Liberty and Justice: Race, Ethnicity, and Gender in American Law (PHIL 451-IC/HD)
Julie Van Camp, Professor of Philosophy, California State University, Long Beach -- Fall 2002
11:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. - Tuesday - FCS 126

OFFICE: McIntosh Humanities Building (MHB) 917
TELEPHONE: Office/voice mail: (562) 985-7675 fax: (562) 985-7135
E-MAIL: jvancamp@csulb.edu
COURSE WEB SITE: http://www.csulb.edu/~jvancamp/451/
OFFICE HOURS: Wednesday: 12:30 - 2:00 p.m. and by appointment
VIRTUAL OFFICE HOURS: Sunday: 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. and by appointment (Beachboard Virtual Chatroom)

COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING

University General Education requirements for IC (Interdisciplinary) courses include "substantial writing" throughout the semester, with the first writing assignment no later than the fifth week of the semester. University General Education requirements for HD (Human Diversity) courses require consideration of at least two of these groups: African-American, Asian-American, Latino, Native American, with a consideration of gender throughout. The course requirements and syllabus are designed to meet these University requirements. Use of Beachboard is required for this course.

The semester grade will be based on two open-book essay examinations (mid-term and final); one short essay paper; attendance at in-person classes on Wednesdays; and weekly Virtual Classroom activities, for a total of up to 100 points of regular credit + 13 points extra credit

"Turn-it-In Plagiarism Checker": We will use the new Beachboard Plagiarism Checker for written work for the course, including the short paper, the mid-term exam, the final exam, and case briefs. Additional instructions will be provided during the semester.

SHORT PAPER I.Due: Wednesday, October 2 at 10:30 a.m. (Beachboard dropbox) (12 points)

You will write a 4-5 page essay (800-1000 words) analyzing one case, to be announced Wednesday, September 18 on Beachboard Announcements and by e-mail. Your paper must be sent by the deadline as a wordprocessing file to the Beachboard Dropbox. No late papers will be accepted, unless you meet the requirements for make-up exams (below). 

Grading: Short Paper
 
Grade Points Grade Points Grade Points Grade Points
A+ 12 B+ 9 C+ 6 D+ 3
A 11 B 8 C 5 D 2
A- 10 B- 7 C- 4 D- 1


EXAM I: MID-TERM .Wednesday, October 30 -- Units I, II, III (24 points)

The exam will be an open-book essay exam on Units I, II, and III in our classroom (FCS-126). You will be asked to analyze one case using principles developed in Units I-III. Bring with you to class both textbooks for the course. You may write your exam in a bluebook or on a laptop (PC-format: Word or Wordperfect).

EXAM II: FINAL.Monday, December 16 - 10:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. (24 points) 

The final exam will be an open-book essay exam primarily on Unit V. You will be asked to analyze one article or case using principles developed in the course. The question will be available on Beachboard at 10:15. Your word-processing file with your answer will be due no later than 12:15 p.m. 12/16/2002, in the Beachboard Student Dropbox. You may take the exam in any campus computer lab or on your own computer. (Use PC-format Word or Wordperfect; for Macs and other WP programs, use Rich-Text-Format.)

Grading: Exams
 
Grade Points Grade Points Grade Points Grade Points
A+ 23-24 B+ 17-18 C+ 11-12 D+ 5-6
A 21-22 B 15-16 C 9-10 D 3-4
A- 19-20 B- 13-14 C- 7-8 D- 1-2

Make-up exams and late short papers will be permitted only for serious illness and mandatory University policies. A physicians' note will be required for illness. If you will need to take a make-up exam or submit a late short paper, you must leave a message on voice mail (985-7675) no later than 9:00 a.m. the day of the exam. Your message must include a telephone number where I can reach you later that day and the next day to schedule the make-up exam. 

REGULAR ATTENDANCE is expected of all students. To encourage regular attendance, additional points will be available for the course grade total:

Wednesday Class: Attendance will be taken 11 times, on September 18, 25, October 2, 9, 16, 23, November 6, 13, 20, and December 4, 11. You will receive 1 point for each class you attend, up to a maximum of 8 points. Each student thus has 3 allowable absences, while still receiving the maximum points. Students should save those for illness or scheduling problems which develop during the term. There will be no system of "excused" absences. Students who attend more than the maximum of 8 for regular points will receive extra credit points up to 3 points.

Attendance will be taken in a variety of ways. Sometimes a class list will be sent around for signature during class. Other times, students will be asked a simple question about the class material and submit an answer with their signature during class. (Please always have a blank piece of paper or file card with you at class.) 

Student athletes should attend class when they are in town. If it is impossible to accumulate the maximum number of points by attending when in town, then you may document road trips for the instructor for missing points. 

