Course Requirements and Assignments

• Reading Journal - 10%
  • You will need to keep a reading journal on the primary documents. For each day that primary documents are assigned for you to read at home, you need to write a one page paper discussing the principle text (I will tell you which text when there is any doubt). We will talk about how to write a good reading journal entry in class.
    • Consider the following types of issues. What can we learn from the documents? What should we ask about them in class? What problems do they present?
    • EACH ENTRY MUST BE TYPED AND DOUBLE SPACED.
    • There are 10 Reading Journals. I will grade (A-F) them all and take the top 8 scores to determine your grade in this category.
    • Because Reading Journals are used as the basis for discussion in a given class, late journals WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.
    • General First Paper Comments
• Video Writeups - 5%
  • The pedagogical purpose of these writeups is chiefly that you prove to me you watched it (as you will watch all but one of them out of class). Second, demonstrate that you have thought about what the content of the video teaches us about the themes of the course.
    • These should be substantially less work than the reading journals, but should still be dealt with as formal writing. Grammar, style, etc. always count!
    • No Video Writeups will be accepted late.
    • There are six writeups. They will be graded on an S (satisfactory) or U (unsatisfactory) scale. The best five will count for your grade, each worth 1%
• Exam #1 - 10%
  • Tuesday, September 20. On Marco Polo.
  • You will be asked to write a single essay on a question handed out in class.
• Exam #2 - 20%
  • Tuesday, November 22. Cumulative.
  • You will get a study guide for this exam.
• Paper #1 - 15%
  • 3-4 page paper on Faxian and/or Xuanzang. Details here
• Paper #2 - 25%
  • 5-6 page paper on either of the Franciscan Missionaries or Ibn Battuta. Due 12:00 Tuesday, December 20th. More information to come.
• Participation and attendance - 15%
  • Participation is more than just showing up, but it starts with just showing up. You cannot participate if you are not here. I will take attendance every day. Unexcused absences will weigh heavily against your participation grade.
    • Excused absences - severe illness with doctor's note, death in the family, acts of God, or legitimate St. Olaf activities (i.e. the choir tour in the first week of class) will obviously not incur any direct penalty. However, if you aren't here, you cannot participate, so you will need to work hard to make up for any classes missed legitimately. You are responsible for catching up on material missed by consulting both me and your peers.
  • But participation is about more than just showing up. It's about doing the reading, being prepared to talk about it, volunteering your input, being involved in your group work, preparing for the debates and other discussions, and generally being an asset to the class as a whole. We will have a variety of ways in which you can participate, but none matter more than being an active member in our small-group and full-class discussions.
  • Your participation is a large percent of your grade. You will need to earn it. Take initiative. Do not expect to speak only when directly called upon and ace this section of the class.
  • Finally, being late consistently may be counted as being absent. It will certainly lower your participation grade.