As I see it, our main goal is to learn something about Englishness and to enjoy ourselves as we do so. A seminar such as ours will flourish if we all respect the following common-sense policies. Please do not hesitate to speak with me immediately if you encounter difficulties with any aspect of this class. I work closely with the staff of the Disabled Students' Office to help my students when they need it. Therefore, if you have a disability that requires particular attention, please inform me of it at the very earliest so that I can accommodate your needs.
Attendance: Please come to class on time prepared to discuss the day's readings. If for some reason you are unable to attend our meeting, please inform me by phone or email in advance. (This is simply being courteous and does not constitute an excused absence.) Please be prepared to document all absences; undocumented absences will count against your grade as follows: 3 or more undocumented absences will lower your grade one full notch (from A to B, etc.), while 5 will fail you.
Grades: The oral presentation and each paper will be weighted equally to compute your final grade. You may rewrite ONE of your first two papers provided you discuss the revision with me first. Your grade for the assignment will be that of the revision, even if it is lower than the first draft, so do please use the revision as an opportunity to rethink your assignment carefully. Use the MLA format for all papers, and be sure to type papers in a legible (i.e., 10- or 12-point) font including a title, date, professor's name, and staple on all your work. All work must be submitted at the beginning of class on the date it is due. I have developed a liberal rewrite policy which does not penalize you for turning in a paper that may not reflect your full potential while offering you the opportunity of improving it (and your grade) with my input. I urge you to avail of it. Because this policy is both fair and generous, I will not extend paper deadlines unless you have a documented emergency.
Late Papers: Barring this, if you still turn in a paper late, it will be marked down a third of a grade (from A to A- and so on) for each calendar day it is late AND you will forfeit the opportunity of a rewrite on that assignment. Papers that are not turned in at the beginning of class will be marked late by a day and penalized as above. Ordinarily, I will not accept work submitted more than two calendar days after it was originally due.
Participation: This class will be most fun and rewarding if each of us assumes responsibility for it. Knowledge such as the kind we are trying to advance is not proprietary, and to this end, I will expect each and every student to participate actively and constructively in all our discussions. Since the generous exchange of ideas is as central to learning as breathing is to living, I do not institute a formal discussion grade per se; doing so would be akin to grading you for each breath you take. However, past experience in seminars indicates that there is up to a 10% "fudge-factor" that comes into play when computing grades: students who are constructive participants almost always receive it, while those who remain largely silent generally do not.
Note on Academic Honesty: I will expect every member of this class to adhere to the highest standards of academic honesty. You must fully and unambiguously cite all work that is not your own in written and oral assignments and give credit to those whose ideas or language you are using. Failure to do so constitutes plagiarism, whose penalty may include failing the course and academic dismissal. The severity of the infraction allows for little leniency or second chances; I urge you, therefore, to avoid it at all costs. If ever in doubt about acceptable and unacceptable citation, please consult my website for suggestions or see me during office hours.
Listserv: In order to facilitate intellectual discussion and an exchange of information germane to our class, all members are required to subscribe to the course listserv during the first week of class. I will be posting information on readings, deadlines, and material of mutual course interest on it, and I encourage you to do so as well. The Berkeley listmanager has no "archive" function which means that students who do not subscribe immediately cannot retrieve past postings at a later date. The list is unmoderated, which means that as listowner I do not "approve" or "reject" postings. What you post will immediately get distributed to all subscribers of the list. I, therefore, expect each of us to adhere to common-sense standards of courtesy in our postings. I fully encourage you to disagree and debate postings on the list, and I expect you to do so with courtesy and consideration.
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