Organization of the Course

Major Assignments

Note about written assignments:

• All Sources Homework assignments can be done in pairs, groups, etc. You will be responsible for your own work, but feel free to put your heads together
• Subject Guides/Quick Start Assignments should be done for individual presentation/submission. Please feel free to do your work with others and use others in the class as sounding boards/resources/etc, but this will be individual work.

1. PARTICIPATION AND ATTENDANCE (15pts awarded at end of semester)
   Participation: Success in the course will depend on reading, Web work, thinking about the material, participating in discussions, planning for the major projects and completing them in a professional manner. Take responsibility for staying current with the reading and the other work in the course. If you need to miss a session, obtain materials, lecture notes, assignment details, and other important information from a class colleague. Contact another student before the class absence to request help and to alert your colleague that you will be asking for notes from the class session. You should plan to hand in material ahead of time if you know you will miss class (for example, in the case of a religious holiday) or by the next class if the absence is an emergency. Be generous in your willingness to help each other in this way. Attendance at all class sessions is mandatory. It will be impossible to complete the active learning sections of the course without full participation. [Everybody Pick a Buddy!] [If I know your name]
2. SHORT ASSIGNMENTS/HOMEWORK (25pts awarded at end of semester (keep your checks))
   The short assignments will include the creation of reviews of selected sources and creating and answering multiple reference questions from a particular area. The main goal of the short assignment is to have students review specific area sources both before class and as part of the class.  These assignments will not be graded individually, but will receive a check, check plus or check minus grade.
3. SUBJECT RESOURCE/QUICK START GUIDE - Humanities (30pts awarded week after presentation)
   For this project you will create a resource guide for a subject of your choice from across the humanities areas that we'll cover. This will include listing and annotations (about 3-5 sentences each) of resources you find by searching books, online database, search engines/directories, etc.  and could include items ranging from encyclopedia/dictionary articles, journal articles, books, etc. In addition to your comprehensive resource guide you will also create a 1 page (2 sided) Quick Start guide that would enable students, patrons, customers, etc. the ability to start research on their own by listing your sources/methods. Your resource and quick start guides will be presented to the students in class and will be uploaded to the eCompanion Dropbox prior to class.
   Think of the assignment this way. You are doing the research for someone on a subject across the Humanities areas we have covered (Religion, Philosophy, Visual Art, Performing Arts, Language/Literature ... and you can add History if you'd like to). You want to give them a start with references to sources you think they might like to use in their paper. In the Subject Guide you'll give them listings of the resources you have found for them with brief annotations. In the Quick Start Guide you're giving them a resource to do further research for themselves and it is here that you'll provide them with items such as selected online databases, reference books, subjects to search on, and broad based websites [a good example of a Quick Start guide would be http://njref.camden.lib.nj.us/pathfinders/shaklit.htm].
4. SUBJECT RESOURCE/QUICK START GUIDE - Social Sciences (30pts awarded week after presentation)
   Same description as above except with Social Science resources

Methods of Assessment

• Writing Requirement:

All assignments must be typed or word processed. Pay attention to grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Also, proofread your work. Spell-check cannot catch omitted words, repeated words, etc. (Better idea - have someone else proofread your work)

Always reread the instructions before submission of an assignment to make sure that all the required components are included.

• Reading Requirements:

In preparation for each class, students should read the corresponding chapter from the textbook of their choice. Occasionally there may be articles assigned, and these will be announced either in class or on eCompanion.

• Grading

Late papers will receive a reduced grade.

Grades will be calculated as points in the following way:       

A = 92-100; Outstanding

B+ = 85-91;

B = 80-84; Good      

C+ = 75-79;

C = 70-74; Satisfactory

D= Poor (not used in graduate courses)

F = 69 and below; failing

Remember, if you want an "A" earn an "A".

• Timeliness Requirement:

Assignments must be submitted on time, so that they can be graded consistently and discussed in the class sessions following the due date.

Except for documented medical and family emergencies, assignments submitted late will receive a lower grade, for the following reasons: (a) students who take more time to prepare their assignments have an unfair advantage over their classmates; (b) students who submit their assignments late often benefit from the review in class of their colleagues' errors; (c) it will interrupt the flow of the class.

Bibliography

Principal Texts:

Blazek, Ron and Elizabeth Aversa. 2000. The Humanities: A selective guide to information sources. 5^th ed. Greenwood Village, Colo.: Libraries Unlimited.

Herron, Nancy L. 2002. The Social Sciences: A cross-disciplinary guide to selected sources. 3^rd ed. Greenwood Village, Colo.: Libraries Unlimited.

Other Recommended Sources:

Fisher, David, Price, Sandra A. and Terry Hanstock (eds.) 2002. Information sources in the social sciences.  Munchen: K.G.Saur.

Li, Tze-chung. 2000. Social science reference sources: a practical guide. 3^rd ed. Westport Conn.: Greenwood press.

Principal Texts are available at the graduate reserve desk at Alexander library.

Principal Texts are available at the Rutgers bookstore and from online booksellers.

It is not necessary to purchase all books.