Magda Teter :: Professor of History

HIST 248 Requirements:

All work in the course is done under the Honor Code. Cases will be brought to the Honor Board, should questions concerning potential or actual violation of the Honor Code arise

One short paper, including a detailed bibliography, based on a source in the special collection.
One short paper based on a primary text related to the class and period (list with suggested sources will be provided)
Take-home midterm and final exams
4 response paper on the readings (two in each half of the semester).
Filling out a short survey after each class (like absences below, 3 missed surveys are allowed)
Class attendance (3 unexcused absences allowed, 4+ will entail grade penalty)
Excessive lateness (more than 15 minutes) counts as absence.
Sleeping in class also counts as absence.
Class participation: the success of this class depends on our mutual involvement and therefore your participation in class discussions is crucial. Participation in discussions, posting on the class forums in response to the readings, and post-class survey form count as class participation. There will be a grade bonus for class participation.

Students' Rights:

To express their ideas freely, while being respectful to others.
To meet with me during office hours to discuss issues related to the course or students? performance in the classroom.
To make an appointment outside office hours (via email).
To know their current grade at any give time during the semester.
To give me feedback throughout the duration of the semester (in fact, you are encouraged to do so).
To receive accommodation for registered learning or other disabilities. They must be registered with the Dean's Office.

Written assignments:

There are writing fellows available at the Writing Center, you can approach them on your own, or you may be referred to them, should the need arise.
All written assignments are due on the day noted in the syllabus through Moodle No extensions will be given. There will be a grade penalty for lateness (1 grade per day).
Papers are graded based on: clarity of writing; evidence provided to support the claim; insight; argument; spelling and punctuation; proper use of sources (footnotes and their formatting, proper acknowledgment of ideas and sources).
Footnoting should follow the Chicago 15th A style, available through the EndNote Program, or given in Mary Rampolla's book Mary Lynn Rampolla A Pocket Guide to Writing in History (Boston, New York: Bedford/St. Martin's Press). You can also use these guidelines: How to Cite Sources. Improper footnoting will result in grade penalty and/or referring the case to the Honor Board.
Plagiarism is one of the most serious academic offenses 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; and the source of primary sources, e.g. if you find a reference to the primary source in a secondary source, you must show where you found it;
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 (self-plagiarism).

Grading:

Special Collection assignment: first draft 10%, bibliography 5%, final draft 15%
Second assignment: first draft 10%, final draft 15%
Four responses to texts: 5% (total)
Midterm exam 10%
Final exams 20%
class participation 10% (50 points)
Bonus of up to 1/3 grade: 100% class participation, 100% rate of attendance; all responses;

Penalties: missing more than 3 classes, missing the assignment deadline; missing more than 3 responses