About the work in this course:
Let's keep it fluid. Learning is hard work -- unless it's learning how to kiss, and then it's just messy. But like learning to kiss, all learning should be messy, sloppy, tentative and vulnerable. And wherever possible, it should be fun -- which doesn't mean trivial. I take fun seriously. You should read the page first a word about grades and grading which can be found under the to begin tab, so you have a good idea how I will approach the tricky question of "marking".
Let's keep it fluid. Learning is hard work -- unless it's learning how to kiss, and then it's just messy. But like learning to kiss, all learning should be messy, sloppy, tentative and vulnerable. And wherever possible, it should be fun -- which doesn't mean trivial. I take fun seriously. You should read the page first a word about grades and grading which can be found under the to begin tab, so you have a good idea how I will approach the tricky question of "marking".
Anyone wanna dance...
The Work Itself:
The class will be built around a simple formula: Read:Think:Listen:Talk:Act//Repeat As Necessary. There are no exams, no tests, no traps -- just learning and doing -- that is, learning by doing. The work in this class, apart from reading and talking – which are entirely your responsibility – will be collaborative, to be part of the practice of peace this class is exploring. We are going to do this together or we are not actually doing anything at all. I have a structure in mind, a way of mapping the territory, but think of this as a rough sketch of the landscape, not a topographical map. We can play around with this as needed.
There is one rule however: To get credit you must complete the work. No blowing off an assignment because “it’s not worth very much” and expect to get credit for it. That isn’t an option. You need to actually do the work, sometimes maybe more than once so that it is the actual best you can do, right now. That seems fair.
Collaboration: In almost all of the work, feel free to work together. There may be some short homework assignments that you need to do on your own -- I'll let everyone know in that case. And the final debriefing essay described below has to be your own independent work. But everything else can be collaborative if you choose. If you are working together, some of the expectations -- length, number of pictures, that sort of thing -- will need to be longer or higher to reflect the fact it is the work of more than one person. Talk to me about this and we'll work out any additional expectations for collaborative stuff.
1. Homework Assignments: No more than 6 short homework assignments arising out of the readings and conversations we have in class. The substance of these will be things we will develop together in class and will focus on things like the readings and discussion and interests and questions which arise out of these. Weight: 25% of the course “grade”.
2. PhotoVoice Assignment: This project will combine photos and text. There is a page for this assignment linked from the work tab with more details about this. There are a few requirements --- very few actually --- which are meant to be a guide. Like all real learning, you should allow yourself to take charge of what you do with this and how it adds to your own learning. The topical focus can be anything, almost. You can choose one of the following ideas, for example. This current list is tentative, and I might add a few more options between now and January. Weight: 25% of course "grade":
a. Violence, Surveillance and Control in Your World: This will allow you to explore the intersection of
violence, control, and surveillance as processes which constrain acts of peace as an everyday
emancipatory practice.
b. What is Community?: This will allow you to explore the meaning and practices of co-operation and conflict in your community or communities.
You can also come up with Your Own Project Idea for a PhotoVoice presentation which connects with the themes and ideas we are exploring. If you want to do this tell me about it so I can help you refine your questions if I can. But feel free to ignore my advice. Hell, feel free period. You just might like it.
3. Self-directed Project: This can be anything – an essay, a course journal, a long free verse poem, interpretive dance, a music video, anything you choose – connected to the issues and ideas we are going to talk about here. You get to choose what you would like to do. It will have two components:
a. Proposal. Tell me what you want to do and why. I will not "approve" proposals, so much as help
you refine them. What you propose to do does need to be substantial, but don't make it impossible. We may need to negotiate some aspects, for clarification, but the key word is negotiate -- we will arrive at something we both are happy with. Check the page for this assignment, under the work tab, for timing of the proposal and a slightly longer discussion of what it needs to do. We will need a due date, but we will work this out in the first couple of classes.
b. The actual thing, whatever it is.
Weight: 25% of "course grade". [The proposal part is ungraded. After all, how can you grade a
conversation.]
