Professor Candace Waid
Spring 2014
Section 17814: W 5 p.m., Girvetz 2120
Section 17822: W 6 p.m., Girvetz 2119
Teaching Assistant: Patrick Mooney
Office Hours: Tuesdays 2:00-3:00 and Wednesdays 3:30-4:30, or by appointment, in South Hall 2432E.
Mailbox: English Department mail room, South Hall 3421.
Email: patrickmooney AT umail DOT ucsb DOT edu
Voicemail: (805) 272-0069
- Punctual, attentive reading. (Before each lecture, you should have thoughtfully and carefully read the assigned texts listed under that date on the syllabus.)
- Attendance at each and every lecture.
- Attendance and participation in your discussion section (10% of course grade).
- A first version of an essay, 4–6 pages in length, with preparatory work, due in my mailbox at noon on Monday, 19 May (20% of course grade).
- A final paper of 7–9 pages, due in my mailbox at noon on Friday, 6 June (25% of course grade).
- Midterm exam on Tuesday, 6 May (15% of course grade total).
- A final exam from noon to 3 p.m. on Monday, 9 June (30% of course grade).
- All of the above course assignments must be completed, and at least six discussion sections must be attended, in order to receive a passing grade for the course.
All administrative deadlines below apply to students in the College of Letters & Science. Students in other colleges may have other deadlines; they should consult with their college or department, or with the Office of the Registrar, for deadlines that apply to their situation.
Discussion sections are an important part of the course. We will be reviewing major course topics and themes, looking closely at particular parts of the texts we are reading in class, and exploring additional related issues. At the same time, the course discussion section is your opportunity to explore additional implications of course readings or issues that you find interesting, problematic, fascinating, questionable, or unclear. You will find section more rewarding and enjoyable if you arrive prepared and bring specific issues, interests, and questions with you. This course is a component of your education, and the discussion section meetings are a core opportunity for you to engage with the texts, with macro- and micro-level issues related to the course material, and with your peers and section leader. I expect that each of you will engage actively, vocally, and specifically with the material, with each other, and with me.
Attendance in section is necessary, and each absence is a missed opportunity in multiple ways: to engage with the material, to provide your peers with the benefit of your perspective and insights, to gain a deeper understanding of the course's material and concerns, and (least importantly, in my opinion) to earn points for section participation. Because weekly discussion sections are essentially an assignment to contribute to the group's discussion that week in a productive way, I do not distinguish between excused
and unexcused
absences — so if you miss section, be sure that you are missing section for a reason that you think is important enough that you are willing to give up points for that week. (If you have a genuinely extraordinary situation that results in multiple absences and is truly unavoidable, please see me: perhaps we can work something out.) If you miss more than four discussion sections, you will automatically fail the course, but missing any at all will hurt your grade.
Simply showing up at section each week is not sufficient to earn participation points: please remember that this is a discussion section. You should be aware from the beginning of the quarter that merely showing up in section does not earn you any points in this category: your participation grade is based primarily on the degree to which you make meaningful contributions to the group discourse on a regular basis. I have only three basic expectations related to discussion: that you contribute meaningfully to the group's discourse; that you arrive promptly in section prepared to discuss the readings in a nuanced and engaged manner; and that everyone in section treat each other respectfully during discussions, even (especially!) when disagreements arise.
Doing all of the reading listed on the course syllabus is a basic expectation for for all students in this class. None of the readings are optional. If you do not have the time to do all of the reading, or are unwilling to read all of the assigned texts, then this is not an appropriate class for you to take, and you are unlikely to receive a grade that satisfies you. You should always prepare for lecture by reading the assigned texts carefully and critically. This will help you to draw the full benefit out of lecture and section, and will help you make meaningful contributions in discussion. It is also a good way to stay prepared for quizzes and the final exam, and to be ready to write your papers.
You should spend a substantial amount of time and attention on the assigned texts. Simply scanning texts quickly is not enough: you need to participate actively in the reading process, and to engage thoughtfully with what you are reading by looking up unfamiliar words (or words or phrases used in unfamiliar ways), interrogating your own understanding of the texts, and perhaps by doing background reading. You are likely to find it helpful to read with a pen in your hand, and to use it to highlight/underline and make annotations as you read. (Students who read actively and who take a direct, personal interest in the texts are also very likely to score better on assignments and exams than students who simply move their eyes quickly over the printed words.) You are also likely to find that giving texts, especially short texts, multiple readings is worthwhile, because it will result in a deeper, richer understanding of them.
You should always have completed the assigned readings by the date indicated on the syllabus. You should always bring the week's readings with you to section and to lecture.
