Most classes will be a mixture of discussion and some lecture. Even on these days, you should keep me honest by questioning and criticizing my sweeping generalizations. This is your class, not mine. This grade will be based largely on the quality of your participation in class. Quality, not quantity is what I'm looking for.
Attendance is also mandatory.
If you miss more than four classes and do participate, you can expect no higher than a C discussion grade. By week two you will get a userid and password so that you can post messages on the discussion board using a web browser like Netscape. Posting comments and questions there will be another way of fulfilling the discussion portion of this course. An essay must be well-organized to succeed on either of these counts. I expect that any essay you write here will draw heavily from the texts used in class, but move beyond texts and lectures to develop an original argument.