Core 8 - AfricaSection C |
Welcome to the homepage for Africa Core, Section C. This page is meant to serve both as a repository for the class syllabus and handouts, and as a vehicle through which to promote links to relevant Web sites and other pertinent news and information. Students, feel free to contact me about additions you would like to make to this page.
| Syllabus Handouts Links Library Resources |
| This map was taken from the WorldAtlas.com site |
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Office: Library Hours: open, but make appointments for extended meetings email: jodyt |
PLEASE NOTE: If you are a student with a
disability, please meet with me immediately to discuss the accommodations
you will need during class activity, examinations and out of class assignments
in order to participate fully and demonstrate your abilities.
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Assignments |
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The assignments, with point values, will be as
follows:
Role-playing exercise: This is an assignment which combines creative writing and research. You are to assume the role of someone in an African country or culture and to tell that person's story. However, the scenario you create for your character must be plausible and based on research. This paper requires a minimum of 5 pages* and must employ a minimum of 5 sources**. Due March 25.
Research paper: This writing is connected to the country report assignment. During the first week of classes you will be asked to select a country to familiarize yourself with through the semester. At the end of the semester, you will give a "state of the nation" type report for that country. You should choose a research paper topic relating to the country you have been assigned. This paper requires a minimum of 10 pages* and must employ a minimum of 10 sources**. Due April 22.
Country report: During the first week of classes, you will sign up for an African nation which you are to research on your own throughout the semester. During the last couple of weeks of classes, we will have "state of the nation" style reports on each of your countries. These reports will be oral as well as written and will describe your nation today, highlighting major political, economic, and social issues/problems/prospects. The written report should be 3-5 pages. Presentations will take place April 20, 22, 27, 29. More information will be forthcoming. Written report due no later than April 29.
Exams: There will be four exams covering readings, lectures and class activity. Exams will not be comprehensive but will cover all material subsequent to the last exam. Both essays and a variety of short answer question types will be included. Exam dates are Feb. 11, March 4, April 8, May 4. (The last will be at 8:00am, the designated final exam time for this class).
Class participation: Your class participation grade will be based on all forms of participation - attendance, timely completion of readings, involvement in class discussions, the meeting of all deadlines set forth in this syllabus.
*Minimum page requirements given
in this syllabus refer to the body of your paper and do NOT include the
title page, bibliography, notes pages, or any other supporting material.
**Minimum source requirements refer
to those sources you actively use and cite in your paper.
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Here are some college/class policies to know well.
Attendance: Saint Joseph's College has a mandatory attendance policy; it can be found in the College's catalog (pp. 46-7 of the 1998-99 catalog). Barring emergencies, you are to attend all classes and lectures. The instructor is the judge of what constitutes an excused absence. Please contact me ahead of time when you cannot attend class. You remain responsible for obtaining notes, handouts, and other materials from another student or from the instructor and for listening to the lecture tapes in the library, even when you have an excused absence. I'll see you every Tuesday and Thursday at 9:00
Academic Honesty: Also in the College's catalog is a policy on academic honesty (pp. 49-51). I can't emphasize enough how important it is for you to familiarize yourself with this policy and with the range of actions that constitute violations of the policy! Your work should always be your own. Sometimes violations are intentional and blatant (e.g. cheating on exams, collaborating with another student on what is supposed to be an individual effort or presenting another individual's work as your own); however, violations of academic honesty sometimes arise out of ignorance about what constitutes plagiarism and other offenses. Unfortunately, ignorance is no excuse. You should pick up a style manual like The Everyday Writer and read carefully the sections on plagiarism and on how to paraphrase/summarize material in your own words. You should never hesitate to ask for my assistance if you are unsure about whether you have successfully avoided plagiarism or other behaviors that run afoul of academic honesty standards. Please don't jeopardize your academic career with academic honesty violations.
Deadlines and makeups: This syllabus provides you with all due dates for all projects to be completed this semester. There are no surprises. These due dates are firm. Failure to meet them will have a direct impact on your class participation grade. Only in cases of serious illness or death in the family, which necessitate that you miss a substantial number of classes, will you be excused a deadline, and then only after consulting with me. PLEASE NOTE that your work in other classes and your involvement in extracurricular activities, no matter how intense, do not give you a valid reason for being unable to complete your work in this class on time.
