CLAS 315: General Information
[First-Day Handout]
CLAS 315: 'The Study of imaginative tales of the Greeks and Romans, with emphasis upon their literature and its impact on occidental literature in general.' *This is an upper-division course. It is NOT open to first-term first year students, or to any person who does NOT have the lower-division writing requirement taken care of. Please note that Concurrent Enrollment students should check immediately to see if there is room in the course.This course uses the Internet and e-mail as an essential element in learning and doing assignments. It is not, however, an "on-line" course. Attendance is required at class meetings (see below).
This is a General Education course. All General Education courses have a minimum writing requirement of 2500 words. The fulfillment of this requirement is accomplished through midterm and final essays, and through on-line discussion (see below for details).
Course Outline
(on a separate page)
» Goals & Outcomes (SLOs) of the Course «
(on a separate page)
Requirements for this Course:
(2) A FINAL EXAM, which will be held at the time determined in the Course Schedule. It is not possible to arrange advance exams at all; this is a University regulation--not mine; alternate arrangements for a Final will be by way of an INCOMPLETE (if you can satisfy the requirements for granting an Incomplete). The final will test material mostly from the time of the midterm up to the assignment for the last class. In other words, the Final is NOT "comprehensive", though comprehension is required. The format will be similar to that of the midterm. 25%
(3) QUIZZES, of about 15 minutes each (perhaps three in all), of different formats each time. They may include True-&-False, Fill-in-the-blanks, identify the speaker or author of a passage, etc. (literature being an important component of the course). Quizzes may not be made-up. 30%
(4) INTERNET Assignments:
- E-mail exchanges, in lieu of classroom discussion, using the Yahoo Group "Message Board" feature (this is in partial fulfillment of the GE writing requirement;
- Independent work activities, exploring the materials available on the World Wide Web;
- "Visual assignments", relevant to reading assignments, featuring pictures of great ancient art and more recent art and artifacts which illustrate mythology; studies of important ancient places. Some of these are by way of links, but some photos are in the PHOTO section of the Yahoo! Group.
- Late submission of assignments will result in partial loss of credit. 25%
This is an upper-division GE course. All upper-division GE courses have a minimum writing requirement, set by University policy at 2500 words minimum. This course addresses this GE requirement through the Midterm Essay, the Final Essay and the e-mail exchanges on the Yahoo Group 'Message Board'.
The Professor uses the +/- option, on a scale of 0/100. All grades for all work are calibrated on the 0/100 grading scale.
A 92+
A- 90-92
B+ 87-89
B 84-86
B- 80-83
C+ 77-79
C 74-76
C- 70-73
D+ 67-70
D 64-66
D- 60-63
F less than 60
Late Work: Turning in of any work after a deadline may result in the lowering of the grade for that work by as much as one full grade-step. This is particularly important with regard to the Mid-Term Essay, which is due on the date of the Mid-term exam..
Cheating and plagarism: Consult the University Catalogue for definitions. A student's work is assumed to be the sole work of the student and no one else. Any collaboration, unless authorized by the Instructor, constitutes plagarism. The Instructor will assign a grade of "Zero" for an assignment on which cheating or plagarism is detected.
POLICY ON MAKE-UPS: Normally, NO makeups are allowed. At the professor's sole discretion, however, for good reason and after the presentation
of an explanation and supporting documentation by the student, a re-examination may be permitted.
POLICY ON "INCOMPLETES": At the end of the term there are occasionally student(s) who are unable to complete the course requirements in a timely fashion according to the University Schedule of Classes and Schedule of Exams. Please read the policy statement and instructions for a person who falls into this category at the end of the term. It is the student's responsibility to see to this matter.
In view of the large number of students in the course, NO EXTRA CREDIT projects can be authorized.
The lectures given in this course are the intellectual property of the Instructor and under his copyright. They may not be recorded in any form, including tape recording, video recording, phone video or audio recording, etc., the sole exception being the taking of class notes by the student personally or by an authorized substitite. Such notes are for the sole purpose of a student's study to fulfill the requirements of the course. Any other use is forbidden. If you wish to obtain any exception to this policy, you must obtain the express written consent of the Instructor.
Attendance:
Department of Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures (MCLL) regulations mandate various rules with regard to student attendance. Departmental policy considers attendance as mandatory, and subject to being considered an aspect of the final course grade. Two `unexcused absences' are allowed , after which the instructor is entitled (but not required) to lower the student's grade by one full step (e.g. from B- to C-). Therefore, if you will be absent, you should produce a WRITTEN EXCUSE with appropriate documentation (medical note, employer's letter, etc.). Oral excuses or unverified excuses are not acceptable. To verify attendance, the Instructor will circulate a sign-up sheet at each class. It is the duty of the student to sign the sheet, and to keep note of his/her own attendance. If there is no signature, it is presumed that the student did not attend that class, and the sheet constitutes prima facie evidence to the fact. An attendance sheet may not be signed after the class period ends.
Professor's Office:
Sierra Tower 435 (677-3459, 677-3467) [Do NOT use voice-mail!]
Office Hours: MWF 7:30-8; W 12:15-12:45; F 10-45-11:15. Special arrangements can be made on request to meet at other times.
The Professor can also be contacted by e-mail at john.p.adams@csun.edu. This is the Professor's regular business email address; do not send email intended for the professor to any other address, in particular not to the Yahoo! Group address. The Yahoo Group email inbox is not read every day.
The use of e-mail for matters of lesser importance is encouraged.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE IS A NEW EDITION OF THE TEXTBOOK:
Barry B. Powell, Classical Myth (Pearson Longmanl 2014) EIGHTH Edition Paper REQUIRED
ISBN 0-321-96704-6
