THE WILLIAM PATERSON UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEY ANTH 260 – 80 and 81 MYTH AND FOLKLORE AND THE MODERN WORLD Learning about Anthropology can be fun and practical. I look forward to meeting you online on our first day of class, Wednesday, September 01, 2010. The course shell will be available by 3:00 PM. Get ready for class. Review Blackboard usage and make sure your computer is in good working order. Books for the course are available at the Campus bookstore. https://www.bkstr.com/Home/10001-10151-1?demoKey=d Campus E Mail Use the Campus address assigned to students for all email communication in this course. Check your Campus e-mail regularly and delete old messages. Campus e-mail addresses have limited space. A full box will block your ability to receive e-mails. Communicate in Microsoft Word All files submitted in this course must be in Microsoft word document. No exceptions. Files that are not sent in Microsoft Word cannot be opened and will not be graded. Blackboard: Help for the Online Course While there are no face- to- face meetings in this class, students are required to review Blackboard usage with student technology consultants (STC’S) www.wpunj.edu/stc/ in the Atrium or another Campus computer lab if this is their first on-line course. Students who are familiar with on-line course formats are encouraged to work with STC’S to improve their skills or review Blackboard usage. On-line instructions for logging on to the course and getting started on Blackboard may be found at https://bb.wpunj.edu/webapps/login/. Student training workshops in computer technology and multimedia applications are held in the Atrium, Room 121, and at the Valley Road Campus, Room 104. Blackboard’s homepage http://bb.wpunj.edu/ contains several other features designed to assist students with reporting problems, help files and using e-mail. Log on to the course daily, Monday – Friday and check your Campus e-mail with regularity. Assignments in this class include reading, projects, a powerpoint presentation, group work and discussion boards. Make sure that you have access to a working computer with the programs needed to successfully complete the course. No make-up assignments are given in this class. Use Campus or public computers found, for example, in libraries and at other Universities, if you do not have a computer, when you experience computer problems, or when you are travelling. Consult with IRT staff should you experience technical difficulties. You may fill out a problem form http://euphrates.wpunj.edu/bb/sc/ or call the University help desk, at extension # 4357. Accessing Blackboard: To log on to Bb point your web browser to http://bb.wpunj.edu and click the Login button in the upper left. Then enter your username and password in the spaces provided and click login again -- you'll find your course Bb sites listed on the right. Some things to be aware of working with Blackboard: You probably won't find all your courses listed; the only ones that will appear are those that have been activated by the professor teaching the course. Professors who don't use Blackboard will not activate their courses. Your username is comprised of your last name and first initial, usually appended with a numeral. If you don't know your WPUNJ system username password you can use the Username lookup link at http://bb.wpunj.edu , or go to it directly at: https://webapps.wpunj.edu/misc/username_lookup/username_lookup.cfm If you are already logged in to the WPUNJ system through WPConnect you won't have to re-enter your username and password -- just click the first login button. Extensive Bb help, including a number of dynamic animations, can be found at http://www.wpunj.edu/irt/stc/stc-labs.html and http://www.wpunj.edu/irt/at/ . You can always obtain Bb help by using the Problem Report form at http://bb.wpunj.edu , or by going to it directly at: http://euphrates.wpunj.edu/bb/sc/ . WPUNJ Student Email: To log on to WPUNJ Student Email point your web browser to http://student.wpunj.edu and enter your username, then RETURN. A dialogue box will pop up, into when you re-enter your username and password, then RETURN. Some things to be aware of as you work with Student email: Blackboard courses will use student email; third-party email addresses will not work on Bb. If you are already logged in to the WPUNJ system through WPConnect you won't have to re-enter your username and password -- just click the Email tab. Course Description This course covers the same material as a classroom-based Anthropology course in an on-line format. The course is highly interactive. Students must be able to work largely independently keeping up weekly with assignments. A detailed Syllabus is posted weekly. (Syllabus). Announcements may be posted notifying students of any changes/additions to the Syllabus. Announcements are emailed to students when posted on Blackboard. Anth260: Myth and Folklore