Contact Information Dr. Mark C. Long | mlong@keene.edu | 358.2695 | 206 Parker Hall |
Office Hours Tuesday & Thursday 11-12, Wednesday 12-1, and Friday by appointment
Course Expectations and Responsibilities We will be working closely together this semester and I have a few baseline expectations and responsibilities:
Attendance. Show up. Every day. Absences have a devastating effect—on the quality of your thinking and writing as well as on the educational experience of other students in the course. The project-based method of the course presumes that you be present. If you must miss a class, please let me know in advance. If you miss more than six classes you will need to withdraw from the course
Preparation and Participation. Read. Think. Talk. Successful students read carefully and thoughtfully and come prepared to discuss the readings in class. I encourage you to speak with me if you are having difficulties preparing for class, or if you would like to work more closely with me to become a more active participant in our work together
Writing. Do the writing. Write well because it does really matter. Complete the writing on time. You can expect to be writing during every week of the semester. Required written work will include a sequence of shorter essays and a longer end-of-the-semester project. All written work will be appropriately documented. The MLA Handbook will serve as our common reference source for citation although I am happy to work with any common citation system (APA, Chicago). We will also talk about conventions for digital writing and the rhetorical considerations for writers working in the public domain.
Grading Method and Criteria To receive a passing grade in the course you will complete all of the tasks assigned to you. Higher grades (C, B, A) will be determined by the timeliness of your work (completing tasks by the due dates) and the quality of the work that you do (the quality of the first versions of our essays, the improvement of your writing from the first to the second version, and the final product). This course is a methods workshop and it follows that we will dedicate class time to improving the quality of your written work. In addition to required individual conferences, I am available every week throughout the semester to work with you outside of class.
Your final grade in the course will be determined by 1) your intellectual process and 2) the product of your intellectual work. Fifty percent of your grade will be based on your blog. The other fifty percent of your grade will be based on your final project.
Please know that I am always able to make accommodations for your writing process. However, if you do not touch base with me about not meeting a deadline before the due date, then we don’t have grounds for an accommodation.
The Blog The Tuesday blog posts, research installments, and project proposal provide evidence of your work; and your revised Sunday blog posts demonstrate your ability to use writing to share effectively what you have learned. At the beginning of each week, usually on Monday, I visit each of your blogs and note the work you have done so that I am able to give you credit for that work.
However, at any time in the course I invite you to curate your blog. That is, you may revise, update, rework any of the writing, re-conceptualize or re-design your blog, including the theme, title, tagline, etc.
The Final Project The project you complete may take a number of forms. It may be an essay, for example, that you will upload to your blog, or it could take another form, perhaps as a distinct web-based portal, hub, or web site. I will be introducing the parameters for the project in a couple of weeks. If you would like I can answer questions about the project in our first individual conference.
If you are a student with a disability The Office of Disability Services (ODS), Elliot Hall, 8.2353, is available to discuss eligibility requirements and appropriate academic accommodations that you may require as a student with a disability. So all arrangements can be made, requests for academic accommodations need to be completed during the first two weeks of the semester. You are responsible for making an appointment with ODS for disability verification and determination of reasonable academic accommodations
Emergency Operations In the event the College closes for a major disaster, students are responsible for regularly checking their e-mail, voice mails, and this blog for information on alternative course delivery procedures and course work submission. Students will be responsible for completing their assignments and ensuring that they have completed all of the core requirements for their courses before they will receive a final grade for the course
Course Schedule Please see the course schedule page for readings, writing prompts, and project due dates
The Open Space of Democracy 