Collapse—ANT 312

 

Dr. Nora Reber                                                                                    TR 9:30-10:45

SBS 205                                                                                              Fall 2009

X-7734                                                                                                SBS 202

Office Hours:  MW 1-2 PM T 3:30-4:30 PM                                       And by appointment

http://www.uncwil.edu/people/rebere                                                    rebere@uncwil.edu

                                                                                   

Course Description:  The course is a sampler of political and systemic collapses over the course of world history.  We will attempt over the course of the semester to compare various theories of collapse, the case studies of Easter Island, Mesopotamia, the Mayan region, and Rome.  This comparison will allow us to evaluate various theories explaining all these collapses, and to trace how explanations of collapse tend to follow the political trends and imperatives of the people studying the collapses. 

 

Evaluation:  Grading in this class will depend on in-class and take-home assignments (25%), a midterm exam (15%), a final exam (20%), one large paper or three small papers—your choice (30%), and class participation (10%).   

 

Attendance:  In general, you should give Dr. Reber a valid or creative excuse before an absence.  I do not take attendance, but more than 3 absences will be noted and will start chipping away at your class participation grade.  Also, any assignments turned in late without prior notification or an extraordinarily good excuse will be counted as unexcused late assignments, and 50% of the grade will be docked.  Papers turned in late without prior notification will lose 10% of their grade per day until you tell me your excellent reasons for the problem—the clock may stop then, under special circumstances.

 

Makeup Work:  Assignments not turned in on time due to an excused absence may be turned in for full credit for up to two weeks after the original absence.  After that, 10% of the points are deducted per week.  Assignments not turned in one time due to an unexcused absence may be turned in for half credit up to two weeks after the original absence, and after that 10% of the points are deducted per week.  An excused late assignment turned in four weeks late is worth 80% of the original point total.  An unexcused late assignment turned in four weeks late is worth 30% of the original point total.  This sounds complicated, but it basically means that you should MAKE UP ALL WORK WITHIN 2 WEEKS!  Excused long absences due to illness, family problems or other disasters should be negotiated with Dr. Reber—she should be notified by e-mail as soon as you know you have a serious problem.

 

Papers turned in late will lose 10% of their grade per day for weekdays, and 10% per weekend until they are turned in.  A paper turned in one day late, even if it is a perfect score, will only get 90%.

 

Written Assignments:  You have a choice in this class on what type of written assignments you’d like to do.  You may either complete a 15-20 page term paper on a topic of your choice, but related to political, social, or systemic collapse, or you may write three short papers of 5-8 pages over the course of the semester. 

 

The long paper, should you choose to write it, should have at least 8 sources, of which at least 50% should be from books or peer-reviewed journals, and at least one from the last 10 years.  People interested in this option should choose a topic in consultation with me by September 24, and should turn the paper in by Thursday, November 5. 

 

The three short papers, if this is the option you choose, should be on three of the six major topics covered in this class:  Easter Island, Mayan region, Mesopotamia, Rome, Economics/Irrationality, and Overview/Comparison.  Each paper should have at least 3 sources aside from in-class readings (except in cases discussed with me beforehand) of which at least 50% should be from books or peer-reviewed journals, and at least one of your sources should be from the last 10 years.  Each paper is due before the end of the unit.

            Easter Island                             September 8

            Mesopotamia                           September 17

            Maya                                       September 29

            Economics/Irrationality  November 17

            Rome                                       November 10

            Overview/Comparison  November 24

           

Citatation style in all papers, long and short, should be MLA, American Antiquity, or Current Anthropology format (these last formats are typical of anthropologists).  Both types of paper should be typed, double-spaced, in 10-12 point font and with 1-inch margins. 

 

Even if you have an excellent reason for an extension, a paper will be considered late until you negotiate it with me.  For example, a week before the paper is due, you suffer an attack of acute appendicitis.  Although you are conscious and rational before the due date, you do not e-mail or phone my office at the numbers given on this syllabus in order to tell me about the problem until 2 weeks after your initial illness.  When you finally do so, a week after the due date, the extension will be approved, but the paper will lose 60% for the 7 late days prior to my notification of the problem.  In cases of extreme emergency, have a friend, family member or the Dean notify me of the problem, and that will take care of it.  If you’re in that bad a situation, you should notify the Dean of Students anyway, as it’s part of their job to help take care of this sort of thing.

