Course Requirements and Assignments

Any additional information on assignments will be posted here when we are closer to the due date.

• Take-Home Exams - 20% each
  • Each of these three exams will test you on a major subject of the course with a series of essay questions that you will have several days to work on. They will also serve as an opportunity for you to work on your composition skills, especially those pertaining to the constructing and supporting of thesis statements.
    • Take Home Exam #1
    • Take Home Exam #2
• Final Paper - 25%
  • This will be a research paper of approximately 2000 words (10 pages). You will be able to use outside material as you see fit, but the bulk of the primary material will come from the collection of documents that I have provided for you in Venice: A Documentary History. You will use these are your archive, construct a project, and write a paper. Due on the day scheduled for our final exam.
• Participation and Attendance - 15%
  • Participation is more than just showing up, but it starts with just showing up. You cannot participate if you are not here. I will take attendance every day. Unexcused absences will weigh heavily against your participation grade.
    • Excused absences - severe illness with doctor's note, death in the family, acts of God, or legitimate Macalester activities (i.e. official sporting or musical events) will obviously not incur any direct penalty. You need to let me know ahead of time (for events) and you are responsible for catching up on material missed by consulting both me and your peers.
  • But participation is about more than just showing up. It's about doing the reading, being prepared to talk about it, volunteering your input, being involved in group work, preparing for discussions, and generally being an asset to the class as a whole. We will have a variety of ways in which you can participate, but none matter more than being an active member in our small-group and full-class discussions.
  • Part of the participation grade will be drawn from many informal activities assigned throughout the semester. These will be graded pass/fail, if at all, but will be taken as a sign of your preparedness and out-of-class effort.
  • If I suspect that the class is not doing the reading, I may assign additional writing assignments, pop-quizzes, or other modes of examination as necessary. Let's all hope it isn't!
  • Your participation is a large percent of your grade. You will need to earn it. Take initiative. Do not expect to speak only when directly called upon and ace this section of the class.
  • Finally, being late consistently may be counted as being absent. It will certainly lower your participation grade.