Some items below are elaborated in the course Web pages. You are responsible for reading those pages! Course Website: Go to EKU Homepage, then to Academics, Arts and Sciences, Philosophy, Faculty, Williams, and (finally) HON 102. Or: Go to www.honors.eku.edu and click on COURSES.
The Goal
The overall goal is to develop skills in reading (carefully and analytically), writing (clearly and coherently), reasoning (self-consciously and cogently), and speaking (interestingly and persuasively). You will progress toward this goal by reading about, thinking about, writing papers about, and doing class presentations about three main areas: literature (Bierce, Faulkner, Jacobs), philosophy (Plato), and history (the Civil War era). A main way of working toward the overall goal is to relate these three areas to each other - something that you probably haven't ever done before! It will be very good preparation for other Honors Program courses, and for college work in general.
Special Note: This is a new type of course for you, and so at times you may feel confused or frustrated. When and if that happens, let us know! We can help; that's our job. It's just not very smart to keep your problems with the course to yourself. The Honors Program is a community of intellectual colleagues, both students and faculty. We help each other and work together!
Teachers
Dr. Barbara Hussey, Case 388
Dr. Frank Williams, Case 259
Ph. 3086, 859-254-3147 (Lexington)
Ph. 1402, 624-0777
Office Hours: TR 9-11 am, MWF 9-10 am,
Office Hours: Drop by anytime, but
12:15-1:15 and by
appointment
an appointment is more reliable!
Email: ENGHUSSE
Email: PHIWILLI
Required Texts:
Bierce, Ambrose. Ambrose Bierce's Civil War.
Ed. by William McCann.
Faulkner, William. The Unvanquished.
Hacker, Diana. A Pocket Style Manual.
Jacobs, Harriet. Incidents in the Life of a Slave
Girl.
Morgan, Michael, ed. Classics of Moral and Political
Theory, 2nd ed. This is also a text
for your HON 205 course in the spring.
Perman, Michael, ed. Major Problems in the Civil
War and Reconstruction, 2nd ed.
Attendance Policy
Attendance at every class is a basic expectation. Missing more than 10% of the classes (eight meetings) is likely to result in a failing grade. Qualification: in case of serious and extended illness, we will make special arrangements about attendance. Dragging in late equals ½ an absence, besides guaranteeing a U (see below) on a DWA. Sometimes absences are unavoidable; let us know in advance when you have to be absent. If that's not possible, check with us immediately afterwards.
Assignments
You can learn a lot from looking at the work of other students. To enhance such opportunities, we assume that you will not object to our using any work you turn in (provided we use it anonymously; that is, without identifying whose work it is) for illustrative purposes in this or other classes. Should you want your work not to be so used, just let us know and we will definitely respect your wishes.
DWA's (Daily Written Assignments). There will be many, 70 or so. They are short (usually one page maximum), due (unless otherwise noted) at the beginning of class, and graded satisfactory or unsatisfactory (S/U). You should usually have two copies, one to hand in, the other for you to revise and make notes on during the class. Because DWA's are part of a specific day's classwork, no make-ups are allowed (but see Web pages for an exception), and late or early DWA's are not accepted without special arrangements; you need to be present to get DWA credit. An obviously honest effort, in contrast to something hurriedly thrown together, will get you an S. However, the standard for what counts as an honest effort may increase a bit as the course progresses!
Sometimes DWA's will be done in class, or there will be DWA credit (or discredit) for tasks such as turning in a paper or draft on time, or coming to a scheduled conference adequately prepared. Sometimes a task (eg. in-class presentations) may be worth more than one DWA.
Major papers. All papers must be argumentative, which means that there must be a clear, interesting, and non-trivial thesis that is well-supported in the body of the paper. Paper #1: 750-1000 words (3-4 pages). It must relate two of the three major course areas: Plato and literature (Bierce, Faulkner, Jacobs), or literature and Civil War era history, or Plato and Civil War era history. Paper #2: same guidelines as paper #1, except that it must relate a different pair of the three areas.
Papers #1 and #2: One of these must be research-based (both may be), which means that you must non-trivially cite as footnotes at least three sources other than the course texts, and at least one of them must be an article from a scholarly book or periodical. At least half of the non-text sources must be non-internet non-web sources.
Paper #3: 1800-2500 words (7-10 pages); it must be research-based, and cite at least five sources other than the course texts, of which at least two must be a scholarly book or periodical. The topic must be related to one (more is OK) of the three course areas (Plato, literature, Civil War era history), but you have more flexibility for your topic than in papers #1 and #2. You may pursue in more depth something from your earlier papers that was especially interesting, thereby building on your earlier work; or you may choose a different topic. As soon as you have an idea for your paper #3 topic, you should check with us about its suitability; there are limits to topic flexibility.
For all three papers, if you have not selected a good topic by a reasonable time before the due date, then we will assign you a topic!
Papers portfolio. Your final graded copy of papers #1 and #2 must be turned in the last class week.
Grading. These are the components of your total course grade:
20%: DWA grade. This is the percent of S's you have out of the maximum possible DWA's. If there are 70 in all and you have S's on 60 of them, that's a grade of 86 on DWA's.
18%: Paper #1. Option of rewriting for higher grade.
18%: Paper #2. Option of rewriting for higher grade.
34%: Paper #3 (including oral presentation). No rewrite option (too late in the semester), but we will gladly review early drafts and make suggestions for improvement.
10%: Logic exam.
Approximate numerical grade guidelines. A-range, 92-100; B, 82-91; C, 72-81; D, 62-71.
By the last day to withdraw from the course (Fri. Oct. 13) you will have feedback on your grade in the form of your paper #1 grade, plus a good many DWA grades.
General Grading Standards: A-level written work 1) is highly coherent and well-organized; 2) shows in-depth understanding of issues and relevant texts; 3) shows no significant misunderstanding of issues and texts; 4) fully supports points with good and relevant reasons; 5) has very few "mechanical" errors or omissions (grammar, punctuation, documentation, etc.). B-level work is overall quite good, but has a few flaws in one or two of the five areas. C-level work is adequate but has some really significant flaws or omissions. D-level work is unacceptable and unsatisfactory but does show a grasp of some important points or issues.
If you have problems with mechanics, use of quotations, overall organization, and so forth, be sure to see us as soon as you are aware of a problem! Also, be aware that the Writing/Reading Center (Case 173, phone 6191) can and will provide assistance with any such problems.
Course Schedule. The detailed schedule for the course will be posted on the Web in two or more weeks blocks. Details of daily assignments will sometimes be handed out in class a day, or several days, before they are due; other times, they will only be listed on the course web pages. You are responsible for checking the web pages for assignments!!!
Final exam schedule. Since we meet every day, there are two final exam periods (MWF and TR) for the course. Both of these are reserved for this course. One or both of them may be used for final oral presentations, or for the logic exam.
Here are some major due dates. These are pretty firm yet tentative and subject to minor changes.
Paper #1 printed draft due: Monday Sep. 18 in a
scheduled conference.
Paper #1 final version due: Monday Sep. 25, beginning
of class.
Paper #2 printed draft due: Tuesday Oct. 17 in a scheduled
conference.
Paper #2 final version due: Tuesday Oct 24, beginning
of class.
Paper #3 printed draft due: Tuesday Nov 14 in a scheduled
conference.
Paper #3 final version due: Monday/Tuesday Nov. 20-21
in class.
Portfolio (copies of final graded version of papers #1 & #2) due: Fri. Dec.8, beginning of class.
Class oral presentations based on paper #3: Dec. 4-15
(includes final exam periods).