Attendance
There is no grade penalty in this class for failure to attend a certain number of classes. If you are serious about your education and I am serious about offering something that goes beyond what you could just as easily do on your own, then the attendance issue will sort itself out. Nonetheless, attendance will be taken, and I will expect you to come to class on time.
Please note: the problem with missing classes goes beyond missing “things,” in the sense of missing material or “content” delivered on a particular day. When you are not here, you miss out on the conversation about the ideas, the texts, the assignments, and so on, and thus you miss out on the very process of the course itself. For me, the process is also, in many ways, a significant “content” of the course.
Class Climate and Preparation for Class
Since the conversations we will be having in this class are so important, I feel it’s also worth saying a few words here about the kind of class climate we all need to cultivate in order to have productive (and, I hope, enjoyable) meetings. We will inevitably broach controversial issues in this class: religion, race, gender, politics, ideology, sexuality, and more. (Literary studies puts everything on the table.) I will do my best to foster an atmosphere of mutual respect, openness, and fairness, balanced with high intellectual standards for articulating and backing up the positions we may take. I ask you to do the same.
Late and Missing Assignments
As for late assignments, I penalize late major assignments at the rate of 5% off the final grade per calendar day late. Other late assignments I will take on a case-by-case basis, offering some credit for late work or no credit, depending on the nature of the assignment. Please also note, I offer no make-ups for missed in-class writing (another argument for being in class each day).
Finally, students must complete all major assignments in order to pass the class.