schulte, Tel. 972-883-2092 or Tel. 972-562-8121 (Home. You can leave
messages 24 hours a day.)
Secretary: Maria Rosa Suarez.Tel. 972-883-2092
OFFICE:JO 5.508 (5th floor, NW corner in the Center for Translation Studies)
OFFICE HOURS:Wed. & Th. 4 – 5 p.m. & by appointment.
E-MAIL:schulte@utdallas.edu
(NOTE: Students can e-mail their instructor only by using their UTD e-mail
accounts.E-mail sent from other accounts will be rejected by the UTD e-mail system.)

Course Pre-requisites, Co-requisites, and/or Other Restrictions

(including required prior knowledge or skills)

NONE

Course Description

This seminar should be taken by graduate students early in their academic career.

Students will be introduced to the basic interdisciplinary structure of the School of Arts &

Humanities, its innovative mission, and its charting a new orientation for the study of the

humanities in a digital age. A guiding principle for the development might be van Gogh’s

outlook: Where are we coming from? Where are we? And where are we going? The

Course Syllabus Page 1

traditional way of learning has to be modified in terms of how information can be

transformed into internalized knowledge. A central concern of all discussions will be how

we interpret texts in the various media, from verbal to digital, and what research tools we

have to acquire to respond to the needs of the texts under consideration.The instructor

will balance the seminar discussions between the reconstruction of thought processes and

the application of techniques that facilitate the interpretation of works. Students will be

introduced to the model of translation, since all acts of communication and interpretation

are acts of translation. The instructor hopes to develop associative thinking in students

based on the methodologies of translation thinking that will drastically improve their

writing skills and interpretive insights. Students are asked to broaden their own

intellectual and creative abilities in the context of a program that fosters the convergence

of disciplines and thought associations. The seminar should be considered a forum where

students begin to formulate their own ideas about the function of the humanities in a

rapidly changing world. Students will also be made familiar with the practical aspects of

moving toward an M.A. and Ph.D. degree.Students will be introduced to the major

scholarly journals, the available digital research tools, the integration of databases into

their research, and the changing scene of scholarly publications.

Course requirements / evaluation criteria

Students must actively participate in the discussions of each seminar session.

Students will present short reports on scholarly journals and reference magazines.
Students will be asked to reconstruct the internal thought progression of scholarly
monographs in the form of presentations during seminar sessions.
Students will produce either a creative or critical project during the course of the
semester.

Course Syllabus Page 2

Student Learning Objectives/Outcomes

The students will:

1)learn how to think through verbal, visual, and musical texts.

2)acquire the techniques of associative thinking.
3)learn the basic concepts of disciplinary and interdisciplinary thinking and
research.
4) be introduced to the research reference material, including electronic
databases.
5)practice the various techniques of interpretive approaches.
6)prepare annotations, abstracts, and study models for writing M.A. and Ph.D.
proposals.
7)prepare reports on reference journals.
8)present the reconstruction of the main ideas of one scholarly monograph to be
taken from the list of Book Reports.
9)prepare a creative or scholarly project.

Required Textbooks and Materials

Readings will include selections of texts by essayists, scholars, writers, artists, historians,
and philosophers, as well as musical and visual works.

Textbooks for HUMA 5300

HUMA 5300 Section 105

Bernstein, L. The Unanswered Question.

Kuhn, Thomas. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. (2nd ed.)

Schulte/Mitchell.Continental Short Stories: The Modern Tradition.W.W. Norton

Huizinga, J.J. Homo Ludens.

Peter Burke. New Perspectives on Historical Writing. Pennsylvania State Univ.

ISBN 0-271-00834-2(pbk)

Edward Cornish. Futuring: The Exploration of the Future. Published by the World Future
Society

Bachelard, Gaston. The Poetics of Space.

Weinberger, David Everything Is Miscellaneous.

Erich Auerbach. Mimesis

Additional essays and visual and musical material provided by the instructor.

Course Syllabus Page 3

Assignments & Academic Calendar
(Topics, Reading Assignments, Due Dates, Exam Dates)

Approaches to Interdisciplinary Studies in the Arts & Humanities

Addressing the Humanities

NOTE:This is a tentative outline of topics to be discussed during the semester, subject to

change according to student orientation and needs.

