University of Massachusetts Amherst

HM&FNART 101
Traversing Differences with Critical and Creative Thinking:
Local Questions
Spring 2024 • Herter Hall 212 • TuTh 1:00pm-2:15pm

Instructor: Una Tanovic • [email protected] • 413-270-2384

Office hours: Herter Hall 429, W 2:30pm-4:00pm, Th 11:30am-12:30pm, and by appointment

COURSE DESCRIPTION
HM&FNART 101 AL DU is a 4-credit discussion-based, interdisciplinary course that uses works
ranging from philosophical, historical, and sociological writings to fiction and poetry to consider
critical questions confronting us today, such as social and environmental justice, human rights,
the role of technology, the place of the arts, and how to understand and mediate among
differences. By reading these works deeply and engaging imaginatively with multiple
perspectives, we will think through issues that are critical to US culture[s], past and present,
and reflect creatively and critically about both our society and ourselves. In short, this course is
designed to enable you to challenge your understanding of yourself and reflect on how you
navigate the world as an ethical human being. Course readings will include canonical and
underappreciated texts.

The Aims of UMass Cornerstone: Learning for Life

This 4-credit Gen Ed Cornerstone course has the following objectives:
• to create a common learning experience for students and faculty that inspires a sense of
belonging and intellectual engagement with a community of peers through a curriculum
comprised of influential texts and authors;
• to develop in students a capacity to synthesize different forms of knowledge and
information;
• to equip students with what we are calling narrative leadership skills through the critical
and creative analysis of texts; and
• to instill in students the confidence that their diverse life experiences – formed through
racial, ethnic, class, and gendered identities or their intersections – are invaluable to
discussion and decision-making, both in the classroom and future workplaces.

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COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES
This course fulfills Gen Ed AL DU requirements. By the end of this course, you will be able to:
1. Assess how narrative point of view can affect the impact of a story;
2. Examine critically the arguments embodied across a range of inter-disciplinary texts;
3. Communicate these effectively and creatively through written and oral expression;
4. Demonstrate the capacity to listen to and respectfully communicate the diverse
perspectives of others;
5. Work effectively in groups to share resources and knowledge;
6. Demonstrate awareness of how individual, societal, and national perspectives and biases
influence ways of seeing the world;
7. Articulate structural, institutional, discursive, and cultural forces in the US that enable forms
of discrimination based on factors such as race, ethnicity, language, religion, class, ability,
nationality, sexuality, or gender;
8. Acquire disciplinary or interdisciplinary theories and knowledge necessary to comprehend
diverse social, cultural, and political perspectives.

LEARNING MATERIALS
• Constitution of the United States
• Elizabeth Cady Stanton, “The Declaration of Sentiments” Presented at
first Woman’s Rights convention in US history at Seneca Falls, NY. (1848)
Cornerstone • Frederick Douglass, “What to the slave is the Fourth of July?” (1852)
Selections • W.E.B. Dubois, The Souls of Black Folk (2019/1903) New York: G&D
Media (1903)
• Hannah Arendt, “We Refugees” (1943)
• Leslie Marmon Silko, Ceremony New York: Penguin Classics (1977)

• Sonya Huber, “Shadow Syllabus” (2014)

• Max Page, “The Ideals Behind UMass Amherst’s Stained Concrete” (2013)
• Langston Hughes, “Let America Be America Again” (1936)
Course- • Suheir Hammad, “First Writing Since” (2001)
Specific • James Baldwin: “My Dungeon Shook: Letter to My Nephew on the One
Selections Hundredth Anniversary of the Emancipation” (1963)
• Edwidge Danticat, “Children of the Sea” (1993)
• Aleksandar Hemon, “A Coin” (1995)
• Wafaa Bilal, 3rdi (2010)

Please purchase the following required texts:

• Leslie Marmon Silko, Ceremony New York: Penguin Classics (1977)

All other texts for the course will be made available to you through the Perusall platform.

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COURSE REQUIREMENTS & GRADING
Grading scale:
A 92.5-100% A- 90-92.4
B+ 87.5-89.9 B 82.5-87.4 B- 80-82.4
C+ 77.5-79.9 C 72.5-77.4 C- 70-72.4
D+ 67.5-69.9 D 60-67.4
F 0-59.9

Grading distribution:
Assessment Weight Due date
Class engagement 10% Throughout the semester
Annotations 20% Throughout the semester
Midterm Paper 25% Week 7
Course Project 35% Week 15
Final Reflection 10% Finals week

Brief descriptions of assessments:

This course works best when all of us are involved in discussing the material, and it's more
interesting and meaningful for all of us when that occurs. In other words, Class Engagement
(10%) is expected in this course. Please bring the required text(s) to each class meeting and be
prepared to engage in class discussions, group discussions, and group activities.

Annotations (20%) are regular notes and comments on digital readings. You will be instructed
in the platform, Perusall, which we will be using to support social annotation. For your
annotations, you may be asked to discuss what interests you most about the text(s) we are
reading, to find connections between the text(s) we are reading and other texts we have read,
to provide a close reading of a passage, to ask questions, etc.

For the Midterm Paper (25%) you will compare two or more of the required texts to present an
argument about a topic we have read about and discussed.

For the Course Project (35%) you will produce a critical analysis of one or more texts that you
think should be included on the syllabus for HM&FNART 101. A Proposal for the Course Project
(5%) is required during Week 10 in order to start a dialogue with your instructor about your
project. A Presentation of the Course Project (5%) is required during Week 13 to share your
ideas with your peers.

The Final Reflection (10%) is an opportunity to look back and reflect on the texts we have read
and discussed over the semester and to register the significance to you of the world we have
encountered there.

