CC 303 WB FA 18 Barnett Syllabus PDF

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Introduction to Classical Mythology (On Demand) CC 303, Unique # 33565 Fall 2018 Instructor: Hayley Barnett Pronouns: she/her/hers Office Hours: M 12-1:30pm, TH 11am-12:30pm, or by appt Office: WAG 07

Instructor (UEX sect.) and Presenter: Dr. Steve Lundy Pronouns: he/him/his Office Hours: TTH 8-9:30 am or by appt Office: WAG 227

TA: Ben Crowther Pronouns: he/him/his Office Hours: W/Th 9:00-10:00 am, or by appt via email at [email protected]* *Please contact for office hours only

TA: Anna Papile Pronouns: she/her/hers Office Hours: M/T 1:00-2:00 pm, or by appt Office: WAG 121

Course Email: [email protected] Email Hours: M-F 8am-5pm Course Websites: Canvas, Piazza Online Course Textbook: scalar.ctl.utexas.edu/cc303 Required Course Materials: ● There is no textbook to be bought for this class. Course materials will be made available online at the website above; all other texts will be distributed electronically in .pdf format or through other websites. ● Reliable access to high speed broadband; laptop, tablet, or phone with access to Canvas. ● Email account connected to Canvas (you are responsible for any announcements posted on Canvas!); accounts with the course platform Piazza.

Syllabus contents: I. II.

III.

IV. V. VI.

Course Description A. A note on Challenging Course Material Contacting the Instructional Team A. How and When to Contact the Instructional Team B. Announcements from the Instructional Team Course Assessment A. Assessment Activities and Policies B. Late Work Policy C. Extra Credit Opportunities D. Grade Reporting E. Final Grade Allocations Course Dates Course Etiquette Other Course Policies A. Academic Honesty Page 1 of 8

B. C. D. E. F.

I.

Add/Drop Policies Technical Requirements Students with Disabilities Religious Holidays Behavior Concerns Advice Line (BCAL)

Course Description The study of Classical Mythology comprises two key aspects. One is the study of the “classical” world, traditionally associated with the Greek and Roman cultures which flourished in the Mediterranean from the beginning of the first millennium BCE for a period of around 1500 years. The second is an understanding of mythology. This can be taken simply as the aggregate stories of the gods, heroes, and fantastical beasts which originated in pre-modern societies and continue to be retold in all manner of media. But mythology also comprises an investigation of the long and rich history of the interpretation of these stories. How are we to understand these fanciful, vibrant, and often violent tales? Did the Greeks and Romans take them to be history, and did they believe that the gods in these tales really ruled the universe? Were they ways of understanding the natural world, or did myths direct ritual action? And what do our seemingly endless questions about ancient myths tell us about ourselves? In this course we will investigate the mythology of the Greek and Roman worlds. Through a survey of major works of classical literature and art, we will work together to survey the most important mythical stories and sagas from the classical world as well as the dominant ancient and modern trends in their interpretation. By surveying these strands of interpretation, students will develop a set of critical skills in the historical, sociological, psychological, and anthropological analysis of literature and art. They will also gain an understanding of key themes in Classics which can be usefully applied to future study of the ancient world. There are no prerequisites for this course. This course fulfills the Global Culturesrequirement. This course may be used to fulfill the Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) component of the university core curriculum and addresses the following four core objectives established by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board: communication skills, critical thinking skills, teamwork, and social responsibility.

