• Participation in class discussions: this will be judged on: 1) grasp of and depth of reflection on the assigned reading material; and 2) ability to listen and respond appropriately to other students’ comments. Consistent and constructive participation will weigh in favor of the higher grade in the case of a borderline final grade based on your other work. 10%
• Mid-term paper: a response paper of 1,000­–1,200 words (double-spaced, 12 point, PDF format). I will provide 6­–8 questions relating to the assigned readings for you to respond to. This paper should consist of three sections: exposition; argument; objection and response to objection. 20%
• Final paper: a 2,000–2,500-word project which you will develop independently based on the course materials (also see Project proposal and Commentary, below). It is highly recommended that you discuss your ideas with me to determine which topic best suits your philosophical interests and strengths, and how to proceed with your project. 40%
• Project proposal: before starting to write the final paper, each student is required to submit a one-page project proposal about what they wish to do with their final paper. The proposal should include the following components: i) an overview of the main topic and motivation for the project; ii) discussion of the source text; iii) arguments; iv) objection; v) response to the objection; and vi) conclusion and afterthought. 20%
• Commentary: before starting to write the final paper, each student is required to provide a commentary with constructive feedback to a fellow student’s proposal. Students will receive additional feedback from the professor as well. 10%

REQUIREMENTS:

Written work for this course will be submitted via Turnitin, a third party service licensed for use by SFU. Turnitin is used for originality checking to help detect plagiarism. Students will be required to create an account with Turnitin, and to submit their work via that account, on the terms stipulated in the agreement between the student and Turnitin. This agreement includes the retention of your submitted work as part of the Turnitin database. Any student with a concern about using the Turnitin service may opt to use an anonymous identity in their interactions with Turnitin. Students who do not intend to use Turnitin in the standard manner must notify the instructor at least two weeks in advance of any submission deadline. In particular, it is the responsibility of any student using the anonymous option (i.e. false name and temporary e-mail address created for the purpose) to inform the instructor such that the instructor can match up the anonymous identity with the student.