Last modified: January 9, 2009
Obviously, this class is more difficult than any other 100-level course at this university. It is an honors seminar and therefore has more readings, more difficult readings, and higher standards for participation and paper-writing. You have to work to graduate from the Barrett Honors College, otherwise having an honors degree is meaningless. If you are not willing to put in the extra work, then the BHC is not for you. What we, as faculty, promise is that if you work at the level expected of you, you will obtain a fair grade and that we will present you with opportunities for learning and self-development that you will not get elsewhere at ASU.
I often hear students express the worry that they will lose their scholarship because of their performance in this course. I will admit that this course is harder and more time-consuming than others you may be taking this semester. It is, after all, an honors course. However, I need to remind you of something; You will not lose a scholarship because you don't get an 'A' (or 'B') in this course. You will lose it if you get a poor grade in this and other courses. A scholarship doesn't hinge on a single course but your performance during a complete semester.
Two actors take part in our meetings; me (as professor), and you (as students). It is important to realize that the most important element is not me but you. If you are not coming to class with ideas and questions the class will fail. If you are not self-moderating, the class will fail. If you are not cognizant of the needs of quiet students and do not act to help them, the class will fail. This includes being aware of everyone talking at once, of your possible dominance in conversation, and whether a quiet person is not getting a chance to speak. You can call on each other!
My job is a surprisingly simple one - to guide you along certain avenues within the texts and to provide clarification and background where required. The onus is on you to ensure that conversation occurs - I alone cannot force people to talk on the joys of Plato or the majesty of the Iliad. This is learner-centered education, it is not passive-learning via lecture. You hold the power to make the class successful.
You are allowed one week worth of absences (excused or otherwise) without penalty. Exceeding this will result in immediate failure of the course. For seminar courses, arriving more than five minutes late counts as an absence.
Please do not email me following an absence asking me what you missed in class. Any important announcements will be made online and, as you can appreciate, the material covered in a class period cannot be distilled down to a manageable email. Likewise, I will not summarize missed material for you in office hours. Contact a classmate if you have any questions.
Remember that every time you walk into the class-room you are presented with an opportunity to gain or lose points through participation (or lack thereof). As I have stated before, both good paper-writing and good participation will help your overall grade, and consistency in the latter is particularly important. Please see the posted guidelines for seminar participation.
Attendance alone will not get you a passing grade in this class. You need to actively participate. Coming to class doesn't automatically count, neither does having the reading done, nor staying awake during class and listening to others. You need to discuss the text in class to obtain credit. Discussion involves textual reference and listening to others. Many students avoid the text and do not actively listening to others.
Often quiet students need to be brought into the conversation. However, as I say at the start of the semester, I do not cold-call individuals. So, here's a suggestion - chat with the individual(s) before class; ask them if they would be willing to be called on by you if they look as if they have something to say; work together to get all voices heard; work together to prevent everyone shouting out an answer; work together to prevent single voices dominating the discourse.
Oftentime students get a little frustrated by the discussions. This is normal. We cannot discuss everything about the text in a single short class period, and (by the nature of the course) we sacrifice breadth for depth. Needless to say, there is absolutely nothing stopping you discussing the works with your peers outside of class time. Learning does not come in 75 minute blocks.
Many classes begin with me providing a little background and elucidating the main points of the piece. Context is important. My giving it to you is the easiest way for you to gain some background. Elucidation of the main points allows me to ascertain whether people have completed the reading (in many cases, it is obvious that some have not). Beyond this start, there are a number of ways any class can go - either to explore specifics or generalities. The avenues I choose are often those which will re-occur later (either in other texts or in paper prompts). There is no "end goal" but there is some material we need to cover in any given class.
Readings are required to be completed before the class session to which they are assigned. Print out electronic materials as laptops will not be allowed in class. Failure to bring a text to class or to engage with that text will result in an immediate (and unannounced) zero for participation in that class.
The text is central to the class, but it is not the only thing. The course always balances close-readings of the text and reaching for the wider implications of the ideas contained therein. If you want paragraph by paragraph examinations, I suggest taking many of the fine literature courses this university offers. I will remind you of the four questions from the syllabus:
Being able to answer these questions before entering the classroom will definitely mean you will have read the text and have something to say in class.
If I set up blocks of appointments to discuss papers, you need to honor the appointment that you make. If you fail to turn up without notifying me 24 hours in advance, your participation grade for that week will suffer. Remember, you have taken a time-slot from another student, and your appointment may be the sole reason I am in my office for the afternoon.
I switch my phone off when I come to class; You should do so as well. If your phone rings during a seminar class, your participation grade will suffer.
Grades can only be contested in writing (not by e-mail) and not before the class period following return of the assignment. Please enclose all relevant material (i.e. the paper as I returned it to you) with your appeal which should engage the comments and criticisms I have made. Avoid claiming that because you worked hard, you deserve an 'A' – it is assumed that you worked hard. In case of further action, you are directed to the Barrett Honors College's Procedure on Student Academic Grievances.
Please ensure your ASU mailbox (or wherever it is being forwarded to) is not full. If an email gets returned to me, I will not attempt to resend the message. It is your responsibility to ensure that communication is possible.
If you have not received a reply to an email within two working days (i.e., excluding weekends), please resend the message. While I generally reply promptly, I cannot guarantee to deal with email in the evening (after 5pm) or over the weekends.
If you are emailing me a document (e.g. a thesis and/or topic sentences) for feedback, do not attach the document in its native format. Instead, cut and past the text into the email body. That way I can more easily offer feedback. I will automatically ignore e-mails that contain attachments.
Once you have read these policies, e-mail me at john dot lynch at asu dot edu indicating that you have done so.