Humanities I and English Composition

Humanities I Course Description: This course is designed as an interdisciplinary examination of the major stylistic trends in western culture from early man through the Renaissance. While the art and literature from the periods under consideration will receive primary emphasis, attention will also be given to historical backgrounds and the prevailing world views. The course is arranged chronologically, but no attempt is made at being comprehensive. Rather, selected topics that are representative of major styles are discussed in some depth. A chief aim of the course is to enable students to evolve working definitions and understanding of selected styles, which will enable them to employ these definitions for analysis of the leading arts and ideas of the western world and help them understand the present by realizing the heritage of the past.This is a two-hundred level course; therefore, students are expected to perform at the level of college sophomores in verbal and written communication and in research techniques.

Course Objectives: Having completed HUM 2001, a student will be able with varying degrees of competence:

    1. To recognize the achievements of past cultures in literature, painting, architecture, sculpture, and music.

2. To comprehend an outline of historical periods.

3. To become aware of the definitions of the following stylistic trends: Hellenic, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Romanesque, Gothic, Proto-Renaissance, and the stages of the Renaissance (Florentine, Roman, Venetian, Northern).

4. To introduce students to cross-cultural encounters (the early civilizations of the Mediterranean, Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas) and world religions (Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam).

ENGLISH COMPOSITION 1102

Course Description: This course is a composition course that develops writing skills beyond the levels of proficiency required by English 1101 that emphasizes interpretation and evaluation of literary sources and incorporates a variety of more advanced research methods. It also focuses on rhetorical principles and techniques, enabling the students to become skilled readers and successful writers.

 Course Objectives: The goal of this course is to develop in students a more informed and polished writing style and stronger critical thinking skills. These objectives will be achieved through the critical study of literary works chosen from the three genres: fiction, poetry, and drama. Students will read selected short stories, poems, and a play. Writing assignments will be based on the study of these works and focus on explicating, analyzing, interpreting and evaluating the literary texts.

 

About Me

Marina von Hirsch is a native of Moscow, Russia who currently resides in Florida and teaches English composition and Humanities at Bainbridge College, Georgia. In 1997 she received her Ph.D. in Humanities after having written a distinguished comparative dissertation entitled “Literature as Commentary in Andrei Bitov’s Prose: The Nabokov Link.” Her research and writing have focused chiefly on the works of Andrei Bitov. She has published essays on Bitov, as well as interviews with other Russian authors. She also writes reviews for “American Book Review.”

 

1. I was born and grew up in Moscow, Russia, so Russian is my native language.

2. Back in Russia I was a teacher of English and French and also worked as an interpreter.

3. While living in Russia, I met the then President of Florida State University, for whom I worked as an interpreter, and he was so impressed with my command of English that he invited me to come and teach Russian at FSU. That’s when I heard of Tallahassee for the first time in my life.

4. While teaching Russian, I decided to pursue my Master’s Degree in English and then my Ph.D. in Humanities. These subjects have always fascinated me.

5. I have always enjoyed traveling, but the move from Russia to the USA (first Florida, and now Georgia) is, of course, the biggest journey of my life. Next year it will be twenty years since I moved, and now I feel settled.

6. For fourteen years I have been married to a man from New Jersey who is a Professor of Spanish at FSU and absolutely loves to fish.

7. In my spare time, I love to read good books and see exciting movies.

8. I have a wonderful white cat with odd eyes, one blue and one green, whom I named after the great Russian poet Pushkin. In Russian this name also means “fluffy.” I absolutely adore him.

9. When I travel, I always go to art museums. My last trip in March, 2009, was to Italy, where I visited Venice, Florence, and Rome. It was a unique opportunity to see the originals of masterpieces that I teach in my Humanities courses, for example, the sculpture of David by Michelangelo. This experience is truly unforgettable.

10. This is my fifth year of teaching at Bainbridge College where I have met many interesting people and made many good friends, so I am very thankful for that.