The course is designed to enhance your ability to read, interpret, discuss and write about some of the most significant texts in Western culture. The readings, discussions, and activities in this course are designed to create a learning environment that emphasizes the development of critical thinking, the importance of understanding context, the process of engagement with other learners, and the facilitation of reflecting and acting on reading materials.
This class will explore the usefulness of cultural and historical relativism, a particular kind of critical thinking in which phenomena are analyzed in light of the social, cultural, and historical contexts. These readings will challenge our assumptions about how the world works and give us a greater appreciation for human and social diversity. You will learn to appreciate human social and cultural diversity over time and across space. This appreciation can lead to more reflective and informed participation in your own society. Many of the issues we will discuss have implications for the ways in which you will participate in future intercultural encounters and understand their place in global changes and processes.
A series of activities during the course of the semester will encourage you to understand and apply the course material by interacting constructively with each other.
You will be expected to read each text thoroughly, take good notes, participate in class discussions, and complete various writing assignments.
You need to keep up with the readings. Readings should be completed before the class discussion/lecture on them. Always refer to the study questions (available on Blackboard) as you read the assigned texts. Bring your text and the questions from the study guides to class every day. The course will be conducted primarily by discussion, not lecture. Your attendance and participation will be essential, and you will be expected to have read the assigned texts on the day they are scheduled to be discussed. Since participation in the course is required, you should be prepared to raise questions and issues about assigned readings for class discussion.
Frequent, short reading quizzes will be given at the beginning of each class to make sure that you have read the assignments carefully before the class in which they are discussed. Reading quizzes will be given at the VERY BEGINNING of the class hour. Be sure to come to class on time! You may not take a quiz if you come to class late (after the quizzes have been distributed).
During classroom discussions, you are encouraged to contribute your observations and thoughts about the assigned reading. While others are talking, please be respectful and courteous of their thoughts and ideas. Keep in mind that that the purpose of discussion is to help you learn to be more attentive reader, to develop your own process of argumentation and to deepen your understanding of the literary text.
Taking notes
You are encouraged to take good, detailed notes based on lectures and discussions in class. You should have in class a copy of the study guide for each reading and be ready to answer and discuss the assigned questions.
Being well organized in this class is essential for doing well and getting a good grade. You should purchase a 3-ring binder (about one and one half inches thick) and 10 dividers for keeping your notes, study guides, quizzes, essays, papers, and other learning materials.
I will accept all reasons for an excused absence that are set forth in the Tiger Cub. Class work that is missed because of absence cannot be made up. I will accept notes from the Student Health Center and from your doctor only if accompanied with a written explanation from the attending doctor or nurse. You should provide me with a copy of your excuse to keep on file.
After the third unexcused absence I will take off one point from your final grade, up to a maximum of 5 points. If your total unexcused absences exceed 5 scheduled class meetings for the semester, you will be assign a course grade of "FA" (failure because of absences). Attendance will be taken every day during the first 5 minutes. Signing the attendance sheet for someone else is concidered forgery and academic dishonesty. If you come to class late, you will be marked absent for that day.
Be an active reader. Read with a pencil and notebook in hand. Underline intriguing passages that you would like to return to in class discussion. Keep a dictionary handy so that you can check unfamiliar words.
Read in a quiet place. Turn off the T.V. and radio! It is very important that you make it easier for yourself to concentrate by minimizing surrounding distractions.
Jot down notes to yourself. Always refer to the questions in the study guide as you read. Write down as detailed responses to the questions a you can think of. Both the Midterm and the Final Exam will be based largely on these questions.
ALWAYS READ THE INTRODUCTIONS TO THE AUTHORS before reading the primary text (along with any footnotes).
Reread. Second readings are always very valuable to your comprehension of the works. You notice new things, you begin to identify patterns, and you are able to observe the way the text is constructed in a way impossible in any first reading.
Your course grade will be figured this way:
Reading quizzes: 20%. You will have frequent, almost daily, reading quizzes on the assigned reading for that day. They will be mostly of the multiple choice and short answer variety. These will be given at the very beginning of class, so you need to make sure that you come to class on time. NO MAKE UP QUIZZES WILL BE GIVEN FOR ANY REASON! Instead, I will add 10% toward your final quiz grade. That way if you miss about 10% of the quizzes, or if you get bad grades on 10% of your quizzes, it won't affect your quiz grade average.
Two Papers 30% (15% each): You will write two papers. Each paper should be no fewer than 1200 words. One will be due mid-semester, and the other at the end of the semester. See the syllabus for the exact dates. You will have the option of revising each paper for a better grade, in which case you will need to turn them in one week before the day they are due. Late submissions of term papers will not be accepted without a valid university excuse.
Attendance: 5%All of your grades will be posted on Canvas. Let me know as soon as possible if you notice any clerical errors.
Students may withdraw from the course until midsemester with a W on their transcript. Consult the Tiger Cub for specifics.
Cheating and plagiarism are serious violations of the Student Academic Honesty Code (Title XII) and will be treated according to the procedures outlined in the Tiger Cub. Of particular importance for English students is the following section of the code, which prohibits:
The submission of themes, essays, term papers, tests, design projects, similar requirements or parts thereof that are not the work of the student submitting them. When direct quotations are used, they should be indicated, and when the ideas of another are incorporated into a paper, they must be appropriately acknowledged. Almost every student has heard the term "plagiarism." Nevertheless, there is a danger of failing to recognize either its full meaning or its seriousness. In starkest terms, plagiarism is stealing--using the words or ideas of another as if they were one's own. If, for example, another person's complete sentence, syntax, key words, or the specific or unique ideas and information are used, one must give that person credit through proper documentation or recognition, as through the use of footnotes.
I take plagiarism very seriously and will report instances of plagiarism to the Academic Honesty Committee.
Students who need accommodations are asked to arrange a meeting during office hours the first week of classes or as soon as possible if accommodations are needed immediately. If you have a conflict with my office hours, an alternate time can be arranged. To set up this meeting, please contact me by e-mail. Bring a copy of your Accommodation Memo and an Instructor Verification Form to the meeting. If you do not have an Accommodation Memo but need accommodations, make an appointment with The Program for Students with Disabilities, 1244 Haley Center, 844-2096
It may be the case for some of you that you may need to get a certain grade in this course in order to maintain a certain average. In that case, you should keep track of all your grades on regular basis, and you need to consult with me frequently for advice on how to improve your current grade. You need to make sure that you read the assigned readings regularly, and that you take all (or almost all) reading quizzes. Not taking all of the reading quizzes and not reading the assigned readings when they are due can easily lower your course grade by one letter grade.
You can improve on your term paper grades by turing in a draft and discussing your topics with me in person BEFORE you are ready to write and turn in a final version. Make frequent use of the English Writing Center, where you can get help on the organization and structure of your papers and essays.
The Midterm and Final exams will be based largely on topics listed in the study guides for each reading. To do well in both, you need to make certain that you approach each reading with these questions in front of you, that you have these same questions (and your responses) in front of you in class, that you bring to the attention of the class any questions that may be confusing to you, and that you participate in class discussions.
All of your grades will be posted on Blackboard. Let me know as soon as possible if you notice any clerical errors.
Students may withdraw from the course until midsemester with a W on their transcript.