Academic Conduct

You are expected to abide by Holy Cross’ Academic Integrity Policy, posted here. Cheating on homework, quizzes, or papers (defined here as but not limited to reproducing answers from an answer key, referring to forbidden notes to help answer questions, copying another student’s answers, or failing to give proper credit for citations or paraphrases) may result in penalties ranging from a failure on the specific assignment, quiz, or paper to failure for the entire course.

Attendance

You must attend each meeting of the course to attain a good grade. The information that I provide in lecture is not readily available through any of our course materials, and while I will make my slides available, they will not have the sort of detailed notes that you should be taking in class. Make sure to have at least one class buddy who can give you notes if you need to miss a meeting, or come see me in office hours.

If you must miss a class meeting for any reason, please inform me as soon as you know of the absence via e-mail before the class meeting begins, and we will correspond accordingly. More than two (2) unexcused absences, defined as a failure to appear in class without notifying me via e-mail that you won’t be there before the class period begins, will result in a full grade drop for the semester (e.g., an A- will be dropped to a B-).

It bears repeating: if you will miss class for any reason, you must e-mail me before that class period begins to let me know!

Any absence beyond the two allotted above for compelling and verifiable reasons (including but not limited to extended illness, a death or medical emergency in the family, a wedding in the immediate family, and participation in a college-sponsored athletic event) falls under Holy Cross’ Excused Absence Policy and requires a note from your Class Dean. See the full Excused Absence Policy here.

Disability

Any student who needs accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact the Office of Disability Services to discuss support services available. Once the office receives documentation supporting the request for accommodation, the student would meet privately with Disability Services to discuss reasonable and appropriate accommodations. Contact information for the Office of Disability Services can be found here.

If you are already registered with Disability Services, please be sure to get your accommodation letters and deliver them to me in a timely fashion. Instructors need 4-5 days advance notice to be able to facilitate the process of receiving testing accommodations.

Diversity and Inclusion

Studying Roman literature at Holy Cross is one way to challenge a centuries-long tradition that reserved the study of the ancient world for a privileged elite. The challenge goes beyond simply welcoming students however they identify their race, ethnicity, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, religious or spiritual tradition, or socioeconomic background. As we work to see the multicultural world of the ancient Mediterranean through the original thoughts of Latin speakers and writers, we reflect on and actively explore how this can help us recognize and respond to structures of power and privilege in our own lives.

This work is especially important today, when historically false images of the ancient world are being invoked to support particular political viewpoints. Studying Roman literature helps us see through erroneous assertions about the “whiteness” of the ancient Mediterranean, and reject claims that the Greco-Roman world is the special province of any ethnic or political group.

Extra Help

If you feel overwhelmed and need extra help, please do not hesitate to visit me in office hours or e-mail me. Additionally, Holy Cross has many resources to help you with your assignments, including personalized help with research for papers at Dinand Library and help with paper argumentation and structure at the Writer’s Workshop. Remember, there is no such thing as a stupid question.

Assessment & Grades

Attendance and Participation: 30%
You must attend each class and actively engage with the material being discussed (i.e., no distractions via cell phones or Facebook, no disruption of the class by having personal conversations, etc.).

Ten (10) quizzes: 40%
There will be ten (10) quizzes throughout the semester, each weighted at 4%, designed to keep you honest on your readings and your attention in lecture. The quizzes will involve objective information, e.g., “which of these is not a character in this play,” “what is the Latin term for this concept,” etc. Each quiz will be administered at the beginning of the class meeting on the date for which it’s listed.

One (1) paper: 15%
There will be one compulsory argumentative paper of 5-6 pages based off a prompt that you will choose from a set of three or four (or based off a topic of your own choosing that you must clear with me first). This paper will invite you to engage with the material that you’re reading beyond our discussions in lecture and create an argument based on textual evidence. More detailed information will come as the first paper deadline approaches.

Final project: 15%
One final project for the class will involve either writing a paper based on provided prompts, as above, or some creativity and thinking outside of the box. More details to come.

NOTE: If you cannot attend class and miss a pop quiz, I will let you know about it in my response to your e-mail letting me know about your absence (see “Attendance” above) and schedule an opportunity for you to make the quiz up. If you do not clear your absence with me beforehand and miss a quiz, you will receive a 0% for that quiz.

The final grade will be calculated as a percentage out of 100; then, it will be converted to a letter grade according to the following scheme:

A = 95-100%; A- = 90-94%
B+ = 87-89%; B = 84-86%; B- = 80-83%
C+ = 77-79%; C = 74-76%; C- = 70-73%
D+ = 67-69%; D = 65-66%
F = 0-64%

Grades ending in .45 or greater will be rounded up to the nearest whole number; grades ending in .44 or less will be rounded down to the nearest whole number.

By the way, to test whether you’ve read the syllabus all the way through, please e-mail me a photo of your favorite Roman monument by 9/3 with the subject line “Caesar and Pompey were ARCH-enemies.”