Course Policies

Incomplete Grade
If, as the semester ends, you have outstanding assignments or missed exams, do not assume that I will assign you an "Incomplete" for a grade. Since missed exams must be made up within one week of the original test date and since I will not accept late work under all but the most extreme circumstances, be aware that I will record these items as Fs in my grade book. If that lowers your final average to 59.5 or lower, you will receive an F for the course. If you feel an I is appropriate for this course due to an illness or extended emergency of some sort, you must speak to me about it personally and request the Incomplete before grades are due on Friday, May 18.

Class Participation, Discussion, and Attendance
Your grade will be determined precisely as described above, meaning there is a specific component based on class participation. In order to participate, you must be present in class, and you are expected to attend each and every class session. Because emergencies do come up, you will be allowed 3 absences for the semester, though you will be held responsible for the material you miss. With your 4th absence, you will receive an F for your participation score. With your 5th absence, provided it is unexcused, you will receive an F for the course regardless of your test and paper scores.

In class, you should try to play as active a role as possible, especially during the case studies and book discussion sessions. During these discussions, I will play a minimal role, moderating the discussion, while most of the burden will fall to you. If you want this course to be vibrant, exciting, and engaging, you must help make it so by reading materials before class and by interjecting comments and questions in class.

Book Discussions and Case Studies
While much of the material covered this semester will be in the form of lecture, there will be several opportunities for organized class discussion and participation, namely a series of short case studies and book chapter discussions. These sessions will require you to prepare before class mainly by reading selected materials and considering various questions.

Your attendance will be especially important on those days during the semester when we discuss One Land, Two Peoples: The Conflict over Palestine. Given the speed and significance of recent events in the region, this book’s analysis of the Arab-Israeli conflict is timely. We'll have ample time to explore the topic as we work through the book. The dates of these discussions and the chapters to be covered are listed on the course schedule above. You should have the assigned chapter read when you come to class that day. Material from the book and from our discussions will appear on exams throughout the semester as noted above.

The case studies consist of short, 15-20 page items on two contemporary political conflicts involving ethnic groups, namely Turkey’s Kurds and Sri Lanka’s Tamils. The cases we will use are Pew Case Studies from Georgetown University’s School for Foreign Service, and they are designed to facilitate learning through the analysis of real-world events. The success or failure of our case discussions depends entirely on your preparation, willingness to engage the topic in class, and ability to interact within a larger group setting.

Authorized Aid and the Honor Code
The Honor Code will be upheld in this course. Put simply, authorized aid for this course is as follows: your own personal knowledge on all exams and your own writing on the term paper. In other words, you are to do your own work in this class. Anything not listed here is considered unauthorized aid.

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