Honors 103 Syllabus

HNRS 103-H01

Room: GTM 213
Time: 2:00-3:50 TR

Home Page:

http://www2.latech.edu/~bmagee

E-Mail:

BMagee@LaTech.Edu

Office:GTM 222
Phone:318.805.2326
Hours: 12:00-2:00 M-F

or by appointment

Louisiana Tech Honors Program

School of Literature and Language

Textbooks

Knox, Bernard, ed. The Norton Book of Classical Literature. New York: W. W. Norton, 1993. ISBN: 0393034267.
Pojman, Louis P., ed. Classics of Philosophy. 3rd ed. New York: Oxford U. Pr., 2010. ISBN-13: 978-0199737291. Keep this book for all four foundations classes.
Homer. The Odyssey. Trans. Robert Fagles. New York: Penguin Books, 1997. ISBN-13: 978-0140268867.
Virgil. The Aeneid. Trans. Theodore C. Williams.
The Bible.
Magee 103 Packet

Course Description

HNRS 103: Foundations of Ancient Civilization. 0-3-3.

Interdiciplinary study of major works of Ancient Greek and Roman civilization. For Honors students only. Satisfies course work in ENGL 101, 102, or HIST 101.
Preq., Admission to the Honors Program, and the Permission of the Honors Director

Objectives:

To acquaint students with a selection of the major works of literature, philosophy, and history from ancient western civilization.
To learn how they affect contemporary life.
To develop critical thinking skills in the discussion of these works.

Attendance Requirements

Class attendance is regarded as an obligation as well as a privilege, and all students are expected to attend regularly and punctually all classes in which they are enrolled. Attendance is worth 10% of your total grade.
I shall keep a permanent attendance record for this class. This record is subject to inspection by appropriate college or university officials.
Regular attendance will help you understand your assignments and complete them on schedule. I encourage you to attend unless you absolutely cannot avoid being absent.
Bring a 9" x 12" manilla folder to class for me to file your work in.

Work Load

Honors 103 is a demanding course. Be sure to arrange you schedule so you can spend adequate time for class preparation, research, and writing.

Conferences

Conferences are encouraged during the quarter. They will be used to discuss specific writing strengths and/or weaknesses.

Grades
Daily Quizzes	50%
In-class Essay Exam	20%
Research Paper	20%
Attendance	10%
Total	100%

The grading scale is A: 90-100%, B: 80-89%, C: 70-79%, D: 60-69%, F:0-59%.

Turning in Your Work: In face-to-face classes, I want a paper copy of your assignments AND an electronic copy submitted to the TurnItIn link on Moodle. In online classes, submit your paper through Moodle to TurnItIn. If you have trouble uploading it Moodle, you may email it to me at bmagee@latech.edu. You may also bring a paper copy by my office. You are still responsible for turning in the assignment by the due date, so plan ahead.
Late Work: Your paper is due ON or BEFORE the due date. You can turn it in any time until the due date. After that, the grade drops 5 points per period.
Attendance: In a face-to-face class, I'll take role every period. Your attendance grade is a straight percentage of how much you attended class. For example, if you attend 17 times out of 20 periods, your grade will be 17÷20=85%. An absence may be excused with proper documentation.
Graded Material: In the event of a question regarding an exam grade or final grade, it will be the responsibility of the student to retain and present graded materials which have been returned for student possession during the quarter.
Accommodations for Students with Disabilities: Students needing testing or classroom accommodations based on a disability are encouraged to discuss those needs with me as soon as possible.
Plagiarism Honor Code: "In accordance with the Academic Honor Code, students pledge the following: Being a student of a higher standard, I pledge to embody the principles of academic integrity." If I determine that you have violated the Honor Code or the English Department plagiarism policy, you'll receive a '0' on the assignment, and I may refer you to the Honor Council if I think it appropriate.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Use.: Submitting as your own original work writing that is generated partially or wholly using AI writing tools such as ChatGPT constitutes plagiarism in violation of Section 3.1, Cheating, of the University’s Honor Code: “Cheating is defined as the act of giving unauthorized assistance to or receiving unauthorized assistance from another individual for the purpose of completing academic requirements. This includes, but is not limited to, the completion of homework, tests, projects, or research assignments.” Notice that the University’s Honor Code specifies unauthorized assistance from “another individual,” which may seem to exclude AI since it is a tool, not an individual. However, it is crucial to understand that AI writing tools such as ChatGPT do not generate new material. Rather, such tools search through, analyze, aggregate, and replicate existing material, originally authored by an individual or individuals, to which these tools have access.

