Policies
- Attendance and participation in class and online discussions are highly recommended, although it is not mandatory. Absences do not need to be excused, but if you miss in-class quizzes you will not be able to make them up. I will also not respond to any students asking what they missed.
- Deadlines for all assignments will be rigorously enforced. If you do not submit Canvas assignments by the deadline, you may receive a grade of zero for the assignment. So start early!
- Students are expected to have read and be familiar with material posted on this website. The site includes the course calendar (with assigned readings,) information about and dates of map quizzes, instructor contact information, and more. (To navigate the site, use the menu bar at the top of any page.)
- E-mail correspondence: Students should feel free to send questions, comments, and observations to me by e-mail at any time, and I will do my best to respond in a timely manner (usually within 24 hours, although I will usually not respond to e-mail between 6 pm and 8 am, or on weekends.) In order to ensure that I can respond to e-mails promptly, I will apply the following criteria to incoming messages.
i) I will reply only to student e-mails sent to dnrallis@umw.edu. Please do not use Canvas or Twitter for messages requiring a response.
ii) I will ignore all e-mail messages that do not include, in the subject line, the course and section number of the sender (Geog 101-1 or Geog 101-2) in the subject of the message.
ii) I will not reply to any messages that ask questions already answered on the course website (e.g. questions about what is included on map quizzes.)
The Honor System, Community Values and Academic Freedom in this Course
The principles of Academic Freedom, the Honor Code and our shared Community Values are central to what the University of Mary Washington is, and are vital parts of all that we do. I take them very seriously, and I expect all students to do the same.
The Honor Code
“I hereby declare upon my word of honor that I have neither given nor received unauthorized help on this work.” (Honor Pledge).
For the purposes of this course, the Honor Pledge means that
- All students should include the Honor Pledge at the start of all assignments, quizzes, and projects in this course. In electronically submitted work, I will accept typed rather than signed version of the Honor Code, provided that the work is submitted from the student’s own e-mail address. Logging into Canvas also constitutes an undertaking to abide by the Honor Code.
- Consulting an atlas, textbook, notes or any other materials while taking a map quiz is a violation of the Honor Code.
- Discussing individual exam or take-home assignments with any other person prior to submitting these assignments is a violation of the Code. (This certainly does not apply to any group assignments, where discussion and consultation with anyone, whether a member of the group or not, is not only permitted but is encouraged.)
- Plagiarism of any kind, including inadequate referencing on any written assignments is always a violation of the Honor Pledge. For more detailed information on plagiarism, I encourage students to take a look at the section “Avoiding Plagiarism” from Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab. Please remember that using video clips, photographs, diagrams, data, or graphs without attribution also constitutes plagiarism.
- The UMW Honor Code requires the participation and commitment of all members of the UMW community. This means that students (and faculty) are required to report any suspected or observed violation of the Honor Code to the Honor Council.
Community Values
“The University of Mary Washington is an academic community dedicated to the highest standards of scholarship, personal integrity, responsible conduct, and respect for the individual.” (Statement of Community Values)
Diversity is an essential part of a productive learning environment. We learn most from people whose ideas, backgrounds, cultures, ideologies, and beliefs are different from our own. This is true anywhere, but it is particularly important in a course whose main objectives are to transcend parochialism and practice the art of seeing the world from the perspectives of others. It is therefore in our own interests to cultivate an environment where diversity of all kinds is not just tolerated, but embraced.
It is critical that all members of the class feel comfortable participating in class discussions, whether during our live meetings, on the course blog, or in discussions with other members of the class. The social setting of a conventional classroom usually helps cultivate a comfortable and accepting environment. We all know, though, that in online environments, discussion and disagreement can easily deteriorate into insult and invective. In this course, we all need to commit ourselves to upholding high standards of conduct and comity.
In practice, this means
- The recognition that every member of the class is entitled to hold and express his or her own opinion.
- Understanding that there is a world of difference between intellectual argument and trading insults. Argument involves challenging a person’s ideas on their merits, and is essential to discussion, learning, and intellectual growth. Insult involves impugning someone’s character or motives, or challenging their bona fides, and is completely unacceptable as a part of intellectual discourse.
- That ad hominem attacks, arguments, or observations, are completely unacceptable in any of our discussions.
- It is completely unacceptable to discriminate against, stigmatize, or impute motives to anyone on the basis of race, gender, sex, marital status, ethnic or social origin, color, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion (or lack thereof), conscience, belief, culture, language, birth, or any other arbitrary criteria.
- All members of the class have the obligation to challenge any transgression of these guidelines as soon as it occurs.
- Any online posts that contravene our community values will be deleted.
Academic Freedom
“Academic freedom is the freedom to discuss all relevant matters in the classroom, to explore all avenues of scholarship, research, and creative expression, and to speak or write without institutional discipline or restraint on matters of public concern as well as on matters related to professional duties and the functioning of the University.” (UMW Faculty Handbook)
The freedom of to hold and express our own opinions and ideas are essential to the learning process and to the advancement of human knowledge and understanding. I strongly encourage all members of the class to make full use of this freedom, in and out of class.
In order to cultivate an atmosphere of free expression, I commit myself never to subject any student in Geog 101 to retribution, reprimand, penalization of grades, or any other form of discrimination because of the views or opinions the student has expressed, whether in class or anywhere else. This includes political, ideological, and religious views, as well as opinions on course policies, assessment and grading, and the way the course is conducted.
Freedom of expression, though, is not as simple as it sounds, particularly in an academic setting. It is worth bearing in mind that speech and conduct that violate the Honor Code or our shared community values are not protected in the context of this course. This means, for example, that I reserve the right to limit the expression of view that are insulting or demeaning to other members of the class, or that in any other way stifle our discussions and interactions.
It is also worth bearing in mind that ideas and opinions mean very little if they are not backed up with logical and reasoned argument, and appropriate evidence. In other words, if you express an opinion in class, be prepared to justify and defend it.
If you feel that your (or any other student’s) rights and freedoms have been infringed upon in any way in this course, I strongly encourage you to bring the matter to my attention right away. If you feel uncomfortable identifying yourself personally, you may communicate with me anonymously or via a third person. If you would prefer not to deal with me, you should feel free to take your concerns to my department chair or any other appropriate University official.
