Course Syllabus

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This course meets in FLINT 111, MWF period 5.

 

Instructor: Victoria Pagán, PhD, Professor of Classics. "Dr. Pah-GAN" (not pagan)

How to reach me: 352-273-3696, office phone. Please use the email function within Canvas. Emails sent to ufl.edu risk getting lost.  All email correspondence must originate from your ufl.edu account and be professionally composed: salutation, body, closing, your name. Expect a response within 24 hours. Be advised that I generally do not check email between 8:00 PM and 8:00 AM.

Office Hours:  Wednesdays period 4 (10:40-11:30) or by appointment in Dauer Hall 115 C. *Enter at Dauer 125 and wind your way through to my office*.

 

Roman history is riddled with conspiracies. So are our newsfeeds and the pages of the New York Times. In this class, we will develop a method for understanding conspiracies and conspiracy theories. First we will establish conspiracy theory as a bona fide area of academic study. We will learn to describe conspiracies and conspiracy theories, and then make steps towards prescribing solutions to the dilemmas they pose. We will apply our findings to individual test cases from the ancient Roman historians Livy, Sallust, and Tacitus, supplemented by inscriptions and political speeches.

Students are encouraged to employ critical thinking and to rely on data and verifiable sources to interrogate all assigned readings and subject matter in this course as a way of determining whether they agree with their classmates and/or their instructor. No lesson is intended to espouse, promote, advance, inculcate, or compel a particular feeling, perception, viewpoint or belief.

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

  • describe the origin of conspiracy theory as a subject of study
  • identify key components of conspiracy theory 
  • analyze historical events in philosophical terms

Beyond these basic critical thinking skills, you will be able to

  • Examine your personal learning style
  • Formulate how skills learned in this class transfer to your other classes, your major, and your goals
  • Evaluate conspiracy theory in light of our current historical moment
  • Participation is 10% of your grade and will be assessed every day by taking attendance. Be present in the classroom. Participate actively by asking and answering questions. 
  • Three writing assignments worth 15% of your grade each.
  • Two writing assignments worth 20% of your grade each.
  • Five quizzes online worth 1% of your grade.

 

Damon, Cynthia, translator. 2013. Tacitus. Annals. Penguin. Recommended.

Woodman, A. J., translator. 2008. Catiline's War, The Jugurthine War, Histories. Penguin. Recommended.

Butter, M. 2021. The Nature of Conspiracy Theories. Polity Press. Required.

 

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/ (Links to an external site.)

You are responsible for observing all posted due dates, and are encouraged to be self-directed and take responsibility for your learning.

I will make every effort to have each assignment graded and posted within one week of the due date. 

Assignment Percent
 Attendance 10%
Online Quizzes 5%
Three Writing Assignments 3 x 15%
 Two Writing Assignments 2 x 20%

 

Percent

Grade

Grade Points

93.0 – 100.0

A

4.00

90.0-92.9

A-

3.67

87.0-89.9

B+

3.33

83.0-86.9

B

3.00

79.0-82.9

B-

2.67

75.0-78.9

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 – 61.9

D-

0.67

0 – 59.9

E

0.00

 

Students with disabilities requesting accommodations should first register with the Disability Resource Center (352-392-8565, https://disability.ufl.edu/ ) 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.

 

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/ (Links to an external site.)) 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.

 

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.

 

 

 

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/ (Links to an external site.). 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/ (Links to an external site.). Summaries of course evaluation results are available to students at https://gatorevals.aa.ufl.edu/public-results/ (Links to an external site.).

 

Here are some tips that will help you get the most of this course :

  • 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.
  • 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.

 

At the end of this course, students will be expected to have achieved the General Education learning outcomes for Humanities (H) as follows:

Content: Students demonstrate competence in the terminology, concepts, methodologies and theories used within the subject area.

  • Students will be able to identify, describe, and explain the concept of conspiracy theory, and the different modes of analysis used by historians and philosophers; identify and critique political and social contexts in which conspiracy theories are created.
  • Student competencies will be assessed through the first written assignment.

 

Critical Thinking: Students carefully and logically analyze information from multiple perspectives and develop reasoned solutions to problems within the subject area.

  • Students will be able to analyze and evaluate sources for ancient history in their social and political contexts; make connections between individual historical narratives and the larger theoretical frameworks that guide the study of conspiracy theory.
  • Student competencies will be assessed through the second, third, and fourth written assignments.

 

Communication: Students clearly and effectively communicate knowledge, ideas, and reasoning in written or oral forms appropriate to the subject area.

  • Students will be able to develop and present clear and effective responses in oral written form, to the modern scholarship on conspiracy theory.
  • Student competencies will be assessed through the fifth written assignment and in discussion with the author of the textbook.

 

 

Course Summary:

Date Details Due