 

One-page written assignments will be given as in-class exercises or as homework throughout the semester.

 

Exams:  A midterm and final exam are given in this class, which together make up 35% of the grade.  The midterm exam will be held on Tuesday, October 8 with a review session on Thursday, October 1.  Material covered until October 1 will be covered on the midterm.  The final will be held on in our regular classroom on Tuesday, December 8 from 8-11 AM.  Two-thirds of the final will cover the 2nd half of the class.  The remaining 1/3 will cover essential concepts from the first half of the class.  The review session for the final will be on December 1, the last day of class.  Do not attempt to take the final at any time other than that assigned unless you have a very good reason.

 

Reading Assignments:  The textbook for this class is Collapse by Jared Diamond.  Readings from this book, as well as others, will be given throughout the semester.  There are actually relatively few modern books on collapse, and there are a lot of electronic readings in this course—it might be easier if you set up a printing/paper budget at the beginning of the semester.  On the bright side, quite a few of the readings have been chosen based on readability and durability, meaning they’re classics that are free on the web and available at every public library.  If you would like to read more on the topic, I recommend Tainter’s The Collapse of Complex Societies.  I’m always happy to give reading recommendations, so feel free to ask!

 

Web Page:  The class web page is linked to Dr. Reber’s personal web page, http://www.uncwil.edu/people/rebere.  The syllabus, course assignments, related links, and text of assignments will be posted on this site, as well as a brief schedule of readings and class topics coming up.  All readings will be linked to the web page.  Occasional web bonus points will be posted on the web page that will not be mentioned in class.  The web page is always the most up-to-date and accurate reference for the class, and is definitely more accurate than Dr. Reber on things like dates and class schedules.  Everything is posted here so that she doesn’t have to remember it. 

UNCW Honor Code:  The University of North Carolina Wilmington is a community of high academic standards where academic integrity is valued. UNCW students are committed to honesty and truthfulness in academic inquiry and in the pursuit of knowledge.  This commitment begins when new students matriculate at UNCW, continues as they create work of the highest quality while part of the university community, and endures as a core value throughout their lives.

Plagiarism is defined as using someone else’s work without citing it, and can be divided into direct copying, mosaic copying, and insufficient attribution.  It hurts three groups of people:  the person plagiarized, as their work has been stolen; classmates, since it unfairly sets the curve and unrealistically raises the performance bar; and the plagiarist, since you can’t get a decent education stealing other people’s work.  It is grounds for a minimum penalty of a complete rewrite of the paper for 50% of the grade and a long discussion with Dr. Reber about exactly why it is a bad idea.  The potential maximum penalties are decided by the Judicial Board or Dean of Students.  Don’t do it!!  This is the sort of thing that Tacitus and Gibbon believed led to cultures collapsing!

UNCW Honor Pledge:  As a student at The University of North Carolina Wilmington, I am committed to honesty and truthfulness in academic inquiry and in the pursuit of knowledge.  I pledge to uphold and promote the UNCW Student Academic Honor Code.

Help:  Dr. Reber will always be happy to help you during office hours and through e-mail (with a reasonable response time).  If you want or need more assistance, the University Learning Center offers free help, including tutoring and help with writing assignments.  You can find the Learning Center on the first floor of Westside Hall (WE 1056).  Its phone # is 962-7857 and its website is www.uncw.edu/ulc.  It is open M-R 8am–9pm; F 8am–5pm, and Sunday 3pm–9pm

 

Odds, Ends, and Pet Peeves:  Please turn off your cell phones!

 

Point totals will be handed back to students twice during the semester—at the midterm and after your last term paper has been graded.  Anyone wanting point totals at any other times should ask Dr. Reber.  Grades and point totals may be sent via e-mail if you give permission.  Please keep in mind that basic mathematics applies to the grades—even if you turn in late assignments for 50%, you will need a B in other categories to get a C in the class.  Since 10 bonus points are offered per semester, point grubbing is, well, pointless and will be ignored.

 

You may not take exams while wearing any sort of electronic listening device—ipods, etc. 

 

Please use laptops in class for coursework or course-related research only.