CLAS 188-01: CLASSICS DAY LEADERSHIP (.25 Credit Participation Course)
FALL 2016
… τὸ
τῶν
Ἑλλήνων
ὄνομα
… μηκέτι τοῦ
γένους,
ἀλλὰ
τῆς
διανοίας δοκεῖν εἶναι,
καὶ
μᾶλλον
Ἕλληνας
καλεῖσθαι
τοὺς
τῆς
παιδεύσεως
τῆς
ἡμετέρας
ἢ
τοὺς
τῆς
κοινῆς
φύσεως
μετέχοντας.
The name “Greek” no longer implies a people, but an outlook, and it is applied
to those who share our culture rather than to those who share a common blood.
Isocrates, Panegyricus 50, 380 B.C.E.
MEETING DAYS, TIMES, AND PLACE:
Wednesday 2-2:50, plus all of Classics Day (October 22), and separate meetings
as needed.
INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION:
Dr. Robert Holschuh Simmons
21 Wallace Hall
Office Phone: 309-457-2378
E-mail: rsimmons@monmouthcollege.edu
Office Hours: Monday-Friday 9-10 AM, and by appointment.
PREREQUISITES:
None
FOR WHOM PLANNED:
This course is designed for anyone interested in playing an important role in
the planning and execution of Classics Day, a multi-event festival celebrating
the classical worlds of Greece, Rome, and other nations in the Mediterranean
region (plus Japan, at least this year).
It is particularly valuable for those interested in gaining experience in
leadership (on several different levels), in public history, in learning and
recreating the esthetics and functions of certain classical institutions, in
role-playing of various sorts, in public speaking and/or performance, in
directing and/or acting in plays, and in doing hands-on work to create a visual
spectacle.
CATALOG COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Students in this course will take leadership roles in making the annual Classics
Day a success. This leadership will be divided between students based on their
academic strengths and interests; students will need to justify the roles they
choose in contributing to this complex event as having relevance to their majors
or other academic concentrations. Between weekly meetings and distributed tasks
between meetings, we will plot out Classics Day's events and who will carry them
out, and we will take the steps necessary to make those events work, to receive
funding, and to publicize Classics Day effectively. The high point of the course
will be Classics Day itself.
MORE COMPLETE COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course allows for students to put work they do for Classics Day into its
academic context. Classics Day is one of the great opportunities on campus for
students to put learning of all
sorts into action, and Classics Day Leadership helps students to articulate how
what they do for Classics Day is academically meaningful to them, whether as
students of Classics, History, Business, Sociology, Theatre, Art, Communication
Studies, or any number of other fields. The course requires for students to
choose tasks to contribute to Classics Day that are in line with preparation
they have had in their majors or other relevant academic fields.
They might plan out and/or lead events at Classics Day, create clothing
or other art for it, construct props for it, publicize the event, solicit
donations from businesses for a raffle at it, create surveys for people who
attend it, or any number of other tasks.
They must write out in a contract the value of work they intend to
undertake for Classics Day to their course of study, to do that work, then to
reflect after the fact on how the work they have done met the goals they set
out. The intentionality of students' approach to the work necessary for Classics
Day allows them both to recognize the value of that work for their academic
lives and to lay out the value of what they have done for future employers.
In weekly meetings, we will plot out the events that will happen at Classics
Day, who will lead those events, and the steps that are necessary to make those
events work. We will divide up
research that needs to be done to make our planned events authentic to the
classical world. We will plot out
the most effective means of presenting illustrative information about our events
at Classics Day. We will determine
properties that need to be purchased, constructed, and/or decorated to make the
events work. We will determine
information necessary to write up proposals for funding to ASMC, the CAMWS
Committee for the Promotion of Latin, the Society for Classical Studies, and any
other groups that would be reasonable funders of the event.
We will plot out a course of publicity
for the event. We will discuss
suitable candidates from outside the class to contribute to events for which we
need additional help at Classics Day.
Between classes, we will carry out the tasks we have laid out as
essential to handle from one class to the next, then critique the work that has
been completed, so that it can be revised until it meets a standard of
excellence. The high point of the
course will be the performance of Classics Day on October 22.
After that point, we will discuss what worked particularly well about the
event and what could stand to be improved for Classics Day in years to come.
Students will then write a concluding document that will document the
steps that they took in course of this class, and the academic value that the
course provided for them.
EVALUATION AND GRADING:
THE CONTRACT:
Every student will have a different role in making Classics Day work, so
everyone will need to write up a contract that lays out the steps that she or he
intends to take in this class toward the end of both a successful Classics Day
and an academically enriching experience.
This contract will likely be revised as circumstances change in the
course of the semester, but it should include plans that are useful to Classics
Day, academically beneficial for each student, and requiring an appropriate
amount of work (an average of one-and-a-half hours of work outside of class for
each week of the semester; a disproportionate amount of this time will be spent
on Classics Day and the weeks leading up to it).
