Message, Method, Medium: Theories of Interpretation Main Menu Notes!

Course Policies

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COURSE REQUIREMENTS & POLICIES

General Advice

  1. Please arrive on time and prepared for class. This includes arriving to class meetings having read, reviewed, and brought copies (print out preferred for online reading) of the weekly reading assignments.
  2. Actively engage in the class by asking questions, sharing your opinions, confusions, and interests in the texts, as well as listening and responding respectively to both the instructor and your fellow students.
  3. Speak up and share your ideas with the other members of our class. Respect the opinions of others but feel free to respond to them when you disagree.
  4. Although not required, I encourage you to engage with each other outside of class: talk through the ideas our discussions and connect them to ideas outside of our course.
  5. You may also wish to discuss paper topics and other questions during my office hours. If the appointed times do not work for you, just see me or send an e-mail to set up a better time to meet.
  6. The best way to reach me is to post your questions or concerns is by email, visiting during office hours, or making an appointment. If I receive a message, I will try to respond within 24 hours or the next business day.
  7. Please silence and reframe from using phones, tablets, laptops, and other electronic devise to avoid the temptation to text, browse the internet, or do work for another course during our class meetings. I will ask you to stop texting (or whatever) during class. I give the class my full attention and do not multitask during class: the same courtesy is expected from you.
    1. If you have ADA reasons for a laptop, recording devices, or other aids during class, please let me know as soon as possible.
    2. If you buy e-copies of our textbooks that require you use a device or plan to use one to read the online readings, please discuss this with me as soon as possible.
  9. Class discussion is the way to demonstrate and improve your mastery of the reading material.
    1. Unexcused absences will effect on your participation grade by 10 percent per absence.
    2. Three (3) Late marks will be counted as 1 unexcused absence, and if you arrive exorbitantly late, you may also be marked absent for the day.
    3. In the event that you must miss class for illness or emergency, you must inform me immediately—that is, within one or two days of its occurrence—of the reason for your absence and bring written documentation of it with the date(s) on it on the day youreturn if you want the opportunity to make up the work. You should document the emergency. (For instance, submit a doctor’s note.)

Incompletes

I will only grant Incompletes to students who have
  1. Attended class regularly,
  2. Completed all the class requirements for the semester other than one final assignment, and
  3. Notify me immediately and provided documentation of their extenuating circumstances. Requests for incompletes cannot be granted after Registrar’s withdrawal deadline.

Emergencies and extenuating circumstances must be documented by your dean or advisor. If you have not completed most of the coursework, make sure you withdraw before the deadline; otherwise, I will have to enter the grade you have earned thus far. Please note that if you receive an Incomplete, you can complete only the coursework you missed, and you must complete that work by the end of the following semester, in accordance with University policy.

Academic Integrity

According to Howard University College of Arts and Sciences and Department of English, plagiarism is “to take and pass off intentionally as one’s own the ideas, writings, etc. of another without attribution (without acknowledging the author).” Students in this class are expected to familiarize themselves with the “Academic Code of Student Conduct,” which appears at http://www.howard.edu/policy/academic/student-conduct.htm. As with any form of cheating, there are strict penalties for plagiarizing others’ words, syntax, concepts, sequence, vocabulary, and organization in your written work for this class. Note that Proper MLA citation and a Works Cited for every assignment is required. You may refer to the Library list of resources for citation: http://library.howard.edu/content.php?pid=485081&sid=4093131. Any episode of plagiarism will result in a zero (0) on that assignment, a zero (0) for your participation grade, and a letter to the English department chair and the dean of your college. The English Department chair or Director of Undergraduate Studies will meet with you in person and keep a record of the incident, because multiple offences will affect your ability to get recommendations from English faculty and your standing as a major or minor in the department. More serious or repeated cases will result in an F for the semester grade and/or additional administrative investigation.

