Requirements • A Breakdown of Expectations
Attendance and Participation • 50%
This portion of your grade will be based on the following:
a. Attendance and Informed Participation
It is essential that you each come to class having completed all of that week's assigned readings and prepared to actively contribute. Both the quality and quantity of your contributions will be rewarded. More than one unexcused absence will result in a failing grade for the course.
Please note: I do not allow the use of cell phones or laptops in seminar and I will require you to stow them away before we begin. You'll have to rely on good ol' notebooks and pens while in my classroom.
b. Seminar Presentation
Once during the semester, you (or you and a partner) will present a 15 minute summary of the readings and then, with my support, you'll introduce questions and themes to guide the discussion. You'll be evaluated on content, organization, and ability to promote class discussion. You'll also be required to email me an outline of the questions you'd like the class to address by midnight on the Tuesday before our meeting.
Weekly Reading Responses • 10%
A written response to each week's readings will help you reflect on the material and prepare for our discussions. Each week, excluding the week in which you are presenting, you must compose an informal 1/2 to 1 page (double-spaced) response, which should include summaries of the authors' main arguments. All response assignments should be emailed to me and will be due no later than 2pm on the day of our meeting
Prospectus and Annotated Bibliography • 10%
The prospectus for your final paper should be roughly 3 pages in length and must include the following:
• Title. Your topic, encapsulated.
• Concise statement of the thesis. A clear explanation of your main argument.
• Proposed framework. Description of issues you'll address and how these will support your thesis.
• Discussion of research materials. Overview of the sources you intend to draw upon.In addition, you will submit an annotated bibliography, which should include a comprehensive list of your sources, both primary and secondary. For each, you'll provide a complete citation and a couple of sentences describing the source and its significance for your paper. A hard copy of both the Prospectus and the Annotated Bibliography will be due in class on Wednesday, March 9.
Primary Source-Based Research Paper • 30%
You will write a 9 to 11 page paper based on primary source research and informed by secondary sources. Be sure to follow the required specifications (listed below). Your final paper will be due to me in my office between 4pm and 6pm on Wednesday, May 11.
• 9 to 11 pages in length, not including the title page
• Times New Roman 12-pt font
• double-spaced
• numbered pages
• title page, including the title of your paper, your full name, the name of the course and instructor
• footnote citations in proper Chicago Style format; absolutely no in-text parentheticals
• staple pages together; papers should not be bound
Plagiarism Policy
According to the UC Berkeley Campus Code of Student Conduct:
"Plagiarism is defined as the use of intellectual material produced by another person without acknowledging its source. This includes, but is not limited to:
(a.) Copying from the writings or works of others into one's academic assignment without attribution, or submitting such work as if it were one's own;
(b.) Using the views, opinions, or insights of another without acknowledgment; or
(c.) Paraphrasing the characteristic or original phraseology, metaphor, or other literary device of another without proper attribution."
Plagiarism is a serious academic violation that will result in a failing grade and can lead to expulsion from the university. If you run into any problem along the way, please let me know so I can help you work through it. Don't risk plagiarizing any portion of your paper; the consequences are much too serious.
