My regular office hours are Monday 3 - 4 PM, Tuesday 10 - 11 AM, Wednesday 2 - 3 Pm, and Thursday 2 - 3 PM. They are posted on my office door with my class schedule. I generally arrive on campus at 8:00 AM and depart around 5:00 PM.
This is the course description which you received early this summer:
What was the model of the universe embraced by scholars at the time of Galileo Galilei in high Renaissance Italy in the first quarter of the seventeenth century? And why did philosophers and churchmen reject Galileo's telescopic discoveries supporting the sun-centered Copernican system of the world?
These questions will form the centerpiece of a broader historical examination of models of the world beginning with Greek cosmologies and culminating in Einstein's conception of a dynamical spacetime. In the latter framework we will discover that the question itself, "does the earth move?", loses any objective meaning. Along the way we will investigate the way in which the contemporary understanding of the cosmos defines the position and role of human beings. This societal and cultural link will help us to understand why over the ages, including today, changes in world views encounter persistent and often violent resistance.
C/I 11 Freshman Seminar is the initial core course in the Austin College curriculum. It is intended to serve as a bridge from various high school backgrounds to rigorous college-level learning. We are mandated to incorporate instruction in written and oral communication skills, computer technology and library use, as well as activities which hone intellectual inquiry and critical thinking skills. We firmly believe that we can meet all of these objectives most effectively if we can manage to engage you intellectually in this exploration of the evolving human understanding of the nature of the world, and the the place of the earth (and human beings) in it. Thus we insist that this will be a "serious" course, and we anticipate that you will sample some of the joys of intellectual discovery. (In layperson terms ... you're going to have some fun!)
Associated with this topic we have several academic and skill objectives. We expect you to be able to
- Describe the overnight and annual motion of stars and planets
- Explain observed celestial motions using both the Ptolemaic and Copernican systems
- Cite Galileo's evidence for the Copernican system and contrary objections raised by contemporary philosophers and theologians
- Grasp the revolutionary nature of Einstein's conceptsof space and time
- Appreciate the interrelation over the ages between the scientific understanding of the world and our conception of ourselves and the society in which we live
- Identify similarities and differences in contempory public debates and historical intellectual disputes on the nature of the world
We want to assist you as you take more responsibility for your education. This will be a challenging, at times frustrating, but ultimately rewarding transition period for you. As we share both the joys and trials of college life, we hope you will look not only to your faculty mentor and your student leaders, but also to your classmates, for support and affirmation.
Reading are attached. Please note that readings are to be completed before the associated class meeting. In most instances this means you will read about a topic before it is discussed in class and you are expected to come to class prepared to participate in small group discussions.
An initial writing assignement is also listed on the attached schedule. You are asked to type a one page statement addressing your hopes and expectations for this course. This statement is due at the beginning of class on Tuesday, September 7.
You asked to work with two other classmates on a short mid-semester research project. Your own two-page written report is due at the beginning of class on Tuesday, October 12. The topic selection and group members are to be decided in consultation with the course leaders by the beginning of class on Thursday, September 30. Joint group oral reports are scheduled for Tuesday, October 19.
In addition you are asked to research, write, and report on a major research project. The topic must be selected in consultation with the course leaders by Thursday, October 21. A first written draft is due by the beginning of class on Tuesday, November 16. The final version is due on Monday, November 29. Individual oral reports on the projects are scheduled for Tuesday, November 30 and Thursday, December 2. Each of you will be asked to critique written and oral report of one of our classmates. These critiques will be due on Friday, December 3.
This syllabus, the course schedule, and additional course resources will be posted on the Austin College blackboard web site. You will be given instructions on how to access the site in the first class meeting.
There will be three one-half hour quizzes, scheduled for Thursday, 9/30, Tuesday, 11/9, and Tuesday, 11/23.
Grades will be computed as follows:
Classroom participation 25
Small project paper 5
Class joint presentation Major research paper 20
Major research presentation 10
Peer critique of major research project 5
Quizzes 30
Total 100
You are expected to abide by the college academic integrity policy which is outlined in the Environment, the student handbook.The following activities constitute a not necessarily exhaustive list of offenses which are in violation of the college's Academic Integrity Policy:
Turning in work done by someone else.
Working on an assignment with others when the instructor asked for individual work.
Receiving unpermitted help on an assignment.
Writing or providing a paper for another student.
Getting Q/A from someone who has taken test.
In a course requiring computer work, copying a friend's program rather than doing your own.
Helping someone else cheat on a test.
Falsifying lab or research data.
Fabricating or falsifying a bibliography.
Copying from another student during a test or examination without his or her knowing it.
Copying from another student during a test with his or her knowledge.
Copying a few sentences of material from a written source without footnoting them in a paper.
Turning in a paper either purchased or plagiarized, in large part, from a term paper "mill" or website.
Copying a few sentences of material from an Internet source without footnoting them in a paper.
Using unpermitted crib notes (cheat sheets) during a test.
Copying material almost work for word from any written source and turning it in as your own work.
Altering graded test and submitting it for additional credit.
Turning in a paper copied from another student.
Using a false excuse to obtain extension on due date.
Hiding or damaging library/course material.
Giving aid to anyone who has not yet taken the daily online reading quiz
Receiving aid on an online reading quiz
Cheating on a test in any other way
Cheating on a written assignment in any other way.These general policies apply unless explicit written instructions to the contrary are distributed by the instructor. You must become familiar with the requirements set out in this syllabus. If there is ever a question about the appropriateness of an action, ask the instructor for clarification.