Course Syllabus

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Syllabus HAT3564: Haitian Culture and Society

Instructor  

Ben Hebblethwaite 

Email

hebble@ufl.edu

Class Hours and Office Hours

Class hours: M,W,F | Period 5 (11:45 AM - 12:35 PM) [See the "Zoom Conferences" link on the left]

Office hours: Fridays 9:30 am - 11:30 am

Teaching Assistant

Content

Credit Hours

3

For questions about course content, your grade or other personal issues, use the Canvas mail tool.  Expect a response within 24 hours.

 

Course Information

The objective of this class is to help develop your understanding of the Haitian Culture and Society. The class format involves pre-recorded lectures, readings in The Haiti Reader, slide-presentations, activities, discussion activities, quizzes, a midterm, final and a 2,000-word essay. The Haiti Reader provides the background knowledge needed to follow lectures, participate in discussions and pair-work, and to prepare for and perform well on the quizzes, assignments, discussions, examinations and the paper. Reading the assigned passages carefully while noting key ideas, events and individuals is the best way to study. Also, the assigned readings are your first two sources for your paper and they must be cited and included in your bibliography.

Since all the lectures are online, is class attendance required? No, but it is preferred by me and by the University of Florida. I will be having lectures and discussions during our regular class meetings of 11:45-12:35 M/W/F (See the "Zoom Conferences" link on the left). If you attend Zoom sessions, you will not need to view the lectures. The online lectures are a convenience for students who cannot attend class during the regular, scheduled period. So there are essentially two ways to take this course! 

 

Course Objectives

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

  • Analyze Haitian culture and society
  • Compare Haitian culture and society with those around the nation
  • Critique the role of French colonialism and slavery in the formation of Haitian identity
  • Classify the linguistic situation in Haiti and the functions of French and Haitian Creole
  • Recognize the major causes of the War of Independence and the leading figures of the struggle
  • Summarize major racial and gender struggles that mark Haitian history
  • Differentiate among the major political traditions that compete in Haiti
  • Interpret the major religious and philosophical traditions in Haiti
  • Exemplify major themes in Haitian art, music, poetry and prose
  • Generate a hypothesis about a problem in Haitian culture and society
  • Plan and produce original research about Haitian culture and society

 

Course Requirements

Required textbook

Dubois, Laurent, et al. (2020). The Haiti Reader. Durham: Duke University Press.

 

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for this course.

 

Minimum technology requirements

The University of Florida expects students entering an online program to acquire computer hardware and software appropriate to his or her degree program.  Most computers are capable of meeting the following general requirements.  A student’s computer configuration should include:

  • Webcam
  • Microphone
  • Broadband connection to the Internet and related equipment (Cable/DSL modem)
  • Microsoft Office Suite installed (provided by the university)

Individual colleges may have additional requirements or recommendations, which students should review prior to the start of their program.

 

Minimum technical skills

To complete your tasks in this course, you will need a basic understanding of how to operate a computer, and how to use word processing software.

 

Materials/Supply Fees

There is no supply fee for this course.

 

Zoom

Zoom is an easy to use video conferencing service available to all UF students, faculty, and staff that allows for meetings of up to 100 participants.

You can find resources and help using Zoom at https://ufl.zoom.us.

 

Course Policies

Quizzes and Exams cannot be taken late under any circumstances unless the request is accompanied with a legitimate excuse note that respects UF policies.

Assignments, however, may be turned in late for a 10% penalty. Work cannot be turned in after the official closing date of the assignments indicated on Canvas. Work that is turned in late with an excuse letter that conforms to UF’s policies will not be graded as late. Falsified excuse notes are reported to the Dean of Students.

Requirements for make-up exams, assignments, and other work in this course are consistent with university policies that can be found at catalog.ufl.edu/UGRD/academic-regulations/attendance-policies/

As this is an online class, you are responsible for observing all posted due dates, and are encouraged to be self-directed and take responsibility for your learning.

 

Grading Policy

I will make every effort to have each assignment graded and posted within one week of the due date. In the case of essays, I will return work within 2 weeks.

 

Course Grading Policy

 

Assignments Points
Discussions 50
Individual Video Discussion Activity 50
Group Video Discussion Activity 50
Meme Projects 50
Research Paper 250
Midterm Exam 200
Final Exam 200
Quizzes 150

Grading Scale

Percent

Grade

Grade Points

90.0 – 100.0

A

4.00

87.0 – 89.9

A-

3.67

84.0 – 86.9

B+

3.33

81.0 – 83.9

B

3.00

78.0 – 80.9

B-

2.67

75.0 – 79.9

C+

2.33

72.0 – 74.9

C

2.00

69.0 – 71.9

C-

1.67

66.0 – 68.9

D+

1.33

63.0 – 65.9

D

1.00

60.0 – 62.9

D-

0.67

0 – 59.9

E

0.00

See the current UF grading policies for more information.

