There are no texts to buy in the bookstore (you are now $70.00 richer--you can buy all those philosophy books, you've been just dying to read).  Most course materials will be available as electronic texts through the course website.  Our texts will be an assortment of materials, articles, excerpts, clippings, etc. from many different sources and will be posted throughout the term on the "Assignments" page of the course website. These texts are not to be read on-line, but are made available so that each student can print their own copy of each text and bring to class.  These texts will be made available as ".pdf" files which can be read and printed by Adobe Acrobat Reader (all computers on campus should have Acrobat Reader already installed).  Due to copyright issues, these texts will only be accessible on Coe's intranet.

Each student will be expected to attend class regularly and to have prepared the reading for each class.  Occasionally there may be in-class writing exercises that pertain to the readings and which will serve as a springboard for class discussion. This class also includes a web-based discussion room (see course website), where students can pose and respond to questions related to course materials.  These forms of participation all count toward a class participation grade.  Class participation will be graded on the basis of student performance in four areas: attendance; prep¬aration; performance on in-class assignments and quality of class participation (including on-line forums).  The class participation grade will count for one-sixth of the course grade.

This class is designated as writing emphasis and will stress accordingly student’s writing skills. There will be two papers.  These papers will normally be 4-6 pages in length and will typically require the student to engage in critical reflection on a question or topic suggested by the instructor.  These papers may be rewritten when and if the student chooses to do so. On occasion the instructor may require a student to rewrite a paper before it is evaluated for a grade. When submitting rewrites, include the previously submitted versions (only significantly revised papers will be considered). The grade for rewritten papers will replace the previous grade if it is higher. The two paper grades will be weighted equally (each is one-sixth of the course grade).

Each student will also be required to complete three exams during the course of the semester. These exams will include a substantial essay component. The first two of these exams which will occur during the term and the third will be given as the final exam. Each exam will be worth one-sixth of the final grade. Together the exams will be count for one-half (three-sixths) of the course grade.

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