PHIL 5400/6400 COURSE REQUIREMENTS

• Two 5-page papers, due Feb. 18 and Mar. 25 (15% each)
  
  A 5-page paper must be accompanied by an outline of its argument (on a separate sheet, stapled to the paper), executed on the model of the weekly outline assignments (see below). Papers submitted without an accompanying outline will not be graded.
  
  Papers with incomplete bibliographical information will not be graded.
  
  
• One 10-15 page paper (undergrads) or 15-25 page paper (graduate students), due May 2 (30%)
  
  Papers are to be submitted by 4:00 on the due date to my mailbox.
  
  Students must submit an outline of the argument of the final paper on Apr. 22; if the outline is not submitted, the paper will incur a penalty of one full grade. Outlines due in my box or by email at 4:00. These outlines are a bit more complicated: they have to include an outline of the structure of the main argument (on the model of the weekly assignments), along with subsidiary outlines schematizing subsidiary arguments (arguments for claims made in the main argument, responses to objections, and the like); the main outline should show where the conclusions of the subsidiary outlines are brought to bear. I will supply further guidelines and models in class.
  
  Papers are to be submitted in printed, not electronic, form.
  
  Late paper policy: the later the paper, the harder it will be graded. No exceptions.
  
  With one exception I'll get to in a moment: The final paper must be turned in on time; late final papers will not be graded. The exception: if you test positive for covid-19 on or after April 8, you have a three-week extension from the date of the test -- which you should be prepared to document. (You get a two week extension on the outline for the final paper.) This will involve bureaucratic complications, especially if you're graduating, involving change-of-grade forms and other matters; I wouldn't advise using this option unless you're flat out on your back. All other work for the class must be in by May 2, regardless.
  
  
• In-class participation. (20%)
  
  Participation is not the same as attendance; come prepared to talk in class. You will receive a mid-term participation grade. (Note that this grade will reflect only your in-class discussion, and not your overall performance in the class.)
  
  Given the nature of this course, attendance is required, and adjustments cannot be granted to allow non-attendance. However, if you need to seek an ADA accommodation to request an exception to this attendance policy due to a disability, please contact the Center for Disability and Access (CDA). CDA will work with us to determine what, if any, ADA accommodations are reasonable and appropriate.


• Weekly argument outlines. (20%)
  
  OK, this bit is a little complicated, but please bear with me. During the first half of the semester (i.e., before Spring Break), these assignments consist of an outline of an argument in the readings. I will suggest passages, but you are free to outline an argument of your own choice instead. (However, for reasons of fairness, you can't select a passage that has already been assigned for a previous week, or that was covered in class.) I will provide models and a more detailed description of what these outlines look like on the first day of class.
  
  During the second half of the semester (i.e., after Spring Break), a weekly assignment consists of two outlines: the first, an outline of an argument in the readings (as during the first half of the term), and the second, an outline of an argument of your own that attacks the argument in the first outline.
  
  The weekly assignments are due two hours before class (i.e., Thursdays at noon sharp), and may be submitted either to my mailbox (located in the Philosophy Department administrative suite, on the fourth floor of CTIHB), or by email (ascii text only, please; no Word files or other attachments). Late weekly assignments will not be accepted. Due to aggressive spam filters, if you submit your weekly assignments by email, you have to send them to both of my email addresses, and retain a timestamped copy in your "Sent" box.
  
  You need to turn in ten of these; which weeks you skip is up to you; however, you may not turn in more than one per week. (So how many of each type of assignment you end up doing will depend on when you choose to turn them in.) You can turn in 11 if you want, and if you do, I'll drop the lowest grade.
  
  

• Classroom etiquette:
  • Please be on time. This is a courtesy to your fellow students; allow plenty of time to get to campus or from your previous classes.
  • No phone, no laptops, no tablets, no e-book readers, and briefly, no electronic devices. These must be put away during class. If you take a call or text during class, you will be asked to leave. (Since you have to have the week's reading available in class, this means that you have to own print copies of the required textbooks. E-books won't work in this class.)
  • No audio recording.
  • No food. Beverages are okay.
  • It should go without saying, but I'm actually required, by the College of Humanities, to say it anyway: be civil and courteous to your fellow students. (Some of my fellow teachers distribute lengthy handouts detailing what that entails. In this class, you're expected to be adults, and so you know what that entails. But if you have any questions about it, I can refer you to one of those documents.)
    
    Covid-era etiquette:
    
    
  • You're encouraged to wear a mask. That's per University policy: University leadership has urged all faculty, students, and staff to model the vaccination, testing, and masking behaviors we want to see in our campus community. These include:
    • Vaccination
    • Masking indoors
    • If unvaccinated, getting weekly asymptomatic coronavirus testing
    But over and above generic policy, please also do so as a personal favor to your instructor, who is in the high-risk age range.
  • If you test positive for covid, you're required to notify your instructor, and also to self-report, via this website: https://coronavirus.utah.edu/. In that case (depending on exposure timings), other students attending the class will be required to mask.
• Presentation.
  
  If enrollment permits, then participants (including auditors and faculty attending the class) will do presentations; I'll announce whether we're able to do them just after the drop date. A presentation will count for 10% of your grade, in which case weekly assignments and participation will make up 15% each. (Guidelines)