4. Final De-briefing Essay: Here you are going to tell me what you’ve learned, what you have accomplished in the class. You are also going to assign yourself a grade for this portion of the work. I want you to be honest and critical, but not too hard on yourself. We’ll talk about this more in class. One thing to think about: effort is important, but it is never enough. You need to think about, reflect on, critique and then reflect on again the substance of what you have done here, what you have learned. After all, imagine how much effort it would take to memorize John Donne's holy sonnets. What an accomplishment, right? But if that is all you did, there wouldn't be much of substance in that accomplishment at all. You are being asked to honestly evaluate your own accomplishment in this little journey. Honestly. It's not as easy as it at first looks. As I said, we will talk about this more in class. Weight: 25% of course "grade".
Due Dates For Various Things:
1. Homework Assignments: These will be due on dates we agree on in class, spread throughout the term.
2. Photovoice Assignment: This will be due in the final class on Wednesday April 11, at 1.30. This class will take place at The Labyrinth at Brescia College. Check the blog for details on this final class and its location.
3 and 4: Your Self-directed Project and Final De-briefing Essay: Both of these will be due on Friday April 20th, in my office in the anthropology store -- SSC 3425. I will be around my office that day until 12 noon, so you will need to drop these off by noon on April 20th. I am having you hand both of these in together so that the final de-briefing essay can take into account the complete work you have put into the self-directed project when you are assessing what you have accomplished.
Make sure you read first a few words about grades and grading under the to begin tab so you understand how your work will be "marked".
The class will be built around a simple formula: Read:Think:Listen:Talk:Act//Repeat As Necessary. There are no exams, no tests, no traps -- just learning and doing -- that is, learning by doing. The work in this class, apart from reading and talking – which are entirely your responsibility – will be collaborative, to be part of the practice of peace this class is exploring. We are going to do this together or we are not actually doing anything at all. I have a structure in mind, a way of mapping the territory, but think of this as a rough sketch of the landscape, not a topographical map. We can play around with this as needed.
There is one rule however: To get credit you must complete the work. No blowing off an assignment because “it’s not worth very much” and expect to get credit for it. That isn’t an option. You need to actually do the work, sometimes maybe more than once so that it is the actual best you can do, right now. That seems fair.
Collaboration: In almost all of the work, feel free to work together. There may be some short homework assignments that you need to do on your own -- I'll let everyone know in that case. And the final debriefing essay described below has to be your own independent work. But everything else can be collaborative if you choose. If you are working together, some of the expectations -- length, number of pictures, that sort of thing -- will need to be longer or higher to reflect the fact it is the work of more than one person. Talk to me about this and we'll work out any additional expectations for collaborative stuff.
1. Homework Assignments: No more than 6 short homework assignments arising out of the readings and conversations we have in class. The substance of these will be things we will develop together in class and will focus on things like the readings and discussion and interests and questions which arise out of these. Weight: 25% of the course “grade”.
2. PhotoVoice Assignment: This project will combine photos and text. There is a page for this assignment linked from the work tab with more details about this. There are a few requirements --- very few actually --- which are meant to be a guide. Like all real learning, you should allow yourself to take charge of what you do with this and how it adds to your own learning. The topical focus can be anything, almost. You can choose one of the following ideas, for example. This current list is tentative, and I might add a few more options between now and January. Weight: 25% of course "grade":
a. Violence, Surveillance and Control in Your World: This will allow you to explore the intersection of
violence, control, and surveillance as processes which constrain acts of peace as an everyday
emancipatory practice.
b. What is Community?: This will allow you to explore the meaning and practices of co-operation and conflict in your community or communities.
You can also come up with Your Own Project Idea for a PhotoVoice presentation which connects with the themes and ideas we are exploring. If you want to do this tell me about it so I can help you refine your questions if I can. But feel free to ignore my advice. Hell, feel free period. You just might like it.
