Syllabus

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 * Defining Freedom **

Spring 2013 Instructor: Michael LeBlanc Office: CC-1-1300; Office Hours: MWF, 10:00–11:30, and by appointment Telephone: 617-287-6550 Course Wikispace: http://seminr125g-s13-leblanc.wikispaces.umb.edu Email: mikeescape@gmail.com (best way to reach me)
 * SEMINR 125G**

=Introduction= This course is a First-Year Seminar (FYS). First-Year Seminars welcome new students (with fewer than 30 transfer credits) to UMass Boston. These small-sized courses are designed to prepare students for a successful college experience. A major goal of First-Year Seminars is to practice the following habits of mind essential to university level educational success: careful reading, clear writing, critical thinking, use of information literacy and technology, working in teams, oral presentation, and academic self-assessment. All First-Year Seminars meet 4 hours per week and carry 4 credits. A mentor and a staff academic advisor are ordinarily assigned to each seminar. Among other things, the mentor can help you with computer accounts, e-mail, and with library research. The advisor will visit the class once or twice during the semester, and can be contacted for help with choosing courses and major, with financial aid, and any problems with university life in general.

UMass Boston is a wonderfully diverse community. We hope that you will take advantage of the opportunity to learn about the rich array of opinions and experiences that will inevitably be present in this class. If you entered UMB with 30 or more transferable credits, you should not be enrolled in this course. If you entered UMB with fewer than 30 credits but have more than 30 credits now, you still need a First-Year Seminar (a 100G course, like this one) if you have not yet taken one. Note: If you have taken another G100- or 100G-level course in any department at UMB, or if you have completed the two-term Gateway Seminars in the College of Science and Mathematics (Inter-d 187S and 188S) you cannot receive credit for this one. Please note also thatcourses taken at UMass Boston before matriculating do not count as transfer credits. Thus, for example, if you took 36 UMass Boston credits as a special student and then applied for admission, you still need to take a First-Year Seminar.

=Student Referral Program= If it appears to me that you might not pass this First-Year Seminar, and if I cannot figure out how to support your success in the course, I might inform the director of the Student Referral Program (CC-1-1100; 287-5500). The staff in this program will attempt to help you address the difficulties that are interfering with your success in the class. If you do not want me to let the Student Referral Program know that you are having difficulty, please let me know.

=Accommodations= Section 504 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 offers guidelines for curriculum modifications and adaptations for students with documented disabilities. If applicable, students may obtain adaptation recommendations from the Ross Center for Disability Services, CC-UL-211 (617-287-7430). If this applies to you, you must present these recommendations to each professor within a reasonable period, preferably by the end of the Add/Drop period.

=Student Conduct= Students are required to adhere to university policies on academic honesty and student conduct. The current Code of Student Conduct, including information about academic dishonesty is available online at: http://www.umb.edu/life_on_campus/policies/code/.

=Assessment of These Courses= In addition to a Student Self-Assessment form to be completed at the end of each First-Year Seminar, an assessment committee will look at randomly chosen student writing from First-Year Seminars. Please save all your writing in this course so that if you are randomly chosen you will have your work available. The purpose of this is to improve the program and to improve particular courses, as necessary. You may remove your name from your papers if you choose to submit them anonymously. I will let you know later in the semester whether your portfolio has been selected.

=Limitations on Repeating This Course= Given the specialized nature of some of the topics in First-Year Seminars, many are dependent upon faculty availability and might not be offered very often. If you are not pleased with your grade in this course, it might be impossible to retake it. Thus, I encourage you to do your best to achieve a satisfactory grade this semester in case retaking the course is not a possibility in the future. If you feel you cannot do so, please talk with me about options.

= Defining Freedom =

=What is freedom?= In this class we will explore the ongoing struggle we all face in the quest to define and achieve freedom. We will read a selection of texts from a variety of genres and time periods as we examine the ways in which different forms of oppression—whether based on race, class, and/or gender—have affected the ways we think about what it means to be free. We will carefully consider the implications of our own freedom(s)—and the responsibilities that come with being “free.”

=Required Texts and Materials=
 * Hacker, Diana. Rules for Writers Package. (same as for English 101). Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2011. ISBN: 978-0312577810
 * Jacobs, Harriet. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself: With Related Documents. Ed. Jennifer Fleischner. Bedford/St. Martins, 2010. ISBN: 0312442661
 * MacDonald, Michael Patrick. All Souls: A Family Story from Southie. Boston: Beacon, 1999. ISBN: 0807072133
 * The Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Springfield, MA: Merriam Webster, 2004. ISBN: 978-0877799306
 * Spiral notebook with 8½” x 11” writing paper
 * A sturdy folder or binder to hold all of your written work

NOTE: You will also need to print a number of documents from our course wiki.

=Workload= The assignments in this course are designed to provide you with experience in the following seven capabilities: careful reading, clear writing, critical thinking, use of information literacy and technology, teamwork, oral presentation, and academic self-assessment.

