CLST 277-001: The World of Late Antiquity Spring Semester 2026 Dr. Jacqueline Long Monday, Wednesday, Friday 9:20am-10:10am Dumbach 123

Policies and Assessment

Grades will be based on:

Letter-point conversions in the grade scale

A A-

100-90 89.9-86.7

B+ B B-

86.6-83.3 83.2-80 79.9-76.7

C+ C C-

76.6-73.3 73.2-70 69.9-66.7

D+ D F

66.6-63.3 63.2-60 59.9-0

Participation and other policies

• Class meetings
  • In connection with this course, we are partners in one another's learning. We owe one another a supportive, collegial common space and thoughtful exchange of ideas.
  • Active, engaged, thoughtful participation in classroom discussion and other activities helps enable you to succeed in this course. Missing class cheats you of the opportunity to enrich your understanding with the insights of others and to share your insights and questions with us. Courtesy displays your respect for others; giving your best to your classes serves self-respect and self-interest too.
  • Distractions from learning are a problem for everyone, especially in our time together. Laptop computers, cell phones, recording equipment, Blackberries, iPods, iPads, and other electronic devices capable of being used for communication or entertainment may not be used in the classroom during class meetings. If you carry any of them with you, they must remain turned off and put away. Noisy or smelly food should not come into the classroom. Private conversations should be conducted outside of class time.
  • Standards of contribution include:

    Positive: raises questions from study-materials that generate intellectually rewarding discussion	in most meetings	in some meetings	in few meetings
    Positive: guides discussion to employ intellectually rewarding methods	in most meetings	in some meetings	in few meetings
    Positive: supplies pertinent information in discussion	in most meetings	in some meetings	in few meetings
    Positive: makes insightful connections	in most meetings	in some meetings	in few meetings
    Negative: disrupts discussions with distraction or disrespect	never	once or twice, with apology	with some regularity or wantonness

  • If you are forced to miss class, please document the legitimacy of the absence, as soon as possible - in advance, if the absence is subject to scheduling.
  • Legitimate absences (serious illness or other non-avoidable crisis) should be documented in writing by the appropriate authority. Appointments should be scheduled for times other than when a class for which you are registered meets.
  • It is not possible to make up in-class activities for any days you miss class, including collaborative exercises and presentations, whether the absence as such is excused or unexcused.
  • Absences shall be defined as excessive, as follows:
    • Each unexcused absence beyone a total of three absences, excused or unexcused. That is, excused absences kill your budget of unexcused absences.
    • Repeated chronic lateness (more than 10 minutes) shall be counted as partial absences, as will early exits from class. Nevertheless, it is better to attend even part of a class than to miss it entirely. Just don't disturb your colleagues.
    • Absences will be totalled over the whole semester.
  • The right to attend class meetings
    • The section "Registration" in Loyola University's Undergraduate Academic Standards and Regulations provides that "No one is permitted to attend any class without first officially registering for that class."
    • Please be aware that not having satisfied a course's pre-requisites constitutes grounds for beingwithdrawn from that course at any time.
  • All principles regarding academic honesty apply to all classroom activities including discussion and collaborative work.
• Collaborative work
  • Active cooperation is expected of all students in every phase of group work, collaborative research projects, and presentations. Everybody has a busy schedule and many obligations. You owe it to one another to plan together sufficiently in advance as well as to carry out your responsibilities in your shared work.
  • It is not possible to make up in-class activities if you miss class that day, including collaborative source-exercises and presentations.
  • All principles regarding academic honesty apply to collaborative work just as they do to individual work.
• Written assignments
  • All written assignments are due through Sakai's Assignment function at deadlines as set. Exceptions can be made only in extraordinary circumstances, for good and documented reasons.
  • Please proofread rigorously: intelligibility counts.
  • All principles regarding academic honesty apply to written work.
• Exams
  • Exams in this course will involve short-answer and essay questions. Please bring pens that don't smear on the days when these exams are scheduled. Please also, to the extent possible, write legibly and spell correctly. I truly appreciate the care you exercise.
  • In-class exams can be rescheduled only for truly dire and documented reasons.
  • The section "Final Examinations" of Loyola University's Undergraduate Standards & Regulations provides that instructors do not have authority to re-schedule final examinations. If your course-schedule results in your facing four (4) final exams on a single day, you may petition Assistant Dean Patricoski to have one (1) of the four re-scheduled on the authority of the College of Arts and Sciences.
  • All principles regarding academic honesty apply to exams.
• Academic honesty, a.k.a. the life's blood of the intellect:
  • Learning is the core of universities' purpose. Integrity is the condition in which learning is possible to achieve: anything that gets between you and the knowledge you're acquiring or the skills you're practicing can cause the process to fall apart. Honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility, and courage in academic matters keep your encounter with learning-material authentic. Practice them all at all times. Do, always, YOUR OWN best, so that YOU benefit from your endeavors. Any practice of academic dishonesty (cheating, plagiarism, any use of AI or other resources not specifically authorized by your instructor, obstructing the work of other students, etc.) perpetrated in this course will result in academic penalties, pursuant to University policy (see next item), in proportion to the seriousness of the violation, up to and including failure of the course. Do not do it.
  • For basic principles and definitions, see the subsection Academic Integrity (click the > sign to get the embedded text) in the Undergraduate Standards & Regulations in the 2025-26 Academic Catalog. The College of Arts and Sciences endorses and upholds this policy, as does the Department of Classical Studies.
  • The University Libraries offer Sage Student Success modules for Academic Integrity and Referencing Skills.
  • The Writing Program refers to the Council of Writing Program Administrators' detailed Statement of Best Practices for Defining and Avoiding Plagiarism.
  • Grammarly (also referred to by the Writing Program) offers concise tips How to Avoid Plagiarism: they emphasize repeatedly, it's crucial to acknowledge the sources from which you're drawing information or ideas, not only to avoid parroting words. (Do NOT, however, use Grammarly to re-write your papers or other work: it will follow its algorithms to the point of making your ideas sound generic and machine-written, and it can be confused into misrepresenting your ideas.)
  • Loyola University Chicago requires that all instances of academic dishonesty must be reported to the chairperson of the department involved and to the academic Dean of the student's College.