Week by week, students will need to track the extent to which they have
fulfilled the contract and communicate with me about their adherence to it.
At the end of the semester, this contract will need to be turned in as
part of each student’s final portfolio.
Your work on this contract will be evaluated according to a rubric that I
will provide for you in class.
Attendance,
PREPARATION, AND PARTICIPATION:
We need to be able to depend on one another from week to week in this class.
In order for no one to shoulder an inordinate burden in the preparation
for Classics Day, we all need to be present for class meetings, to do the things
from week to week that we say that we are going to do, and to take active part
in the discussion in each week’s meeting about the work that has been done and
that must be completed in the week to come.
At the beginning of each class, you will hand in a document that notes
the extent of your preparation for the class, and the extent to which you have
met the goals for yourself laid out from the previous week, and hand your
assessment in to me. At the end of
each class, you will write down goals for yourself to complete by the next
class. Completing goals laid out from one week to the next is critical to the
success of the event, and is a critical part of your development as mature
professionals, so failure to follow through on week-to-week tasks will take a
significant toll on your grade in this category.
At the end of the semester, you will include those documents in a
portfolio that you will use to justify your grade in the class.
Your performance will be evaluated according to a rubric that I will
provide for you in class.
Some of the tasks that we will need people to undertake will likely be mundane,
such as making purchases at a store or online.
That is part of putting on any multifaceted event like this one.
But a significant part of the work you do should be something that has
academic significance to a program at Monmouth in which you are majoring,
minoring, or at least significantly invested.
This may be Classics, History, Theatre, Art, Communication, Psychology,
Political Economy and Commerce, etc.
Or it could help you work toward a different goal that is not specific to
your academic programs; doing things like communicating with businesses,
interacting with professionals on campus or off, planning and putting up flyers,
designing and carrying out tangible projects, and the like help to develop life
skills that can be widely applicable.
I just need you to think about how the work you are doing serves a
greater purpose.
As for attendance, you may occasionally, need to miss a class for illness or
other reasons.
Thus you will not be penalized for your
first two absences, whatever the reason for them.
If you miss more than two classes, however, your grade or status in the
class will be affected according to the following parameters:
Normally, the two-absence cushion should account for matters outside of your
control that would keep you from attending class, so the third one, even if it
could be excusable on its own, serves as the consequence for classes missed
previously that were within your control, and it underscores the importance of
your being present: any absence, for whatever the reason, detracts from your
learning in the class. However, I
recognize that a person can, at times, run into circumstances that can keep her
or him out of class on several occasions without any fault on the student’s
part. If your first two absences
were all due to debilitating or contagious illness, family emergency, mandatory
religious obligation, or participation in an authorized College activity (for
any of which I may require documentation), I would be willing to consider not
penalizing you for a third absence either, if that also was precipitated by one
of those circumstances. For
absences beyond the first two that you believe should be excused, you should
contact me beforehand if you are in position to know about the absences in
advance (such as if you have a mandatory religious or College obligation); if
the absence is the result of an emergency, you should notify me within three
days of the missed class. Please
speak with me if you have a different reason for your absence that you think may
be excusable. I will be the sole
arbiter as to whether an absence will be considered excused.
Further details:
CLASSICS DAY PERFORMANCE:
This is the most critical part of the class.
Classics Day needs to go well, and you need to do your part to make sure
that it does. Thus it is essential
that you are present for the Day at the time established for your arrival, that
you stay throughout the event and the cleanup of the event after the fact, that
you carry out your expected duties well, and that you are flexible enough to
take on other responsibilities that might come up in the course of the Day.
You will be permitted to miss Classics
Day without severe consequence to your grade only in an extreme circumstance,
and you will need to take some other time-consuming and academically meaningful
action to make up for your absence. Your
work on Classics Day will be evaluated according to a rubric that I will provide
for you in class.
PORTFOLIO:
At the end of the semester, you will need to submit a portfolio that documents
your work throughout the term.
Whatever you have done, you will need to explain how it has contributed to your
development as a scholar and/or technician in your field, or served your
purposes in some other way. You
should have your contract, your weekly documentation of your work, and any other
documents that support what you have done through the semester, as part of this
culminating document. During final
exam week, we will meet individually to discuss your portfolio and how your
contributions to Classics Day fit your educational program.
Your work on this portfolio will be
evaluated according to a rubric that I will provide for you in class.
Grade Breakdown:
Contract
5%
Attendance, preparation, and participation
55%
Classics Day performance
30%
Portfolio
10%
Percentage/Grade Equivalents:
93+ = A
87-89
= B+ 77-79 = C+
67-69 = D+ 59 and
below = F
90-92 = A- 83-86
= B
73-76 = C
63-66 = D
80-82 = B-
70-72 = C-
60-62 = D-
Required Texts
AND OTHER MATERIALS:
There are no required texts for the course.
