Hi and welcome to Philosophy 125 Summer 2019. This What's Up page is where you should come on a regular basis to find out about any new developments.
I am currently setting this course up, but here are a couple of things that you need to know right away.
1. This is a 6 week course that covers literally all the material that is covered during a regular semester. It goes fast and you have to be able to work constantly. If you have a week-long vacation planned during this time, things are going to go badly.
2. If you don't have the book already, get it right away. It is here. You can get it immediately as an e-text or as a paperback from the Hornet bookstore. Please note that this is the 2nd edition of the book. Do not buy the 1st or 3rd editions. If you are just now getting the book, and you prefer to have the paperback, I strongly suggest not ordering it online, but purchasing it at the Hornet bookstore. This course goes by very quickly and you do not want to be waiting a week to receive this book.
3. Also, this book is available as an etext from the University Library. Just go to the library website and type in the title. You can read it online, download it for specific periods of time and download a certain number of chapters unconditionally. Again, be sure you are looking at the 2nd edition.
4. This is an entirely online course. We never meet in person. All quizzing and testing is done in Canvas.
5. This course is almost entirely self-paced. There will be a recommended testing schedule and a few mandatory testing dates to help keep you on schedule. (The only absolute deadlines are associated with journal entries. This is explained in the syllabus, which is now available.)
6. There is a good deal of work associated with this course, and those who tend to put things off will find that things do not go well. This course is built for students who are self-motivated and can keep up a steady work pace. If you are not a highly disciplined and self-motivated person please do not take it. You will not succeed and at the same time you will prevent someone else from taking it who may be in a better position to succeed.
7. Please go to this link to sign up for your online journal. Be sure that the email you enter is a Google Gmail account or another account that you have registered with Google.
8. I am very available and responsive to all questions and issues. On a normal weekday the longest it will take for me to respond to an email is a couple of hours. Often it is just a couple of minutes. Don't hesitate to ask me questions. You won't get yelled at if they are stupid ones (though I may gently direct you to place where they are answered.)
8. Believe it or not there is a syllabus test for this course. This is not there to annoy you, but to make sure that you really understand what you are getting into. If you encounter trouble passing this test, then this is a very strong sign that you are not ready to take this course.
9. This course will be fully activated by Monday evening. A short course orientation video will be available in Canvas.
