Two
5-page papers, due Fri. Sept. 26 and Fri. Nov. 7 (15% each).
One 10-15 page paper (undergrads) or 15-25
page paper (graduate students), due Monday Dec. 15. (30%)
Prior to turning in the final paper, you have to submit
a Sneak Preview (I will explain the format in class).
This is due Friday, Dec. 5, at 4:00;
it's not itself graded, but failing to turn it in on
time will incur a one-step grade penalty on your final
paper. (That is, an A becomes an A-, an A- becomes a B+ and
so on.)
Papers are to be submitted by 4:00 on the due date
to my mailbox, which is located in the Philosophy Department
Office, on the 4th floor of the Tanner Humanities Building
(CTIHB).
Late paper policy: the later the paper,
the harder it will be graded. No exceptions. The final
paper must be turned in on time; late final papers
will not be graded. Papers are to be submitted in printed,
not electronic, form.
In-class participation. (20%)
Participation is not the same as attendance; come
prepared to talk in class.
You will receive a mid-term participation
grade. (Note that this grade will reflect only your in-class
discussion, and not your overall performance in the class.)
Weekly Assignments. (20%)
These consist of
microcommentaries:
typically a paragraph (not more than half a typed page)
in which you either explain a passage in the readings,
or you explain why you don't understand the passage.
(There's no grade penalty for choosing the latter option;
you will be graded on thoughtfulness. I will provide
a sample microcommentary on the first day of class.)
I will suggest passages (they will be posted on the
web page, under "Weekly Assignments", each Friday), but you are
free to explain a (short) passage of your own
choice instead. (However, to keep things fair, you
can't do a suggested
passage from a previous week.)
The weekly assignments are
due Fridays at 10:55 a.m., sharp,
and may be submitted either to my mailbox (located in the Philosophy
Department Office), or by
email (ascii text only in the message buffer, please;
no Word files or other
attachments).
Late weekly assignments will not be accepted.
Due to aggressive spam filters, if you submit your weekly assignments by email, you have to send them to
both of my email addresses, and retain a timestamped copy in your "Sent" box.
You
need to turn in ten of these; which weeks you skip is up to you;
however, you may not turn in more than one per week.
You can turn in 11 if you want, and if you do, I'll drop the
lowest grade.
Classroom etiquette: no cell phones, tablets, laptops,
recording devices or food (you'll be asked to leave the
class). Beverages are okay. Coming on time is a courtesy
to your fellow students; please allow plenty of time to get
to campus or from your previous classes.
Presentation.
At the current enrollment level,
auditors and any faculty attending the class will give a
15-20 minute presentation.
Interested students should
ask me about presentation opportunities; a presentation will
count for 10% of your grade, in which case weekly
assignments and participation will make up 15% each. (Guidelines)
If enrollments drop sufficiently, all
graduate students and/or all
undergraduates will do presentations; I'll announce which
option the class takes just after the drop date.