Important Note!  I will make changes to this document prior to the start of the semester.  The information here is for general interest purposes only!

Instructor: Jenny Tashjian Netto

This course will focus on the analysis of the literature of the earliest Christian movements as it is found in the New Testament.  Although theological themes will often occupy our focus, this course will not attempt a theological appropriation of the New Testament as scripture.  Instead, the importance, study, and analysis of these texts as ancient literature will be emphasized.  

The most influential factor contributing to student success in a literature class is the commitment of the student to complete the required reading.  By enrolling in this course, you have signed on to read the entire New Testament and most of the Apocrypha this semester.  In addition, you will be required to read your textbook and to read the opinions and arguments of your classmates.  The bad news is: to get a good grade in this class, you've got to do a lot of reading.  The good news is: if you do the reading (and do it on time), you will find that the course assignments will augment your understanding of these texts without causing you much pain.

As if all the reading weren't bad enough, you've got the whole distance-learning thing to tackle as well. 

 Taking a class on-line requires a unique kind of academic discipline that not every student is capable of. To succeed in this course, you will have to budget carefully your time and resources.  You will be forced to rely on your reading and organization skills as you comprehend, plan, and execute the assignments required to assist you with the mastery of course objectives.  Half the battle in taking an on-line course is figuring out what to do and when to do it.  Carefully reading this syllabus will take you a long way toward this end.  Please read and consider the following. Then, you must decide if you are able to commit to completing this course.

There are two required texts for this course.  The first is a bible.  If you already own one, feel free to use it.  Be aware, however, that if you're using a "looser" translation, it may affect your interpretation and therefore your performance in this course.  The standard, secular/academic Bible is The New Oxford Annotated Bible (with Apocrypha, New RSV, Coogan Ed., 2001, 0-19-528478). You may wish to purchase this if you're interested in religious studies or plan to continue to pursue biblical studies at a secular institution. 

All students will need our textbook:  The New Testament: A Student's Introduction, any edition is fine (Stephen Harris, Mcgraw-Hill, 2002, 0-7674-2031-4). 

Both of these texts are available from the Pirate Bookstore and Amazon.com.  There are also copies on reserve in the East Campus library.

You are also required to have access to this course via the web.  Please check the suggested system requirements for webCT and ensure that you have continual (three to five times a week) access to an appropriate system.  You must also have access to software that will permit you to type, edit, and save documents in html.  It is important to check with the Online Help Desk (575-6412) and the Online Learning web site (www.mjc.edu) because there are a number of factors that could seriously affect your ability to perform in this class (for example, AOL, spyware, pop-up blockers, etc.).

Your instructor will be available to you.  You have three options for initiating contact with me in the course of the semester. 

1. You may post general questions to the "main" section of the discussion boards (from the course home page, under "Discussions" under "Communication Tools").
2. You may e-mail me through webCT with personal concerns (from the course home page, under "mail" under "Communication Tools").
3. You may visit me on campus during my scheduled office hours (Sierra 253). 

I will reach you via webCT e-mail, the discussion boards, the instructor comment forms attached to your test grades, and the announcements area of each week's assignment.  Contacted through the course, I will respond to your inquiries within 48 hours on the week days.

You are responsible for timely contact.  Unfortunately, when you take an on-line course, you will not have the kind of access to your instructor that you would in a class that meets three times a week. You are, therefore, responsible for taking care of your own technical and personal problems/concerns in a timely manner. If you e-mail me, for example, the night before a paper is due, you probably won't get a response before the paper is late. If you have computer difficulties, please work them out with your own service provider and MJC on-line help desk before your assignments are due. 

Attendance is crucial. "Any student who fails to attend class regularly or during the first session may be dropped; however, it is the responsibility of the student to complete the course or to officially withdraw from a class" (MJC Catalog 18).  Students are expected to log onto and participate in this class at least twice a week.  You will find that, to be successful, you will visit the course from three to five times a week.  If you do not log in twice in each of the first three weeks of the semester, I reserve the right to drop you and give your spot to a wait-listed student.  Otherwise, you are responsible for dropping this course officially should you wish to no longer participate.  Failure to drop this course in the case of non-attendance may result in a failing grade and/or fees due.

Participation is essential. Students are expected to participate in all exercises and activities. At the same time, students whose participation becomes unruly, disrespectful, or disruptive will be issued a warning and then dropped.  Only adult and academic exchanges will be permitted in class.  Our course materials are extremely sensitive for many students.  And although we will all strive to treat our texts as objectively and academically as possible, we must be aware of the heightened personal investment of our classmates in particular treatments and interpretations.  Disrespectful exchanges will not be tolerated. 

Deadlines are absolute. All tests and assignments are due on the date designated by the course outline. No late assignments will be accepted and no make-ups will be given. There will be no exceptions. 

Sometimes the course will not be available.  There WILL be instances when webCT is not available.  The server requires maintenance and sometimes is taken down without notice.  If you are unable to access the course, please do not worry.  Even if I don't know when the server is going to go down, I always know when it has gone down.  If the course is unavailable, please be patient.  Continue to check it every 24 hours until it comes up and you are able to complete your work.  If the server goes down over an exam period, I will, of course, reschedule it.  You will NOT be held responsible if the course is unavailable.

Plagiarism is illegal. A word about plagiarism: don't do it. Students are regularly caught and punished for it. If caught, students will fail this course and their cases will be reported for appropriate discipline. Cheating is also grounds for punishment.  Students are often surprised at the ability of an on-line instructor to detect cheating; but, cheaters should be aware that webCT provides the instructor with a number of technical tools solely for this purpose.

Your grade in this course will be determined by your performance on the following assignments:   

Reading:  Each week you will read from your textbook, Bible, or both.  You should annotate your readings or make notes to help you study for your tests.

Tests (60%):  Five exams will be given.  They may be found on the course home page under "Tests."  These will be worth 15 points each and must be completed prior to their five designated due dates. Students are expected to take all five tests, but only the top four scores will be recorded.  The lowest score (including a possible zero for missing a test) will be dropped from the students' grades.  Because the lowest test score is dropped, no make-ups will be given--no exceptions.   Your tests will focus on the material in your (Harris) textbook.    

Discussion Postings (40%):  Students will be required to post thoughtful readings and respond to the readings of others in our course discussion boards.  These may be found by going from the course home page to "Communication Tools" to "Discussions" to the appropriate unit.  For each unit, students will visit the discussion topic for both the assigned reading and that corresponds to the first letter of their last name.  Students will then prepare and upload an original post of 200 words minimum for a maximum of five points per unit.  In addition, students will be required to respond intelligently and respectfully to the post of another student each week for a maximum of three points per unit.  These secondary posts have no word requirement but should comment on or logically expand on the post to which they are responding.  Your discussions should focus on the assigned reading from the Bible.    

Course Grades are calculated as follows:

4 Unit Tests x 15 points each = 60 points
5 Original Posts x 5 points each = 25 points
5 Response Posts x 3 points each = 15 points
Total Course Points = 100 points

90-100 total points earned = A course letter grade
80-89 total points earned = B course letter grade
70-79 total points earned = C course letter grade
60-69 total points earned = D course letter grade
0-59 total points earned = F course letter grade

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