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COURSE POLICIES
ATTENDANCE AND PARTICIPATION EXPECTATIONS
Regular class attendance is important, mandatory, and should be taken seriously. Missing two
classes (for any reason) is not a problem. However, frequent absences will result in a reduced
grade. If you have more than two absences, you will see a reduction in your final grade for the
course, normally by 1% per additional absence. Exceptions will be made to this policy for
extenuating circumstances e.g., lengthy illness (requires a doctor’s note), approved athletic or
academic events (requires official documentation), or family emergencies. In situations where
an official document explaining an unavoidable absence cannot be obtained, please consult
with the instructor to discuss options.

USE OF ELECTRONIC DEVICES

Please turn off computers, telephones, and all electronic devices for the duration of each class
to prevent unnecessary related distractions. If you must use a device for official reasons
warranted by the authority of a qualified person, such as a physician, please discuss your
situation with the instructor for special accommodations.

ACCOMMODATION STATEMENT
The University of Massachusetts Amherst is committed to providing an equal educational
opportunity for all students. If you have a documented physical, psychological, or learning
disability on file with Disability Services (DS), you may be eligible for reasonable academic
accommodations to help you succeed in this course. If you have a documented disability that
requires an accommodation, please notify me within the first two weeks of the semester so
that we may make appropriate arrangements. For further information, please visit Disability
Services (https://www.umass.edu/disability/)

ACADEMIC HONESTY STATEMENT

Since the integrity of the academic enterprise of any institution of higher education requires
honesty in scholarship and research, academic honesty is required of all students at the
University of Massachusetts Amherst. Academic dishonesty is prohibited in all programs of the
University. Academic dishonesty includes but is not limited to: cheating, fabrication, plagiarism,
and facilitating dishonesty. Appropriate sanctions may be imposed on any student who has
committed an act of academic dishonesty. Instructors should take reasonable steps to address
academic misconduct. Any person who has reason to believe that a student has committed
academic dishonesty should bring such information to the attention of the appropriate course
instructor as soon as possible. Instances of academic dishonesty not related to a specific course
should be brought to the attention of the appropriate department Head or Chair. Since
students are expected to be familiar with this policy and the commonly accepted standards of
academic integrity, ignorance of such standards is not normally sufficient evidence of lack of
intent (http://www.umass.edu/dean_students/codeofconduct/acadhonesty/).

TITLE IX STATEMENT
In accordance with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 that prohibits gender-
based discrimination in educational settings that receive federal funds, the University

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of Massachusetts Amherst is committed to providing a safe learning environment for all
students, free from all forms of discrimination, including sexual assault, sexual harassment,
domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, and retaliation. This includes interactions in person
or online through digital platforms and social media. Title IX also protects against discrimination
on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, false pregnancy, miscarriage, abortion, or related
conditions, including recovery. There are resources here on campus to support you. A summary
of the available Title IX resources (confidential and non-confidential) can be found at the
following link: https://www.umass.edu/titleix/resources. You do not need to make a formal
report to access them. If you need immediate support, you are not alone. Free and confidential
support is available 24 hours a day / 7 days a week / 365 days a year at the SASA Hotline 413-
545-0800.

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 SCHEDULE
*This schedule is subject to change, but all changes will be announced in class and on Canvas. Please check Canvas
regularly.

Week Date READINGS NOTES

Thursday Introduction to the course *For the texts marked with

02/01 an asterix (*), please
1
provide your annotations
using the Perusall platform.
Tuesday *HM&FNART 101 Syllabus
2 02/06 *Sonya Huber, “Shadow Syllabus” (2014)
Thursday *Max Page, “The Ideals Behind UMass Amherst’s Stained
02/08 Concrete” (2013)
Tuesday *Langston Hughes, “Let America Be America Again” (1936)
02/13
3
Thursday *Suheir Hammad, “First Writing Since” (2001)
02/15
Tuesday *Constitution of the United States (1787)
02/20
4 Thursday NO CLASS (Monday class schedule)
02/22

Tuesday *Elizabeth Cady Stanton, “The Declaration of Sentiments”

5 02/27 (1848)
Thursday *Frederick Douglass, “What to the slave is the Fourth of July?”
02/29 (1852)
Tuesday *W.E.B. Dubois, The Souls of Black Folk (1903)
03/05
6
Thursday *W.E.B. Dubois, The Souls of Black Folk (1903) (cont.)
03/07
Tuesday *W.E.B. Dubois, The Souls of Black Folk (1903) (cont.)
7 03/12
Thursday *James Baldwin: “My Dungeon Shook: Letter to My Nephew on Midterm Paper due
03/14 the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Emancipation” (1963)

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SPRING BREAK

Tuesday *Edwidge Danticat, “Children of the Sea” (1993)

03/26
9
Thursday *Aleksandar Hemon, “A Coin” (1995)
03/28
Tuesday *Hannah Arendt, “We Refugees” (1943)
04/02
10
Thursday *Wafaa Bilal, 3rdi (2010)
04/04

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 Tuesday *Leslie Marmon Silko, Ceremony (1977)
04/09
11
Thursday *Leslie Marmon Silko, Ceremony (1977) Course Project Proposal
04/11 due
Tuesday *Leslie Marmon Silko, Ceremony (1977)
04/16
12
Thursday *Leslie Marmon Silko, Ceremony (1977)
04/18
Tuesday Course Project presentations
04/23
13
Thursday Course Project presentations
04/25
Tuesday Text(s) selected by students (TBD)
04/30
14
Thursday Text(s) selected by students (TBD)
05/02
Tuesday Text(s) selected by students (TBD)
05/07
15 Thursday Final reflections: Where do we go from here? Course Project Paper due
05/09
Final Reflection due during
Finals week.