Perusall:

To help students engage with the course readings and to prevent students from falling behind, we will use the online tool Perusall for all readings. Perusall is a reading platform in which students annotate texts collaboratively alongside one another. More information on how Perusall works and how it is integrated into the course is available here. Students should access Perusall through MyCourses, by navigating to Content > Perusall (readings) > Perusall, and then clicking the “Open Link” button. This will take you to the Perusall site and automatically register you as a member of the course. If you are having any trouble accessing the readings through Perusall contact the instructor right away.

CampusWire:

Course communication (with the instructor, TAs, and general discussion) should be done through Campuswire, an online discussion and messaging tool tailored to an educational environment. Campuswire will allow students to receive answers to their questions quickly and to help one another with their coursework. An invitation will be sent to students’ McGill email address before the course begins that will allow you to sign up for the class. If your are having trouble accessing Campuswire, email the instructor as soon as possible.

Zoom:

For the class periods and office hours, a Zoom room will be made available for lectures and small-group discussions. Although camera and microphone access can help with conversations, neither is expected of students. Scheduled Zoom meetings can be accessed through the ‘Zoom’ tab in MyCourses.

MyCourses:

While most of the content of the course will be provided through the syllabus or the tools listed above, MyCourses will be used for small-group registration, turning in group work, and disseminating and collecting the final exam.

Other tools:

Because this course emphasizes small-group discussions, students should prioritize finding a good way to communicate with their group members early on. The best option will depend on a number of factors (time zones, computer and internet access, (dis)ability, personal preference, etc.), and will vary from group to group. Some options and suggestions to facilitate group conversation are listed on a separate webpage (link)

Reading

The assigned readings are the core of the course material, and students are expected to carefully and critically read each required text before class. To facilitate students’ engagement with the reading and to help prevent students from falling behind, we will use the online tool Perusall for all required readings. Perusall is a reading platform in which students annotate texts collaboratively alongside one another. More information on how Perusall works and how it is integrated into the course is available here. All readings will be freely available, either through Perusall or a link provided on the syllabus.

To access Perusall through MyCourses, navigate to Content > Perusall (readings) > Perusall, and then click the “Open Link” button. This will take you to the Perusall site and automatically register you as a member of the course. If you are having any trouble accessing the readings through Perusall contact the instructor right away.

Readings will be graded as either complete (1 point) or incomplete (0 points). Student responses must demonstrate a thoughtful and thorough reading of the entire assignment to receive credit. At the end of the semester, the four lowest reading grades will be dropped from the assessment. Reading assessments will contribute 10% to the final grade for the course.

Lectures

All lectures and slide presentations will be pre-recorded and made available on Microsoft Stream. Lectures will be about 10-15 minutes each, with multiple lectures for each class period. Although viewing lectures is not part of the course grade, the content of the lectures will be necessary to do well in the course.

Slides (PDF format ) and recordings (streamed online ) will be available at least 48 hours before each class.

Group discussions

Starting on September 17, scheduled class time will be devoted to small-group discussions and collaborative composition of discussion responses. By the third week of class, students will be responsible for forming groups of 4 or 5 using MyCourses. Each class period, groups will work together to discuss the readings and draft responses to a provided worksheet of discussion questions. These worksheets will be due at 8pm the day after class. It is strongly recommended that students meet during the scheduled class time to discuss the reading, as the instructor and teaching assistants will be available to answer questions and clariify concepts.

Each week, one of the two discussion responses of each group will be chosen at random to be evaluated. The responses will be evaluated out of 10 possible points according to the following rubric:

9 – 10

Responses demonstrate a nuanced understanding of the reading and link ideas from the text to themes, theories, and other topics from class.

6 – 8

Responses demonstrate a basic understanding of the reading but may miss important implications or connections.

2 – 5

Responses demonstrate a superficial understanding of or engagement with the reading or contain numerous fundamental misunderstandings of the concepts.

0 – 1

Responses are cursory, or not submitted at all.

Marks for worksheet responses will be given to all members of the group. At the end of the semester, groups will perform peer evaluation that will adjust each participant’s discussion grade up or down by as much as 15%.

Group discussions will contribute 50% to the final grade for the course.

Completing peer evaluation of group members will contribute 5% to the final grade for the course.

Final exam

At the end of the semester, students will be required to complete a take-home exam, due at the time scheduled by the exams office. The exam will be distributed 72 hours before it is due.

You should use formal academic citations in your exam. See the course page on references and citatioin styles for more info.

The final exam will contribute 35% to the final grade for the course.

Accessibility

Students in need of accommodation (due to disability or other barrier) are encouraged to contact me with their concerns—I will make every effort to accommodate individual circumstances. Students with disabilities in need of formal accommodation may contact the Office for Students with Disabilities (http://www.mcgill.ca/osd/, phone 514-398-6009) to arrange alternate assessment plans.

Academic integrity

McGill University values academic integrity. Therefore, all students must understand the meaning and consequences of cheating, plagiarism and other academic offences under the Code of Student Conduct and Disciplinary Procedures (see http://www.mcgill.ca/students/srr/honest/ for more information).(approved by Senate on 29 January 2003)

L’université McGill attache une haute importance à l’honnêteté académique. Il incombe par conséquent à tous les étudiants de comprendre ce que l’on entend par tricherie, plagiat et autres infractions académiques, ainsi que les conséquences que peuvent avoir de telles actions, selon le Code de conduite de l’étudiant et des procédures disciplinaires (pour de plus amples renseignements, veuillez consulter le site http://www.mcgill.ca/students/srr/honest/).

Lanugage of evaluation

In accord with McGill University’s Charter of Students’ Rights, students in this course have the right to submit in English or in French any written work that is to be graded. (approved by Senate on 21 January 2009)

Conformément à la Charte des droits de l’étudiant de l’Université McGill, chaque étudiant a le droit de soumettre en français ou en anglais tout travail écrit devant être noté (sauf dans le cas des cours dont l’un des objets est la maîtrise d’une langue).

Grade appeals

Instructors and teaching assistants take the marking of assignments very seriously, and we work diligently to be fair, consistent, and accurate. Nonetheless, mistakes and oversights occasionally happen. If you believe that to be the case, you must adhere to the following rules:

• If it is a mathematical error simply alert the instructor of the error.
• In the case of more substantive appeals, you must:
  1. Wait at least 24 hours after receiving your mark.
  2. Carefully re-read your assignment, all guidelines and marking schemes, and the grader’s comments.
  3. If you wish to appeal, you must submit to the instructor a written explanation of why you think your mark should be altered. Please note that upon re-grade your mark may go down, stay the same, or go up.