Assignments & Evaluation

Course Requirements

Attendance is required for all of our classes and more than 2 absences from regularly scheduled classes will result in a lowered grade (one full level).  In the event of an illness or unexpected reason for missing class, an official excuse must be obtained to avoid the grade penalty.  Attendance includes a visit to the Museum of Sexuality.

Class participation is crucial to the lecture/discussion format of this course. Your class participation will be judged on the basis of the quality of the ideas expressed, their relationship to the reading, and the force of your arguments, your respect for other class members’ and my points of view (as shown in the way you respond to others’ ideas), and your attentiveness to the discussion.

Website Responses are to be posted by midnight on the Sunday before each class (with the exception of the Feb. 18 post). They should be the equivalent of 1½ to 2-pages of typed, double-spaced, and proofread discussion and are required for each class’s reading assignments. These analyses should link the readings for the day.  During class, I may ask you to present yours to us, so prepare in advance to do so.

A Take-Home Midterm Exam will demonstrate your synthesis of the course ideas up to that point.

A Final Essay accompanies and extends your understanding of the course focus.  Your essay should be 12-14 pages in length and should incorporate Foucault’s text and at least 2 of the course’s literary texts as well as relevant historical documents from Peiss’s text.  You may also use additional outside sources, but they do not replace these requirements.

Final Projects allow you to bring your creativity and knowledge to the issues of the course. Suggestions include a video interview, a proposed exhibit for the Museum of Sexuality, a mixed-media performance, or a visual arts archive depicting a theme we have covered in the course. Your Final Project is due for our scheduled Final Exam period.  During that period, each student will present his or her Project to the class and provide me with a 2-page description and explanation of it. Both the project and the Description are to be posted on the website.

Grading

Grades will be based on the following percentages:

Class participation—20%

Website Responses—20%

Midterm Exam—20%

Final Essay—20%

Creative Project—20%