1. Attendance:

A.  All are obliged to be on time (excessive lateness -- more than 15 minutes -- will result in counting as absence).
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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.

Because the success of this course is dependent on the students’ participation in the classroom, and the participation is only possible when given texts have been read:

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

B. students are expected to participate in the discussion (class participation will be counted toward your final grade).
 

3.  Writing:

A.  To assure preparation for the classroom discussion, the students will write short (1-2 page) response papers, or prepare a list of questions for each class.  These daily assignments will be handed to the instructor at the beginning of each class; however, just as the students are allowed four unexcused absences, so are they allowed a maximum of four missed daily assignments.  These response papers, or questions and your class participation will count toward the final grade, by increasing your final grade by 1/3 of a grade. Missing more than four assignments, on the other hand, will affect the final grade in a negative way, similar to that of absences. Remember, even though they will not be graded, they will affect your final grade.

B.  Beyond daily short response papers or questions, there will be two longer (6-8 pp) assignments that appear in the syllabus.  Each assignment is broken into three stages: 1. Choosing the topic and preparing the bibliography; 2. Submitting outlines/drafts 3. Final Version.  The final version will constitute 35% of the grade, while the two first stages will count as 10% each.

 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.  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, I will take into account:

•   clarity of writing;
•  evidence provided to support the claim;
•  insight;
•  argument;
• spelling and punctuation.

Please talk to me if you have questions or need help - I am available during my office hours and by appointment

B.  The final grade options:

• The final grade will be an average of the four grades received during the whole semester (two papers and two stages preceding each paper).
• Class participation, response papers and attendancemay influence the final grade (see above).  I will keep records of participation and responses as meticulously as possible.

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 me 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 give time during the semester.
•   Students have the right to give me feedback throughout the duration 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;

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 offences 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

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.