VIRTUAL CLASSROOM PARTICIPATION: As listed on the course Syllabus, 2-4 points per week are available for participation in Virtual Classroom activities from September 4 - December 9, for a total of up to 42 points. (32 points regular credit + up to 10 points extra credit) Please print-out the Court Syllabus and follow it carefully. It is your "roadmap" to the course, including the weekly Virtual Classroom Activities. These include the following types of assignments:

  1. Participate in the on-line threaded discussion group on Beachboard on the readings from the previous in-person class. To receive the maximum 2 points, you should both frame questions and issues and respond thoughtfully to the comments posted by others. Your participation should demonstrate your understanding of all of the reading assignments that week. Please avoid long free-standing essays, but rather engage in appropriate discussion with others in the class.
  2. Take the on-line quiz on Beachboard on the readings from the previous in-person class. The number of questions will normally be 4, with a maximum of 4 points. These are open-book quizes designed primarily to test your close reading of the texts and the class lectures.
  3. Brief one of the cases for the assignment for the next week and send your brief in the Student Dropbox to the instructor. Follow the outline on p. 166 of Ethical Issues.
Please note that all Virtual Participation must be completed no later than 11:00 p.m. on Monday each week.No extensions can be made, due to the close proximity to our classtime on Wednesday. Please plan ahead in case you have difficulty connecting to the Internet. The pace of the weekly assignments is relentless. You will need to plan your schedule carefully each week to complete the assignment. Everyone in the class has the time from 11:00-12:15 on Mondays available to complete the assignment and this should be ample time. However, you may in fact complete the work at whatever time is convenient for you, from 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday (after our in-person class) until 11:00 p.m. on the following Monday. Late assignments will be accepted only if you meet a mandated University attendance exception for the entire time period during which the assignment can be completed. For example, if you are ill, you will need to bring me a physician's note that you were incapacitated and unable to do the assignment from Wednesday afternoon through Monday night. 

TOTAL WEEKLY COMMITMENT OF TIME TO THIS COURSE: Ordinarily, in a college-level course, for each one hour of class, students should spend two hours of time in preparation. For this "hybrid" 3-unit course, students should expect to spend, on average, each week, 1-1/4 hours in the in-person class, and 8 hours in reading, studying, writing, and virtual classroom participation, for a total of about nine hours each week.

FINAL LETTER GRADES for the course will be assigned as follows: 

Up to 100 regular points are available, plus up to 13 points of extra credit for additional participation in the Virtual Classroom Activities and extra attendance: 12 points for Short Paper, 24 points for Exam I (Mid-term), 24 points for Exam II (Final), 8 points for attendance, and 32 points for Virtual Participation, plus up to 10 additional extra credit points for Virtual Participation and up to 3 extra points for extra attendance.

FINAL COURSE GRADES
Grade
Points
A
88-100
B
64-87
C
40-63
D
20-39

The cut-offs for final letter grades for the course are calculated as follows:

"A" final grade: 19 points (A- Exam I) + 19 points (A- Exam II) + 10 points (A- Short paper) + 8 points (lecture attendance) + 32 Virtual = 88

"B" final grade:13 points (B- Exam I) + 13 points (B- Exam II) + 7 points (B- Short paper) + 7 points (lecture attendance) + 24 Virtual = 64

"C" final grade: 7 points (C- Exam I) + 7 points (C- Exam II) + 4 points (C- Short paper) + 6 points (lecture attendance) + 16 Virtual = 40

"D" final grade: 1 points (D- Exam I) + 1 points (D- Exam II) + 1 points (D- Short paper) + 5 points (lecture attendance) + 12 Virtual = 20

Credit/No Credit students must accumulate sufficient points for a "C" for the course total (40).

Cheating and Plagiarism: The CSULB policy on Cheating and Plagiarism will be followed strictly. (See Fall 2002 Schedule of Classes, p. 47.) Students who have any questions or uncertainty whatsoever about this policy are responsible for meeting individually with the instructor to discuss the policy. Students found to be cheating on any exam, quiz, attendance, or other course element will be FAILED for the COURSE and will be reported to the Office of Judicial Affairs for possible probation, suspension, or expulsion. Please remember: as easy as it is for you to find papers on the World Wide Web which you steal and submit as your own work, it is just as easy for me to find the source of a stolen paper; once I find the paper you stole, you are guaranteed an "F" for the course.

IMPORTANT UNIVERSITY DEADLINES

DEADLINE FOR COURSE WITHDRAWAL: Last day to drop the course and not have a "W" appear on permanent record: Monday, September 16 NOTE: Drops after September 16 require the signature of the instructor and department chair; there will be a "W" on the transcript

DEADLINE FOR CREDIT/NO CREDIT OPTION: Last day to change grade status to Credit/no credit; last day to add courses without late fee (signed form required after 9/16): Monday, September 23

DEADLINE FOR ADDING COURSES: Last day to add a course (late fee $10 after 9/23): Monday, September 30

DEADLINE TO DROP WITHOUT SIGNATURE OF COLLEGE DEAN: Friday, November 22

Last updated: August 13, 2002