SWEET TEA and FRIED CHICKEN

Freshman Seminar - Conger 107

T 12:30 - 1:20

FALL 2007

 

 

Instructor: Erin E. Campbell                                     Office:            Conger 311

E-mail: ecampbell@abac.edu                         Office Hours: MWF 7:00 – 8:00AM,

Office Phone:             391- 4953                                                        MWF 10:00 - 11:00AM,

                                                                                                            MWF Noon – 1:00 PM,

                                                                                                            and by appointment

                                   

 

Required Texts:         Nist, Sherrie, and Jodi Patrick Holschuh.  College Rules!  How to Study, Survive, and Succeed in College.  Berkeley: Ten Speed P, 2002.

 

Reed, John Shelton. My Tears Spoiled My Aim and Other Reflections on Southern Culture. Orlando: Harcourt, 1993.

 

Your WebCT (ABAC 1000) on which you will find announcements, assignment sheets, discussion board journals, etc.

 

                                    Your ABAC e-mail address

 

A college-level dictionary of your choice

 

Course description:  This seminar course is designed to help students transition successfully into college and ABAC by learning about specific resources and requirements expected of ABAC students.  In addition, this seminar will explore broad issues of Southern culture and identity that we observe directly in class, on campus, in our Learning Community and in the college community at large.

 

Course Methods:  Because this is a seminar course, active class participation is crucial.  Students will be expected to discuss issues related to their college experience as well as discussing ideas and observations related to the Southern theme.  Students will respond to various events and readings through response papers to demonstrate understanding and thoughtful synthesis of the experience.  Students’ major semester project will be to create an iMovie in groups that will be submitted to the Learning Community iMovie Competition.   In addition, students will write WebCT journals relating to a variety of topics raised by the class.

 

iMovie:  The class will be divided into teams who will each produce a 2-minute film.  All films will be presented to the class for evaluation and enjoyment, as well as being entered into the film competition.  Each team must also submit an accompanying documented essay that explains how the film supports the theme of the course.  Consider this your term project and expect to work on it in stages throughout the term.  You will be given a more detailed assignment sheet as we move into the semester.

 

Response papers:  Each student will write a one-page typed response paper to events or readings as noted in the course calendar.  Response papers should react to the topic or experience in a meaningful way.  For example, your first response paper is to express your opinion about the convocation: What did you enjoy about it? Why? What did you find less than ideal?  Why?  What do you think the event’s purpose is?  Did it achieve its purpose?  Why or Why not?

 

Journals:  I will post questions and/or discussion topics to the WebCT discussion board in order to generate further ideas that may not be fully covered within the class.  Journals will be less formal than response papers and ask for anecdotal reactions as well as engaging your classmates in the conversation.

 

Attendance is mandatory.  Missing more than two classes will result in failing the class.  Please see the attached attendance policy for more detailed information.  Class begins on time.  Arriving after roll is called or leaving before class is dismissed (regardless of reason) will be weighted as a tardy. Three tardy arrivals and/or early departures will be count as an absence. If you arrive more than fifteen minutes late or leave more than ten minutes early, you will be counted as absent for the class. 

 

Grades:

100-90 A; 89 – 80 B; 79 – 70 C; 69 – 60 D; below 60 F

 

iMovie Presentation and accompanying essay                                                60%

Participation (attendance, response papers, journals, discussion, etc.)           40%

 

 

I anticipate this course being a truly valuable experience for all of us.  Since it is a seminar, you will be centering the content of the course around your interests and needs regarding your college experience and Southern Culture.  You get to make sure that the class is applicable to you.  College gets practical!

 


Tentative Course Calendar

 

August                        21:                   Introduction

                        25:                   Convocation

                        28:                   WebCT Training

                                                Convocation response paper due

                                                College Rules, Ch.1; Tears , “In Search of the Elusive Southerner”

September       4:                     iMovie Training – Conger 219

E-mail regarding what you think you need to know about college due

College Rules, Chs.3 and 13

                        11:                   iMovie Training – Conger 219

                                                Tears, “Preserving the South’s Quality of Life”

                        18:                   Tears, “Life and Leisure in the New South”

                                                College Rules, Ch. 14 Notetaking

                        25:                   Tears, “My Tears Spoiled My Aim”; “Refugees and Returnees”

October           2:                    Academic Advising; College Rules, Ch. 19

                         9:                   

                        15 – 16:           Fall Break (NO CLASS)

                                                iMovie due no later than noon on 19 October

                        23:                   iMovie Essays due

                                                Presentations

                        30:                   Presentations

November          6:                  Presentations (if necessary);

                                                iMovie Festival on 8 November

                        13:

                        20:

                        27:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ABAC ATTENDANCE POLICY

 

Courses at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College are provided for the intellectual growth and development of students.  To attain maximum success, students must attend all their classes, be on time, and attend all scheduled course activities including, but not limited to, field trips, seminars, study sessions, individual conferences, and lectures.  This interaction with instructors and other students is an important element of the learning process, and a high correlation exists between class attendance and course grades. A student must understand the importance of regular participation in classroom and laboratory activities. The absence of any student affects not only his or her performance but the performance of the class as a whole. Absence from class, for whatever reason, does not excuse a student from full responsibility for class work or assignments missed. Students must accept this responsibility.

 

Instructors will keep accurate attendance records and must report the individual number of absences with midterm and final grades. Students whose number of unexcused absences is more than twice the number of class meetings per week (the equivalent of two weeks of instruction) will receive a grade of “F” for the course.  Fewer absences than twice the number of class meetings per week may result in grade penalties at the discretion of the instructor.  Specific attendance requirements applying to labs, clinics, accelerated classes or Learning Support will be adapted to the unique situation by the appropriate division.  Final determination of what constitutes an excused absence rests with the classroom instructor.  In implementing this Policy, faculty will not include in a student’s unexcused absences those absences incurred due to authorized and approved College sponsored events (or in the case of joint-enrollment students high-school sponsored events) in which the student represents the institution as part of a group or under the direct supervision of a faculty or staff member.

 

Whenever a student is absent, whether for official or personal reasons, the student must assume responsibility and provide notice to the instructor, preferably in advance, for making arrangements for any assignments and class work missed because of the absence. However, final approval for make up work remains with the individual instructor.

 

A student who stops attending class without officially withdrawing from the course is subject to this attendance policy and will receive a grade of “F” for the course.

 

At the beginning of each semester, instructors will explain clearly to their students specific attendance requirements (including possible penalties). Additionally, they will publish the attendance policy on their syllabi and web-sites.

 

 A student penalized for excessive absences may appeal through the grade appeal process, as stated in ABAC’s college catalog and student handbook.

 

SPECIFIC TO THIS CLASS:  Attendance is mandatory.  Missing more than two classes will result in failure of the course.  If you must be absent, it is your responsibility to find out what you missed on the day you return to class. The ONLY excused absences will consist of the following and require documentation:  hospitalization of yourself or your minor child, or institution sanctioned events.