25%	There are going to be three or four in-class, written exams. These will be based on the readings and the class material covered since the last exam. These will include questions that encourage you to integrate and apply the different material you have been covering. They will probably be in the form of short essay. I will DROP the lowest of these exam grades before completing the average. Please see grading policies about missed exams.
60%	Average grade on ALL written outside assignments. The average will be a weighted average, if the assignments vary enormously in their level of difficulty and the work involved. At least one of these will require coordination between teams of 3 peopls (the news violence monitoring one). Coordination may be permitted on some of these other ones. I anticipate having a student paper session on the last day of class; how well you prepare for that poster session, and how well you present your (individual or group project)t will count as a SEPARATE grade. At this time I think the outside written assignments will include the following: 1. Description of a violent crime, as reported in a Philadelphia newspaper, from the 1930s, or the 1870s-1880s. What does this crime tell us about the social, economic, cultural, and political climate of the time? 2. A thought piece: your thoughts, based in part on conversations with someone one or preferably two generations older than you, on how one of the institutions described by LaFree has changed 3. Gathering data on violence in the evening news, and describing the content. This is a bit of a complex research/writing project, and thus may be weighted more than the others. 4. A letter: What you have learned about a specific piece of legislation directed to reducing violence. What does the legislation seek to accomplish, why, where is it in the bill process, and what reactions to that do you gather from some people. 5. A letter: what we can (or can't) do to stop the Ben Smiths and the Buford Furrows of the world. 6. Grade for poster session presentation of one of the above. the poster session will be held on the last day of class, 12/10/99. More details will follow. All of these assignments will rely substantially on course readings or material covered in class. You are strongly encouraged to have all the requisite reading completed before you start work on the assignment.
5%	Participation. Some days when we complete in-class work I will ask you to turn something in with your name on it. If you are present and turn something in every time we do this you get all these points. Based on past semesters that may occur as few as four times or as many as eight.
10%	Completing post-course assessment. This will be given during the final exam period, at the date and time listed below. I anticipate it could take at least an hour and a half. This is not a graded assignment. You receive full credit for this portion of the grade just by showing up and completing the assessment. The purpose of the assessment is to learn more about what competencies you have acquired as a result of your participation in this course. I expect that I will be asking you to write answers to open-ended questions. I am sure your comments will be thoughtful! The assessment cannot be accommodated within the course evaluation format. MONDAY 12/13/1999 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM
NOTE. In order for me to issue you a grade for this course you must: * complete all paper assignments * be present at the poster session * complete all but one of the exams * complete the post-course assessment
NOTE: See grading policies for guidelines on late and missed exams, late papers, and how not to lose points with your papers.