Reading
In order to pass the course, you must read the assigned texts and be prepared to discuss them in class. There will be several unannounced quizzes based on the readings.

Responses
Written (i.e., typed) responses will be required for most readings. The different formats and requirements for these responses will be explained in class. I will read your responses and grade them with a check-minus (further development of your ideas is required), a check (satisfactory), or a check-plus (excellent).

In-Class Writings
We will often begin the class by writing in response to a reading, a current or previous discussion, or a question posed by a member of our class.

Short Papers
You will write three 2-to-3-page papers. Short papers will be collected, commented on, and given a grade. These assignments might consist of exploring an idea from your own reading responses, following up on a class discussion, responding to a specific question, and/or developing part of a larger project—I will provide written instructions for each short paper assignment.

Group Projects / Oral Presentations
You will collaborate with classmates on two presentation projects. Details will be provided. Essays: You will write and revise two 5-page essays. Specific instructions will be provided for each essay.

Class Portfolio
Keep all of your written work—drafts, responses, in-class writings, formal journal entries, and essays—together in a folder. Your portfolio will not only help you keep track of your papers and assignments, but it will also enable you to easily see how you grow as a thinker and a writer over the course of the semester. I will periodically—and randomly—collect portfolios.

Class Participation
Class discussion is of crucial importance to the success of this course. Sharing and exploring ideas—human interaction—is a big part of the process through which we learn. All members of the class are expected to attend all class meetings and conferences, prepared (If you don’t have your books and/or readings with you, you’re not prepared!); contribute actively and constructively to class exercises and discussions—including in-class writings and workshops; and submit all work on time. In most cases, short papers and essays lose 1/3 of a letter grade for each day late (e.g., a B paper that is one day late becomes a B-; a B paper that is two days late becomes a C+, etc.).

Attendance
You can’t participate if you’re not here. Attendance counts. If you miss more than four classes, you will be in danger of failing the course and may be asked to withdraw. Repeated lateness will count as absence. If you must miss a class, please let me know ahead of time. If you miss a class, it is your responsibility to get the assignments, class notes, and course changes from me or from a classmate. Please note: Being absent does not excuse you from turning work in on time.

=Grades= Each assignment contributes toward your course grade as follows:

Short Papers (3 @ 6% each) Group Projects/Oral Presentations Essay #1 Essay #2 || 30% 18% 20%  16%  16% ||
 * Participation/Preparedness (Written Homework, Wiki Discussions, In-class Writings, Class Discussions, Teamwork, and Quizzes)

Academic Honesty
Academic Honesty violations will result in penalties ranging from an “F” on the assignment in question to an “F” in the course to academic suspension to dismissal from UMB.

//** (from the UMB Code of Student Conduct) **//
 * The University defines violations to include, but not be limited to, the following:**
 * 1) Submitting as one’s own an author’s published or unpublished work (e.g. material from a journal, Internet site, newspaper, encyclopedia), in whole, in part, or in paraphrase, without fully and properly crediting the author.
 * 2) Submitting as one’s own work or materials obtained from another student, individual, or agency without full and proper attribution.
 * 3) Submitting as one’s own work material that has been produced through unacknowledged or unauthorized collaboration with others.
 * 4) Submitting substantially the same work to more than one course without prior approval from all instructors involved: i.e., dual or multiple submission.
 * 5) Using any unauthorized material during an examination, such as notes, tests, calculators, cell phones, PDAs, or other electronic or mechanical communication devices. Abuse of cellular devices with photographic capabilities and use of devices for purposes of photographing test questions or other notes and materials are also prohibited.
 * 6) Obtaining answers to examination questions from another person with or without that person’s knowledge; furnishing answers to examination questions to another student; using or distributing unauthorized copies of or notes from an examination.

Please take the time to review the entire UMass Boston Code of Student Conduct at @http://www.umb.edu/life_on_campus/policies/code/.

=Disability Accommodations= If you are a student with disabilities who will need academic accommodations, please contact the Ross Center for Disability Services (CC-UL-211, 617-287-7430). Visit their website at http://www.umb.edu/academics/vpass/disability/.

=Reading, Writing, and Study Strategies Center (RWSSC)= The RWSSC (located in the Academic Support Office, Campus Center, 1-1300) offers both individual tutoring and drop-in workshops for students who need help with the critical reading, thinking, and writing strategies necessary for success in courses across the curriculum. More information is available online at http://www.umb.edu/academics/vpass/academic_support/tutoring/rwssc/.

=Advising= All First-Year Seminars have academic advisors assigned to help you in your first year at UMass Boston. The academic advisors assigned to our class are:

Section 1: Clyde Bosket (clyde.bosket@umb.edu) Section 2: Valerie Miller (valerie.miller@umb.edu) Section 3: Valerie Miller (valerie.miller@umb.edu)