CONSCIOUSNESS SEMINAR
PHL 860

Fall 2005

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Assignments

Grades

· Term Paper (two drafts) – 50%

· Class Presentation – 25%

· Commentary – 10%

· Participation and Peer Reviews – 15%

Term Paper: A final term paper of approximately 10 -12 pages (approximately 3000 words) will count for 50% of your final grade. This paper may be on the same topic as your presentation, but it need not be. You will be expected to demonstrate am ability to think independently and critically about the material. I require students to submit a draft of their essay prior to the end of the class. Your first draft will be peer-reviewed by two other students (likewise, you will peer-review the papers of two other students). The final draft will be due during exam week.

Class Presentation: Each student will give a presentation on one of the assigned readings. The presentation should take approximately 30 minutes and can include visuals and discussion questions for the class, or not. Your job here is not to summarize the reading, but to present a mini critical paper to the class. A fellow student will then comment on your paper/presentation. You will need to prepare a short paper (approximately 1000 words) for your presentation, which will be distributed to the class on the Wednesday before your presentation. You can choose to read you paper if you wish, or not. You might also wish to include a handout for the class. The paper should be sent via e-mail to me by Wednesday morning in either a MS Word or Rich Text format. I will then send it on to the class Wednesday afternoon. The presentation and short paper are worth 25% of your final grade.

Commentary: Each student will also be responsible for commenting in class on a fellow student’s presentation/short paper. The comments should be thoughtful and considerate. You can choose to argue against a point that the presenter makes, point out some oversight you think she missed, or offer a supporting argument if you generally agree with the presenter. The commentary is worth 10% of your final grade.

Participation and Peer Reviews: 15% of your final grade will be awarded for general class participation and peer reviews. Each student will have the opportunity to read and comment on two of your classmates’ first drafts. I will be looking for thoughtful and helpful comments regarding direction, clarity and substance.