If I grant you a makeup exam, you must take it within a week after the scheduled date. You will be given a different exam from that given to the rest of the class.
Writing assignments should be put in my hands during the class period of the date on which they are due. I will, however, give you until 11:00pm of the date that an assignment is due, provided that you put your assignment under my office door in the library. DO NOT place any assignment in my box in the Core Building; this is a public area and security cannot be guaranteed. Also DO NOT rely on others to turn in your work for you. If you do so, it will be at your own risk. If I do not receive your paper, you must produce another copy for me. (See below)
Keeping copies of your work: YOU
MUST KEEP COPIES OF ALL PAPERS YOU WRITE AND ALL EXAMS YOU TAKE UNTIL THE
END OF THE SEMESTER. If any questions arise about your work, or if
I cannot locate your work, you must be able to produce another copy for
me, even if you are sure that you turned in an assignment. You will
have to write another paper if you cannot produce a copy. It is strongly
advised that you keep both an electronic and a hard copy of the papers
you write.
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Since Core 8 alternates between Latin America and Africa, nearly all students who took Core 8 the last time it covered Africa have graduated. Therefore, it is difficult to find student tutors for Core 8. If you need any assistance with material, please see me and please bring any questions you might have to class with you. There is a good chance that if you have questions or concerns about a lecture or reading, others in the group will as well.
The Writing Clinic is available to help you with
all written assignments. Student workers can look over your papers
with an eye to grammatical and structural problems. If you generally
have difficulties with writing, please consider taking your paper by the
Writing Clinic. It is located on the second floor of the Core Educational
Center. You can contact the Clinic by phone at 6138.
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95% - 100% of available points earned..................................A
90% - 94% of available points earned....................................A-
87% - 89% of available points earned....................................B+
84% - 86% of available points earned....................................B
80% - 83% of available points earned....................................B-
77% - 79% of available points earned....................................C+
74% - 76% of available points earned....................................C
70% - 73% of available points earned....................................C-
67% - 69% of available points earned....................................D+
60% - 66% of available points earned....................................D
59% and lower......................................................................F
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Exam One...............................................................Feb. 11
Cross-cultural paper................................................Feb. 18
Exam Two...............................................................March 4
Spring Break...........................................................Week of March 8
Role-playing Exercise...............................................March 25
Exam Three.............................................................April 8
Research paper........................................................April 22
Country report presentations....................................April 20, 22, 27, 29
Written country report..............................................April 29
Exam Four...............................................................May 4, 8:00am
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--All papers should be typed, either on typewriter
or word processor.
--Always keep a copy of your written work until
the end of the semester; you must be able to
produce another copy of your papers
upon request.
--Please double-space the body of your papers,
except where single-spacing is appropriate (e.g.
indented quotations, bibliography).
--Please use reasonable margins in your paper.
Leave no more than 1 1/2 inches for a left margin
and 1 inch on the right. While
the top margin of the first page may be 2 inches, each succeeding
page should have a 1-inch top margin.
The bottom margin should be 1 inch to 1 1/4 inches.
--Please use no larger than 12 point type.
--Please include a title page.
--Please use page numbers.
--Please include a bibliography of all sources
you used and cite them where you use them. Consult
The Everyday Writer or other
style manual. Be consistent. Pick a bibliographic style and
stick
with it.
--PROOFREAD!
--Please look for current information for your
papers and look for scholarly resources, not just
popular ones. I will look
at your papers for evidence of this.
--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.
--You must demonstrate extreme caution when using
Internet sources since, unlike books and
journal articles, most Web sites
don't go through any editorial or other "quality control" process.
Ask yourself who has sponsored the
site and what that person's credentials are in this area. This
will help you determine whether
a particular Web site is likely to be a reliable source. **I will
not
accept a paper which relies entirely
on sources from the Web. Please note that this restriction is
not meant to include periodical
articles that you locate using indexing sources accessible through
the Web.
--Use the interlibrary loan service to obtain
articles, books and other material not available in-house.
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 Fr.
Tim McFarland's Core 8 links: Fr. Tim has set up a series of
links to Web-based
information on Africa. Female
Circumcision links
Representative Schroeder's bill to prohibit FGM in U.S. Africa
HotList
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for
the buttons used on this page