core8syllabus.htm

Papers

Students in Core 8 are expected to write a minimum total of 20 pages of text. This does not include such things as title pages, bibliographies, notes pages or other supporting material. Specific paper assignments are as follows:

Film paper: You will watch a film from/about Latin America and write a review of it. More specific
information about what the review should contain will be distributed in class. This paper should be 3
pages, not including title page or any bibliography or notes pages that you might want to include. Three
films will be placed on reserve in the library at St. Elizabeth's. These include "Central Station", "Dona Flor
and Her Two Husbands", and "My Family". Alternatively, you may be able to obtain "The Mission",
"Like Water for Chocolate", "Bye Bye Brazil", or "The Official Story" from Blockbuster or some other
film rental agency. All of these are being shown on the Saint Joseph's College campus and would be
acceptable for this assignment. This assignment is due February 10.

Research paper: This paper may be on a topic of your choice, as long as it is related to the subject
of Core 8. The paper must be a minimum of 10 to 12 pages, not including title page, bibliography,
notes pages, and other supporting material. In the paper you must actively cite a minimum of 10 sources.
Please see the Research Guidelines that follow for specific information. This paper is due March 23.

Role-playing paper: For this paper, you are to assume one of the following personas and write from
that point of view: 1) a nurse from Latin America; 2) a U.S. nurse who travels to work in some part of
Latin America; or 3) a nurse who is working with Hispanic patients. I will place on reserve in the library
at St. Elizabeth's a number of articles that you may use for this paper. You may, of course, use additional
materials that you find beyond those I provide and indeed should do so, since the ones I place on reserve
will not be comprehensive of the literature available. You should use and cite at least five sources. You
cannot use only Internet sources but should include articles and/or books as well. The paper is to be a
minimum of 5 to 7 pages, not including title page, bibliography, notes page, or any other supporting material.
This assignment is due April 27.

Discussion: Core classes should be discussion-driven and your willingness to participate in class is very important. However, in order to have an effective discussion, we must all have something in common to discuss. Therefore, it is crucial that you regularly complete and reflect upon all assigned readings as they are assigned and be on time to class so that you can view the lectures in their entirety. In order to give you a greater sense of involvement in class, each of you will be expected, during one class period, to lead discussion. You will bring questions that make students think about the lectures and assigned readings for that week, present those questions to your classmates, and guide their discussion during part of our class session. You will sign up for a discussion leadership time during the first week of class. Your discussion grade is based not only on your one-time role as discussion leader but also on your general commitment to and involvement in the class throughout the semester, as evidenced by attendance and class participation.

RESEARCH GUIDELINES

Please type or use a word processor for all documents and please use Microsoft Word (not Works!) if at all possible. Any document sent to me electronically must be in Word format, as we cannot read alternative formats at SJC. If you do not have access to Word but use another word processing program, you must always get me a paper copy. Do not send any format other than Word to me electronically.
Always keep a copy of your written work, both in paper format and electronically, until the end of the semester when final grades have been turned in.
Double-space all papers, except where The Everyday Writer indicates that single spacing is appropriate.
Please use reasonable margins and do not try to artificially raise your page count by manipulating margins. The default margins for a normal document in Microsoft Word should be your regular model.
Please use no larger than 12-point type and please use the Times New Roman font, using boldface print only when highlighting is appropriate.
Please include a title page.
Please use page numbers.
Please include a bibliography of all sources you use in your paper and please cite them where you use them.
Please use one of the formats given in The Everyday Writer for citing sources and compiling bibliographies: MLA, APA, or CBE. While it does not matter which of these you use, please use a style consistently.
Please proofread.
Please look for current information for your papers.
Please use at least four scholarly journal articles and one book for your research paper.
Encyclopedias are too general to be used for anything other than background information. Use no more than one in either paper or electronic form. Only one will be counted toward the minimum required number of sources.
No paper will be accepted that relies entirely on sources from the Web. Please note that this restriction does not include magazine and journal articles that you locate using online databases. Magazine/journal articles that you retrieve from the online databases available at SJC and other libraries or through inspire.net will be counted as periodical articles and not as web sites.
Please exercise caution when using Internet sources since, unlike books and journal articles, many web sites don't go through a rigorous editorial or other "quality control" process. Fr. Tim McFarland has information about evaluating web sites on his homepage under student links (http://www.saintjoe.edu/~timm/student_links.html).
Use the interlibrary loan service at SJC or your public library to obtain articles, books and other materials that are not available locally.