3. Self-directed Project: This can be anything – an essay, a course journal, a long free verse poem, interpretive dance, a music video, anything you choose – connected to the issues and ideas we are going to talk about here. You get to choose what you would like to do. It will have two components:
a. Proposal. Tell me what you want to do and why. I will not "approve" proposals, so much as help
you refine them. What you propose to do does need to be substantial, but don't make it impossible. We may need to negotiate some aspects, for clarification, but the key word is negotiate -- we will arrive at something we both are happy with. Check the page for this assignment, under the work tab, for timing of the proposal and a slightly longer discussion of what it needs to do. We will need a due date, but we will work this out in the first couple of classes.
b. The actual thing, whatever it is.
Weight: 25% of "course grade". [The proposal part is ungraded. After all, how can you grade a
conversation.]
4. Final De-briefing Essay: Here you are going to tell me what you’ve learned, what you have accomplished in the class. You are also going to assign yourself a grade for this portion of the work. I want you to be honest and critical, but not too hard on yourself. We’ll talk about this more in class. One thing to think about: effort is important, but it is never enough. You need to think about, reflect on, critique and then reflect on again the substance of what you have done here, what you have learned. After all, imagine how much effort it would take to memorize John Donne's holy sonnets. What an accomplishment, right? But if that is all you did, there wouldn't be much of substance in that accomplishment at all. You are being asked to honestly evaluate your own accomplishment in this little journey. Honestly. It's not as easy as it at first looks. As I said, we will talk about this more in class. Weight: 25% of course "grade".
Due Dates For Various Things:
1. Homework Assignments: These will be due on dates we agree on in class, spread throughout the term.
2. Photovoice Assignment: This will be due in the final class on Wednesday April 11, at 1.30. This class will take place at The Labyrinth at Brescia College. Check the blog for details on this final class and its location.
3 and 4: Your Self-directed Project and Final De-briefing Essay: Both of these will be due on Friday April 20th, in my office in the anthropology store -- SSC 3425. I will be around my office that day until 12 noon, so you will need to drop these off by noon on April 20th. I am having you hand both of these in together so that the final de-briefing essay can take into account the complete work you have put into the self-directed project when you are assessing what you have accomplished.
Make sure you read first a few words about grades and grading under the to begin tab so you understand how your work will be "marked".
Extensions and Lates and Things Like That:
How can I put this? I don't assign late penalties. Here's why: I don't accept late assignments unless there is a good reason for missing a due date. After all, if there is a good reason for missing a date, how fair is it to penalize you? But what, you ask, is a good reason? How the hell should I know? I don't live your life, I don't know what shit got in the way of you doing the best work you can. You need to tell me, and we need to work out together what to do about it. In other words, talk to me. There is a cudgel in this though: if you just hand in something late without at least discussing it with me, I'll just give it back to you with a candy or a hug -- Poor baby, have a treat -- but I won't read it. Work with me here, folks. I will respect your needs if you respect mine. I too have a life.
An Important Note About Accessibility: I take this very seriously. If you need this or any other course information in a different format, or need any other assistance to make this class accessible to you -- anything, whatever your needs -- please contact dr.d. as soon as possible so he can help. Where appropriate, get to know the people in Services for Students With Disabilities - Room 4100 in the Western Student Services Building [ph: 661-3031], as they can provide you with additional assistance specific to your personal needs.
How can I put this? I don't assign late penalties. Here's why: I don't accept late assignments unless there is a good reason for missing a due date. After all, if there is a good reason for missing a date, how fair is it to penalize you? But what, you ask, is a good reason? How the hell should I know? I don't live your life, I don't know what shit got in the way of you doing the best work you can. You need to tell me, and we need to work out together what to do about it. In other words, talk to me. There is a cudgel in this though: if you just hand in something late without at least discussing it with me, I'll just give it back to you with a candy or a hug -- Poor baby, have a treat -- but I won't read it. Work with me here, folks. I will respect your needs if you respect mine. I too have a life.
An Important Note About Accessibility: I take this very seriously. If you need this or any other course information in a different format, or need any other assistance to make this class accessible to you -- anything, whatever your needs -- please contact dr.d. as soon as possible so he can help. Where appropriate, get to know the people in Services for Students With Disabilities - Room 4100 in the Western Student Services Building [ph: 661-3031], as they can provide you with additional assistance specific to your personal needs.
