Students will take two midterm exams and one final exam that concentrates on the last third of the course but will include one comprehensive essay. Each student will also complete two 3-5 page book analyses. Failure to complete any major assignment may result in your being dropped from the course. If you miss more than one third of the course you will automatically fail. If you do not attend you cannot participate and therefore will not receive credit toward your grade.
Participation means more than just attendance, however.
In general, more than three absences may affect your grade. It is important, therefore, that you make an attempt to say something in class discussion, preferably something to do with the class. For that reason you might want to keep up with the reading assignments which will help you think of something to contribute. There are no dumb questions or answers, I'm not going to laugh at you if you get your facts wrong, and I will listen to every point of view with an open mind. I give letter grades for all parts of the course with A being for excellent, B for above average, C for average, D for below average, and F for failure to complete the required work.