J300, Global America, Spring 2024

CONDITIONS OF LEARNING.  We assemble in-person this semester once again in the face of the ongoing pandemic still challenging our country and world, having resulted in at least over 1.1 millions deaths in the United States since March 2020.  Currently on the rise and spreading in the United States is the JN.1 variant.  Meanwhile, current university policy is that any public heath precautions are on an individual and voluntary basis.  I myself had the most recent booster in December.  Even so, in order as much as possible to prevent transmitting Covid and potentially contributing to the formation of more virulent Covid variants, I will be wearing a mask.  The university has provided no information about the building’s or the classroom’s ventilation capabilities.

In these current historic circumstances, public research universities like Indiana University are striving to continue their function of intensive research and rigorous pedagogy toward long-term strengthening of community, nation, and world, without the baleful corruption of short-term profitering or electioneering.  And they are striving to continue their role of questioning what is not otherwise questioned in our culture, toward sustaining principles and practices of freedom, equality, and justice.

All of us are now confronted with the staggering task of reconstructing community, nation, and world, on a foundational level, in the face of many overlapping crises:  of the pandemic, of climate change, of economic inequality, of anti-democracy and neo-fascism, and more.  At the same time as this amounts to a monumental task, it also presents an enormous opportunity to work toward greater justice, equality, and freedom on behalf of individuals, families, communities, and future generations.

Empowering you to make a positive difference is what your time at Indiana University is all about.  You have the chance not only to live through history, but to make history — a better history.

CLASS CONTRIBUTION.  The success of this course depends on your regular attendance to seminar, as well as your active participation in discussion.  Attending every class is thus absolutely mandatory.  Prior to attending each seminar discussion, you should complete the corresponding response sheet indicated on the course syllabus and found under Assignments in Canvas.  This response sheet will help you prepare for each class, and will also facilitate in-class writing to occur in each class.  These response sheets should be submitted electronically in Word or PDF format (but not Pages format) via the Assignments feature in Canvas when or soon after you exit a given class session.  They will be assessed as the “contribution” dimension to the class, collectively counting approximately 30% toward your final grade.

If you must be absent at some point, you should have the courtesy to alert the course assistant and/or professor beforehand, and you should have the responsibility to complete and submit the before-class portion of the response sheet.

READING ASSIGNMENTS.  Weekly reading will involve a blend of mostly “primary” documents produced by people in the past, and some “secondary” readings written by historians.  Direction to these documents and readings can be found in the course syllabus, which will direct you to Files in Canvas.  These readings serve as the basis for the before-class portion of the response sheets, as well as the basis for in-class discussion.

For general tips on interpreting primary documents and evaluating secondary readings, see the following two guidelines:  Strategies for Interpreting Primary Documents and Strategies for Evaluating Secondary Readings.

WRITING ASSIGNMENTS.  Consistent with the intensive writing requirements of the College of Arts and Sciences, there will be a series of writing assignments culminating in a 12-page research paper (altogether 70% of your final grade).  Improvement over the course of the semester will be rewarded, with respect to both writing assignments as well as response sheets.

Papers (like response sheets) are to be submitted in Word or PDF format (but not Pages format) via the Assignments feature in Canvas.  Papers should be double-spaced, with one-inch margins in a readable (10, 11, or 12 point) font, with your name (but never your student identification number), course number and title, date, and paper title at the top of the first page.

Plagiarism on any assignment will result in failure of and ejection from the class, and will become a permanent part of the student’s transcript and academic record.  Writing must be original, and all quotations, derivative ideas and uncommon facts must be duly footnoted.  See “Plagiarism: What It is and How to Recognize and Avoid It” from Writing Tutorial Services.  For student responsibilities and university procedures related to academic misconduct, see the Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct.

Use of “generative AI,” such as ChatGPT, to produce any assignment constitutes plagiarism.  These programs generate illiterate documents on the basis of grossly inaccurate algorithms.  As with any plagiarism, use of “generative AI,” is contrary to education, to thought, to integrity, to self-respect, and to respect for others.

For general assistance with writing papers or other study skills, you are encouraged to consult with Writing Tutorial Services (Wells Library Learning Commons), one of the Academic Support Centers (in Briscoe, Forest, and Teter), or the Student Academic Center (408 N. Union Street, Suite 300).

For specific guidelines on how to write thesis statements, how to write topic sentences and organize paragraphs, and how to use evidence, see the various “Writing Guides” produced by Writing Tutorial Services.

ASSISTANCE.  If at any time during the semester you have questions about the course website, lecture material, reading material, writing assignments, or your performance in this class, please email, or make an appointment to speak with, the professor.

If you have any kind of accessibility issue, please provide the professor with official written notification from Accessible Educational Services (Eigenmann Hall 001) as soon as possible so that any necessary accommodations can be made.

International students may find resources at the Office of International Services (Ferguson International Center).

If any difficult situation related to the ongoing pandemic — or otherwise — confronts you, please avail yourself of a range of university services found at:  Division of Student Affairs.

Among the available university services are:  Counseling and Psychological Services and the Student Advocates Office.

If you experience or witness any bias-based incident — i.e., any any act of discrimination or harassment based on race, ethnicity, religious affiliation, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation or disability — you can report it to the Division of Student Affairs via:  Bias Incident Reporting.