Course Requirements
Participation in discussion sections (good participation will be possible grounds
for raising course grade, especially if it is on a borderline).
“Metaphysics exercises” (kind of a short take-home multiple choice quiz), due
most class days (all exercises together are worth 35% of the final grade; graded
heavily on a curve). These will be made available on-line via the “Tests &
Quizzes” tool on Canvas.
Two short papers (2–3 pages), due Tuesday, May 1 and Tuesday, May 22.
One longer paper (6–8 pages) (worth 35% of the final grade). The paper is due
Tuesday, June 12, but you an introductory paragraph and brief outline
(approximately one sentence per paragraph of the proposed complete paper) are
due at some time on or before Tuesday, June 5. There will then be special section
meetings, including perhaps extra meetings, at which you can get feedback on
these plans from your TA and fellow students. This preliminary assignment will
not be separately graded, but if you do not hand it in at all or if it is wholly
unsatisfactory, your grade on the final paper will be reduced by one half step
(e.g. A to A-).
All paper assignments are available on-line, and there are links to them
from this syllabus as well as from my main course page. I will discuss the
assignments in class when the due date draws near. You can find answers to
some commonly asked questions about my assignments and grading in my
FAQ.
Papers are to be handed in, as attachments, via the “Assignments” tool on
Canvas. Please submit in MSWord format (
.doc or
.docx), or in a format easily
convertible to MSWord (e.g., plain text or RTF). The system will accept late
submissions, but late papers may not receive full credit. The system is
not set
up to allow resubmissions: once you press the “submit” button, it will
not let you change your response. If, however, you mistakenly submit
something and want to change it, please contact me and I can make an
exception.
As noted above, the ME’s will be accessed and submitted on-line via Canvas.
(The system will accept late submissions, but credit — possibly reduced — will
only be given up until the time that the correct answers are announced, either in
section or on-line.)
All assignments are due by 11:55pm on the due date.