Syllabus: Assignments

1. Participation (30%).
You are expected to attend class and contribute to discussions (10%). You are also expected to turn in a small number of short response papers (10%) as assigned in class and to contribute to the course blog (10%) on a regular basis with questions, comments, and links to relevant material. Every student must post to the blog at least three times over the course of the quarter. I will solicit volunteers but any student can post at any time.

2. Research Paper (4-5 pages) & Research Bibliography – first draft/version (20%).
You will write a short research paper of 4-5 pages due in class and by email on Monday November 17. This paper should stand on its own, but the plan is that this paper will be a first version of the final research paper that you will turn it at the end of the quarter. This first version of your research paper should offer a standalone argument in 4-5 pages. You must also include with this paper one additional page with a bibliography of three items (articles or chapters) not included in the assigned class readings. The bibliography should contain both a citation of these items (in any standard format) and a brief one-paragraph abstract summarizing each.

3. Final Research Paper (7-9 pages) – second draft/version (50%).
I will give you at least one page of typed feedback on the shorter paper. The longer research paper of 7-9 pages will develop the argument you offered in the shorter argumentative paper in light of this feedback. You will be expected to improve and expand the first shorter version of your paper. This paper will be due in class (as a hardcopy) and by email (as a standard file) during our final class session on Friday December 5.