Grades will be calculated based on the following distribution:
The distribution might be adjusted based on the progression of the course.
As this is a seminar class, regular class attendance and participation are required. There will be a maximum of 2 unexcused absences, and afterwards, they will impact your course grade. There will be a sign-in sheet every day, and it is a student's responsibility to ensure that it is signed.
If a student arrives late, they may not get attendance credit for that day. Please arrive on time and ready to participate by the scheduled start time.
A written report will be turned in every Sunday by midnight on the week's reading assignments. Typically, this will mean 4 readings per week. These are not simple readings! Expect each one to take at least an hour, and sometimes two.
Each report should include around half a page of summary of the paper read. Include the problem investigated by the paper, what the conclusions are, and insights about how the paper fits into the themes for the class. Finalize each report with a question that the reading assignment inspires in you. What does the paper leave unanswered? How could it have been improved? What are you interested in pursuing now that you have read it?
In addition, with each weekly assignment, include a link to some recent news article and a description on how it applies to the class. I will collate and distribute the links to the class.
Assignments will be graded on a scale of:
No late reports will be accepted, but the lowest score will be dropped when calculating the final grade.
Each student will do 1-2 project presentations on one of the readings throughout the semester. These will be 5-10 minute presentations on the assigned paper, ending with a list of questions that the class should discuss. Each presenter will be expected to facilitate the discussion as it happens.
The list of questions to be discussed is to be submitted along with the weekly report, so that I can review them ahead of time.
It is expected that resources outside of the readings may need to be consulted in order to fully understand the background of each reading.
Projects will be graded with the following breakdown:
More details will be provided about the projects soon
If you have a disability that might impact your performance in this course, or requires special accommodation, please contact me as soon as possible so that appropriate arrangements can be made. Support is available through Student Academic Services, specifically Jane Boomer. You will need to contact them to get your disability documented before accommodations can be made.
There is also support available through the Quantitative Skills Center, CLEAR. They have drop-in hours where you can ask for assistance on programming assignments from other students who have experience.
I have very low tolerance for academic dishonesty, and will vigorously pursue available remedies for any incidents. All work in this class is to be performed according to the Oberlin Honor Code. Specifically I expect that:
All assignments must include the following signed statement:
"I have adhered to the Honor Code in this assignment."
Electronic submissions should include the honor statement in either the README file or header comments and must include your name.