and the Modern World is designed to give students an overview of issues anthropologists are interested in when they study myth and folklore in contemporary society. Although we will focus on the collection and analysis of American folklore, myths and corresponding rituals will also be examined globally and within the holistic and cross-cultural context of the discipline of socio-cultural anthropology. Course Objectives By the end of the course, students should have developed a basic understanding of the following. Holistic and cross-cultural functions of myth and folklore in the modern world. Various folk beliefs, their origins and corresponding rituals related to culture and cosmology. The complex and changing interrelationships between myth, folklore, cosmology, human nature and culture. How to interpret and collect folklore. BLACKBOARD The course utilizes Blackboard as a major tool for communication and learning. First and foremost, students must have the proper equipment and software including Powerpoint. Secondly, before taking this course you should know how to: Use Microsoft word. Web the Internet and use e-mail. “Paste” assignments into your email and answers into indicated exam boxes during a test. Access (log onto) and use Blackboard features. Access your Campus email address http://ww2.wpunj.edu/directories/stud_email.cfm Use (or be willing to learn) powerpoint and other media applications. Use Blackboard and its applications including posting images /photos onto a discussion board. Attendance Active attendance, online presence, is very important to your success in this class. Log on at least 3X a week and consistently participate in assigned work. Post thoughtful and substantive contributions to class discussions. More than a mere “hi”, “okay”, “I agree or disagree.” Add to the discussion when you log on. Avoid plagiarism and support your opinions with documentation from, for example, assigned readings and other academic sources. Cite references (including web addresses) for all sources of information used in exams and posted in discussion boards. Participate regularly in group discussion boards and submit group work according to posted instructions, guidelines and time frames established by the group. Group Powerpoint Presentations Students create power point presentations on myth and folklore within a cross-cultural context. Popular topics selected by students include ghosts, monsters, creatures, holidays, urban legends, workplace, occupations, weird New Jersey, weddings, dating, campus life, angels, life after death, funerals, fraternities/sororities, lawyers, nerds, aliens, numbers, luck, vampires, blondes, tattooing, body adornment, piercing, sports, superstitions, psychics, and the paranormal. Group discussion boards are set up to allow daily discourse, file exchanges, e-mail and virtual classroom as needed by each group. STC’s provide individual help and on-site classes in power point for students. Log onto http://www.wpunj.edu/irt/stc/stc-services.html for information about student workshops. . Assessment Student Grades are based on the following: A. (2) Exams (30 % of your grade). B. (2) Discussion Boards (30 % of your grade) ** C. Group powerpoint presentation (30% of your grade) D. Class Participation and Projects (10% or more of your grade) ** (**)These are good forums in which to earn extra credit. Extraordinary work and participation in any area result in extra-credit and up to five points added on to a student’s final grade point average. Missed/Late work earns 0 credits. FAQ: Questions About The Class, Course Content and Assignments? FAQ allows for frequent on-line communication among students and faculty. Post all questions about the class, course content, and assignments in the weekly discussion board forum marked FAQ. Students are encouraged to respond to their classmates questions in FAQ. I will also address questions in FAQ 3x weekly—generally on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Remember to use good ‘netiquette’ in any online communication. A good source about netiquette is Arlene H. Rinaldi’s “The Net Users Guidelines and Netiquette,” Florida Atlantic University, 1994 available from Net.com. Jane Hutchison from William Paterson University offers the following suggestions adapted from Ms. Rinaldi. 1. Check the discussion frequently and respond appropriately on subject. 2. Focus on one subject per message and use pertinent subject titles. 3. Capitalize words only to highlight a point or a title. Capitalizing otherwise is generally viewed as SHOUTING! 4. Be courteous, professional and careful with your online interaction. 5. Post constructive comments. 6. Avoid Plagiarism: cite all quotes, references, and sources. 7. Don’t forward someone else’s message without their permission. 8. Use humor carefully. Let others know you are being humorous. Be careful not to include offensive, angry, or inflammatory materials.
