CNE/GRK/LAT 498: Senior Capstone Seminar

Spring 2011       Prof. Stephens

Mon. 5:00 – 7:40 pm       DHHC 212

office hours:  Tues. Thurs. 12:50 to 3 pm and by appointment
office:  DHHC 116 (in the Philosophy Department suite)          phone (with voicemail):  280-2632          email:  stphns at creighton dot edu

Description

The bulletin reads: “Directed research on a general topic; preparation and public presentation of a senior thesis.”  This means that in this course we will review the fundamental techniques of doing research in Classics so that each student will produce a substantial, original, and polished senior thesis research project of the highest caliber to be presented publicly at the end of the semester.  Each student will arrange to work with a faculty member supervisor who is expert in the student’s chosen thesis subject area.  Students will practice presenting their evolving projects and critique each other’s work during the second half of the semester.

This course receives CORE curriculum certified writing credit.

Required Books

• Beard, M. & Henderson, J., Classics: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford Univ. Press, 2000.  ISBN-13: 978-0192853851

• Booth, W. C., Colomb, G. G., & Williams, J. M., The Craft of Research. Univ. of Chicago Press, 3rd ed. 2008.  ISBN-13: 978-0226065663.

Course Requirements* and Percentage of Course Grade

Term paper on the greatest, most recondite research project of your entire undergraduate career. (70%)
BlueLine discussion forum posts & replies. (6%)
Presentations of research project in class meetings. (11%)
Emailed writing assignments. (8%)
Constructive comments on the work of your classmates and weekly work reports. (5%)
Punctual attendance at all class meetings.

Weekly Work Reports

A weekly work report (wwr) is an email the student is required to send to the instructor (WOS), before 4:00 pm every Monday (except during Spring Recess), which reports the work the student accomplished the previous week.

Policy on Delivery of Assignments

Students are responsible for the successful delivery of all assignments to Prof. Stephens, including emailed assignments.  Neither DoIT nor any other Internet service provider is responsible for a student’s email not arriving intact in Stephens’ email inbox or for an attached document to go missing from an email.  If Stephens does not confirm receipt of an assignment prior to its due date and time, the student is expected to responsibly deliver a hard copy of the assignment into Stephens’ Philosophy Department snailmail box before it is due.  (Ordinarily, Prof. Stephens will confirm receipt of an emailed assignment within 12 hours of its arrival in his inbox.)

Late Submission Policy

Assignments received within 24 hours after their due date and time will be penalized -25%.  Assignments received between 24 and 48 hours late will be penalized -50%.  Assignments received more than 48 hours late will receive a zero (0).

Attendance Policy

Since prior to April we will meet as a group only once every three weeks, being absent for even one class meeting is a serious problem that will adversely affect your course grade.  Students are allowed to bring some food and drink to class, but should be considerate of others when eating and drinking.

Standards of Evaluation for Written Work

A: exceptional work.

‘A’ papers are free of spelling, grammatical, and other technical errors.  Such papers display evidence of real engagement with and understanding of the issues and texts.  Further, such papers have a strong thesis paragraph and well-reasoned argument supported by convincing and well-chosen evidence.  Attention to detail and style in the presentation of context distinguish A papers.

B: good work.

These papers fall short of ‘A’ papers usually in style and development.  They have some errors in grammar, usage, punctuation and spelling, but usually few.  They have a strong thesis paragraph and well-reasoned argument supported by textual evidence.  May show less intellectual engagement with the issues than the ‘A’ paper.

C: average work.

Such papers address the assignment directly and relatively clearly, but without significant depth or clarity.  A ‘C’ paper generally supplies some support for assertions, but it is not thorough.  A ‘C’ paper often has an ‘anonymous’ quality to it, restating standard opinion or assertions without going into depth or developing an individual voice.  A ‘C’ means that the work is basically solid and acceptable, but not distinguished.

D: below average work.

A ‘D’ paper addresses the assignment only in a brief way, avoiding some requirements.  It is often characterized by many general statements without proof, support, or justification.  Its usage, grammar, punctuation, or spelling are such that reading the paper is somewhat difficult; it has more than a few such errors per page.  It is kept from being an ‘F’ paper by the fact that it does address the assignment in some way, having some structure and making coherent points.

F: failure.

Such papers contain copious mechanical errors and other evidence of carelessness or sloppiness.  They lack a viable thesis and supporting evidence.  A paper which may be acceptable in style and development, but which does not address the assignment at all, may also be given a grade of F.

Academic Honesty

Academic honesty is expected and required: each paper (or writing assignment) must be your own work and must be written for this class.  No papers (or writing assignments) may be written jointly.  All assignments should be completed by each individual without collaboration with other students, unless the instructor has designated otherwise.  Proven academic dishonesty will result in failure of the course.  The Undergraduate Bulletin defines academic dishonesty in the following way: “Academic or academic-related misconduct includes, but is not limited to, unauthorized collaboration or use of external information during examinations; plagiarizing or representing another’s ideas as one’s own; furnishing false academic information to the University; falsely obtaining, distributing, using or receiving test materials; falsifying academic records . . . misusing academic resources; defacing or tampering with library materials; obtaining or gaining unauthorized access to examinations or academic research material ... or engaging in any conduct which is intended or reasonably likely to confer upon oneself or another an unfair advantage or unfair benefit respecting an academic matter.”  For the full text consult the “Policy on Academic Honesty” section of the Creighton University Bulletin, or the Creighton University Student Handbook.  In addition, all students should take time to familiarize themselves with the College of Arts and Sciences Academic Honesty Procedures at  http://puffin.creighton.edu/ccas/FacStaff/polManual.htm.

Keep in Contact with Professor Stephens throughout the Course

Summaries

The header for a summary should contain: (1) the student's name, (2) the number and name of this course, (3) the instructor's name, (4) the word count of the BODY of the summary, that is, excluding the words in the header information, (5) the source, chapter(s), section(s), and page numbers summarized, and (6) the body of the summary itself.  Summaries should concisely summarize the assigned reading.  All verbal fat should be excised from the summaries.  They should be direct, to the point, and summarize all the important points of the assigned reading.  Correct spelling, punctuation, capitalization, italicization, and grammar are expected.

Writing Group Meetings

On days designated, meet in DHHC 212 for a Writing Group Meeting for 30 minutes total.  Each student will conduct his or her own 4 to 5 minute long session.  Each student will explain: "I'm working on X because I want to find out Y, so that we can better understand Z."  Explain the progress and setbacks experienced since the previous Writing Group Meeting.  The four students listening will ask questions and make constructive comments.

For Feb. 14 follow the Quick Tip on p. 34 and all of Chapter 4 in Booth, W. C., Colomb, G. G., & Williams, J. M., The Craft of Research for how to conduct a Writing Group.