The main focus of the seminar will be on the exploration of the various interpretive
perspectives in the arts and humanities with particular emphasis on “How a text
comes to mean” rather than “What does a text mean.”
Interpretation as Translation
Translation and Reading
Comparative Approaches: Formation of General Statements
Multiple Translations
Multiple interpretations of verbal, musical, visual, and digital texts
Horizontal Reading
Comparative Readings
Communication as Translation
The Interpretive Perspectives
The Dimensions of Literacy in the 21st Century
Verbal, visual, musical literacy
Forms of verbal, visual, musical, and digitalexpressions
The New Media
Promotion of Scholarship and Research in the Humanities
The Role of the University Presses
The Scholarly Monograph
The Scholarly Journal
Websites
Databases
The Ethical Dimension
The Aesthetic Dimension
The Performance Dimension
The Study of the Future
The Concept and Function of a Discipline
Resources for Research in the Humanities
Humanities Centers and Institutes
Scholarly and Artistic Associations
Archival Libraries
Museums
Library of Congress, Bibliothèque Nationale, etc.

Course Syllabus Page 4

Syllabus and Assignments

Throughout the semester, as needed, bibliographical information and additional

texts to be used for seminar discussions will be provided by the instructor, either in the
form of hard copies or in electronic format.
At the beginning of each seminar session, there will be a short report on scholarly
journals to be prepared and presented by students. In addition, students will give
presentations on scholarly monographs and articles to reconstruct the internal progression
of ideas developed in the scholarly and critical works.
It should be noted that all the essays, articles, and monographs that will be read
during the semester are interrelated, so that discussions will not be restricted to one text
only during a seminar session. Rather, a continuous interaction among the various verbal,
visual, and media texts should occur.

Library Orientation
One of the Seminar sessions, conducted by Linda Snow, will take place in the
UTD Library.Ms. Snow will introduce students to the main research sources for the
studies of the arts and humanities.Date: TBA

Key Words
Ambiguity
An inexhaustible network of relationships
Field of possibilities
Indeterminacy
Works in movement
Interpretation and performance
Interpretation as dialogue
Comparative approaches
Resonances and echoes
Changes of perceptions
Changes of sensibility
New vocabulary
Concept of models
Linear way of thinking
Nonlinear way of thinking
Paradigm
Cultural literacy
Associative thinking
Conceptual frames
Complexity
Adaptability
Versatility/ pluralism

Course Syllabus Page 5

Flexibility
Fluidity
Mobility
Innovation

Topics to be discussed
The Crisis of the Humanities
The function of the Humanities in an age of multi media
Translation as a Model for Interdisciplinary Thinking
Perspectives of Interpretation
The Concept of a Discipline
Ambiguity and Uncertainty
Research in the age of electronic resources
The Function of Websites
The Building of Databases
The Structure of the School of Arts & Humanities
Scholarly and critical collaboration

The Conceptual Frame of the School of Arts & Humanities

Aesthetic, Historical, Literary Studies
M.A. and Ph.D. Proposals
Oral Defenses for M.A. Portfolio and Ph.D. Dissertations

Exercises
Abstract
Annotation
Book Reviews
Designing of Bibliographies
Designing Proposals

One Library Orientation Session with Linda Snow

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Seminar Meetings

Session I
General Orientation
Atthe beginning of each section one of the scholarly journals will be presented.

The concept and practice of interpretation: The Horizontal Reading

Assignment
Mark Taylor. “End the University as We Know It”
Vladimir Nabokov. “Good Readers and Good Writers”
Howard Bloch. “What Words Are Worth: In defense of the Humanities”
Charles Frankel.“Why the Humanities”
Ilse Aichinger. “The Bound Man” (Continental Short Stories, p. 82)

Reference for Interpretation: Erich Auerbach. Mimesis

Rainer Schulte. Essays

Session II
Demonstration of Horizontal Reading: “The Bound Man”
Thinking through some of the assigned articles as to their relevance for
interdisciplinary studies and the humanities.

The Comparative Approach: Introduction

Assignment
Rainer Schulte. “Translation and Interpretation”
Juan Tovar. “Location of the Heart”
Fernando Sorrentino.“There is a Man in the Habit…”
Rubén AlonsoOrtiz. “The Hot Center of Thunder”
Vlady Kociancich.“False Limits”
Dalton Trevisan. “The Corpse in the Parlor”
Quiroga. “The Decapitated Chicken”
Babel. “The Sin of Jesus” (Two translations)

Session III
Comparative Study of Verbal Texts
Erich Auerbach. Mimesis
Common elements in the assigned stories

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Session IV
Continuation of the interpretive process
Verbal Texts and introduction of musical texts: Bernstein.
Bernstein, L. The Unanswered Question.(Chapter 5)
Aaron Copland. “What to Listen for in Music”

Session V
Concept of Play and the Creative Imagination
Huizinga, J.J. Homo Ludens.
Additional Recommended Readings
Robert and Michele Root-Bernstein. Sparks of Genius
Daniel H. Pink.A Whole New Mind.
James Paul Gee. What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and
Literacy

Session VI
Multiple Perspectives of Interpretation
Peter Burke. New Perspectives on Historical Writing.
Kuhn, Thomas. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions.
The concept of Culture: R.W. Emerson. “ Culture”

Multiple Translations and Interpretations

Multiple Interpretations of verbal, visual, and musical works.
Verbal: Multiple Translations
Rilke.“The Panther”
Neruda. “Arte Poetica”
Baudelaire. “Correspondences”
Flaubert.Madame Bovary
Visual: Chairs
Musical: J.S. Bach
Background Reading:
Copland
Additional Recommended Readings
Yenawine, Philip.How To Look At Modern Art.
How to Look at a Painting.
Rudolf Arnheim. Visual Thinking

Session VII
The Visual Perspectives
Guernica
Chairs
Additional Visual Works: Botero,Moeck, Lucian Freud

Additional recommended readings.

