1. Attendance:

A.  All are obliged to be on time (excessive lateness -- more than 15 minutes -- will result in counting as absence) and awake (sleeping in class will count as absence).
.
B.  All are obliged to attend all classes, several exceptions apply:

•   illness;
•   observance of religious holidays; you must notify me if you plan to miss a class due to holidays
•   very serious personal reasons (for instance, death in family).

•   lower grade (1/3 for 5-7 absences; 2/3 for 7-9 absences)
•   being dropped from the course for 10+ absences.

A. students are obliged to come prepared into the classroom, having read the texts required for each class;

B. students are encouraged to participate in the classroom discussion that will take place during the lectures. Regular participation will have a positive impact on your grade.

3.  Writing:

A.  There will be different assignments for First and Second Year Students and for Juniors and Seniors. 
B.  First and Second Year Students will write two shorter papers (6-8 pp. long) -- see the Syllabus for specific deadlines.  Students can elect to write one longer paper and follow the deadlines and requirements for Juniors and Seniors
C.  Juniors and Seniors will write one longer paper (14-16 pp.) -- see the Syllabus for specific deadlines.
D. All frosh and sophomore assignments are divided into three stages: 1. Choosing a topic and assembling the bibliography; 2. Submitting the draft of your papers for feedback; 3. Submitting final version. All junior and senior assignments are divided into four stages:  1. Choosing a topic and assembling the bibliography; 2. Outline; 3. Draft of your papers for feedback; 4. Final version. There are specific deadlines for each stage.  

E. Each paper will constitute:
 

• Frosh and Sophomores: 25 % of the final grade, while the first stage 10% and second stage of the paper writing process will constitute 20%.
• Juniors and Seniors: 25% of the final grade, each preceding stage will constitute 10%.
• The total for paper will be 55% of your grade.

  Deadlines:  The deadlines are firm and are marked on the syllabus.  Missing the deadline will result in lowering the grade for the assignment by 1 grade per day. 

4.  Exams:

There will be one mid-term and one final exam.  Both will be in the form of open-ended essay questions.  The midterm exam will be 20% of the final grade and the final exam will constitute 25% of the final grade.

5.  Grades for exams and papers:

A. When writing papers make sure that you state your thesis clearly at the beginning of your essay, then in the body of the paper provide evidence and arguments to support your claim.  The final section should be devoted to conclusions.  Pay attention to spelling (do not rely on spell-checks) and grammar.  When grading exams and papers, the instructor will take into account:

•  clarity of writing;
• evidence provided to support the claim;
• insight;
• argument;
• spelling and punctuation.
• proper FULL footnoting, e.g. G. Scholem Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism (New York: Schocken, 1974), p. 25.  Improper footnotes will lower your grade.

B.  The final grade -- The final grade will be an average of the grades received during the whole semester 

6.  Students’ Rights:

A.  In the classroom:

  The students have the right to express their ideas freely.  While free expression of ideas is strongly encouraged, both the students and the instructor are obliged to be respectful of other students.

B.  Beyond the classroom:

•   Students have the right to meet with the instructor during the office hours to discuss issues related to the course or students’ performance in the classroom.  Visits during my office hours are regarded as part of class participation.   In case of schedule problems, students have the right to make a special arrangement to meet outside of regular office hours.
•  Students have the right to contact the instructor at any time. 
•  Students have the right to know their grade at any given time during the semester and have the right to discuss possible ways to improve their grades.
• Students have the right, and are encouraged, to give me feedback about the course, during the course of the semester.

 
1.  The instructor is obliged to be in class on time.

2.  If in case of emergency, I am not able to come to class, I will:

•   notify History Department office and will make an effort to notify the students before-hand
•   arrange an additional session to make up for the missed session;
3.  In the classroom I will make every effort to foster atmosphere conducive to independent thinking and will encourage free expression of ideas related to the discussed text and subject.

4.  Beyond the classroom:

•   I am obliged to hold regular office hours.
•   I am obliged to check my email at least once daily Monday-Friday and respond promptly to students’ questions and concerns.


5.  Students’ written assignments: I will return all the assignments within two class sessions of their receipt.

III.  PROBLEMS:

All work in the course is done under the Honor Code.

1. Plagiarism is one of the most serious academic offenses a student can commit at Wesleyan.

Instances of plagiarism:

•   submitting essays or portions of essays written by other people as one's own;
•   failing to acknowledge, through footnotes and bibliographical entries, the source of ideas that are essentially not one's own;
•   failing to indicate paraphrases or ideas or verbatim expressions not one's own through proper use of quotations and footnotes;
•   submitting an essay written for one course to a second course without having sought prior permission from both instructors
I will not tolerate any breach of the Honor Code and will make every effort to encourage independent work and prevent unpleasant cases of plagiarism and academic dishonesty.  I also reserve the right to use tools detecting plagiarism available, such as devices which allow detection of internet based plagiarism.

2. Personal problems:

If you have problems that affect your performance in this class, you may talk to me directly, or you may schedule an appointment with a counselor at the Health Services.