Assignments

• Class participation —measured as both attendance and involvement—will be a 20% portion of your course grade. The format of this course is class discussion, with mini-lectures included to add background or facilitate conversations. Student questions and discussion are essential to the success of the course, because your individual interests and viewpoints will add immeasurably to our understanding of the relationship between work and play
• After our introductory focus on theories of labor and leisure, you will take an in-class theory exam. This will test your understanding of the six main theoretical approaches to the course.
• Twice during the semester, you will complete in-class primary source analyses. These exams will ask you to interpret sources that you have not seen before.
• You will write one 8-page research paper. The research paper is due during finals week.
• The research process will require a 3-page proposal in late September, in which you explain your topic, discuss accessible primary sources, and justify the significance of the project.
• The project also requires an in-class oral progress report of your research in late October.
• Finally, the project also includes an oral presentation in early December.

Your final grade will be calculated as follows:

Class participation 20%
Theory exam 10%
Research proposal 10%
Primary source analyses 20% (10% each)
Presentation 10%
Research paper 30%

Course Policies

Attendance : Attendance will be monitored throughout the semester. You are granted two free absences; after that, your empty seat will affect your participation grade. Let me know ahead of time if you have to miss class.

Late Papers : Note assignment due dates. Plan ahead and notify me in advance (a week or more) if you have a conflict. Late assignments will be docked a grade level per day. (If a paper due on Tuesday is turned in on a Friday and earns a B, the grade will become a C. If turned in the following Monday, the grade will be a D.)

Disabilities : If you require an accommodation for a disability in regards to turning in assignments, attending class, or taking exams, please notify me as soon as possible. See also http://www.susqu.edu/counseling/disabilities/ for general information if you are unfamiliar with the University’s services for those with disabilities.

Academic Honesty : It is your responsibility to be academically honest when preparing written assignments. Plagiarism is not only disappointing for me, but it is also a significant evasion of your role as a student—you are here to read, think, and write for yourself! Follow this general rule if in doubt: if you have used material from another author, provide me with a full citation (author name, publication title, date, and page number OR the complete URL of a website). This indicates that you are giving intellectual credit to whom it is due.

See http://www.susqu.edu/student_handbook/honesty.htm for further information.

Books

Elliott Gorn, The Manly Art: Bare-Knuckle Prize Fighting in America (Cornell University Press, 1986) .

Patricia Campbell Warner, When the Girls Came out to Play: The Birth of American Sportswear ( University of Massachusetts Press, 2006).

There are additional readings placed on electronic reserve as noted in the schedule.