DAWSON COLLEGE
HUMANITIES DEPARTMENT
345-101-MQ (KNOWLEDGE)
SECTION 51
Course Title: Care and Liberation: Identify Yourself!
Effective Date: Fall 2023
Meeting Time : 12 pm to 2 pm
Workload: 3-1-3
Classroom: 4H.19
Instructor’s Name: Lyndon Entwistle
Contract Method: MIO
Response Time: Less than 24 hours
Office: 4D.5
Office Hours: Tuesdays from 3 pm to 4 pm
STATEMENT OF THE COMPETENCY
Learning Outcome: To apply a logical analytical process
to how knowledge is organized and used.
ELEMENTS OF THE COMPETENCY
Students who successfully complete a course in Knowledge should be able to:
(1) Recognize basic elements of a field of knowledge;
(2) Define the modes of organization and utilization of a field of knowledge;
(3) Situate a field of knowledge within its historical context;
(4) Organize the main components into coherent patterns;
(5) Produce a synthesis of the main components.
Course Description: This Knowledge course invites students to step back and reflect in a critical
manner on the processes by which knowledge in various fields can be attained. Students learn
and develop skills in identification, evaluation, analysis, and synthesis in order to address such
questions as: “What do I know?” and “How do I know something is true?”.
Required Texts: There is one required text for this course, which will eventually be available at
the college’s bookstore. (No need to get it right away.) All other readings will be uploaded to
LÉA.
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• Rebecca Solnit and Thelma Young Lutunatabua (eds), Not Too Late: Changing the Climate
Story from Despair to Possibility (Haymarket Books, 2023).
Teaching Methods: Students will be expected to prepare for each class by reading the assigned
texts before class begins. (A tentative reading schedule will soon be uploaded to LÉA.) Each
class will consist of a lecture about the assigned texts, during which students are encouraged to
ask questions and discuss the material. At the end of some classes, students will be given an in-
class assignment to complete based on the lecture.
Evaluation Tools: There will be 10 in-class assignments throughout the term, each worth 3%.
There will be one term paper (~1000 words) worth 25%. There will be a midterm exam worth
20%, and a final exam worth 25%. These exams are closed book.
Late Assignment Policy: Late papers will be penalized at 5% per day late, including weekends.
Absence Policy: Students who communicate their absence to the teacher before class begins will
be allowed to make up the missed in-class assignment. Students will not be allowed make up
missed exams without a medical note (or equivalent).
Passing Grade Policy: Students need a final grade of 60% to pass the course.
The term paper is a summative assessment assignment, which means that students need to pass the
term paper in order to pass the class. If a student does not pass the term paper, the highest final
grade that they can receive in the class is 50%.
Important Dates:
Thursday, October 5: Midterm exam.
Tuesday, October 10: No class; Wellness Day.
Thursday, October 12: No class; Monday schedule.
Thursday, November 2: Term paper assigned.
Thursday, November 23: Term paper due.
Thursday, December 7: Final exam.
Departmental Literacy Standard: Students enrolled in Humanities courses are expected to have
college-level English reading skills and to demonstrate college-level English writing skills.
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Course Literacy Policy: Essay assignments must be typed, formatted, and referenced as
requested by the teacher and demonstrated in class. Poor spelling, punctuation, or grammar
may affect assessment grades.
Academic Integrity: According to ISEP (Section V-A), every instance of plagiarism leading to a
resolution that impacts a students’ grade must be reported, with explanation, in writing, to the
appropriate dean.
Plagiarism is the act of depicting another’s work as if it were one’s own. (Plagiarism includes
depicting text generated by chatbots as if it were one’s own. So don’t use, for instance, ChatGPT
to write your term papers!)
In this course, students who plagiarize the term paper will receive 0% on the term paper, thus
failing the class.
Student Conduct: Everyone has the right to a safe and non-violent environment. Students are
obligated to conduct themselves as stated in the Student Code of Conduct and in the ISEP
(Section II-D) regarding the roles and responsibilities of students.
Attendance: Students should refer to the ISEP (Section IV-C) regarding attendance.
Intensive Course Conflicts: If a student is attending an intensive course, the student must
inform the teacher, within the first two weeks of class, of the specific dates of any anticipated
absences.
Policy on Religious Observances: Students observing religious holidays must inform their
teachers, in writing, as prescribed in the ISEP Policy of Religious Observances, no later than the
end of the second week of the impacted semester or term. This applies both to the semester or
term, as well as to any final examination period.
ISEP: The Institutional Student Evaluation Policy (ISEP) is designed to promote equitable and
effective evaluation of student learning and is therefore a crucial policy to read and understand.
The policy describes the rights and obligations of students, faculty, departments, programs, and
the College administration with regard to evaluation in all your courses, including grade
reviews and resolution of academic grievances. The ISEP is available on the Dawson website.