While the particular format of how this aggregated information is subsequently presented may be unique, and while whatever prompt you may have offered may be your original words, the words, ideas, and/or structures for that information have been taken in part or wholly from another source without proper documentation. This constitutes Deliberate Plagiarism. ... In short, there is no place for AI-generated or AI- assisted text in the University classroom, and attempting to present such work as one's original work will be subject to the same penalties as other forms of plagiarism.
The Emergency Notification System: All Louisiana Tech students are strongly encouraged to enroll and update their contact information in the Emergency Notification System. It takes just a few seconds to ensure you're able to receive important text and voice alerts in the event of a campus emergency. For more information on the Emergency Notification System, please visit: https://www.latech.edu/current-students/student-advancement-affairs/university-police/emergency-notification-system/.

Covid-Related Announcements

COVID-19 Information:

Students can access COVID-19-related information, guidelines, FAQs, and policies at Louisiana Tech’s website: latech.edu/coronavirus
Students testing positive for COVID-19 report directly to the faculty in order to arrange classroom absence arrangements. Course progress/arrangements should be consistent with stated absence policy (real-time virtual participation or opportunity for make-up at a later date should be indicated). Short-term COVID-19 arrangements are not disability accommodations.
All absences related to COVID-19 will be handled in accordance with the attendance policy listed herein.
Louisiana Tech’s Return to Campus Plan is located at latech.edu/return-to-campus. Masks are required to be worn indoors on campus. Masks are required to be worn outdoors if six feet of physical distance cannot be maintained. Every member of the Tech Family will need to take personal responsibility for their behavior, which includes wearing masks, maintaining physical distancing, washing hands regularly, using proper sneeze and cough practices, helping maintain clean academic and office areas, and monitoring for symptoms of COVID-19
The direct link to the reporting protocol for students is located at latech.edu/coronavirus/return-to-campus-plan/for-students/. Students can reach out to Stacy Gilbert, Dean of Student Services & Academic Support, at stacyc@latech.edu for help with accommodations and additional information and to report a positive test.
Failure to comply with the Safety Protocols listed in the Back to Campus Fall 2020 booklet: latech.edu/documents/2020/07/covid-return-book.pdf/, specifically on pages 5-7 about masks and social distancing, could result in students being in violation of the Classroom Behavior Policy listed on page 125 of the Student Handbook: latech.edu/documents/2018/09/student-handbook.pdf/.
Information and contact numbers and sites for Louisiana Tech Counseling Services are located at: https://www.latech.edu/current-students/student-advancement-affairs/counseling-services/

Online Course Syllabus (additional information required):

Accommodations for potential issues with technology that might arise (power outages, poor internet, internet outages, etc.).
- If you can't attend our class periods via Zoom because of technology issues, I'll post materials from the period that you can access later.
- I'll give extended times for you to take quizzes and/or turn in papers, so you will have time to resolve tech issues. Contact me if something goes wrong that you can't fix yourself. Sometimes people get locked out of quizzes halfway through, or Moodle won't accept a paper. Stuff like that.
Clear communication on how and when exams and quizzes will be administered, and the importance of adhering to the University’s honor code policy.

Everything will be taken up via Moodle.
Except for group projects, do your own work.

Methods for students to contact and interact with the professor, including posted office hours.

