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All course requirements must be completed in order to
receive credit for the course. Informed
class participation: 25%
In order for you to successfully fulfill this
requirement, you must come to class with at least two intelligent
questions--written down--that show that you have made a good faith
effort to read and understand the material under discussion for that
day. You must turn these questions in when you enter class--make sure
your name is on them. These are your "ticket in" to class. Without them,
you may stay, but your class participation grade will be affected
negatively.
You must also participate out loud in class
discussion. I know that some of you feel that you are quiet by nature
and are therefore allowed to sit and pay attention without speaking up,
but really, that doesn't help us generate knowledge as a community. So
if you want to do well in this class, you have to share your ideas and
your confusions. Reading Journal: 25%
The emphasis of your reading journal will be
pedagogical. In other words, you will be reflecting on the work of the
class as it relates to your future teaching of this material to
students. Your job will be to think of what is relevant for your
students in the various theoretical and critical approaches we cover,
and how you might best communicate to your students so that they will
find the theories useful in their own writing.
Midterm exam: 25%
Actually later in the semester than a normal midterm, this
assignment will vary depending on where you are in your program. For
undergraduates, there will be a set of essay questions that will require
you to synthesize ideas that we have formulated over the course of the
semester. It will be a take home exam, to be completed over the
Thanksgiving break and returned on the Wednesday we get back. For those in the Master's program, this will be a
practice for Part I of your comprehensive exams, and will be
administered using the same sort of assignment and time constraints. PhD
students should think of this assignment as a sort of critical
manifesto, where you articulate the critical approach that seems best
suited to your dissertation project.
Meaningful and Interesting Final Projects: 25%
Before the end of September, you must meet with me to
discuss your program goals so that we can think about what will make a
meaningful and interesting final project for you. |