Please use me as a resource: Come to my office hours, talk to me after class, or send me emails with any questions you have—whether they relate to the requirements of the course or ideas weÕre reading about or discussing in class.
You may email me your written assignments, but it doesnÕt ÒcountÓ unless you get an email back from me saying I received it. Unless I reply back to you, I didnÕt receive it. If thereÕs any question about whether IÕm receiving your emails, please talk to me about it in class.
materials
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Required Texts |
Buy These, or Find
Other Versions |
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Robin W. Winks and |
Morris Bishop |
Andrew George, trans. Version notes:
Penguin has more than one Gilgamesh. I recommend the Andrew
George edition because he translated directly from the source. It also has a
useful intro. If you get another edition, make sure it uses the Standard
Version. |
Glyn Burgess, trans. Version notes: This
is a good edition, but most versions of The Song of Roland will
do. |
Availability
u
All four books are available from Brooklyn College
Bookstore, either on person or via their website: http://whywaitforbooks.com
u
All four are also available from Amazon and other
online retailers—use the ISBNs to search. Also available from the
publishersÕ web sites. If you order online, make sure you do so enough in
advance that youÕll receive the books in time for the assignments.
Online Versions
u
Although summaries of various sources of Gilgamesh exist online, there isnÕt a trustworthy translation
of the Standard Version on the web. Since the Penguin edition is only about
$12, I suggest you use that.
u
There are numerous translations of The Song of
Roland online, including at Project
Gutenberg: http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/391
expectations
DonÕt waste this opportunity! Make the most out of this class.
u
Be on time and prepared. By prepared, I mean you should come into class having done the
readings for that day and thought about them. Come in ready to talk about your
reactions to the readings and the questions they raised in your mind.
u
Class attendance is required. Missing classes will damage your grade. The
textbook is designed to just give you the basics; itÕs in class that we try to
make sense of things and sift out whatÕs important. Missing classes means you
miss out on a key part of our trying to put things together. Plus, if you miss
classes, youÕll miss quizzes, which will put a big crimp in your grade for the
course. Religious observances that affect your class attendance should be
discussed in advance.
u
Cell phones and electronics need to be silenced and
stowed. A phone ringing during class is
hugely disruptive. Texting during class is just as rude and insulting as
talking on the phone. For 75 minutes, you can unplug.
u
Late assignments will be marked down. Written assignments will be marked down one letter
grade per class meeting after the assignment due date, up to a maximum of 30
points. That means youÕre still better off turning in your paper late, and
having it be marked down, than not turning it in at all, and getting a zero.
u
Check your email.
Make sure I have a good email address for you and check it, as I occasionally
send information and updates by email. If you have not gotten an email from me
within the first week after school begins, check your spam folders. If you
canÕt find an email from me, email me to let me know.
u
Plagiarism will result in a zero. CUNY, like all academic institutions, does not
tolerate academic dishonesty. Single instances of plagiarism will yield a zero
for the assignment. Multiple instances will result in a zero for the course and
disciplinary action from the College. (See below.)
u
Talk to me if youÕre struggling. Come to me in office hours or after class, and the
sooner the better. DonÕt wait until itÕs too late to turn things around.
Academic Dishonesty
The faculty and administration of Brooklyn College support an
environment free from cheating and plagiarism. Each student is responsible for
being aware of what constitutes cheating and plagiarism and for avoiding both.
The complete text of the CUNY Academic Integrity Policy and the Brooklyn
College procedure for implementing that policy can be found at this site:
http://www.brooklyn.cuny.edu/bc/policies. If a faculty member suspects a
violation of academic integrity and, upon investigation, confirms that
violation, or if the student admits the violation, the faculty member MUST
report the violation.
Center for Student Disability Services
In order to receive disability-related academic accommodations
students must first be registered with the Center for Student Disability
Services. Students who have a documented disability or suspect they may have a
disability are invited to set up an appointment with the Director of the Center
for Student Disability Services, Ms. Valerie Stewart-Lovell at 718-951-5538. If
you have already registered with the Center for Student Disability Services
please provide your professor with the course accommodation form and discuss
your specific accommodation with him.
assignments and course grade
Your course grade will be based on the following:
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15% |
Quizzes WeÕll have very short quizzes at the start of class roughly
once a week (they will not be on a regular, predictable schedule) to help
gauge our relationship with the material in the readings. u
Quizzes are based on any and all of the readings for
that class. If you did your reading for the class, you should be prepared for
the quiz. u
Missed quizzes are not made up. If you come
late to class and thereby miss a quiz, youÕll get a zero for that quiz. Therefore, please make sure you come
to class on time and prepared. u
Quizzes are always based on the readings
listed on the assignment sheet, even if I am slightly behind the syllabus in
the topics I discuss in class. Make sure you do the assigned readings. |
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10% |
Primary Source Essays (2) There will be two short, 2–3 page essays, one on The
Epic of Gilgamesh and one on The
Song of Roland. u
These essays will be due after weÕve read and
discussed the books and their meaning and context in class. u
I give out a handout with the specific assignments
for the essay a couple of weeks before the due date. |
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20% |
Position Paper Over the course of the semester youÕll do some research on a
particular topic (from a list of topics IÕll provide later) and write a
5–7 page paper that takes a position on that topic. In other words,
youÕll be telling me what your opinion is on some controversy related to the
topic youÕve researched, and supporting your opinion with evidence and
reasoning from your readings. u
If youÕve never done anything like this before, donÕt
worry. I will be talking to you in class about approaching the research, how
to structure the paper, and other things that will help you put this
together. IÕll also have handouts and examples. u
YouÕll turn in (a) a proposal, tell me what youÕre
going to write about; (b) an optional draft, which will allow me to give you
some guidance before you turn in the paper; and (c) the final paper. u
Because I accept drafts, I do not allow students to
submit revised versions of their final paper after the final due date. |
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20% |
Midterm Exam Thursday, March 25, regular class meeting |
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35% |
Final Exam Thursday, May 20, 8:00 – 10:00 a.m. |
important dates
Course Dates
Tuesday, March 2 Position
Paper: Proposal Due
Tuesday, April 13 Position
Paper: Optional Draft Due
Tuesday, April 27 Position
Paper Due
Tuesday, March 9 Essay
#1 Due (Gilgamesh)
Tuesday, May 11 Essay
#2 Due (Roland)
Thursday, March 25 Midterm
Exam
Tuesday, May 20 Final
Exam (8:00 – 10:00 a.m.)
College Dates
Wednesday, February 3 Last day to add a course
Wednesday, February 10 Last day to file Pass/Fail application
Wednesday, February 17 Last day to drop a course without a grade
Thursday, February 18 Conversion Day — MONDAY CLASSES
Monday, March 15 Last day to file for Spring 2010 Graduation
March 29–April 6 Spring Break
Tuesday, April 20 Last day to apply for withdrawal from a course with a W (non-penalty) grade
