Course Requirements Fall 2009 Course Outline [Word] [PDF] The grade breakdown for the course is: Mid-term test (22 Oct.) 20% Paper proposal and bibliography (29 Oct.) 10% Research paper (24 Nov.) 35% Final Examination (TBD) 35% All of these tests and assignments must be completed for the student to obtain a passing grade in this course. Midterm Test (20%): The midterm will be held in class on Thursday, 22 October 2009. Students will have fifty minutes to write the test, which will consist of two short identifications and one essay question (chosen from multiple options). Essay Proposal and Annotated Bibliography (10%) On or before Thursday, 29 October 2009, students will submit a short proposal (2-3 pages) to the instructor. This will include: (a) a one-page (doubled-spaced) introduction to the figure that you are studying for your essay topic and the main themes in his/her life that relate to Canadian history (which may be written in question form).  You might also include a tentative thesis statement if you have one.  A list of questions you should consider when preparing a proposal can be found in The History Student Handbook: A Short Guide to Writing History Essays (Department of History, University of Calgary, 2004). (b) the following 1-2 pages will include an annotated bibliography of at least four (4) sources (books and articles) that you will use to write your essay.  No more than one of these sources may be a website, and one must be an article from a scholarly journal.  Please note that the sources do not have to be specifically about the individual.  They may also be about the era or place in which he/she lived, or the movements/career/ events in which s/he was involved.   Each source must be listed in proper bibliographical format (which will be discussed in class), followed by 2-3 sentences explaining what the source contains and why it will be useful for your research essay.  Click here for the instructions that we will discuss in class. This proposal should encourage you to get started on your research early, and will allow me to suggest other sources and themes that may help to strengthen your final paper.  I am also happy to answer questions about how to cite sources in bibliographies, Final papers will not be graded by the instructor without the prior submission of this proposal. Although somewhat dated, students are encouraged to consult Doug Owram, ed., Canadian History: A Reader’s Guide 2: Confederation to Present (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1994) for critical information on post-1867 topics prior to meeting with the instructor to discuss potential sources.  Research Paper (35%): The research paper (8-10 pages, double-spaced, 11 or 12 font) will take one of two forms: a) a biography. Students may select a historical or contemporary Canadian figure that is not the subject of a lecture in class and write a life sketch, placed in appropriate historical contexts. I will provide a list of potential topics, but you can pick any Canadian figure who interests you. OR b) a "historiographical" assessment of biography -- that is, a study of how historians and other biographers have written about a particular Canadian individual through biography.  For example, students may assess the biographical literature on a controversial historical figure, such as Louis Riel, William Lyon Mackenzie King, William Aberhart, J.S. Woodsworth, or Nellie McClung, and so on.  This choice may include one of the figures from the lectures. This assignment will be further explained in class.  Those students will little experience in writing a history paper are encouraged to consult THE HISTORY STUDENT'S HANDBOOK: A Short Guide to Writing History Essays (University of Calgary, 2004), available online. Make sure that you carefully proofread your work or, better yet, have a friend proofread it for you.  Essays with more than one spelling or typing error per page will be docked 3% per page.  Be sure to number your pages and to staple them together. The bibliography is not included in this page count. Proper references and a bibliography are essential in a paper at the university level.  Endnotes or footnotes are required methods of referencing in historical papers. Consult The Chicago Manual of Style, 14^th ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago, 1993) (Reference call number Z253.U69) for guidelines, or the History 103 Essay Writing Guide that I have prepared. Please note: if you hand in a final paper with MLA references (references in brackets in the main text), you will immediately be docked 10% on your paper grade. Please note: Wikipedia is a free, online encyclopedia for which anyone can write entries, regardless of whether they have expertise on a given subject. Although sometimes a reliable source, it is not appropriate for a university-level research paper. If you choose to use Wikipedia as a source in your term paper, you must document (in a footnote or endnote, for each use) how and why the information is unique and not available in any other available source. Otherwise, you will be docked 3% every time that you cite Wikipedia in your paper. Please note that you will not be docked grades for citing The Canadian Encyclopedia as a general reference source, but that overuse of this (and any other general source) will not earn a very strong grade on the assignment. The final research paper is due on Tuesday, 24 November 2009. It can either be handed in to the instructor at the beginning of class, or submitted into his drop box on the main floor at St. Jerome’s University that day. If it is late, penalties will apply (see below). Final Examination (35%) The final exam will be