Course Requirements
1. Attendance, participation, reading assignments (20% of course grade)
2. Three exams, including final (15%+15%+20% of course grade)
3. Journal (30% of course grade)
In keeping with SU's emphasis on writing across the curriculum, you will examine much of the course material through writing. Effective note-taking will be essential to your understanding of the material and doing well on exams; the exams are all written (no multiple choice); and you will record your reflections on the course material in a journal.
The success of the class depends both on my preparation and leadership and on your attendance and participation. Since I have to evaluate your performance, think of this class as a commitment similar to work.
Making an attendance policy is difficult, because people miss class for a wide variety of reasons some legitimate, some lame. Under normal circumstances, you may miss one whole session (the equivalent of one week's classes) without penalty; that should take care of any emergencies that arise (of course you are responsible for all material covered). Absence from more than one complete session drops your maximum grade for participation to 70%; absence from more than two sessions drops your course grade a full grade. If factors beyond your control force you to run afoul of this policy, please speak with me.
Required Reading
Botwinick, Rita
S. A History of the Holocaust:
From Ideology to Annihilation. Third
edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Prentice Hall, 2004.
Botwinick, Rita
S. A Holocaust Reader:
From Ideology to Annihilation. Upper
Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall,
1998.
Exams
We will have two one-hour exams (October 7 and November 11) and a two-hour final exam (December 16, 7:45-9:45 pm). I will provide study guides for all three one week prior. For each exam you need a bluebook, available in the Book Rack. The first two exams will each be in two parts, worth equal amounts:
1. Identify and state the significance of ten terms;
2. Answer one of two questions in essay form.
The final exam will be the same, except for an additional essay section. The final will cover mostly material since the previous exam, but the second essay will be comprehensive.
Journal
The subject of
this course demands both your intellectual and emotional engagement.
I believe that keeping a journal will enable you both to develop your
comprehension of what happened and to express how this knowledge affects you and
your understanding of the human experience. Each entry must be typed and at least 250 words (about one
page) of analysis of and reflection upon the course material.
For example, your first journal entry should be dated “Week of
September 2-8” and include your thoughts on the class of September 2,
including specific discussion of any film we may have seen, and the readings you
have done in preparation for class on September 9, including specific discussion
of the entries in Botwinick’s Holocaust Reader.
I am looking for thoughtful and intelligent discussion of the course material. Take a film like Survivors of the Holocaust, for example: you should tell me what you think of the film, including your ideas about why you think it's a good film or not a good film; you might want to discuss techniques the filmmaker used and why they were or were not effective. What does it tell us about the Holocaust? What doesn't it tell us? I am especially interested in hearing about “clarifying moments”: points made in class, experiences portrayed on film, or statements made in readings that really made you think or come to a new realization or understanding.
The Holocaust is an important but depressing subject. If you experience any difficulties in dealing with this subject matter, feel free to call me or stop by my office; or, for professional help, call Student Counseling Services (second floor, University Center) at 410-543-6070.
The
best learning environment is one based on mutual respect and trust. However, the desire to achieve a good grade without doing the
necessary work may tempt some students to cheat on exams or to represent the
work of others as their own. As
should be obvious to anyone at Salisbury University, PLAGIARISM AND CHEATING ARE
WRONG and are acts of “academic dishonesty.” The term “academic
dishonesty” means a deliberate and deceptive misrepresentation of one’s own
work. Instances of academic dishonesty include all, but are not limited to, the
following:
(1)
Plagiarism: presenting as one’s own work, whether literally or in
paraphrase, the work of another author.
(2)
Turning in the same paper for multiple courses.
(3)
Cheating on exams, tests, and quizzes; the wrongful giving or accepting
of unauthorized exam material; and the use of illegitimate sources of
information.
(4)
Unsanctioned collaboration with other individuals in the completion of
course assignments.
(5)
Falsifying data and use of fraudulent methods in laboratory, field work,
and COMPUTER WORK.
(6)
Falsifying excuses for non-attendance or completion of assignments.
There are no mitigating circumstances to justify academic dishonesty. IF you are unclear about what constitutes academic dishonesty or plagiarism, please ask – Ignorance is no excuse. Discovery of academic dishonesty will bring stiff penalties, including a failing grade for the assignment in question and possibly a grade of F for the course. The maximum penalty at Salisbury University for plagiarism is possible expulsion from the entire USM system, so for your own sakes, DO NOT PLAGIARIZE.