Ground Rules

• All students are required to submit their written work on time. Students who encounter an emergency that prevents them from submitting an essay or review on time are required to discuss the matter with me in advance, if at all possible, or to notify me by voice mail (486-3854). Students who submit late work without advance permission will be penalized. For each weekday that a paper is late, the grade will be reduced by a third of a grade (for instance from an A- to a B+). No papers will be accepted more than a week late without prior arrangement.
• All essays and reviews must be submitted to me in person (not by e-mail or in my mailbox), except by special arrangement.
• Daily attendance is strongly encouraged. Students are expected to keep up with the material presented in class regardless of whether they miss a day. If you know ahead of time that you will be absent, it is a good idea to arrange with someone else to take notes.
• Students are expected to participate regularly, actively, and constructively in class discussions. Students will receive extra credit for class participation only if they express informed judgments, pose questions, and respond to other students' comments. Students who rarely speak, or who show a lack of familiarity with the material, will not receive any credit.
• Punctuality is important and expected. By arriving late, you cause a minor distraction for everybody. By doing so repeatedly, or by leaving before the end of class without notifying me in advance, you are likely to annoy me.
• Please don't wander out for a "break" during class. It's distracting.
• Drinks are OK, but no eating in class.
• Students are expected to behave themselves in a way that shows courtesy to the instructors and to fellow students. They are expected to be attentive and respectful. Language or behavior that demeans or harasses other students will not be tolerated; this includes sexual harassment.
• Plagiarism and cheating will not be tolerated. Plagiarism is the use of the ideas, organization, or words of another writer without giving proper credit. Students must produce their own, original work for this course. Any student found to have committed a serious act of plagiarism will fail the course. This rule is supported by the policy on academic integrity in the University of Connecticut's student code. I take this requirement very seriously and I actively hunt for plagiarism. If I catch you, I will not care about any excuses you may have. Don't plagiarize! It's not worth the risk.

Here is the policy on academic integrity in the University of Connecticut's student code:

  "A fundamental tenet of all educational institutions is academic honesty; academic work depends upon respect for and acknowledgement of the research and ideas of others. Misrepresenting someone else's work as one's own is a serious offense in any academic setting and it will not be condoned. Academic misconduct includes, but is not limited to, providing or receiving assistance in a manner not authorized by the instructor in the creation of work to be submitted for academic evaluation (e.g. papers, projects, and examinations); any attempt to influence improperly (e.g. bribery, threats) any member of the faculty, staff, or administration of the University in any matter pertaining to academics or research; presenting, as one's own, the ideas or words of another for academic evaluation; doing unauthorized academic work for which another person will receive credit or be evaluated; and presenting the same or substantially the same papers or projects in two or more courses without the explicit permission of the instructors involved. A student who knowingly assists another student in committing an act of academic misconduct shall be equally accountable for the violation, and shall be subject to the sanctions and other remedies described in The Student Code."

Class Schedule

Students should read each assignment before the scheduled date, so that we may discuss it in class. A system of abbreviation is used to indicate readings from the textbook: "C&B, Essay 1.2" means Chudacoff and Baldwin, Major Problems in American Urban and Suburban History, Chapter 1, Essay 2 (the essay by Pollan).