Attendance/Lateness: Attendance and punctuality are mandatory. Since our work will largely consist of group discussion, missing (or arriving late for) a class can have serious and detrimental effects on your overall performance. You will automatically fail the class if you exceed five absences, though any missed classes will likely have adverse affects on your final grade. Please note that absences are absences—sick days (with or without a doctor’s note) are no different than days that you don’t feel like getting out of bed—and the only exception to this rule will be when classes are officially cancelled due to inclement weather. The attendance policy for this class will be strictly enforced. Please show respect and courtesy to your peers by arriving to each class on time.
Participation: Because so much of our work this quarter will be collaborative, participation—both in the classroom and on the course blog—is vital and necessary. Freely and comfortably sharing your insights, opinions and perspectives (as well as your questions) will be an invaluable part of our fuller understanding of the texts we’ll examine. For this reason, class participation constitutes a full 15% of the final grade. Do not underestimate the importance of this percentage: a zero can have disastrous effects upon your performance.
Course Blog: In lieu of Blackboard, I’ll be using this blog to make announcements, distribute handouts as PDFs, and share supplementary materials—including useful links, podcasts and MP3 recordings, as well as YouTube videos—which will help to broaden your class experience this semester. It’s in your best interest to check the blog one a daily basis, and to simplify that process, I’ve added links in the sidebar which will allow you subscribe to the blog’s xml feed through your preferred feed aggregator (iGoogle, Google Reader, etc.), or sign up to receive e-mail updates via FeedBurner when new posts are added.
I’d like this blog to be a useful venue for students to discuss our readings, ask questions and share links via the comments section. Please be sure to include your full name at the bottom of your message when posting a comment. Regular activity on our course blog can only help your class participation grade.
Quizzes: Over the course of the quarter, you can expect a number of short, unannounced quizzes—approximately one per week, or one per author/text—which will serve as a measure of your reading comprehension and retention. Missed quizzes cannot be made up, and will aversely affect your final grade. A hint: we’re far less likely to have a quiz if the class is having a lively and engaged conversation about the day’s readings.
Technology: In theory, technology is a wonderful thing, but in the classroom, it can be a distraction. Please make sure that your cell phone is turned off (or at the very least in silent mode) before class begins, and keep it in your bag throughout. Texting during class will not be tolerated, and if done during a quiz or exam, will be presumed to be cheating (with appropriate consequences). Finally, the use of laptops for note-taking during class is a privilege, not a right—if I believe you're using your laptop to check e-mail, surf the internet or play solitaire during class, you'll be forbidden from using it for the rest of the quarter.
Communication: Please make use of my posted office hours, the time before and after class and e-mail to discuss your performance in the course, pose questions you might have, etc. If you're having trouble, doing poorly on quizzes or just not getting the readings, it's better to ask for help sooner rather than later. Unofficially, you should meet with me at least once during the quarter.
Plagiarism: At this stage of your academic career, you are probably well-acquainted with UC’s Academic Honesty Policy and Student Code of Conduct, however after the winter break, it might be advantageous to re-orient yourself with those policies now, as you start your classes.
Plagiarism, defined as “the appropriation of information, ideas, or the language of other persons or writers and the submission of them as one's own to satisfy the requirements of a course,” can take many guises, including cheating on a quiz, cutting-and-pasting information found on the web, failing to properly cite sources or fabricating them entirely. Any student found guilty of plagiarism, in any form, will automatically fail this course. Disciplinary action will also result, including an official record of this offense, potentially affecting your academic future.
The Writing Center: The Writing Center is a valuable and free resource available to all UC students. Writing Fellows are available to help students at all stages of the writing process from brainstorming to drafting, as well as with editing essays. I strongly encourage you to have a tutor review all the writing you do for this course. Please visit their website for hours of operation, writing resources and more information.
Special Needs Statement: If you have any special needs related to your participation and performance in this course, please speak to me as soon as possible. In consultation with Disability Services, we can make reasonable provisions to ensure your ability to succeed in this class and meet its goals.
Final Grade: Your final grade will be calculated according to the following percentages:
Paper Format: All worked handed in for this class must be typed, double-spaced, and MUST be stapled. Use 12-point, Times New Roman font for each assignment, and be sure to use the MLA header. Late work will be penalized, losing a full letter grade for each class missed. If you will miss a class when an assignment is due, you can drop it off in my mailbox or at my office beforehand, or have a friend bring it to class. I will not accept work via e-mail. Any divergence from this policy will be done solely at my discretion.