 

UF Policies

University Policy on Accommodating Students with Disabilities: 

Students with disabilities requesting accommodations should first register with the Disability Resource Center (352-392-8565, www.dso.ufl.edu/drc ) by providing appropriate documentation.  Once registered, students will receive an accommodation letter that must be presented to the instructor when requesting accommodation.  Students with disabilities should follow this procedure as early as possible in the semester.

 

University Policy on Academic Conduct:

UF students are bound by The Honor Pledge which states, “We, the members of the University of Florida community, pledge to hold ourselves and our peers to the highest standards of honesty and integrity by abiding by the Honor Code.  On all work submitted for credit by students at the University of Florida, the following pledge is either required or implied: "On my honor, I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid in doing this assignment."  The Honor Code (http://www.dso.ufl.edu/sccr/process/student-conduct-honor-code/) specifies a number of behaviors that are in violation of this code and the possible sanctions.  Furthermore, you are obligated to report any condition that facilitates academic misconduct to appropriate personnel.  If you have any questions or concerns, please consult with the instructor or TAs in this class.

 

Netiquette and Communication Courtesy: 

All members of the class are expected to follow rules of common courtesy in all email messages, threaded discussions, and chats. 

 

Getting Help

Technical Difficulties:

For issues with technical difficulties for Canvas, please contact the UF Help Desk at:

Any requests for make-ups due to technical issues should be accompanied by the ticket number received from the Help Desk when the problem was reported to them. The ticket number will document the time and date of the problem. You should e-mail your instructor within 24 hours of the technical difficulty if you wish to request a make-up.

 

Health and Wellness

  • U Matter, We Care:  If you or someone you know is in distress, please contact umatter@ufl.edu, 352-392-1575, or visit umatter.ufl.edu to refer or report a concern and a team member will reach out to the student in distress.
  • Counseling and Wellness Center:  Visit counseling.ufl.edu or call 352-392-1575 for information on crisis services as well as non-crisis services.
  • Student Health Care Center: Call 352-392-1161 for 24/7 information to help you find the care you need, or visit shcc.ufl.edu.
  • University Police Department: Visit police.ufl.edu or call 352-392-1111 (or 9-1-1 for emergencies).
  • UF Health Shands Emergency Room/Trauma Center: For immediate medical care in Gainesville, call 352-733-0111 or go to the emergency room at 1515 SW Archer Road, Gainesville, FL 32608; ufhealth.org/emergency-room-trauma-center.

 

Academic and Student Support

 

Course Evaluations

Students are expected to provide professional and respectful feedback on the quality of instruction in this course by completing course evaluations online via GatorEvals. Guidance on how to give feedback in a professional and respectful manner is available at https://gatorevals.aa.ufl.edu/students/. Students will be notified when the evaluation period opens, and can complete evaluations through the email they receive from GatorEvals, in their Canvas course menu under GatorEvals, or via https://ufl.bluera.com/ufl/. Summaries of course evaluation results are available to students at https://gatorevals.aa.ufl.edu/public-results/.

 

Tips for Success

Taking a course online can be a lot of fun! Here are some tips that will help you get the most of this course while taking full advantage of the online format:

  • Schedule "class times" for yourself. It is important to do the coursework on time each week. You will receive a reduction in points for work that is turned in late!
  • Read ALL of the material contained on this site. There is a lot of helpful information that can save you time and help you meet the objectives of the course.
  • Print out the Course Schedule located in the Course Syllabus and check things off as you go.
  • Take full advantage of the online discussion boards. Ask for help or clarification of the material if you need it.
  • Do not wait to ask questions! Waiting to ask a question might cause you to miss a due date.
  • Do your work well before the due dates. Sometimes things happen. If your computer goes down when you are trying to submit an assignment, you'll need time to troubleshoot the problem.
  • To be extra safe, back up your work to an external hard drive, thumb drive or through a cloud service.

 

Privacy and Accessibility Policies

For information about the privacy policies of the tools used in this course, see the links below:

COVID-19 Recorded Course Statement

Our class sessions may be audio-visually recorded for students in the class to refer back and for enrolled students who are unable to attend live. Students who participate with their camera engaged or utilize a profile image are agreeing to have their video or image recorded. If you are unwilling to consent to have your profile or video image recorded, be sure to keep your camera off and do not use a profile image. Likewise, students who un-mute during class and participate orally are agreeing to have their voices recorded. If you are not willing to consent to have your voice recorded during class, you will need to keep your mute button activated and communicate exclusively using the "chat" feature, which allows students to type questions and comments live. The chat will not be recorded or shared. As in all courses, unauthorized recording and unauthorized sharing of recorded materials are prohibited.

Course Summary:

Date Details Due