The course will meet Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 10am. Typically, there will be lectures each day, but some Fridays will be devoted to discussion. On such Fridays, students should arrive appropriately prepared with questions, comments, or criticisms. Otherwise, it will be very quiet.
There will be two short papers for the course, a problem set, and a longer paper. The short papers are to be about 3-5 pages, with a maximum length of 1500 words. Lists of 'topics' will be distributed on 10 February and 10 March; the papers will be due on 24 February and 24 March, respectively. The 'topics' will be short quotations from various of the papers we read, and the object of the exercise will be expository: You will be asked to explain the passage and its significance in the context of the article.
The problem set will cover the formal material we study. It will be distributed on about 24 March and will be due on 21 April.
The longer paper is to be on a topic of the student's own choosing. The paper should be about 12-15 pages and is to be due on 9 May, which is the last day of reading period.
Warning: I do not accept late work, under any circumstances. On the other hand, I am extremely flexible about due dates. That is to say: If someone should need an extra day or two, she need only ask; no reason even need be given. If someone should need more time than that, then some reason does need to be given, but the request will usually be granted. Since I am so flexible, there can be no excuse for one's not asking for an extension. It's really just a matter of respect.