Course Policies

Assigned readings should be brought to every class. Writing assignments are due in-class, at the beginning of the session (i.e. 11:10 am) on the specified due dates. No late or e-mailed papers will be accepted, and all papers must be typed and proofread, with numbered and stapled pages. Attendance is mandatory for all class sessions and field trips. Lateness is unacceptable. Students with two or more unexcused absences, or who fail to complete and turn-in all writing assignments on-time, will not pass the class.

A Note on Classroom Conduct:
If all goes as planned, this will be a very fun class with a lot of lively discussion. Students are expected to participate in class, not only by showing up but also by paying attention and contributing to discussions. While educated debate is encouraged, students are expected to be respectful of each others' work and ideas, to contribute constructive criticism as appropriate, and to generally contribute to the class by keeping up with the readings and assignments.

Students may not use portable devices at any time (including, but not limited to, cell phones, text messaging, mp3 players, gameboys, gps devices, speak and spell, etch-a-sketch, etc). Students who are found to be sleeping or using their laptops to surf the internet, check email, or update their Myspace profiles, during class time, will be expelled from the classroom. In all seriousness, this class will be an opportunity to watch some great films and to have very smart, engaging discussions about them. The atmosphere of the class will be that of a workshop in which we are all learning from each other. This will require your complete commitment.

A Note on Plagiarism & Academic Dishonesty:
Plagiarism will not be tolerated, under any circumstances. Students who plagiarize will automatically fail the class and it will be at the instructor's discretion to report the student to the university. There is no such thing as "only plagiarizing a little." Plagiarism includes stealing papers topics and the ideas of others, as well as specific language. If you have any questions as to what constitutes plagiarism or how to properly cite your colleagues or reference resources, see me and/or turn to these helpful online resources:

http://www.reshall.berkeley.edu/academics/resources/plagiarism/
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Citations.html

Student Learning Center and Students with Disabilities:
For assistance/concerns with writing or with questions concerning disabilities please contact the Student Learning Center at http://slc.berkeley.edu (510.642.7332) and the Disabled Students' Program at http://dsp.berkeley.edu.