course requirements
Attendance
This class is scheduled to meet from the 14th of January thru the 7th of May 2014. In fact, since we have roughly 31 assigned class days, enrolled CES 151 students must devote to around 60 hours of in-class time attendance; assigned readings and writing assignments will account for an additional amount of your time, work and commitment towards completing the course successfully. Students are allowed two unexcused absences. Any unexcused absence afterwards will automatically subtract ten points from your final grade. If you know in advance that you will have to miss class for a legitimate reason, contact me beforehand to see whether arrangements can be made to make up any work that will be missed. Similarly, if you have not finished an assignment for a given class period, you should attend class anyway to avoid missing further assignments and falling even more behind.
Participation
Participation will play a key role during classroom lectures, group activities, and online blogging. Students will be required to create their own Weebly account in order to gain access to our course website: www.intro2chicana-chicanostudies151.weebly.com. This should be done no later than the first week of class.[1] Participation will be evaluated based on a students vocal contributions to lecture, as well as an active presence to course weblog.[2] You are required to have at least one post per Unit. So, by the end of the semester, you should have posted at least three individual posts, and contributed to at least two blog posts from peers.
[1] Any student without proper access to weblog after the first week will automatically lose half of all possible participation points. [2] This can be achieved by adding content (contemporary news, social organizations, etc), or by adding insight/thoughts/concerns/disagreements to previous blog posts made by your peers or myself.
Group Reading Facilitations
As part of your participation grade, each student will be required to actively engage with their assigned groups and the rest of the class at various dates in the semester. The Group Reading Facilitations will require each student to come up a set of with at least two questions per reading assignment. While questions such as "Who was Emma Tenayuca?" or "What is Chicana feminism?" are important, your job is to come up with more engaging questions that will invite active discussion from your peers. For example, "Why was Emma Tenayuca targeted against and what does this say about US politics in the 1930s?" or "How does Cherrie Moraga view race and class as inter sectional forms of power?" These kinds of questions provide more thinking, and thus fuller answers.
There will be five dates where student groups will lead the classroom dialogue (see schedule for actual dates) Since each group has five members, this means that each student will be responsible for at least ONE leadership facilitation. So, while every student is required to come up with at least TWO questions per reading assignment, it will ultimately be the responsibility of one group member to do the following:
- organize the students questions in a timely manner, and print in a hard copy group members questions
- provide summary, analysis and background context to the day's reading material
There will be a demonstration of this requirement on Feb. 18. This will count for half of your participation points.
Map quiz
Your first graded assignment will be a map quiz. As we delve into the coming weeks, we will learn about the significance to geography and land for Meso-American peoples. As such, by the start of week three, expect a map quiz that will test basic Latin American knowledge of the following: countries and location; country capitals; and significant distances (miles) that distinguish the US-Mexico border. You can retrieve a sample map worksheet here. Please fill in and study the above mentioned materials. You will receive a similar blank map sheet on Tuesday, Jan. 28th.
Timelines (3)
Throughout the semester, we will be visiting important watersheds that cover large gaps of time. Therefore, at certain moments in the semester, you will complete a timeline.[1] Highlight up to 3, but no more than 5, important historical-cultural watersheds that you believe have significance into the present day. The events you choose must correspond to previous and that week’s readings assignment. For example, since your first timeline is scheduled to be due on the third Thursday of class meetings, you can choose events from all previous reading assignments, including week three. [1] There are three total timelines due at various weeks. Review the course Schedule for due dates.
Exams (2)
There will be two exams, each to take place during corresponding midterm and finals week. These exams will be composed of two parts: an objective element (multiple choice, fill in the blank, true or false) and essay responses (long answer questions). Each exam is worth 50 points.
Rough Draft Paper
This class requires students to turn in a research paper at the end of the semester. As such, a rough draft will be due week 12. Students will need to consult with the instructor beforehand in order to be approved on their chosen topic. Topics may include, or advance, course themes. While the rough draft may seem more like busy-work at first, it will prove to be an important step in creating a well-evidenced, succinct research. This class will designate blocks of in-class time for students to collectively hypothesize, brainstorm, and outline research agendas.
Peer-Review Edits
During week 14, students will collaborate with their peers and conduct one-on-one peer-reviews. This will be an additional opportunity for students to provide/receive constructive feedback towards assigned research papers. Students will work in groups; reading and editing peer papers for claim (thesis) and supporting evidence (sources). Students will be grouped together according to research theme. Peer-review worksheets will be provided day of.
Final Research Paper
Final research papers will demonstrate student’s ability to analytically articulate course content successfully. Basic criteria to be evaluated are: an original claim (thesis), supportive evidence to argument claim, and proper MLA formatting. Final research papers should be 8-10 pages double spaced, and must include a bibliography. This assignment, while rigorous, should primarily be understood as an opportunity to bring our communities from the margins, and into the center. Remember to choose a topic that you are interested, curious, or passionate about. Final paper guidelines and grading rubric will be provided prior to Spring Break.