GRADE SCALE

94% and higher	A
90% to 93%	A-
87% to 89%	B+
84% to 86%	B
80% to 83%	B-
77% to 79%	C+
74% to 76%	C
70% to 73%	C-
67% to 69%	D+
60% to 66%	D
59% and lower	F

POLICIES

Attendance: Saint Joseph's College has a mandatory attendance policy, which can be found in the College's catalog (pp. 47-48 of the 2003-2004 catalog). Barring emergencies, you are to attend all classes. The instructor is the judge of what constitutes an excused absence. Your work in your other classes will not be considered an excused reason for missing Core 8 and you should treat Core 8 as of equal importance to your other school-related commitments. Likewise, any appointments and meetings you might have should be scheduled around our class time. Only in cases in which you can provide some kind of verification that the only possible time for an appointment or meeting is during our class session will such be considered excused. You must let me know ahead of time when you must miss a class for any reason. You are responsible for any work that you miss for any reason. You will not be allowed to make up quizzes that you miss as a result of unexcused absences.

Academic Honesty: On pp. 52-54 of the 2003-2004 College catalog, you will find the Academic Honesty policy. This is crucial reading for all students. All of your work at SJC should be your own. Both deliberate violations of academic honesty as well as violations resulting from carelessness in citing sources fall under this policy. As a safeguard against unintentional violations of academic honesty, make sure you view the pages in The Everyday Writer that discuss how to paraphrase/summarize passages in your own words and be familiar with when, where, and how to cite sources. Violations of academic honesty are generally turned over to the Provost for adjudication, as directed by College policy.

Deadlines and Makeups: Please adhere to all due dates. No extensions will be given unless there is some extraordinary circumstance intervening that can be documented through doctor's note, funeral notice or other source. Your work in other classes, no matter how intense, cannot be used as a basis for getting extensions in this class. You have all due dates in this syllabus. It is your responsibility to organize your schedule in such a way that you meet these deadlines. Your work will lose a half letter grade for every day that it is late.

Makeup quizzes are given for documented excused absences only. You must take a makeup quiz the week after the quiz you missed.

Turning In and Keeping Copies of Assignments: Assignments should be put in my hands during class. Do not place any material in my Core Education Center mailbox at Saint Joseph's College. This is a public area and security cannot be guaranteed. Also do not rely on anyone else to turn in your paper for you. If I cannot locate your paper, you will be asked to produce another copy. If you send anything to me electronically, you must send it in Microsoft Word format (not Works). You are required to keep copies of all your papers and graded quizzes until final grades have been calculated.

Disabilities: If you are a student with a disability, please meet with me immediately to discuss the accommodations you will need during class activities, examinations and out of class assignments in order to participate fully and demonstrate your ability.

ASSISTANCE AVAILABLE

If you would like me to arrange to come down early or stay after class to assist you with materials, assignments or other matters, please let me know by phoning my office a day or two before class. If you are able to get to the Saint Joseph's College campus, there are a couple of additional options for assistance.

The College provides a Writing Clinic staffed by students. These students will read your papers and assist with grammatical and structural problems. If you have difficulties with writing, please contact the Writing Clinic, located on the second floor of the Core Education Center (Room 212). You may sign up for an appointment at the Clinic office or call 219-866-6138.

The Counseling Services Office, in Room 200 of Halleck Center, maintains lists of available student tutors. If you find yourself running into difficulties with reading material and feel that you need help outside of the classroom setting, please contact the staff in person or by phone (219-866-6116). This service is free.

CALENDAR

Quiz 1	January 20
Quiz 2	January 27
Quiz 3	February 3
Quiz 4	February 10
Film paper due	February 10
Quiz 5	February 17
Quiz 6	February 24
Quiz 7	March 2
Spring break, no classes	Week of March 8
Quiz 8	March 16
Quiz 9	March 23
Research paper due	March 23
Quiz 10	March 30
Quiz 11	April 6
Quiz 12	April 13
Quiz 13	April 20
Quiz 14	April 27
Role-playing paper	April 27

LINKS

Core 8 page maintained by Fr. Tim McFarland

Internet sources for Latin America - gateway site

Library of Congress Hispanic Reading Room

Organization of American States (OAS)

Derechos - human rights in Latin America

Population Research Center

Religion in Latin America

Environmental History of Latin America

Latin American National Archives

Assignments	Research Guidelines	Grade Scale	Policies
Assistance Available	Calendar	Handouts	Links

Weekly Quizzes	150 pts.
Research Paper	150 pts.
Role-playing Paper	75 pts.
Discussion	75 pts.
Film paper	50 pts.