Participation
Yiddish 371 isn't a lecture course (though our monster class size means that I'll be lecturing more than I'd have liked), but rather a guided discussion course with mini-lectures to set the scene, put the works we read into some broader cultural contexts, and equip you with some of the tools of literary scholarship.
Once we turn to the stories themselves, we're all on equal footing: I don't have any direct line to the true or definitive interpretation of a given work, nor do I have any stake, personal or professional, in persuading you of the validity of any particular interpretation. Indeed, among the things which keeps this class so interesting year after year are the new insights and changing perspectives which arise when we think about and discuss these works together.
You cannot get this from a book—though you also cannot get this unless you've done the day's reading before coming to class—or from someone else's notes: you've got to be there. You'll miss what Yiddish 371 really has to offer if you don't come to class and participate. You don't have to be a Yiddish or an English major; all you have to do is read, think, and have the courage to speak out.
Put more crudely, participation contributes 10% to your final grade and, by definition, you cannot participate when you’re not in class. If you come to class but do not otherwise participate, you will receive a (barely) satisfactory grade for the participation component. If you come to class and also participate in class discussion, you’ll do well or very well in the participation component. I know that speaking in class comes easier to some than to others, but please do give it a try—if you've done the reading, that is.
When you return from an absence, please give me a note
(unless you've been gone for a long while or have missed a quiz, it's not
necessary to have the note signed by anyone but yourself) with your name and
the date of absence (“March 6,” for example, and not “last
Wednesday”).
[ Syllabus Home • Office Hours • Reading • Participation • Grading • Final Exam • Daily Schedule]