scheduled for the December 2009 examination period, following the end of classes. It will be two hours long, and will consist of short-answer identifications (to be selected out of a list of options) and one or two long-essay questions (to be chosen from a list of options). PROFESSOR'S POLICY ON LATE ASSIGNMENTS A penalty of five percent (5%) per day will be deducted for assignments handed in late that are not accompanied by a medical note. In practice, this means that if an assignment is due on Tuesday and you hand it in on Thursday, your grade will be reduced by 10%. So if you earned a grade of 75%, you will receive a final grade of 65% on the assignment. No extensions will be granted to students the week before the essay is due (except in extreme circumstances), so be careful to budget your time accordingly. UW POLICY REGARDING ILLNESS AND MISSED TESTS The UW Examination Regulations (http://www.registrar.uwaterloo.ca/exams/ExamRegs.pdf) state that: • A medical certificate presented in support of an official petition for relief from normal academic requirements must provide all of the information requested on the “University of Waterloo Verification of Illness” form or it will not be accepted. This form can be obtained from Health Services or at www.healthservices.uwaterloo.ca/Health_Services/verification.html. • If a student has a test/examination deferred due to acceptable medical evidence, he/she normally will write the test/examination at a mutually convenient time, to be determined by the course instructor. • The University acknowledges that, due to the pluralistic nature of the University community, some students may on religious grounds require alternative times to write tests and examinations. • Elective arrangements (such as travel plans) are not considered acceptable grounds for granting an alternative examination time. In order to write a make up test, students must present a case in writing and any agreement will follow the rules of fairness and equity for all students in the course. Avoidance of Academic Offences If you need help in learning how to avoid offenses such as plagiarism, cheating and double submission, or if you need clarification of aspects of the discipline policy, ask your course instructor for guidance. Other resources regarding the discipline policy are your academic advisor; the appropriate St. Jerome's departmental chair and ultimately the Appeals Officer (currently the Associate Dean) for St. Jerome's University. Further information on "How to Avoid Plagiarism and Other Written Offences: A Guide for Students and Instructors" can be found at http://www.arts.uwaterloo.ca/arts/ugrad/academic_responsibility.html OTHER INFORMATION Correspondence: Students using email to contact me must include their first and last names, student number, and course in which they are enrolled in the email subject line. Academic Integrity: In order to maintain a culture of academic integrity, members of the University of Waterloo and its Federated University and Affiliated Colleges are expected to promote honesty, trust, fairness, respect and responsibility. Discipline: All students registered in courses at St. Jerome’s University are expected to know what constitutes academic integrity, to avoid committing academic offences, and to take responsibility for their actions. A student who is unsure whether an action constitutes an offence, or who needs help in learning how to avoid offences (e.g., plagiarism, cheating) or about “rules” for group work/collaboration should seek guidance from the course professor, academic advisor, or the Associate Dean. When misconduct has been found to have occurred, disciplinary penalties will be imposed under St. Jerome’s University Academic Discipline Policy and UW Policy 71 – Student Discipline. For information on categories of offenses and types of penalties, students should refer to Policy 71 - Student Discipline, www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infosec/Policies/policy71.htm. Grievance: A student who believes that a decision affecting some aspect of his/her university life has been unfair or unreasonable may have grounds for initiating a grievance. In such a case, contact the St. Jerome’s University Grievance Officer. Read St. Jerome’s University Handbook, Section4, item 8, www.sju.ca/faculty/SJU_handbook/grievance_policy.html. Appeals: A student may appeal the finding and/or penalty in a decision made under St. Jerome’s University Academic Discipline Policy or Grievance Policy if a ground for an appeal can be established. In such a case, contact the St. Jerome’s University Appeals Officer. Read St. Jerome’s University Handbook, Section 6.4, www.sju.ca/faculty/SJU_handbook/examinations_grades_standings_and_appeals.html. Academic Integrity website (Arts): http://arts.uwaterloo.ca/arts/ugrad/academic_responsibility.html Academic Integrity Office (UW): http://uwaterloo.ca/academicintegrity/ Note for students with disabilities: The Office for Persons with Disabilities (OPD), located in Needles Hall, Room 1132, collaborates with all academic departments to arrange appropriate accommodations for students with disabilities without compromising the academic integrity of the curriculum. If you require academic accommodations to lessen the impact of your disability, please register with the OPD at the beginning of each academic term. Turnitin: Plagiarism detection software (Turnitin) will be used to screen assignments in this course. This is being done to verify that use of all material and sources in assignments is documented. In the first lecture of the term, details will be provided about the arrangements for the use of Turnitin in this course.