• Choose between the following grading schemes: A or B. See notes! 100%

NOTES:

Choose between the following grading schemes:

A. 2 Short Papers (30% x 2 = 60%) + Discussion Questions (20%) + Discussion Lead (20%)

    Discussion Questions (2% x 10 = 20% of total grade)

Every week (except the 1st and 10th week), you can submit a discussion question online for 2% (marked by completion), for a maximum of 20% total.

    Discussion Leading (20% of total grade)

Choose a week to lead class discussion. You should read over discussion questions others have submitted and try to cover the emerging themes. You can also bring up perspectives especially interesting to you.

    Short Papers (30% x 2 = 60% of total grade) (4-5 pages each)

This option is intended for students who are interested in learning class material but not in engaging with it as a researcher. For summary papers, identify 2 or 3 readings from the course, summarize the main arguments from each, and discuss how they relate to or differ from each other. A list of suggested topics can be found in a separate document.

B. Long paper (80%) + Paper Presentation (20%)

    Long Paper (80%) (15-20 pages)

This option is intended for students who want to write a research paper. Technically only the final draft is graded, but I’ll provide a series of benchmarks to help first-time research-paper-writers stay on track. These can be found in a separate document. Missing these benchmarks will not affect your grade. If you are thinking about potentially using this paper as a writing sample or portfolio paper, please let me know (it should affect the kind of thesis you pursue).

    Paper Presentation (20%) (20-min max)

In week 10, people writing long papers will give a short presentation of your ideas to receive comments. You’ll get full grade as long as you do it. Please take this as an opportunity to practice presenting your own ideas and getting feedback on them (which is a necessary skill for academia).