Participation: Because so much of our work this quarter will be collaborative, participation—both in the classroom and on the course blog—is vital and necessary. Freely and comfortably sharing your insights, opinions and perspectives (as well as your questions) will be an invaluable part of our fuller understanding of the texts we’ll examine. For this reason, class participation constitutes a full 15% of the final grade. Do not underestimate the importance of this percentage: a zero can have disastrous effects upon your performance.
Course Blog: In lieu of Blackboard, I’ll be using this blog to make announcements, distribute handouts as PDFs, and share supplementary materials—including useful links, podcasts and MP3 recordings, as well as YouTube videos—which will help to broaden your class experience this semester. It’s in your best interest to check the blog one a daily basis, and to simplify that process, I’ve added links in the sidebar which will allow you subscribe to the blog’s xml feed through your preferred feed aggregator (iGoogle, Google Reader, etc.), or sign up to receive e-mail updates via FeedBurner when new posts are added.
I’d like this blog to be a useful venue for students to discuss our readings, ask questions and share links via the comments section. Please be sure to include your full name at the bottom of your message when posting a comment. Regular activity on our course blog can only help your class participation grade.
Quizzes: Over the course of the quarter, you can expect a number of short, unannounced quizzes—approximately one per week, or one per author/text—which will serve as a measure of your reading comprehension and retention. Missed quizzes cannot be made up, and will aversely affect your final grade. A hint: we’re far less likely to have a quiz if the class is having a lively and engaged conversation about the day’s readings.
Technology: In theory, technology is a wonderful thing, but in the classroom, it can be a distraction. Please make sure that your cell phone is turned off (or at the very least in silent mode) before class begins, and keep it in your bag throughout. Texting during class will not be tolerated, and if done during a quiz or exam, will be presumed to be cheating (with appropriate consequences). Finally, the use of laptops for note-taking during class is a privilege, not a right—if I believe you're using your laptop to check e-mail, surf the internet or play solitaire during class, you'll be forbidden from using it for the rest of the quarter.
Communication: Please make use of my posted office hours, the time before and after class and e-mail to discuss your performance in the course, pose questions you might have, etc. If you're having trouble, doing poorly on quizzes or just not getting the readings, it's better to ask for help sooner rather than later. Unofficially, you should meet with me at least once during the quarter.
Plagiarism: At this stage of your academic career, you are probably well-acquainted with UC’s Academic Honesty Policy and Student Code of Conduct, however after the winter break, it might be advantageous to re-orient yourself with those policies now, as you start your classes.
Plagiarism, defined as “the appropriation of information, ideas, or the language of other persons or writers and the submission of them as one's own to satisfy the requirements of a course,” can take many guises, including cheating on a quiz, cutting-and-pasting information found on the web, failing to properly cite sources or fabricating them entirely. Any student found guilty of plagiarism, in any form, will automatically fail this course. Disciplinary action will also result, including an official record of this offense, potentially affecting your academic future.
The Writing Center: The Writing Center is a valuable and free resource available to all UC students. Writing Fellows are available to help students at all stages of the writing process from brainstorming to drafting, as well as with editing essays. I strongly encourage you to have a tutor review all the writing you do for this course. Please visit their website for hours of operation, writing resources and more information.
Special Needs Statement: If you have any special needs related to your participation and performance in this course, please speak to me as soon as possible. In consultation with Disability Services, we can make reasonable provisions to ensure your ability to succeed in this class and meet its goals.
Final Grade: Your final grade will be calculated according to the following percentages:
- Midterm Exam: 25%
- Final Essay: 35%
- Quizzes: 25%
- Class Participation: 15%
Paper Format: All worked handed in for this class must be typed, double-spaced, and MUST be stapled. Use 12-point, Times New Roman font for each assignment, and be sure to use the MLA header. Late work will be penalized, losing a full letter grade for each class missed. If you will miss a class when an assignment is due, you can drop it off in my mailbox or at my office beforehand, or have a friend bring it to class. I will not accept work via e-mail. Any divergence from this policy will be done solely at my discretion.
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