Look at the top of the syllabus for this quarter's contact information. My hours change every quarter.

Policy for Zoom backgrounds for online students (prohibition of obscene or other inappropriate or offensive backgrounds on their Zoom)

Remember other people can see your Zoom backgrounds (if you have one), or the wall behind you if you don't.

Face-to-face and hybrid/flex Syllabus (additional information required):

Plan for course if faculty member becomes ill or needs to self-quarantine following potential exposure.

We'll continue to meet by Zoom if I'm in quarantine.

Policy for class behavior including wearing of masks, social distancing, possible seating assignments, cleaning of desks, etc.

For in-person classes, be sure to weak a mask over both your mouth and your nose. We'll have cleaning wipes for you to use to clean your chair and desk when you arrive.

Policy for communication with faculty member that encourages appointments over zoom that maintain social distancing protocols.

If you want a conference with me, contact me through my email or text me at (318) 805-2326 to set up a time.

Clear communication on how and when exams and quizzes will be administered, and the importance of adhering to the University’s honor code policy.

The dates for major assignments are in the syllabus. For smaller quizzes, I'll let you know when they are and what they cover via Moodle.

Statement that students who are feeling ill with COVID-19 symptoms, have been exposed to or testing positive for COVID-19, should not come to class and should contact Tech Care at 318-257-4866.
Statement that students who miss face-to-face class for COVID-19 related reasons will have access to course materials and grad opportunities while away from face-to-face class. Participation should be emphasized over attendance.

My understanding is that we're supposed to take attendance. I'll excuse Covid absences like other illnesses.

Hoc Opus, Hic Labor Est.

Registration Week (September 5-6)

Period 1

Packet. Frankin 133
Introductory Lecture.

Week 1 (September 9-13)

Period 1

Packet. The Epic of Gilgamesh 20 (67)
Another translation of Gilgamesh
Optional: Video about Gilgamesh
Lecture: The History of Writing
Lecture: Gilgamesh

Period 2

Genesis 1-4; 12-15; 19; 21-22; 25; 27-30; 32-33; 37; 39-50
Lecture
Optional: Hawking and Campbell on Myth

Week 2 (September 16-20)

Period 1

Exodus 1-20; 32-40
Proverbs 1-5
Lecture
Optional: Chris Hedges giving an interview on NPR about his book on the place of the 10 Commandments in modern America.

Period 2

Psalms 1, 8, 23
Job 1-6, 38-42
Jonah
Lecture on YouTube
Packet. Introduction to Poetry 19A-19S (This is a general intro to poetry. Just focus on Hebrew Poetry, figures of speech in the Pslams, and chiasm right now.)

Week 3 (September 23-27)

Period 1

Packet Susanna 59

Bel and the Dragon 57

Packet. Hesiod Theogony lines 1-332, 453-616

Optional: James Gleick talking about Chaos theory on a very annoying science show.

Lecture

Period 2

Norton. Homer. 63-111.
Packet. Homer notes

Lecture

Week 4 (September — October 4)

Period 1

Odyssey Books 1-2, 4, 5-15, 19, 21-24
Joseph Campbell "Ulysses and the Nymphs"
Packet. Odyssey Study Guide Questions. 1

Auerbach "The Scar of Ulysses"

Lecture

Period 2

SENTENCE OUTLINE FOR RESEARCH PAPER
Packet. Tragedy Intro. 7

Lecture

Week 5 (October 7-11)

Period 1

Packet Aeschylus. Agamemnon 62

Libation Bearers (Choephori) 85

Norton. Xenophanes. 231-234.
Classics of Philosophy. Pre-socratics. 3-19.
Lecture

Period 2

Packet. Eumenides 101
Classics of Philosophy. Plato. Apology. 17a-42a. (We'll use the Stephanus Numbers for Plato--they're in the margins of your book.)
Optional: "Solid as a Rock?" (Radiolab)
Lecture