Truncated Bio

I've taught at UNR for years. My original focus was 20th Century British and American literature. Over the years I've studied and published a little in various other areas. I've been here so long that a few former students have shown up with children. No one has yet come by with a grandchild. Tick. Tick. Tick. Please read the policies below. There will be a test.

Various Policies

Plagiarism: Don't do it. A longer answer→ Sometimes plagiarism is inadvertant. You left out quotation marks or forgot to cite some material. It can still get you a lower grade, or worse. Intentional plagiarism involves a deliberate attempt to pass off someone else's work as your own. You knew you were handing in unattributed material. Penalties for this sort of plagiarism range from a slap on the wrist to expulsion from the university. See the UNR page explaining this in detail. You are responsible for knowing the policy. Plagiarism happens all the time in our culture. A few years back, the NY Times ran the article, "Are More People Cheating?; Despite Ample Accounts Of Dishonesty, a Moral Decline Is Hard to Calculate." It's widespread, and how it gets handled varies. I have penalized unattributed material with a reprimand, at times with a failed paper, and on rare occasins, an "F" in the course. Some instructors fail students guilty of plagiarism, and then report the incident formally. In that case, there is a university record of the cheating, which is worse than an F that can be expunged with a retake of the class.

Attendance: It's up to each instructor to make policy in this matter. My own policy is that you need to come to class. If you miss more than three times your grade could tank. This is entirely at my discretion! I am reasonable about this, giving students some wiggle room, but when someone imposes on me, missing repeatedly and offering idiot excuses, I grade accordingly. Those of you who enjoy a legal turn of mind may want exact specs here: forget it. I have lowered grades after 5 absences and failed students after 7 or more, which I mention in passing, so to speak. Attendance isn't optional, but when you have to miss, you have to. I understand and I react reasonably. If you are an athlete or traveling scholar of some sort, let me know in advance when you have to be away on official business. It's my own policy not to respond to questions like "What did we do when I was absent?" You missed class, you find out. Make arrangements with classmates to cover for each other and you will have no problems.

Participation in class: This must seem nebulous--what counts as participation? I try to keep this simple. Excellent participation shows up over the course of a semester. You don't b.s. when called on, your answer reflects careful reading, you sometimes raise good questions, you respond usefully to the remarks of classmates. Excellent participation can raise your grade. Its opposite can, well, lower your grade. For students new to the university or just new to civilization, you should know that farting around in classes can get you an "F" and maybe an invitation to withdraw. You can see official material on this online in the UNR handbook.

Email and so on: I use your UNR account, mostly because UNR sends me a class list of emails--UNR accounts only. The university does not list private emails. Check your UNR email regularly to get class notes etc. If you like Hotmail or Gmail, set UNR to forward to it but beware. If your outside account goes haywire, you will miss messages. I try to answer all my emails within two days. Don't email work to me without my permission, which I generally give. I just like to know that something is coming. You can always email me with questions about assignments or about specific readings as such questions occur to you. If you have any concerns about the course, by all means send me an email. Or call. Or just speak to me before or after class. You don't have to phone me to say you will be missing class but you can phone me to make appointments or raise concerns about our class. If you leave me a number, I'll try to get back to you quickly.

Late or Missing Work: I may accept late work, sometimes with no penalty. However, I may lower your grade or refuse the work altogether if I think it's too late or if you ignore due dates chronically. Missing even a small part of course work may get you an "F" in the class, so you will want to do everything, even if some of your work disappoints you. Hand it in and get some credit.

General things I happen to remember: I find this category shrinking every year.

Coda:

The thing to remember about policy is, if it utterly supplants judgment, woodenheadedness results.