- Prof. Dancy's Site - Course Site -
Prof. Christopher L. Dancy
Office: Dana 340
Phone: 570.577.1907
Office Hours: Tues 1:30-3pm, Fri 1:30-3pm, and By Appt - My calendar for office hour appointments
The principles of Academic Responsibility will be taken very seriously. Proper credit must be given to any sources uses in papers and presentations whether the sources are on-line or in-print. Unsolicited reading or copying of other student or faculty files is as wrong as looking at or removing papers from a student or faculty member’s desk. It is the faculty’s role to report acts of academic misconduct the Board of Review on Academic Responsibility. Students are expected to read and abide by the principles explained in the Student Handbook.
After completing this course students will be able to:
Additionally, students will develop their skill in literature research and public speaking.
To create a more supportive, responsive environment, we are going to use Slack, a message board environment that has been used successfully in several of my courses (and indeed in several Universities across the country). You should turn on notifications. I'll use Slack to send out any announcements. You will also use Slack to post any materials related to your group's presentation. Signup for Slack on the moodle
This course will meet twice a week. Some of these class periods will be led by Prof. Dancy, while others will be led by students. In addition, there will be some days where we will watch a video during the class period.
This class will involve a great deal of discussion. Students must bring two well-articulated questions related to the readings to each class (from the assigned readings for that day/topic). These two questions must also be submitted to the corresponding Moodle forum before that class. Students should come prepared to discuss the topics for those days and participate in whatever activity Prof. Dancy, or students, may have prepared.
Students are expected to frequently check the schedule to ensure that they are up to date with course plans. Students are expected to have read the listed assigned readings before that class on that corresponding date
Students will be assessed based on their professionalism and participation in the course, the classes they lead, a Medium Post based on the topic from the class they lead, Their entries in a weekly journal, and an end of the term project that includes a Poster and Medium Post.
| Category | Weight |
|---|---|
| Weekly Journal | 5% |
| Student led presentation on topic | 25% |
| Medium post for student led presentation topic | 10% |
| Professionalism and Participation | 10% |
| End of Semester Medium Post | 25% |
| End of Semester Poster | 25% |
You will be required to keep a weekly journal in Moodle. You must create one entry every week, and only one entry. You cannot make up entries if you forget. If you do, they will not be counted toward your journal grade. Please use the Moodle built-in text editor to enter your entries, and do NOT attach other documents. Make your entry by selecting the “Add a new discussion topic” button. Your journal entry should contain the following information:
Students will organize activities for when they are scheduled to lead the discussion of a pre-determined topic. The schedule of topics for the semester is posted here. Students will be in charge of the class period as a well-coordinated team of discussion leaders. The following expectations must be met (pay attention to the deadlines and the deliverables indicated):
Students will be expected to attend class and submit two questions for every lecture that has a corresponding reading assignment. These questions will be submitted by students before that particular lecture and should be related to the readings (submitted via Moodle). Students will also be expected to actively participate in the discussions during class and should bring those questions to help complement their discussion.
Students will choose a topic related to the learning objectives of this class and will write a proposal for their Medium post. The proposal is due February 21st on Moodle and will count for 1/10 of the paper grade. It must present a tentative skeleton of the Medium Post and list the initial bibliography that will support the work. It is not essential that the Medium Post be constrained to what is presented in the proposal, but it is essential that the proposal shows that the student has already explored the topics and done some research in the literature for the work in progress.
The topic chosen must be related to the topics discussed (or that will be discussed) in the class and the paper must address contemporary issues within the chosen theme. The rubric for the Medium Post is available here.
The Medium Post will be due the last day of classes, 27-April-2020, before midnight.
Students will have two unexcused absences for the semester. Each additional unexcused absence will result in a 1 point deduction from that student's final grade.
Late assignments will be accepted at the discretion of the instructor, normally with a 20% per late day penalty.
Emergencies happen. If one occurs, please contact your Dean as soon as possible. I am likely to give extensions or excused absences if you contact me before things are due. Please note that you should follow the school's policy for sports trip. If necessary, I can give you an assignment early or send an exam with you on the trip.
If you have a disability that may have some impact on your work in this class and for which you may require accommodations, please see me and Heather Fowler, Director of the Office of Accessibility Resources at hf007@bucknell.edu, 570-577-1188 or in room 212 Carnegie Building so that such accommodations may be arranged.
I recognize that the college experience can sometimes be overwhelming and stressful trying to balance your academic pursuits with your non-academic life and interests. If you feel that things are getting overwhelming, please seek help. I am happy to talk to you and point you to a resource on campus that can work with you to get the help you need. If you feel comfortable, please reach out to me. If not, I do advise that you do get help. The Division of Student Affairs is the best starting point. You can find more information on their website: https://www.bucknell.edu/StudentAffairs
Any student who has difficulty affording groceries or accessing sufficient and nutritious food to eat every day, or who lacks a safe and stable place to live, and believes it is affecting their learning, is urged to contact the Dean of Students for support. Furthermore, I encourage you to notify me of this as well - I will keep all such information confidential. This will enable me to provide any resources that I may possess and identify other resources in the University.
The instructor promises the best effort in adhering to the above rules but reserve the right to change them if deemed necessary. For instance, slight alterations to the course schedule are possible if the class needs more/less time for a certain topic; additional readings may be assigned during the semester as needed; and so on. Updates will be announced in class and by email, posted on course webpage and on Moodle. Check your Bucknell email and Slack Forum at least daily.
This syllabus has benefitted from the ideas of and discussion with Prof. Felipe Perrone and Prof. Darakhshan Mir @ Bucknell University.