3.982  Ancient Andean World

Dear Andes Students:

Quite a few of you were absent from our class meeting last Tuesday, 2 December.  We discussed your term papers, with a focus on length, style, and deadline date of submission.

Here are a few of the points we covered in our discussions.

Length of term paper: 12-15 pages, including illustrations

Format: 1 inch margins on all four sides of the page; text to be 12 pt, double spaced. Illustrations can be located together at the end of the text to avoid having to locate each illustration within the text itself

Illustrations: Each illustration must have: (1) a figure number; (2) a caption that explains/identifies the content of the illustration; (3) a bibliographic reference to the source of the illustration if you took the illustration from a publication or an online source -- the bibliographic citation must be included in the caption to the illustration.  You should include a list of illustrations at the end of your text: Fig. No., Caption; Bibliographic reference.

Text: Please divide your text into major sections and, if helpful, into sub-sections.  Do not number the sections and sub-sections as you do in an outline.  You can differentiate major sections from sub-sections, for example, by using bold type for one and regular type or italics for the other.  REMEMBMER, your paper is not an essay.  The format should be close to that of a published article.

When you refer in your text to an illustration, you MUST include the Figure No. of the illustration in the same sentence, so that the reader will know what to look for.

Sources: You are expected to have read sources in addition to the readings that were assigned to you from the 3.982 READER.

In-text citations and final bibliography:  The format to be used for in-text citations and for the final bibliography is on this Stellar Site. 

Submit term paper: Please submit your term paper to me in class at our final meeting, on Tuesday, 9 December.  I will not accept papers sent to me as email attachments. Be sure that your paper is stapled or clipped together.  Be sure that your name is on the title page of the paper!

I will not accept late papers.  If there is an urgent reason for which you cannot submit your paper on time, you need to contact me well ahead of our class meeting to explain the situation.  We can then attempt to negotiate a reasonable solution.

If anyone wishes to meet with me to discuss aspects of the term paper before our class on Tuesday the 9th, please notify me by email, and we can set up a meeting.

Thank you,

Prof. Lechtman 

Dear Andes Students:

Our Andes subject (3.982) has been included in the end-of-term Subject Evaluation program.

I'd appreciate if you would take a few minutes to fill out the Subject Evaluation Form;  Here is the URL to access the Form:

http://web.mit.edu/subjectevaluation

Thanks,

Prof. Lechtman

 

Dear Andean students:

The midterm examination is scheduled for Tuesday, 28 October.

During the following weeks until the end of the term, I have reorganized the syllabus schedule (posted on this site) slightly in order to give you sufficient time to read Michael Moseley's book: The Maritime Foundations of Andean Civilization.  Four copies of the book are on the 3.982 Reserve Shelves in Hayden Library.  Originally you were asked to read the book by 4 November (please see the syllabus reading assignments), but given the fact that the midterm exam is scheduled during the block of time when you were expected to read the book, I have altered the schedule to give you a full three weeks in which to do the reading.

Moseley's book is an important publication.  It is a short book, but a classic.  I have organized an assignment (posted on this site)  -- based on the contents and arguments made in  the book -- that involves groups of students presenting responses to specific questions at our class meeting on 18 November.  

I have posted a list of 8 questions and have assigned groups of students (usually 4 or 5 students) to present a group report/discussion of each question.  You will find the email address of the students in your group on our 3.982 Stellar site. 

Moseley's book is replete with data, and I do not expect you to read through the entire book page by page.  But it is important that you be able to summarize the major points Moseley raises.  And you are expected, of course, to organize your group presentation with care so that the class learns from your reading and interpretation of Moseley's arguments.

All 8 groups will present their comments on the Moseley book, in answer to the questions posed, on Tuesday, 18 November.  Do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about the assignment.

Prof. Lechtman

 

Dear Andes students:

Several of you have inquired about term paper topics, term paper outlines, and the due date for term papers.

Here is a concise schedule that should be helpful.

Term paper topic:  Your choice of term paper topic should be submitted in class on Tuesday, 14 October.  Please write one or two sentences about your reason for having chosen your topic. If you have several possible topics and are unsure of which might be best to pursue, please make an appointment with me so that we can discuss those topics. 

Term paper outline:  Your term paper outline is due on WEDNESDAY, 12 NOVEMBER.  Tuesday, 11 November is Veteran's Day, which is a holiday at MIT.  PLEASE SUBMIT YOUR OUTLINE AS AN EMAIL ATTACHMENT NO LATER THAN ON 12 NOVEMBER.  Be sure to include a bibliography of the sources you have read up to that date.  You will find a sample outline on our 3.982 Stellar site.  It is long and detailed.  I do not expect an outline of this complexity, but I do expect a careful outline that shows clearly how you expect to organize your material.

Term paper due:  Term papers are due on the last cay of class [9 December] and are to be turned in during class, not via email.  In most cases, term papers should be illustrated and must include a complete bibliography of your sources.  Web site sources are not acceptable unless (1) they are published articles  or (2) they are images.  Term papers should be about 15 pages in length.

Prof. Lechtman

Dear Andes students:

I have uploaded two items to our 3.982 Stellar site:

[1] A model term paper outline to which you can refer as a guide to the outline you will hand in for your term paper on 12 November.

[2] A list of study questions to keep in mind as your do the readings for 7 and 14 October and that we will discuss in class on 14 October.  These questions are located in the class Stellar section on HOMEWORK.

 

Prof. LEchtman