Your papers are due according to the schedule on Professor Waid's syllabus. Failure to turn in your paper on time will result in a reduction of ⅓ letter grade per day (e.g., an A- paper receives a B+ if turned in up to one day late) unless you have either made arrangements with me (at least 24 hours in advance) or have a genuinely serious and unavoidable emergency (family death, serious injury, natural disaster, etc.). If you turn in a late paper, you should put it in my box in the English Department's mail room (South Hall 3421) and must email me before 4 p.m. that day to be sure that I notice it and give you credit for turning it in on the proper day. If you must be absent from class on the day that your paper is due, you may leave your paper in my box before lecture begins.
Unless you have a genuinely extraordinary situation, I do not accept papers more than two weeks late, or late papers after the final exam — I also will not grant extensions beyond these deadlines under ordinary circumstances. Note that failing to turn in an assignment within these time limits will result in an automatic non-passing grade for the course, as it is necessary to complete all course requirements in a timely fashion in order to pass.
Papers must be formatted according to the MLA standard. Among other things, this means that you should have a standard list of works cited and use MLA-standard citation methodology for phrases and ideas originating elsewhere, that you should use one-inch margins, that your paper should be double-spaced, that there should be no extra spacing between paragraphs or other layout elements, that you should use a standard 12-point font, etc. etc. etc. If your word processor does not conform to the MLA standard by default, it is your job to figure out how to override the defaults and produce an acceptably formatted paper. (Any college student taking a junior-level English course should be able to format a document in a word processor. This will be a useful job skill at some point for virtually everyone after graduation.) Any significant deviation from the MLA standard will negatively impact your paper grade. Moreover, you are expected to use the standard conventions of formal writing (including appropriate grammar, punctuation, and other mechanics), and any substantial problems with these matters will also negatively impact your grade. If you have questions, please consult a writing handbook, or see me during my office hours. We will discuss expectations regarding papers at greater length before your first paper is due.
Your paper grade is not based on whether or not you agree with me or with Professor Waid. You are welcome to disagree in whole or part with the positions we take in lecture or section, in our office hours, or in other places, and this will not hurt your grade — what I expect from all students is that they will have a well thought-out argument that is closely tied to the text(s) with which they engage. Expressing a different opinion will not hurt you, provided that you can instantiate a logical reasoning process for that opinion, and provided that you can tie it closely to your textual materials. Contrapositively, agreeing with me or with Professor Waid will not necessarily benefit you: I will still expect you to instantiate a logical argument that is closely tied to the text(s) (and that does not merely re-instantiate an argument from lecture or section — papers that merely agree with opinions that have already been expressed in the course are not A papers). I do not grade you on your politics, religion, or other opinions: I grade you on the construction of your argument and on your writing.
If you wish to dispute a grade you have received on a paper, you should provide a written statement indicating specific reasons why your grade should be different, and should take my comments on your paper into account. This statement should be delivered to me in person, dropped off in my box in English department mail room, or sent to me by email. You must also provide me with a copy of your paper that has my comments on it. We will then schedule an appointment to discuss your paper grade. I do not re-evaluate papers based on general claims such as I just think I did better.
If, after we have discussed your grade, you still think that it is not a fair evaluation of the work that you have performed, you should then discuss the grade with Professor Waid.
I am available during and after section, after lecture (most days), and during my office hours. If you need to see me but cannot come into my office during office hours, let me know and we will arrange another time to meet. I take my pedagogical responsibilities seriously, and want to help each and every one of you to be successful. Although I am willing to answer quick and basic questions by email, substantial and/or complex discussions about course material are likely to be more beneficial to both of us if they occur in person instead of electronically. You should treat email as a method of contact for me that is appropriate for quick questions, administrative matters, and emergencies, not as a forum for substantial discussions about course material. You will receive a more thorough explanation by asking me questions in person rather than through email as I cannot respond to emails with lengthy questions. My responses will be limited to no more than a short paragraph (4–6 sentences maximum) and will be answered within 24 hours on weekdays and 48 hours on weekends. If you have larger conceptual questions that will take time to discuss, you should make use of office hours or bring these questions to section. Please schedule your writing and studying so that any questions arise sufficiently far in advance of the due date that you are not left without feedback at the last minute. Please also note that my daytime responsibilities on campus may mean that I do not check my email during the last few hours before a paper is due or a test is scheduled.
Email is not a substitute for attending lecture or section; nor is it a substitute for taking notes. I post my own notes for section discussions on the section website a day or two after section each week, and these will contain any major announcements that happened in section (though much more happens in section than is reflected in the notes). You should have contact information for other students in the course (perhaps people in your section) whom you can ask for notes and/or major announcements if it is necessary to miss a component of the course. Emailing me to ask me for information that is available on the section website, or to ask me to repeat announcements already made in lecture or section, hurts your participation score, because it demonstrates that you are not adequately meeting basic expectations for participating in a college-level course. Despite this caveat, it is always acceptable to send me email to ask for clarification on requirements, guidelines, or other information that is available, and this will not result in a penalty to your section participation score.
