Syllabus

Instructor: Elizabeth Goeke (Elli), Ely Hall 102, x7704, elgoeke@vassar.edu

Office hours: T & Th 13 – 14, F 8 – 9 (or any time my door is open)

Introduction

Structural geology is the study of deformed rocks: how things deform, why they deform, and what can we deduce from their deformational record that applies to a more regional scale. The lectures for the course will deal with theoretical aspects of structural geology, which will be augmented by real-world examples during lab. Structural geology requires us to develop our three-dimensional thinking, which may prove to be the most difficult portion of the course.

Course work

Instead of homework, we’ll have fairly extensive labs. My goal is to spend over half of the labs in the field and they will constitute a very large portion of both the workload and grade for this course. All labs will be due one week from the day they are begun at the beginning of the lab period.

Beyond the labs, we’ll have one quiz per week, a midterm, and a final. Thoughtful participation during class and lab is also required.

Late work, plagiarism, etc.

I will accept late labs for reasonable circumstances if you speak to me either before or on the day the assignment is due. Late work not ok’d previously will be marked down one letter grade per day it is late.

Geology is a collaborative science. During research, we frequently discuss our findings with collaborators, experts in the field, and others who may have a positive addition to our work. For this class, I expect that any work you hand in will represent your own writing and thinking. This does not mean, I don’t expect you to discuss the labs with your classmates or me, just that in the end, the work must represent conclusions that you drew. If you do discuss the assignment with others, I expect you to include an “Acknowledgements” section at the end of the lab and include those who inspired you. If you cite a specific paper, please use the Geology format.

Grading

11-12 labs 70%

11-12 quizzes 05%

1 midterm 10%

1 final 15%

Students with disabilities

Academic accommodations are available for students with disabilities who are registered with the Office of Disability and Support Services. Students in need of disability accommodations should schedule an appointment with me early in the semester to discuss any accommodations for this course which have been approved by Office of Disability and Support Services, as indicated in your DSS accommodation letter

Lab materials

Sharp pencils, both hard (at least 2H) and soft leads (HB = #2) (mechanical pencils work best)

Hand-lens

Field book

Fine-tipped pen (India ink pens are best (00 = 0.30 mm or 3x0 = 0.25 mm tip)) – e.g. Alvin Penstix No. 3013-EEF

Eraser (one of those “clicking” refillable eraser pencils works very well)

Protractor and ruler(s) (metric & English) (C-Thru W-8 serves as both)

Colored pencils (at least 18 colors – sharing is fine)

Clipboard

Calculator with trig functions

Text

Structural Geology of Rocks and Regions Davis and Reynolds

ISBN: 0471526215

There will be occasional readings from:

Basic Methods of Structural Geology Stephen Marshak and Gautam Mitra

ISBN: 0130651788

QE601 .M365 1988

Structural Analysis and Synthesis Rowland and Duebendorfer

ISBN: 1405116528

Structural Geology Twiss and Moores

ISBN: 0716749513

Structural Geology: Principle Concepts

and Problems Robert Hatcher

ISBN: 0023557133

QE601 .H35 1995