1A. A Note on Challenging Course Material Greek and Roman myths contain many stories depicting violence, including sexual violence. Many students understandably find these topics disturbing, and should be forewarned that we will be discussing violent subject matter throughout the course. Students will not be required to directly analyze, write about, or participate in discussions pertaining to these episodes as part of their grade, but they may be required to demonstrate an awareness of these episodes as part of the broader inquiry of the course. Students who do wish to discuss these episodes should do so in full awareness of the course etiquette policy, displaying respect and sensitivity towards other course participants at all times. If any student should have a particularly difficult time dealing with this subject matter, they are encouraged to touch base with us via email or by writing “follow up” in their journal entries. Students with concerns related to these topics may wish and are encouraged to consult the following resources: ● UT Counselling and Mental Health Center: https://cmhc.utexas.edu ● Voices Against Violence: https://www.cmhc.utexas.edu/vav/index.html ● SAFE (Stop Abuse For Everyone) Austin: http://www.safeaustin.org

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II. Contacting the Instructional Team We will check email for this course during designated email hours (M-F, 8am-5pm). Under normal circumstances, we will always endeavor to respond within 24 hours to emails that are received during those times. Emails sent on weekend days may not receive an answer until Monday at the earliest. We will do our best to be responsive to emails concerning urgent matters. In an online course, a fair bit of communication happens via email. When you send an email to the teaching team, you are expected to be courteous and respectful. Emails without salutations/greeting (Dear X,) or without appropriate formatting (punctuation, excessive abbreviation etc.) may not be answered. Please make sure to sign your name on all emails.

IIA. How and When to Contact the Instructional Team If you have questions about course logistics (e.g. what is the homework? when is the next quiz/test? what is going to be covered on the quiz/test?): ● First, check the Canvas announcements pageor Piazzafor announcements from members of the teaching team (or questions from other students). ● If that doesn’t work, post your question on Piazza. ● If you still have a question after pursuing these avenues, or the question is more urgent, email one of the TAs([email protected]); if your question can be answered by consulting Canvas, the course syllabus, etc., the TA will direct you to those resources. Since this is a fully-online course, technology-related issues can sometimes be a problem. We invite students who are affected by technology-related issues to report them in the first instance to the Canvas techs (who can be reached from the course homepage). If problems persist, students can also post queries on Piazza, and we will create a discussion feed to troubleshoot these issues. If these issues affect grade reporting, however, students should contact the instructor directly. Urgent and/or sensitive matters, including issues with grade reporting, should be addressed directly to the course instructor via the course email ([email protected]) or, for emergencies, via personal email ([email protected]). Keep in mindthat due to university policy, the instructor cannot discuss grades via personal email; please either communicate via the course email or email the instructor to set up an appointment. IIB. Announcements from the Instructional Team This course will use several platforms to disseminate information to students (Canvas, Piazza, weekly review sessions, emails, etc.). However, all key information (e.g. relating to assignments, deadlines, exams, etc.) will be sent through Canvas announcements, and students are responsible for information contained in these announcements. The instructional team may use other platforms to send out additional and supplementary information. I recommend confirming that your Canvas notifications are on by going to Account→ Notifications and checking the “notify me right away” option.

