Sometimes students skip class because they have not done the reading. You are, however, better off coming to class unprepared than ditching, since you can, presumably, learn something from the discussions. Hopefully, the lectures will raise questions for you, and discussion of these questions will benefit the entire class. Six of our Fridays we will not meet in class, but, rather, will post our responses to the readings on a web board that will be linked to my web page. After all the students have posted, I'll post my summary of the readings.
Exams are essays.
You will have the essay questions in advance, and you will have some choice as to which questions to answer on the test. In addition, since testing your ability to memorize things is not one of my pedagogical goals, you may bring one large 8x5 note card to class with the outline of the essays you prepared in advance. You must provide me with a brief description of what you want to write about by class time on Monday of the fourth week. By the tenth week you must provide me with a thesis statement, outline, and a bibliography of at least 5 sources. I have a number of bibliographies that you can consult if you need help.