Comments closed for grading, and other matters

It is time to total everything up in preparation for final grades, so comments are going to be shut down by midnight tonight at the latest.

There have been a few anonymous posts lately, which you may remember are not allowed. The person who decided it was a good idea to start calling us names had their post deleted, per the rules outlined in the syllabus. Almost everyone else was able to follow the rules and has our thanks.

I fully endorse Sarah's comment below on the matter of interim grades. We are not allowed to mass post your grades in any form, even anonymously, so the best we can do is the same thing you can do yourselves, get a rough average of your previous tests and papers. There simply is not time to individually email 200 people in the end of semester rush, and there would be little purpose in doing so. Your job as a student is to do the best you can every time out. That is especially true if the problem is, as suggested in the deleted post, that students don't actually know their own previous grades because they threw their earlier tests and papers away. I sincerely hope that is not the case.

I will offer a piece of advice: take some pride in your work, and hold on to all your graded assignments until you graduate, beyond if you plan any sort of public career. Certainly keep them through the end of the courses you are taking. You never know when you might need a letter of recommendation, want to refer back to something you learned, or find yourself in some sort of academic problem or dispute.

Terms to study for 3rd test/final (Fall 2007)

As the syllabus says, the third test will be held during the regularly scheduled final exam period on Thursday, Dec. 13, in a lecture room, Jesse Wrench Auditorium. We will only need an hour, so the test will given 9-10AM. You may come earlier if you like, I will not distribute any tests until 8:45 at the earliest. The test will not cumulative, and will be in exactly the same format as the other two. That means, yes, you will need a blue book.

A term sheet to study has been posted here as a pdf instead of as a blog post -- it should print out a lot better. Please ask any questions as comments here, but please no open-ended "repeat-the-lecture" questions.

The papers will be returned at the final.

Megan's Last Discussion Question

For this last blog, I would like you to think about the connection between Jefferson's vision of the United States and sentimentality. Look over Jefferson's First Inaugural Address, how does Jefferson envision the republic will function? How does emotion play into his perspective? Does his experiment succeed? How does this tie to the coming of the Civil War and Lincoln?

Remember that papers are due on Thursday in class. The writing lab is a great resource to help polish your papers. The website is: http://learningcenter.missouri.edu/writinglab/writinglab.shtml

Sarah Haskins' Discussion Questions 12/4-127

Reminder--Papers are due in lecture Thurs and there are no sections this week. Also, for those writing papers on the sentimental novels, you need to compare and contrast two of the novels (not just Charlotte Temple).

For the final blog discussion I want you to read Jefferson's First Inaugural Address in the online reader. How does this address reflect Jefferson's view of the future of the new republic, especially in comparison with the defeated Federalists? Connect his view with the lectures at the beginning of the course referring to sectionalism and the Civil War. Was his experiment a success or a failure and why? Was Jefferson even being realistic considering the tensions and conflicts already dividing Americans?

Jonathan's Last Questions

For this week's participation credit, please read the selections from Jefferson's First Inaugural Address from the online reader. From these selections, how would you characterize Jefferson's vision for the nation? In this speech, Jefferson famously said "We are all Republicans, we are all Federalists." What does he mean by this?

Note: Remember that your paper will be due in lecture on Thursday!

Upcoming paper -- a student email & my response

Dear [name deleted]:

I am not sure what you have been hearing, but you have the assignment right. The links to the two available topic sets are on the front page of the web site. You can write on Clotel or the sentimental novels (Charlotte Temple, The Power of Sympathy, etc.)

Yours,
Jeff Pasley

UPDATE: As mentioned in the comments, I did say in class, and it is true, that you also have the option of doing an Enlightenment paper if you did not choose that option earlier.

At 12:56 PM 12/2/2007, you wrote:

I was concerned about the paper because many people [from the class I am in] have been telling me it was over different topics. But on your website it says over Clotel or the others. I just want to make for certain that I have the right subject so I don't make a huge mistake. If you could clear up what the paper is on that would be wonderful.

Thanks for your help,
[name deleted]