III. Course Assessment

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IIIA. Assessment Activities and Policies Your final grade in this course will be determined by four factors: ● Midterm Exams (45%) ● Quizzes (20%) ● Final project (15%) ● Review assignments (10%) ● Blanton Attendance and other assignments (10%) Midterm Exams (45%): there will be three midterm exams during the semester. Exams will consist of a mixture of multiple choice and IDs. You will be responsible for all material covered in the assigned readings, recorded lectures and in any class discussions. The dates of the midterm exams are as follows: Midterm 1: Monday, October 1st Midterm 2: Monday, November 12th Midterm 3: TBA; Finals Period ● All students must be available to take exams on campus at the assigned time and place. Please resolve any scheduling conflicts at the beginning of the semester. In addition, you must bring your student ID and a blank blue book to the exam.We will collect and randomly distribute your blue books before the start of the exam. ● If you need to take the exam off-campus, you must do so at a certified testing center at your own expense. In order to do so, you must contact us at least two weeks in advanceof the midterm to arrange a place and time. ● Students with class conflicts or requiring other kind of accommodations should notify their instructors that they require a make-up exam at least one weekbefore the midterm. Students who do not do so will not be accommodated. ● Make-up exams will be offered only in the event of a demonstrated medical or personal emergency. In the event that a make-up is requested, we will require sufficient documentation of the emergency (e.g. a certified note from a doctor). ● Midterms are not cumulative; only material from the current midterm unit will be assessed. Quizzes (20%):In Canvas modules, students will take various quizzes attached to assignments and lecture videos. Quizzes should be completed each week by Saturday, 11:59pm.Some quizzes will be delivered within the lecture feed (these will be referred to as "instapolls") or between lecture sessions; some will assess comprehension of readings; most quizzes will also deepen the inquiry, providing contextual information and inviting further reflection. The lowest 2 quiz scores (not including "instapolls") will be dropped at the end of the semester. Final project (15%): each student will produce a final project analyzing, discussing, and/or creatively exploring central course themes and/or texts. The project will be due in the final third of the semester. Review assignments (10%): each week, by Sunday at 11:59pm, students will be required to complete assignments that reflect on and build comprehension of the previous week’s work. This will include an assignment of ID/"flashcard" terms (the ID terms for a midterm unit will be those available for assessment on that midterm exam), and usually another kind of review assignment (like a short journal-style entry, etc.). Blanton Attendance and other assignments (10%): Students will attend three self-guided or guided Blanton tours at three points throughout the semester. Students will be required to sign up through Canvas for these visits about a week in advance. In addition, students will be expected to turn in a short writing or creative assignment for each visit, due by the Sunday of the week of the visit. If you can not make one (or all) of these visits due to Page 4 of 8

scheduling conflicts, please contact the teaching team; you will be required to provide documentation for this conflict and to complete other assignments in place of the visits.

IIIB. Late Work Policy Students may submit work late twicein the semester without penalty, as long as that work is submitted within 48 hours of the original deadline. Thereafter, all late work will be given a zero. This does not includetimely items like in-class quizzes and polls, and midterms. IIIC. Extra Credit Opportunities There will be several, ongoing opportunities for students to earn extra credit in this course: ● answering questions on Piazza about course matters ● completing exemplary flashcard and/or review submissions ● outstanding work in assignments (e.g., Blanton responses, etc.) Most extra credit points will be added to midterm scores; no individual student may earn more than 5 extra points per exam. No student will be given individual consideration on extra credit under any circumstances: do not ask. IIID. Grade Reporting All grades will be reported on Canvas "Grades" at the earliest opportunity; in general, we will always do our best to return scores within a week of the assignment, or inform students when we anticipate returning the scores. Students are personally responsiblefor ensuring their grade reporting is accurate and must report errors in reporting or calculation at the earliest opportunity to the TA. The instructional staff will be happy to discuss progress, but please note that all grade predictions are provisional and assume consistent performance. IIIE. Final Grade Allocations Your final percentage grade will be translated into a letter grade according to the following table. I round to the nearest full percentage (e.g. 92.5=93). 100-93: A 76-73: C 92-90: A72-70: C- 89-87: B+ 69-67: D+ 86-83: B 66-63: D 82-80: B62-60: D- 79-77: C+ Below 60: F If you are taking this course on a credit/no credit option, you must earn at least a 60 to receive credit for the course.

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IV. Provisional Course Dates Weeks 1-5(8/29-10/1):key themes in classical mythology Labor Day, no classes or office hours (9/3) Last day of the official add/drop period (9/4) 12th class day, when official enrolments are taken (9/14) Midterm 1 (10/1)

Weeks 6-11(10/2-11/12): heroes and epic poetry

Last day to drop a class without possible academic penalty or to change to pass/fail (11/1) Midterm 2 (11/12)

Weeks 12-15 (11/13- 12/10): Greek tragedy and society

Thanksgiving, no classes or office hours (11/21-11/23) Final Project due (11/30) Last class day (12/10)

Final Exams, (12/13-12/15; 12/17-12/19)