This class is scheduled to meet from the 14th of January thru the 7th of May 2014. In fact, since we have roughly 31 assigned class days, enrolled CES 151 students must devote to around 60 hours of in-class time attendance; assigned readings and writing assignments will account for an additional amount of your time, work and commitment towards completing the course successfully. Students are allowed two unexcused absences. Any unexcused absence afterwards will automatically subtract ten points from your final grade. If you know in advance that you will have to miss class for a legitimate reason, contact me beforehand to see whether arrangements can be made to make up any work that will be missed. Similarly, if you have not finished an assignment for a given class period, you should attend class anyway to avoid missing further assignments and falling even more behind.
Participation
Participation will play a key role during classroom lectures, group activities, and online blogging. Students will be required to create their own Weebly account in order to gain access to our course website: www.intro2chicana-chicanostudies151.weebly.com. This should be done no later than the first week of class.[1] Participation will be evaluated based on a students vocal contributions to lecture, as well as an active presence to course weblog.[2] You are required to have at least one post per Unit. So, by the end of the semester, you should have posted at least three individual posts, and contributed to at least two blog posts from peers.
[1] Any student without proper access to weblog after the first week will automatically lose half of all possible participation points. [2] This can be achieved by adding content (contemporary news, social organizations, etc), or by adding insight/thoughts/concerns/disagreements to previous blog posts made by your peers or myself.
Group Reading Facilitations
As part of your participation grade, each student will be required to actively engage with their assigned groups and the rest of the class at various dates in the semester. The Group Reading Facilitations will require each student to come up a set of with at least two questions per reading assignment. While questions such as "Who was Emma Tenayuca?" or "What is Chicana feminism?" are important, your job is to come up with more engaging questions that will invite active discussion from your peers. For example, "Why was Emma Tenayuca targeted against and what does this say about US politics in the 1930s?" or "How does Cherrie Moraga view race and class as inter sectional forms of power?" These kinds of questions provide more thinking, and thus fuller answers.
There will be five dates where student groups will lead the classroom dialogue (see schedule for actual dates) Since each group has five members, this means that each student will be responsible for at least ONE leadership facilitation. So, while every student is required to come up with at least TWO questions per reading assignment, it will ultimately be the responsibility of one group member to do the following:
- organize the students questions in a timely manner, and print in a hard copy group members questions
- provide summary, analysis and background context to the day's reading material
There will be a demonstration of this requirement on Feb. 18. This will count for half of your participation points.
Map quiz
Your first graded assignment will be a map quiz. As we delve into the coming weeks, we will learn about the significance to geography and land for Meso-American peoples. As such, by the start of week three, expect a map quiz that will test basic Latin American knowledge of the following: countries and location; country capitals; and significant distances (miles) that distinguish the US-Mexico border. You can retrieve a sample map worksheet here. Please fill in and study the above mentioned materials. You will receive a similar blank map sheet on Tuesday, Jan. 28th.
Timelines (3)
Throughout the semester, we will be visiting important watersheds that cover large gaps of time. Therefore, at certain moments in the semester, you will complete a timeline.[1] Highlight up to 3, but no more than 5, important historical-cultural watersheds that you believe have significance into the present day. The events you choose must correspond to previous and that week’s readings assignment. For example, since your first timeline is scheduled to be due on the third Thursday of class meetings, you can choose events from all previous reading assignments, including week three. [1] There are three total timelines due at various weeks. Review the course Schedule for due dates.
Exams (2)
There will be two exams, each to take place during corresponding midterm and finals week. These exams will be composed of two parts: an objective element (multiple choice, fill in the blank, true or false) and essay responses (long answer questions). Each exam is worth 50 points.
Rough Draft Paper
This class requires students to turn in a research paper at the end of the semester. As such, a rough draft will be due week 12. Students will need to consult with the instructor beforehand in order to be approved on their chosen topic. Topics may include, or advance, course themes. While the rough draft may seem more like busy-work at first, it will prove to be an important step in creating a well-evidenced, succinct research. This class will designate blocks of in-class time for students to collectively hypothesize, brainstorm, and outline research agendas.
Peer-Review Edits
During week 14, students will collaborate with their peers and conduct one-on-one peer-reviews. This will be an additional opportunity for students to provide/receive constructive feedback towards assigned research papers. Students will work in groups; reading and editing peer papers for claim (thesis) and supporting evidence (sources). Students will be grouped together according to research theme. Peer-review worksheets will be provided day of.
Final Research Paper
Final research papers will demonstrate student’s ability to analytically articulate course content successfully. Basic criteria to be evaluated are: an original claim (thesis), supportive evidence to argument claim, and proper MLA formatting. Final research papers should be 8-10 pages double spaced, and must include a bibliography. This assignment, while rigorous, should primarily be understood as an opportunity to bring our communities from the margins, and into the center. Remember to choose a topic that you are interested, curious, or passionate about. Final paper guidelines and grading rubric will be provided prior to Spring Break.