Spring Semester 2005-06
MWF 10:00-10:50 a.m.
Science Center 58

Professor Joyce Jacobsen
Office: 332 PAC
E-mail: jjacobsen@wesleyan.edu
Phone: 685-2357 (o), 344-8514 (h), 836-6022 (cell)
Office hours: MTWThF 1:00-4:00 p.m.: walk-in whenever door is open; also available by appointment
Teaching Assistants:  Josh Atwood, Taylor Bentley, Christian Goble, and Katherine Michelmore
Help sessions:  W 7-8 pm PAC 004 (Christian), W 8-9 pm PAC 004 (Kathy), Th 6-7 pm PAC 004 (Josh), F 2-3 pm PAC 107 (Taylor)

Lectures: You are responsible for all assigned reading whether or not the material is covered explicitly in class. You are also responsible for material introduced in class that is not in the textbook. In the lectures I will focus on the most important topics as well as on those that are more difficult to comprehend. Please ask questions as they arise. I encourage you to comment on the level, pace, and content of the course as it progresses, in person, by e-mail, or by phone.  The lecture presentation materials are available through the course schedule below shortly after each lecture.

Readings: The course text is Baumol and Blinder, Economics: Principles and Policy, Ninth Edition. Any chapter numbers or page numbers in the course schedule refer to this text.  You may use a different introductory textbook or a different edition if you so choose, but it will then be your responsibility to see how your book relates to the assigned readings in the course. Additional short items will be handed out occasionally in class and/or posted on this webpage.  You are also expected to be aware of current economic events and should plan on reading relevant periodicals regularly (e.g., Economist, Financial Times, New York Times, and/or Wall Street Journal).

Coursework and Grades: There will be six problem sets, two in-term tests, a book review, and a final exam.  Attendance will also be counted. The weights of the different course components in your course grade are:
 

If you want to check the recording of your grades, click here to go to the GradeGetter Page for Econ 101.

Problem sets are handed out every other Friday in class (starting on February 3), are due by 6 p.m. on the following Friday, and can be put in the Econ 101 slot in the alcove next to the economics department office or dropped off at class on Friday or at my office. Problem sets handed in late will be penalized unless an agreement is made ahead of time with me. Graded problem sets and tests that are not picked up in class will be filed by last name in the alphabetical slots in the alcove.

Review sessions will be scheduled before the tests and the final exam, exact times to be announced later.  So as to reduce time pressure, the two in-term tests will be scheduled to occur during a flexible block outside of class time, exact block times to be announced later.

We will be using clickers in the course.  Here is the handout describing use of clickers.  I record attendance based on clicker use, but without regard to whether or not you answer any question correctly.

Here is the handout describing the book review and listing possible books.

Honor Code: All work handed in must be your own and must be done for this course only. This does not mean that you must refrain from discussing problems with other students as an aid to understanding the material, but it does preclude copying other students' work. You are expected to discourage such behavior on the part of others. This distinction is generally clear enough to make in practice; when in doubt, please discuss it with me.

Credit/Unsatisfactory Provisos: You have to get a D- or better in order to get credit for the course. If you are taking the course on a credit/unsatisfactory basis, if you attend class regularly, hand in all six problem sets and your book review complete and on time, and pass both in-term tests, then you do not have to take the final exam.

Introductory Economics-Specific Sites

Economics Tutorial
Introduction to the basic concepts of Supply and Demand

Intro to Economics
Intro to the basic concepts in Economics such as supply/demand, money, banking, commerce, stocks, etc.