Assignments + Grading

On this page, you will find a schedule for:

  • Descriptions of assignments
  • Rubrics and resources for completing assignments
  • When assignments are due

Grading and assignments

Grading and assignments

  1. Participation and attendance: 15%
  2. Short writing assignments: 20%
  3. Quizzes: 30%
  4. Conversation about your final paper: 10%
  5. Final paper: 25%

All at-home written assignments are to be emailed to me: [email protected]

Participation and attendance

Participation is a very important part of a philosophy or politics class. The earliest conceptions of politics center heavily on peers being able to see you, hear you, and engage with you. The only way I will be able to tell if you have read the assignments is your participation in class. I want to stress that the point of class participation, especially in a philosophy or politics class, is not about being right but asking provocative questions or articulating your confusion or uncertainty about certain ideas or passages from a text. The things that are valued in philosophy are usually questions, paradoxes, images, and analogies: not statements of certainty. Additionally, since this is a class about politics, we will strive to preserve a considerate and respectful atmosphere while probing complex and troubling ideas.

In this class, you are allowed to miss class 2 times, no questions asked. Three lates are equivalent to one absence. If you have more than 2 absences, your final course grade will be lowered by a third of a letter grade for each additional absence. If there is a circumstance that is preventing you from attending class, reach out to me and we can work something out. Also, please try to email me before class if you expect that you will be missing class.

Short writing assignments (1,000 words)

Twice throughout the semester, you will be asked to reflect on the readings in a particular unit of the class. These writing assignments are low-pressure ways to synthesize course content. I want you to very briefly summarize, in your own words, an idea, a topic covered in one or more readings, or a reading as a whole. Then, the rest of your paper should offer analysis and discuss how it relates to the larger themes of the class. Feel free to bring in examples from history or present-day, from art or literature, etc., to think more critically about your selected writing topic.

Quizzes

The first two units of this class have in-person quizzes. Quizzes will require you to study in advance!

Each quiz will consist of five short answer and two short essay questions. The short answers will require you to define key terms (i.e., what is an “aristocracy?”). Your answers should be 2-3 sentences long.

Each short answer question will require you to describe how a philosopher we covered thought about something (i.e., Plato’s view on democracy) or to provide an opinion based on the readings and class discussions (i.e., based on the readings in this unit, do you think the people are capable of governing?).

Final conversation

At the end of the semester, you will come in on final exam day and discuss your final paper and how it connects to the ideas and questions we covered in class. This will be a one-on-one conversation. It is not an “oral exam” per se! Think of it more as an informal conversation where we discuss key terms and concepts, what you learned, and your final paper. Becoming conversant in what you read and write about is an important skill both in and outside the classroom.

Final essay (2,250 – 2,500 words)

In this final essay, you will have to pick your own topic, theme, or issue to write about. You must discuss the focus of your final paper with me in advance! This means scheduling a meeting with me to discuss a possible research question or thesis. In addition to citing readings from this course, you also must incorporate at least two scholarly outside sources. This means consulting books, essays, journal articles, or other scholarly works to cite in your essay.

Late assignments and receiving a course grade

Your grade for an assignment drops a third of a letter grade for each day it is late (i.e., a “B+” becomes a “B”). Try not to hand in assignments late. Write to me well in advance if you need an extension or accommodation for an assignment. Extensions will rarely be given towards the end of the semester when I need to submit grades.

To receive a final grade for this course, you will need to hand in all “major” assignments. If not, you may receive a WU (withdrew unofficially), F (fail), or an INC (incomplete).

Rubrics and resources for completing assignments

[rubrics for writing a philosophy/theory paper + information about writing center].

Schedule for assignments

[schedule for when assignments are due throughout the semester].