COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Your final grade for this course
will reflect your accomplishments in three areas of activity:
I. Attendance and participation (200 points/20%)
- Regular attendance. You will need to complete the readings
for the particular day on which they appear in the course calendar. This will enable you to follow the lectures, participate in
the discussions, and ask useful questions. Lectures assume that you
you have the knowledge presented in the assigned readings.
- I have assigned primary sources as part of the regular course reading. From time to time we will also work with these sources as part of our in-class activities; these days are marked **PS on the calendar. On **PS days, you will need to have read the assigned texts carefully before class, completed the “questions for discussion,” and be ready to participate actively in their discussion. You must also bring these texts with you to class.
- The “default” grade for participation is a “B” (roughly 85%). You may raise it to an “A” by actively participating in the PS discussions and by regularly completing the “questions for **PS discussions” in a thoughtful and thorough manner. Sporadic attendance, lack of engagement in the **PS discussions, and infrequent attention to the questions for discussion, however, will lead to a participation grade that falls below the B level.
- On the **PS days, I will also take attendance. You may miss one of these classes for whatever reason without penalty. For each subsequent absence, I will deduct 15 points from the attendance and participation grade. Students who miss five or more of these sessions will receive no credit for attendance and participation.
- To give you an opportunity to explore additional aspects of the modern world and reflect on them from the context of the course themes, I will ask you to write a 4-6 page paper on a book (from a short list I will provide) dealing with major world historical issues. I will distribute specific instructions for this paper on March 2. The paper is due at the beginning of class on April 6.
- There are two in-class examinations for this course. The midterm, planned for February 25, is worth 250 points. The final exam, worth 300 points, will be given during finals week at the officially scheduled time (see the course calendar). Each examination will include concept and map identifications as well as essays.
In sum, there are a total of 1000 possible points. An "A" grade will require a minimum of 900 points, a "B" 800-899 points, a "C" 700-799 points, and a "D" 600-699 points.