It is your responsibility to ensure that you can receive email at your U-Mail address, and that you check your U-Mail address regularly. Although I do not often contact students by email (except to respond to emails that you send me), I may occasionally make general announcements in this way, or contact you personally about important issues. Emails that I or Professor Waid send out are considered to be course material for which you are responsible for reading in the same way and to the same degree that you are responsible for reading the texts listed on the syllabus, and failure to notice an email, or having a full email box, does not exempt you from your responsibility to be aware of these announcements.
Please turn off your cell phone and any other electronic communications device(s) during lecture and section. If you have a compelling reason for needing to be available in these ways during class (for instance, if you are an emergency responder, or you need to be available to your childcare provider during class in case of emergency), please set your device to vibrate instead of making an audible tone. If a legitimate need arises for you to take an emergency phone call during section or lecture, please leave the room to do so in order to minimize disruption to other students. You may not under any circumstances engage in any form of communication, electronic or otherwise, with anyone other than the professor or a course TA during tests; please ensure that you inform people who see you as an emergency contact that you are entirely unavailable for any reason during that time.
Anything and everything you turn in for class must represent your own original work. Although your papers may build on existing scholarship — excellent work often does — you must always make it perfectly clear, using established academic practices, which words and ideas in your paper are yours and which originate elsewhere. Your ultimate guide to all questions about plagiarism should be the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, Seventh Edition, which has a fairly comprehensive discussion of the subject in section two.
If you have questions about plagiarism or how to properly attribute the language and ideas of others, please see me after class or section, or during my office hours.
Exams must be completed entirely based on knowledge that you carry in your own head. You are not allowed to consult notes or course texts during exams, and must not look at anyone else's work during the course of the test. You may not use any form of communication device during an exam. It is your job to avoid even the appearance of cheating. Glancing at someone else's test during an exam — or at your cell phone — is cause for disciplinary action even if you do not use what you see in order to construct your answer.
If you are a student with a disability and require accommodations, please let me know as soon as possible, and apply for services with the Disabled Students Program (http://dsp.sa.ucsb.edu/). I am not qualified to evaluate disability status and cannot provide any accommodations unless I hear from DSP.
University policy and Federal and state law require that all students be provided fair and equal access to educational services, regardless of race, gender, religion, nationality, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or economic background. All students in this class are expected to treat each other with respect, and prejudicial or hate speech will not be tolerated. Professional speech and demeanor is expected from everyone in class at all times. Behavior and/or language that intimidate or negatively impact the attendance or performance of another student constitutes harassment and is unacceptable. This includes unwelcome sexual advances.
More broadly, we should be discussing texts and ideas, not attacking each other personally. Focusing on discussions of course material and related topics not only keeps us on task, but will ensure that everyone is able to participate effectively and gain as much as possible from the course.
If you have questions or concerns about university policies on equal access, please do not hesitate to contact me. If you do not feel comfortable speaking with me for any reason, you may contact UCSB's Title IX Compliance Office (http://www.oeosh.ucsb.edu/SexualHarssment/SexualHarassment.html), the Multicultural Center (http://mcc.sa.ucsb.edu/), the Resource Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity (http://wgse.sa.ucsb.edu/sgd/), or the Women, Gender, & Sexual Equity Department (http://wgse.sa.ucsb.edu/).
A collection of course materials can be found online at http://is.gd/boweva (or, if you're fond of additional typing, at http://patrickbrianmooney.nfshost.com/~patrick/ta/s14/). This site will have electronic copies of all handouts that I distribute during class. There is also a Twitter stream for the course, accessible from the same location, providing reminders about upcoming events and additional course-related information.
I expect that you will put in the necessary work to be prepared for lecture and section, that you will engage with the course material, that you will turn in your work on time, and that you will treat everyone else in class with respect. I want everyone to benefit from and to succeed in this course, and would be happy to hear input from you about how I can help you to do so. If you have questions or concerns, please let me know in my office hours, after lecture, or by email.
I try very hard to be available to, supportive of, and understanding toward my students. If you are having difficulties with the course material, please come talk to me. If you have unusual, stressful, or bizarre things happen during the term that make it difficult for you to perform up to your potential in the course, please come talk to me. If you just can't seem to get started writing your paper, please come talk to me. If I can help you to be successful in any reasonable way, please let me know. If I'm not aware of what's going on in your life, however, it's difficult for me to assist you.
Policies are subject to change as the quarter progresses, and the most up-to-date copy of this handout is always available on the Internet at http://is.gd/camake (or, equivalently, at http://patrickbrianmooney.nfshost.com/~patrick/ta/s14/eng133so/section-guidelines.html). However, please bring your hard copy of these guidelines with you to each section so that you can keep notes on any changes that I may find it necessary to make.