COURSE POLICIES & RESOURCES
Attendance
The content of this class is not simply the textbooks and the readings and the exams; it is what takes place in the classroom, the conversation, the give and take, listening to others and sharing your ideas. For that reason, attendance is required. Sometimes it will take some effort to show up – but, as the old saying goes, 80% of success is showing up.
There will be a significant grade penalty for missing more than two or three meetings of the courses (or the equivalent) across the semester.
If you have to miss class for illness or another obligation – and you let me know in advance or as soon as possible – I will give you an additional assignment to make up for an absence. If you do miss a class, for whatever reason, be sure to talk with the professor or the TAs to find out what you’ve missed.
Distractions
Please be ready to begin at the beginning of the hour. Please do not be a distraction to the class or the professor (say, by looking at your phone). Please do not leave the room while we are in session unless it is an emergency. Please do not prepare to leave before class is finished. Arriving late or being a distraction to the class or the professor will count as the equivalent of half a missed class.
Communication
We will use this Voices website (for the syllabus, the schedule, and course materials) and Moodle (to distribute announcements, upload assignments, and keep the grade book).
I will respond to brief questions over email, but for longer conversations please just sign up for office hours.
We will frequently distribute updates, news items, and discussion questions via the Moodle Announcements Forum, which goes out over email. You are responsible for checking your email once a day.
Technology
We will use our time in class to talk, listen, discuss, and share ideas. Toward that end, students are not permitted to use laptops or phones in the classroom. In the past, these have proved to be a distraction to students and the professor. There will be exceptions, such as when we are workshopping papers. But here, too, I ask you to put your phone away, turn off notifications, close your email, and silence your social media feeds so that you can focus on the work we are doing together.
Please silence and put away your phone before entering the classroom. Unless you have special permission – or if I ask you to bring your computers – there should be no laptops in the classroom. Digital readers (Ipads, Kindles, etc.) may be acceptable with my permission, but only for reading pdfs.
Papers and Deadlines
Late papers will only be accepted by permission of the instructor. Unless I grant a special dispensation, papers will be penalized (a third of a letter grade for each day they are late).
Flexibility
The policies as listed above are my starting point, but I also embrace the principle of flexibility. Unexpected situations will happen. You may face challenges that distract you from our work together. (I may as well). If you find you are having difficulty completing the work of our class, please come talk to me and we will try to work out a solution.
Academic Integrity and Plagiarism
A full statement of the Code of Academic Integrity is included in the Scot’s Key. You are responsible for reading and understanding it.
If, in any of your written assignments, you use the words or the ideas of another without attribution, you are committing plagiarism, the academic equivalent of high treason. If you borrow the words of others, you must place them in quotation marks and properly cite the work. If you paraphrase the words of others, you must cite the source. Failure to properly quote and cite is plagiarism.
As a practical rule, if you use more than four words in a row from a source, you must place these in quotation marks and cite the source. For more information on plagiarism, I encourage you to consult Mary Lynn Rampolla, A Pocket Guide to Writing in History and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill handout, “Plagiarism.”
Any student caught plagiarizing or cheating or otherwise violating the Code of Academic Integrity will fail the course and be referred to the Dean for Curriculum and Academic Engagement.
Recording and Photography
No student may record or tape or photograph any classroom activity without the express written consent of the professor. If a student believes that he/she needs to record or tape classroom activities, he/she should contact the Office of the Secretary to request an appropriate accommodation.
Academic Resource Center: Academic Support and Disabilities
Contact: Amber Larson, alarson@wooster.edu, (330) 263-2595, ARC Website
The Academic Resource Center, which is in APEX (Gault library) offers a variety of academic support services, programs and 1:1 meetings available to all students. Popular areas of support include time management techniques, class preparation tips and test taking strategies. In addition, the Academic Resource Center coordinates peer-tutoring for several academic departments. Students are encouraged to schedule an appointment.
An additional support that the Academic Resource Center offers is English Language Learning. Students can receive instruction or support with English grammar, sentence structure, writing, reading comprehension, reading speed, vocabulary, listening comprehension, speaking fluency, pronunciation, and American culture through 1:1 meetings with the Academic Resource Center staff, ELL Peer Tutoring, ELL Writing Studio courses, and other programming offered throughout the year.
The Academic Resource Center also coordinates accommodations for students with diagnosed disabilities. At the beginning of the semester, students should contact the Academic Resource Center to make arrangements for securing appropriate accommodations. Although the Academic Resource Center will notify professors of students with documented disabilities and the approved accommodations, students are encouraged to speak with professors during the first week of each semester. If a student does not request accommodations or does not provide documentation to the Academic Resource Center, faculty are under no obligation to provide accommodations.
The College Libraries and the Research Help Desk
Contact: library@wooster.edu, 330-263-2493, Libraries website
Your librarian for this course is: Denise Monbarren. You can ask your librarian for help with research in this class and can make an appointment with them using the research consultation form for help with your research and information needs, including finding and using items we have in the Libraries; learning expert tips to refine your search for articles in magazines, journals, and newspapers; making an appointment with a librarian for help on a project; and learning how to evaluate the information you discover.
Basic Needs, Food Security & Access to Course Materials
Contact: Dean of Students Office, dos@wooster.edu, 330-263-2545, Galpin Hall
We learn as whole people. To learn effectively you must have basic security: a roof over your head, a safe place to sleep, enough food to eat. If you have trouble with any of those things or need assistance obtaining the course materials for this or other classes, please talk with me or with staff in the Dean of Students office. Together we can work to make sure those needs are met. There is a Technology Assistance Application (Wooster login required) and Wooster alums have created a fund to assist students who encounter a personal financial crisis during their time at the College; find out more about this Emergency Funding through the DoS office.
Wellbeing at Wooster
Contact (24/7): (330) 263-2319, or visit the Wellness Center website
The College of Wooster is committed to supporting the wellbeing of our students. During the course of their academic careers, students experience challenges that may interfere with their learning & health (both physical and mental), including but not limited to: strained relationships, adjusting to a new environment, chronic worrying, persistent sadness or loss of interest in enjoyable activities, family conflict, grief and loss, domestic violence, unwanted sexual experiences, difficulty concentrating, drug/alcohol problems, significant changes in eating and sleeping patterns, microaggressions, challenges with organization, procrastination and/or lack of motivation. Counseling Services at the Longbrake Student Wellness Center is a free and confidential resource providing short-term counseling and connections to community agencies for students needing longer term or specialized resources. You can make an appointment by calling 330.263.2319 between 8:30am-4:30pm during weekdays or by emailing Lori Stine (lstine@wooster.edu). You can also find helpful resources on the Counseling Services website at https://inside.wooster.edu/health/counseling/