There will be a take-home final exam, seven in-class quizzes (including a skills quiz), and a 5-7 page (12-point font Times New Roman font, double-spaced, 1” margins, paginated) “think piece” paper. The paper will be due in class on Tuesday, November 20th. The schedule for the seven in-class quizzes is noted in the lecture schedule. The take-home final exam will be handed out in class on Thursday, December 6th and it must be turned in to me in class on Thursday, December 13th. Attendance during all lecture and discussion sections is expected. Moreover, the completion of all required written assignments is necessary for a passing grade.
I will require that all students establish e-mail accounts with Internet access. This course will occasionally involve interaction between the instructor and students outside of the lecture period. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Grading (approx.):
“Half-hourly” quizzes 30%
Skills Quiz Ungraded
Paper 20%
Final Exam 20%
Quizzes
The quizzes will cover materials from the assigned readings, lectures, films, and other in-class presentations. I will go over all assigned readings, either during lectures or during discussion sections. You are responsible for anything that is covered in class, whether or not you were present for a given class period.
No Make-up Quizzes
No make-up quizzes will be offered for this class. Instead, you may drop one of your six graded quizzes, only if you have taken the ungraded skills quiz at the beginning of the semester. Once you have missed one quiz, all subsequent missed quizzes will be graded at 0% credit.
Final Take-home Examination
There is a 6 page, typed take-home exam. I will distribute three or four questions one week before the exam due date. The exams will be due in my office (MRHA 2111) no later than 3pm on Thursday, December 13th. We’ll talk more about this exam later in the course.
Classroom Discussions
Discussion and the exchange of ideas are very important components of this course, especially this semester. Everyone will be required to participate, and you should feel free to ask questions in every class during lecture. When a film is shown in class, we will generally follow the presentation with a short discussion. I will also hand out film guides with questions for your completion. Due to the size of the class, students will be divided into five (5) formal discussion groups (Groups A-E). These groups will usually engage in class discussions on Thursdays.
Each week by Friday at midnight I will post three (3) questions on Blackboard for the following week’s discussion. By the following Monday at midnight each student will submit on Blackboard a short (two paragraph) summary of the week’s discussion reading (not the textbook) and short responses (two paragraphs each) to two of the three questions. By Wednesday at midnight, each student will submit a two-paragraph comment on one of the responses made by a classmate.
The first film will be shown on Thursday, August 30 and the first formal discussion will be held on Thursday, September 8th. Students must sign up for their preferred group by Thursday, August 30th. General instructions regarding the classroom discussion format may also be found at the course Blackboard site.
The written exercises will be graded on a check, check-plus, or check-minus scale. If you receive straight “checks” for all exercises, you will have earned a “B” for this part of the course. To earn a “check-plus” you need to demonstrate that you have thought imaginatively about the question and have put some genuine effort into your answer. The purpose of these exercises is to gain experience in writing, and they should therefore help prepare you for the paper and the take-home exam. Please include your name with each submission. You will be required to submit at least five (5) responses this semester.
Students will be graded both on their spoken and written contributions to class discussions. Each student will come to class having read the texts and prepared to discuss them. I will not hesitate to call on all students to participate. However, you should feel free to speak with me before class, if you find it difficult to speak in a public setting. In that case, you may submit your questions before each class in writing. Any student with more than five unexcused absences from their discussion group will receive "0%" for the class participation portion of their final grade.
“Think Piece” Paper
The “think piece” paper, to be written on assigned topics, will be based on your readings, section discussions, and the lectures. This paper is not a research paper; therefore, no outside reading is required. However, the quality of your writing, particularly the clarity and persuasiveness of your argument, will factor into the final grading. Late papers will be penalized half a letter grade for each day beyond the original due date.
Web-site
This class is served by a companion Blackboard site, through which you may access all the on-line e-reserves. I also have created a web site for this classroom, which I will continue to expand as the quarter progresses. Here students can access course information, such as scheduled events (i.e. the syllabus you now hold in your hand), as well as terms mentioned in lecture. I will also list links to web sites of interest to our class. Please refer to the class site periodically for such materials.
Required Texts
1. Murphey, Rhoads. East Asia: A New History. 3rd Edition. New York: Addison-Wesley Longman, 2004.
2. Holcombe, Charles. The Genesis of East Asia: 221 B.C.-A.D.907 (Asian Interactions and Comparisons) Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2001. ISBN: 0824824652.
3. Nguyen Nguyet Cam, Dana Sachs. Two Cakes Fit for a King: Folktales from Vietnam. University of Hawaii Press (October 1, 2003). ISBN-10: 082482668X, ISBN-13: 978-0824826680.
All other materials for this course will be available on electronic reserve at the course Blackboard site.