“Writing Matters" Statement

Writing is an essential tool for thinking and communicating in virtually every discipline and profession. Therefore, in this course I expect you to produce writing that is not only thoughtful and accurate, but also organized, clear, grammatical, and consistent with the conventions of the field. If your writing does not meet these standards, I may deduct points or ask you to revise. For assistance with your writing, go to the student section of the Writing across the Curriculum (WAC) website, http://www.cetla.howard.edu/wac/students.aspx.

Video or Audio Recording

You are not permitted to record any of our classes without my written permission. If I authorize you to record a class, you may not distribute or disseminate the recording. If the Dean of Special Student Services has approved your request to record to accommodate a disability, I will require at least a week's notice to consider or prepare. Be advised that your voice or image may be recorded incidentally and shared with other persons interested in accessing the recording for educational purposes.

Statement on Interpersonal Violence

Howard University takes sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, stalking, and sexual harassment seriously. If a student reveals that he or she needs assistance with any of these issues, all responsible employees, which includes faculty, are required to share this information with the University Title IX Office (202-‎806-2550); or a student can be referred for confidential services to the Interpersonal Violence Prevention Program (IVPP) (202 ‎238-2382) or University Counseling Services (202 ‎806-6870). For more information about these services, please go to www.CampusSafetyFirst.howard.edu.

SUPPORT SERVICES

American Disabilities Act (ADA)

Howard University is committed to providing an educational environment that is accessible to all students. In accordance with this policy, students who need accommodations because of a disability should contact the Dean for Special Student Services (202-238-2420) as soon as possible after admission to the University or at the beginning of each semester.

If you need a special accommodation required by the American Disabilities Act, please document and discuss your disability with me during the first week of classes. When the student brings documentation of his/her instructional or testing needs to me, I will confidentially work out a way to accommodate them. Please note that I will not make retroactive accommodations for work due before the student brings in the special needs letter.

FMI: http://www.howard.edu/specialstudentservices/DisabledStudents.htm#responsibilities

Center for Academic Excellence

The Center for Academic Excellence provides tutors to assist undergraduates with a variety of General Education subjects. To request a tutor, go to http://undergraduatestudies.howard.edu/cae/tutor-clearinghouse. The center also provides academic counselors and student success workshops to help you stay in school and excel.

Writing Center

For assistance with your writing, you may visit the English Department’s Writing Center online or in Locke Hall (Room 100)—with or without a referral. At the Center you will find tutors and software to help you with a variety of problems—from lack of organization to lack of subject-verb agreement. However, the tutors will not proofread or edit for you. Instead, the tutors will do the following: identify your writing problems, teach you how to solve those problems, and evaluate your progress. To schedule an appointment on campus, go to http://www.coas.howard.edu/writingcenter. To enroll in the online site, go to http://www.cetla.howard.edu/wac/students.aspx. Remember, however, that you can also find assistance on the Writing across the Curriculum (WAC) website, http://www.cetla.howard.edu/wac/students.aspx.

Course Website and Blackboard

You are expected to stay aware of changes to the schedule through the Course Website as well as annoucements on Blackboard.

Technical Support

If you encounter technical problems with your email, Blackboard, Bison Web, or some other University-wide technology, go to http://itsupport.howard.edu to open a ticket or email helpdesk@howard.edu. For information about computer labs, software distribution, IT security, printing, and other IT topics, see the service catalogue (http://www.howard.edu/technology/services/service_catalogue.html) on the website of Enterprise Technology Services (ETS). Also, for online learning resources, click the e-Learning tab when you log into Blackboard.

University Libraries

Go to http://library.howard.edu/StudentLibraryInfo to find out how to access resources and services at the Howard University Libraries. Be sure to check the “Research Help” portal at http://library.howard.edu/searchportals, and find out how to use the Summon search engine, the RefWorks bibliography manager, and Ask a Librarian to “chat” with a reference librarian.

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  1. ENGL 105-02: Sophomore Seminar II (Fall 2018) Emily MN Kugler