Requirements: Class Participation and Attendance | Paper | Presentation | Book Review | Bulletin Board

        Class Participation and Attendance:

        Read everything, and come to class prepared to talk about what you have read. On the first day of class discussion for each assignment, you must have finished the reading and be ready to discuss it. By "the reading," I mean all of the text assigned for that day. "Recomended" texts are optional. This class will be based on discussion, so class participation is expected, and will count for 10% of your final grade. I reserve the right to assign homework or in-class writing projects that are not listed on the syllabus.

        Although it shouldn't be necessary for me to say this, I'll say it anyway: Class attendance is required. Since the class meets three times a week, you are granted three absences, but more than three will lower your final grade by one grade for each absence (e.g., B would become C). You cannot earn credit for work missed in class. If you miss class, it is your responsibility to discover what went on that day.

        Paper:

        The paper must: be typed (preferably word-processed) and double-spaced; include a title, your name, and the date; and have numbered pages that are stapled or paper-clipped together. Late papers will be penalized one grade (e.g., B+ to C+) for each day late. For a full description of the paper assignment for undergraduates and the paper assignment for graduate students, please click on the relevant words in this sentence.

        Sources: Use the MLA method for documenting sources. Don't plagiarize. When you turn in a paper, you pledge that you have faithfully abided by the guidelines for documenting sources -- most grammar handbooks provide guidelines for documentation. Always remember: you must cite the sources of any ideas that are not your own. If you quote, paraphrase, or use another's ideas, you must give credit to the person whose ideas you are using. If you have any questions, please ask. If you plagiarize, you will automatically fail this course. For more information on Kansas State University's Honor System, please visit <www.ksu.edu/honor>.

 

        Presentation:

        Groups of students will sign up to present some background material for one of our class sessions. Clicking on this sentence will lead you to the schedule. Presentations (10 minutes in length) should provide information which can encourage us to explore connections between the secondary readings and our assigned primary reading (see the Schedule of Assignments). Students should meet with me in advance to confirm the focus of their presentation.

        I encourage you to develop a brief handout (one side of one page or two sides of one page) which you can distribute to the class as a reference to the information and insights you will provide.

        You will need to consult relevant resources (some on reserve, others available in the stacks or other library resources). As you can tell from these guidelines, you should plan to meet with your group at least once in advance of the presentation; I strongly encourage you to meet with me, too. I may be able to recommend some sources for your subject.

        Book Review (Graduate Students): See Book Review Assignment (separate document).

 

        Electronic Bulletin Board:

        Post comments to the bulletin board once a week. An average posting should run about two paragraphs in length. In other words, your postings need to be substantive -- long enough to convey clearly the problem you are taking up and your point of view, connecting your comment to others' comments, as appropriate. The strong bulletin board postings will be clearly written, support their claims with evidence (such as a quotation), and will cite their sources. I will monitor these discussions and assess grades -- once at midterm, and once at the end of the term -- based on the thoughtfulness of your comments, their ability to foster discussion among your classmates, and their responsiveness to both our readings and to your classmates' comments in class and on the bulletin board. You may respond to an existing thread of the conversation or initiate another. I may participate in these conversations, but I see the bulletin board primarily as a way for you to raise issues we haven't addressed -- or addressed fully or to your satisfaction -- during our regular class meetings. Though extra postings to the bulletin board will not automatically replace participation in our class discussions, regular contributions above and beyond your weekly posting can certainly improve your class participation grade.

        How to use the bulletin board:

1. First, click on this sentence. If you receive a message like "Authorization Failed. Retry?" then click on "Retry."
2. A window will pop up, asking for your username. Type engl690. (Be sure to use all lower-case letters.) Next, type in the password that I gave you in class.
3. To see all the messages posted to date starting with the newest ones first, click on "Preferences" and set the options to "12 months" and "Mixed Threaded, Reversed." Click on the "View Messages Index" button. You should be able to see all the messages posted to the threaded bulletin board. (If a grey box pops up with the title "Security Information," just click "OK.")
4. To post, choose to reply to a message or to post a new message. You will have to enter your name, your email address, and the subject of the message. You can preview your message before sending it; then, click "Post Message."

        A note on email: My email address is philnel@ksu.edu. Please use the subject line. Due to the increased volume of spam, messages without clear subject lines will be deleted unread. If you need help establishing an email account and learning to use email, please visit the Office of Telecommunications at 109 East Stadium or <www.telecom.ksu.edu/> to find out what you have to do. Although I do not require you to use email, I encourage you to use email as a way of touching base with me. You can write me with questions, send a thesis statement or outline for an essay, make an appointment to meet me in person, or do anything else that could be handled with a quick exchange of messages. I tend to check email several times a day, but please keep in mind that I am not on-line at all times. You can access email at the various computer labs around campus: 21 Nichols Hall, 22-25 Seaton Hall, 1-1A Dickens Hall, and 325 Justin Hall and in some residence halls (visit <http://rescomp.ksu.edu/info.htm> and scroll down to "Computing Labs" for more details about resident hall labs).