Additional University policies

• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
  • Loyola University Chicago is committed to the recognition of and respect for variations in racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds and with regard to class, gender, age, physical and mental ability/disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. The website of the University's Commitment to Inclusive Excellence details some efforts to address systemic inequities of our society and advance our community towards full inclusion and anti-racism. Our conduct with one another should support these endeavors.
  • Addressing one another at all times by using appropriate names and gender pronouns honors and affirms individuals of all gender identities and gender expressions. Misgendering and heteronormative language excludes the experiences of individuals whose identities may not fit the gender binary, and/or who may not identify with the sex they were assigned at birth. In this course we strive to provide an affirming environment for all students with regard to their names and gender pronouns.
• Copyright: Copyright law was designed to give rights to the creators of written work, artistic work, computer programs, and other creative materials. The Copyright Act requires that people who use or make reference to the work of others must follow a set of guidelines designed to protect authors’ rights. The complexities of copyright law in no way excuse users from following these rules. The safest practice is to refrain from distributing works used in class (whether distributed by the professor or used for research) because they are likely copyright-protected, and to cite any research or creative work you use in your classwork according to Turabian or other standard style-guide for the humanities. See further Loyola University Chicago copyright resources.
• Intellectual Property: All lectures, notes, homework templates, and other instructional materials in this class are the intellectual property of the professor. As a result, they may not be distributed or shared in any manner, either on paper or virtually, without my written permission. Lectures may not be recorded without my written consent; when consent is given, those recordings may be used for review only and may not be distributed. Recognizing that your work, too, is your intellectual property, I will not share or distribute your work without your written permission.
• Privacy Statement: Assuring privacy among faculty and students engaged in face-to-face and online instructional activities helps promote open and robust conversations and mitigates concerns that comments made within the context of the class will be shared beyond the classroom. Recordings of instructional activities may be used solely for internal class purposes by the faculty member and students registered for the course, and only during the period in which the course is offered. Students will be informed of such recordings by a statement in the syllabus for the course in which they will be recorded. Instructors who wish to make subsequent use of recordings that include student activity may do so only with informed written consent of the students involved or if all student activity is removed from the recording. Recordings including student activity that have been initiated by the instructor may be retained by the instructor only for individual use.
  • Pursuant to the above statement, I'll note I do not currently anticipate holding any class meetings by Zoom, and do not plan to record class meetings. Should needs arise during the semester, however, as a student in this class, your participation in live class discussions will be recorded. These recordings will be made available only to students enrolled in the class, to assist those who cannot attend the live session or to serve as a resource for those who would like to review content that was presented. All recordings will become unavailable to students in the class when the course has concluded. Students will be required to turn on their cameras at the start of class. Students who have a need to participate via audio only must reach out to me to request audio participation only without the video camera enabled. The use of all video recordings will be in keeping with the University Privacy Statement.

Land Acknowledgment: The Loyola University Chicago community acknowledges its location on the ancestral homelands of the Council of the Three Fires (the Ojibwa, Ottawa, and Potawatomi tribes) and a place of trade with other tribes, including the Ho-Chunk, Miami, Menominee, Sauk, and Meskwaki. We recognize that descendants of these and other North American tribes continue to live and work on this land with us. We recognize the tragic legacy of colonization, genocide, and oppression that still impacts Native American lives today. As a Jesuit university, we affirm our commitment to issues of social responsibility and justice. We further recognize our responsibility to understand, teach, and respect the past and present realities of local Native Americans and their continued connection to this land.
See further resources compiled by the Law Library.

Labor Acknowledgment: The Society of Jesus participated in the institution of slavery in North America from the colonial era until the passage of the 13th Amendment. The involuntary labor of the people the Jesuits owned, rented, and borrowed helped establish, expand, and sustain Jesuit missionary efforts and educational institutions in colonial North America and, over time, across the United States. The Jesuits' use of enslaved labor is a legacy shared by all Jesuits and Jesuit institutions.
The Jesuits' Slavery, History, Memory, and Reconciliation Project is committed to a transformative process of truth-telling, reconciliation, and healing that, in conversation with the descendants of people held in bondage, acknowledges historical harms, seeks to repair relationships, and works within our communities to address the legacies of slavery that persist in the form of racial inequities today.
The Project is motivated by a desire to uncover the truth of people's stories, to honor their memories and heal relationships. We hope that together, descendant communities, Jesuits, and Jesuit institutions can act in partnership to address the prejudice and structural racism that endure from slavery throughout the United States.

Revised 11 January 2026 by jlong1@luc.edu
http://www.luc.edu/classicalstudies/