A number of people will need to do reading for their parts in the event,
and those readings will be determined by their research and their consultation
with me. They will acquire the
readings through borrowing them either from the library or from me.
course engagement expectations:
This course is scheduled to meet 1 days per week for 50 minutes each for sixteen
weeks. You should expect to spend approximately one-and-a-half hours
outside of class for every hour in class. Some weeks will require more
time commitment than others (particularly the week of Classics Day); however,
the weekly average for all students in the course for those matters should
be three hours (between class meetings and outside work). The weekly time
estimates for the course thus break down as follows:
In class activities
1 hours
Outside preparation
1.5 hours
Average per week:
2.5 hours
class behavior Expectations:
To maintain a classroom environment in which everyone can learn, please show the
respect and courtesy to others that you would expect in turn.
Here are a few of the ways in which you can show respect and courtesy:
·
Be in your seat on time for class, and remain for the duration of each class.
·
Have a notebook, pen, and relevant materials out and ready to use throughout
class.
·
Be ready to answer questions about the work you have done in the previous week,
to work on in-class tasks individually and with peers, and to share your work in
small groups with the whole class.
·
Remain quiet while I or others in class are speaking.
·
Show support for those who speak in class by your demeanor and body language.
·
Focus on the content of the class, not on personal electronic devices; all such
items should be turned off and packed away during class, unless they are being
used for class matters, in a way that is not distracting to your classmates or
me.
·
You may eat and drink in class, but only if it is not distracting to other
students or me.
E-mail Courtesies:
When sending me e-mail, please observe the following courtesies:
·
Begin the message with a salutation of some sort (Dr. Simmons, Prof. Simmons,
Mr. Simmons, etc.).
·
Include a reasonably accurate subject line.
·
Capitalize and punctuate where appropriate, and proofread to make sure that you
are communicating clearly.
·
At the end of the message, please identify yourself by the name by which I know
you (first name or nickname).
I will get back to you as soon as I can.
Sometimes a response will be immediate; on other occasions it may take me
several hours, and quite possibly a full day if you write late in the day, at
night, or on a weekend, if I need to give some thought to a response before
providing one, or if I simply have other things I need to get done before I can
get to e-mails.
Special Needs:
Anyone who has a special need that may require some modification of seating,
testing, or other class requirements should see me as soon as possible.
I will be pleased to make the appropriate arrangements in consultation
with you. Depending on the
modification, you may need to be registered with Disability Services.
Academic honesty:
From the Monmouth College Academic Honesty Policy: “We view academic
dishonesty as a threat to the integrity and intellectual mission of our
institution. Any breach of the academic honesty policy – either intentionally or
unintentionally – will be taken seriously and may result not only in failure in
the course, but in suspension or expulsion from the college. It is each
student’s responsibility to read, understand and comply with the general
academic honesty policy at Monmouth College, as defined here in the Scots Guide,
and to the specific guidelines for each course, as elaborated on the professor’s
syllabus.
“The following areas are examples of violations of the academic honesty policy:
“Please note that this list is not intended to be exhaustive.”
The complete Monmouth College Academic Honesty Policy can be found on the
College web page by clicking on “Student Life” then on “Student Handbook” in the
navigation bar on the top of the page, then “Academic Regulations” in the
navigation bar at the left. Or you can visit the web page directly by
typing in this URL: http://www.monmouthcollege.edu/life/residence-life/scots-guide/academic.aspx.
In this course, any violation of the academic honesty policy will have varying
consequences depending on the severity of the infraction as judged by the
instructor. Minimally, a violation will result in an “F” or 0 points on
the assignment in question. Additionally, the student’s course grade may be
lowered by one letter grade. In severe cases, the student will be assigned
a course grade of “F” and dismissed from the class. All cases of academic
dishonesty will be reported to the Associate Dean, who may decide to recommend
further action to the Admissions and Academic Status Committee, including
suspension or dismissal. It is assumed that students will educate
themselves regarding what is considered to be academic dishonesty, so excuses or
claims of ignorance will not mitigate the consequences of any violations.
Help outside of class:
You should not
hesitate to talk with me about any difficulties you are having in the class.
Speak with me as soon as you are having trouble; letting a problem fester
is likely to make it worse.
Also, for you contract and portfolio, the Monmouth College Writing Center offers
unlimited, free peer tutoring sessions for students at MC. Peer writing tutors
work with writers from any major, of any writing ability, on any type of writing
assignment, and at any stage of their writing processes, from planning to
drafting to revising to editing. It is located on the 3rd floor of the
Mellinger Teaching and Learning Center, and it is open Sunday-Thursday 7-10pm
and Monday-Thursday 3-5pm on a first-come, first-served basis. No appointment
necessary! Learn more about the Writing Center at its website:
http://blogs.monm.edu/writingatmc/writing-center/.