Midterm 3, TBA

V. Course Etiquette As in any other course, students are expected to abide by a code of collegial respect and civility towards their classmates and the instructional team, including and especially in posting to any of the online teaching platforms (Canvas, Piazza). To encourage this, we require you to sign up to Piazza and you must post either under your full name or an alias you have determined with the teaching team in advance (you can make non-discussion posts anonymous to your classmates but not to us). We will also require you to agree to an etiquette policy, stating your willingness to abide by these standards and awareness of the consequences of their transgression. If you are found to be in violation of these standards, you will receive a written warning from the instructor. If you continue to violate these standards, we will ban you from the platform in question (e.g. Piazza), pending a disciplinary discussion with the instructional team. Further issues will be reported to the relevant authorities (i.e. Student Judicial Services). If you have a specific issue with the course, you are free to discuss it privately with the instructional team over email or in office hours.

VI. Other Course Policies VIA. Academic Honesty Academic dishonesty in any form will not be tolerated. Please familiarize yourself with the University of Texas’s Honor Code: “The core values of The University of Texas at Austin are learning, discovery, freedom, leadership, individual opportunity, and responsibility. Each member of the University is expected to uphold these values through integrity, honesty, trust, fairness, and respect toward peers and community.” Any student caught or facilitating cheating on any assignment will receive an F in the course and immediately be referred to the Dean of Students. In cases where dishonesty is strongly suspected, I reserve the right to re-examine the student(s). I will, however, assume absolute integrity on your part until shown otherwise. If you are unsure what constitutes academic dishonesty, see http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/sjs/scholdis.php. It is your Page 6 of 8

responsibility to be familiar with the contents of this website and to avoid any behavior that might be interpreted as academic dishonesty. Online quizzes and other exercises:while taking online quizzes, you cannot receive help from others or discuss your writing assignments with other students. If you observe others cheating, we request that you contact the TAs or instructors. Online courses require means of supporting Academic Integrity that differ from traditional courses in order to ensure fairness to all students. This course uses a new software system intended to automatically detect behavior that violates the course rules – for example, collaborating on a quiz or any graded work with another student in any way not consistent with the syllabus and UT-Austin Academic Integrity Principles. As part of this effort, our system will occasionally result in students receiving email notifications if any problematic behaviors are detected. These notifications are intended mainly to remind students of the course code of conduct, and carry no automatic implications for a student or for his or her grade in this course. If you receive such an email, it does NOT mean that you are under any suspicion – it is an indication that the system has flagged a particular behavior or set of behaviors.We will only investigate cases where our system determines that there is considerable evidence that the code of conduct is not being followed. Plagiarism:there is a substantial amount of writing in this course, so it is a good idea to familiarize yourself with the University rules governing plagiarism (http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/sjs/acadint_plagiarism.php). In general, avoid the following mistakes: ● copying word-for-word (or “verbatim”) any amount of material from the textbook, Canvas instructional material, or any other source (e.g. Wikipedia) ● failing to properly acknowledge borrowed material with the appropriate citation (usually acceptable in the form: Author, page number, e.g. “Boatwright, p. 32”) ● copying material with a few words or word order changed to avoid charges of verbatim copying ● unintentional plagiarism, through poor note-taking or forgetfulness Paraphrasing material is acceptable, although even in this case citation is preferred. In general, students should express their ideas using their own words and phrasing. Students will be contacted in cases of suspected plagiarism; persistent violations will be cause for referral to the Dean of Students.

VIB. Add/Drop Policies Students adding after the first class day should contact the teaching team as soon as possible to discuss the possibility of completing any missed assignments. Any assignments missed after the 12th class day will not be made available. Please familiarize yourself with the University of Texas Extension School’s official add/drop policy. Any requests to drop the course will be handled in accordance with these rules. Students may also consult with the course adviser through the "Ask an Adviser" program. VIC. Technical Requirements All students are required to have access to an internet-enabled laptop or desktop computer. Support for tablets and smartphones is not currently available from our technical support team, and students are strongly discouraged from watching lectures on these ...