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 David Fin. How to Look at Photographs
James Monaco. How to Read a Film
John Berger. Ways of Seeing
Alex Ross. The Rest is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century

Session VIII
Perspectives of the Future
Edward Cornish. Futuring: The Exploration of the Future
Richard Florida.The Rise of the Creative Class.
Evaluation of Wikipedia

Session IX
Digital Dimensions of Interdisciplinary Studies
Databases and Electronic Research Tools
David Weinberger. Everything Is Miscellaneous

Session X
The Function of Criticism and Scholarship
The scholarly article and the critical essay
Annotated Bibliography
Writing of M.A. and Ph.D. proposals
Research and Scholarship in a technological age
Abstracts
Book Reviews

Session XI
Discussion of Student Projects

The future of interdisciplinary studies in the electronic age

The syllabus will be modified according to the particular needs and background of students

Course Syllabus Page 9

Grading Policy
(including percentages for assignments, grade scale, etc.)

Course & Instructor Policies

(make-up exams, extra credit, late work, special assignments, class attendance,
classroom citizenship, etc.)

Since the Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Art s and Humanities functions as a

seminar, students must be present during all the sessions during the semester.

See also above“Course requirements / evaluation criteria” under“Course

description”

Field Trip Policies

Off-campus Instruction and Course Activities

NONE
Off-campus, out-of-state, and foreign instruction and activities are subject to state
law and University policies and procedures regarding travel and risk-related
activities.Information regarding these rules and regulations may be found at the
website address
http://www.utdallas.edu/BusinessAffairs/Travel_Risk_Activities.htm.Additional
information is available from the office of the school dean.Below is a description
of any travel and/or risk-related activity associated with this course.

Student Conduct & Discipline

The University of Texas System and The University of Texas at Dallas have rules
and regulations for the orderly and efficient conduct of their business.It is the
responsibility of each student and each student organization to be knowledgeable
about the rules and regulations which govern student conduct and
activities.General information on student conduct and discipline is contained in
the UTD publication, A to Z Guide, which is provided to all registered students
each academic year.

The University of Texas at Dallas administers student discipline within the

procedures of recognized and established due process.Procedures are defined and

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 described in the Rules and Regulations, Board of Regents, The University of
Texas System, Part 1, Chapter VI, Section 3, and in Title V, Rules on Student
Services and Activities of the university’s Handbook of Operating
Procedures.Copies of these rules and regulations are available to students in the
Office of the Dean of Students, where staff members are available to assist
students in interpreting the rules and regulations (SU 1.602, 972/883-6391).

A student at the university neither loses the rights nor escapes the responsibilities
of citizenship.He or she is expected to obey federal, state, and local laws as well
as the Regents’ Rules, university regulations, and administrative rules.Students
are subject to discipline for violating the standards of conduct whether such
conduct takes place on or off campus, or whether civil or criminal penalties are
also imposed for such conduct.

Academic Integrity

The faculty expects from its students a high level of responsibility and academic
honesty.Because the value of an academic degree depends upon the absolute
integrity of the work done by the student for that degree, it is imperative that a
student demonstrate a high standard of individual honor in his or her scholastic
work.

Scholastic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, statements, acts or omissions
related to applications for enrollment or the award of a degree, and/or the
submission as one’s own work or material that is not one’s own.As a general rule,
scholastic dishonesty involves one of the following acts:cheating, plagiarism,
collusion and/or falsifying academic records.Students suspected of academic
dishonesty are subject to disciplinary proceedings.

Plagiarism, especially from the web, from portions of papers for other classes, and
from any other source is unacceptable and will be dealt with under the
university’s policy on plagiarism (see general catalog for details).This course will
use the resources of turnitin.com, which searches the web for possible plagiarism
and is over 90% effective.

Email Use

The University of Texas at Dallas recognizes the value and efficiency of

communication between faculty/staff and students through electronic mail. At the
same time, email raises some issues concerning security and the identity of each

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 individual in an email exchange.The university encourages all official student
email correspondence be sent only to a student’s U.T. Dallas email address and
that faculty and staff consider email from students official only if it originates
from a UTD student account. This allows the university to maintain a high degree
of confidence in the identity of all individual corresponding and the security of
the transmitted information.UTD furnishes each student with a free email account
that is to be used in all communication with university personnel. The Department
of Information Resources at U.T. Dallas provides a method for students to have
their U.T. Dallas mail forwarded to other accounts.

Withdrawal from Class

The administration of this institution has set deadlines for withdrawal of any
college-level courses. These dates and times are published in that semester's
course catalog. Administration procedures must be followed. It is the student's
responsibility to handle withdrawal requirements from any class. In other words, I
cannot drop or withdraw any student. You must do the proper paperwork to
ensure that you will not receive a final grade of "F" in a course if you choose not
to attend the class once you are enrolled.

Student Grievance Procedures

Procedures for student grievances are found in Title V, Rules on Student Services
and Activities, of the university’s Handbook of Operating Procedures.

In attempting to resolve any student grievance regarding grades, evaluations, or

other fulfillments of academic responsibility, it is the obligation of the student
first to make a serious effort to resolve the matter with the instructor, supervisor,
administrator, or committee with whom the grievance originates (hereafter called
“the respondent”).Individual faculty members retain primary responsibility for
assigning grades and evaluations.If the matter cannot be resolved at that level, the
grievance must be submitted in writing to the respondent with a copy of the
respondent’s School Dean.If the matter is not resolved by the written response
provided by the respondent, the student may submit a written appeal to the School
Dean.If the grievance is not resolved by the School Dean’s decision, the student
may make a written appeal to the Dean of Graduate or Undergraduate Education,
and the deal will appoint and convene an Academic Appeals Panel.The decision
of the Academic Appeals Panel is final.The results of the academic appeals
process will be distributed to all involved parties.

Copies of these rules and regulations are available to students in the Office of the
Dean of Students, where staff members are available to assist students in
interpreting the rules and regulations.

Course Syllabus Page 12

Incomplete Grade Policy

As per university policy, incomplete grades will be granted only for work
unavoidably missed at the semester’s end and only if 70% of the course work has
been completed.An incomplete grade must be resolved within eight (8) weeks
from the first day of the subsequent long semester.If the required work to
complete the course and to remove the incomplete grade is not submitted by the
specified deadline, the incomplete grade is changed automatically to a grade of F.

Disability Services

The goal of Disability Services is to provide students with disabilities educational

opportunities equal to those of their non-disabled peers.Disability Services is
located in room 1.610 in the Student Union.Office hours are Monday and
Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; Tuesday and Wednesday, 8:30 a.m. to 7:30
p.m.; and Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

The contact information for the Office of Disability Services is:

The University of Texas at Dallas, SU 22
PO Box 830688
Richardson, Texas 75083-0688
(972) 883-2098 (voice or TTY)

Essentially, the law requires that colleges and universities make those reasonable
adjustments necessary to eliminate discrimination on the basis of disability.For
example, it may be necessary to remove classroom prohibitions against tape
recorders or animals (in the case of dog guides) for students who are
blind.Occasionally an assignment requirement may be substituted (for example, a
research paper versus an oral presentation for a student who is hearing
impaired).Classes enrolled students with mobility impairments may have to be
rescheduled in accessible facilities.The college or university may need to provide
special services such as registration, note-taking, or mobility assistance.

It is the student’s responsibility to notify his or her professors of the need for such
an accommodation.Disability Services provides students with letters to present to
faculty members to verify that the student has a disability and needs
accommodations.Individuals requiring special accommodation should contact the
professor after class or during office hours.

Course Syllabus Page 13

Religious Holy Days

The University of Texas at Dallas will excuse a student from class or other
required activities for the travel to and observance of a religious holy day for a
religion whose places of worship are exempt from property tax under Section
11.20, Tax Code, Texas Code Annotated.

The student is encouraged to notify the instructor or activity sponsor as soon as

possible regarding the absence, preferably in advance of the assignment.The
student, so excused, will be allowed to take the exam or complete the assignment
within a reasonable time after the absence: a period equal to the length of the
absence, up to a maximum of one week. A student who notifies the instructor and
completes any missed exam or assignment may not be penalized for the absence.
A student who fails to complete the exam or assignment within the prescribed
period may receive a failing grade for that exam or assignment.

If a student or an instructor disagrees about the nature of the absence [i.e., for the
purpose of observing a religious holy day] or if there is similar disagreement
about whether the student has been given a reasonable time to complete any
missed assignments or examinations, either the student or the instructor may
request a ruling from the chief executive officer of the institution, or his or her
designee. The chief executive officer or designee must take into account the
legislative intent of TEC 51.911(b), and the student and instructor will abide by
the decision of the chief executive officer or designee.

These descriptions and timelines are subject to change at the discretion of the
Professor.

Course Syllabus Page 14