FIRST YEAR SEMINAR
Fall 1999

MWF 12-12:50 pm
Section 88
Room:  AD 248
Sheila E. McGinn, Ph.D.
go to Class Schedule
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COURSE DESCRIPTION:  This course is an invitation to University life and, in particular, the excitement of intellectual inquiry.  It focusses on some perennial questions of human experience, utilizes an interdisciplinary approach to those questions, and promotes active learning among both students and faculty.  This seminar encourages students to question and clarify their values as they develop their oral, written, problem-solving and critical-thinking skills.  Faculty are drawn from all acdemic departments, and several common readings are used in all sections, to encourage students in diverse educational paths to discuss the issues with each other--both inside and outside the classroom.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:  Through the successful completion of this course, a student will be able to:

1. thoughfully engage a text, as opposed to just reading it (asgns. #2, 4-5, 7-9)
2. present clear and thoughtful oral interventions in daily seminar discussion (in-class and on-line FYS Forum)
3. write a thesis-oriented paper and engage the seminar in discussion on it (asgns. #2-3, 5-9)
4. express her/his own value commitments and provide a persuasive rationale for them (asgns. #1-2, 4-10)
5. make fruitful use of standard University research tools, including Grasselli Library, reliable Internet resources, various encyclopediae and indices, and the human resources available at JCU (asgns. #3, 8 &10)

SOCIALIZATION OBJECTIVES:  The FYS is a "bridge" course in that it provides the opportunity for seminar members to reflect on the transition between the high school years and University life, even as they are becoming integrated into this new learning community (students, faculty and staff).  Success in this area will be marked by the following attitudes:

1. learning is a "team sport" which involves students with each other and with faculty (asgns. #2-3, 4-5, 7-9; discussions in class and through on-line FYS Forum)
2. asking good questions is more important than having all the answers (asgns. #2, 4-5, 7-9; discussions in class and through on-line FYS Forum)
3. learning how to think, analyze, evaluate and synthesize is more important than learning what to think (asgns. #1, 3-5, 7-9; discussions in class and through on-line FYS Forum)
4. the qualitative dimension of learning is at least as important as its quantitative dimension (asgns. #1-2, 4-5, 7-9; discussions in class and through on-line FYS Forum)

REQUIRED COURSE MATERIALS:

1. Homer, the Odyssey.  Tr. Robert Fagels.  New York:  Penguin, 1996.
2. Bafá Simulation
3. Rigoberta Menchú, I, Rigoberta Menchú: An Indian Woman in Guatemala.  Ed. Elisabeth Burgos-Debray.  Tr. Ann Wright.  London/New York:  Verso, 1984.  Orig.: Me Llamo Rigoberta Menchú Y Asi Me Nació La Concieca.  Barcelona:  Argos Vergara, 1983.
4. Steve Jones, The Language of Genes: Solving the Mysteries of our Genetic Past, Present and Future. London: HarperCollins, 1993; New York: Doubleday, Anchor Books, 1995.
5. Maxine Hong Kingston, The Woman Warrior:  Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts.  New York: Knopf, 1976; Vintage International, 1989.
6. Anthony Weston, A Rulebook for Arguments, Second Edition.  Indianapolis/Cambridge: Hackett, 1992.
7. Designated internet readings and exercises through the FYS homepage and the FYS #88 schedule page
8. Selected films and videos
9. Course handouts

CLASS FORMAT:  As the title indicates, this is a seminar class. That means there will be brief presentations from both the instructor and students, frequent brief papers, and daily class discussions based on careful reading of the the assigned texts.  This basic format will be augmented by opportunities such as field trips, films and slides.

CONSULTATION: I welcome the opportunity to talk with you about your academic and research interests before or after class, during my office hours, or at other times by appointment. I really do welcome your feedback at any time, especially any suggestions about how to make the seminar a more fruitful experience for you.

STUDENT RESPONSIBILITY:  Students will do assigned readings before each class meeting, actively participate in class discussions and field trips, successfully complete four examinations, and submit written work on time.  The writing assignments will include creative, analytical, and reaction-type papers.  The schedule of readings and topics for the course are found on the Class Schedule page.  It is expected that all assignments be completed in order to receive a passing grade for this course.

ATTENDANCE:  Bad hair day or not, the University expects students to attend every class meeting.  For serious reasons (e.g., illness, death in the family), a student may receive an excused absence if documentation is provided.  Class discussion comprises a substantial component of the course grade, and one must be present to participate in discussion. Hence, students who absent themselves more than six times during the semester will be docked one full letter grade, and then one additional grade level for each subsequent absence.  An absence from class does not constitute an extension for an assignment.  Late assignments (i.e., those submitted after NOON on the due date) will be docked one full letter grade for each day they are late.

FIELD TRIPS:  Field trips are encouraged in conjunction with this class, as especially fruitful would be ones to the Cleveland Museum of Art (which has a great oriental collection) and the Museum of Natural History (which has a fine exhibit on Guatemalan culture). I have not mandated any in the class schedule, but we can arrange these if the seminar would like to do so.

SERVICE LEARNING:  Students are required to spend 2-3 hours a week for ten weeks in direct service to one or more
persons from the ages of 11-19.  The fundamental agenda for this learning activity is to discover what the human journey is like from another person's point of view.  Possible activities are:  helping at a soup kitchen which serves families and conversing with the younger patrons; tutoring a student at one of the area junior or senior high schools; helping prepare and carry out the Prejudice-Reduction Workshop sponsored by the JCU Office of Multicultural Affairs; working with SAFE to establish a University-wide comprehensive recycling project.  Written components for this assignment include weekly journal and final comprehensive paper.  Contact the instructor and the JCU Center for Community Service for further information.

GRADING SCALE:

GRADE DISTRIBUTION:  

APPA [= Attendance (4%), Preparation (4%), Participation (8%), Attentiveness (4%)].  I give credit for class attendance, preparation for the session (e.g., evidence that you have done the reading, turning in the assignments), participation (e.g., talking in discussions, asking questions or making appropriate comments during class presentations), and attentiveness (i.e., looking alert and interested in the class activities).  Students learn better when they are prepared for discussion; they also learn better what  they themselves say aloud.  The overall course grade takes this into account in delegating 20% to the APPA score.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY:  The University expects that students will submit their own original work and properly cite sources for their ideas, including the Bible, web pages, handouts, class notes, and ideas from other students.  I am sure that you intend to do this.  Be careful about how you do your work.  E.g., do not "loan"  papers or other assignments to friends; this counts as academic dishonesty, too, and you face the same penalties as those who take the assignments and submit the ideas as their own.  If you work with other class members to prepare an assignment, be sure to credit other persons' ideas so it will not look like you have copied their notes.  See the JCU Student Handbook (p. 46) for further information.  Any student who violates academic integrity will earn an "F" for the course.

The CLASS SCHEDULE includes due dates for reading and writing assignments as well as examinations.

If you have any questions about any of the items on this Syllabus, feel free to ask.  If you are not clear about assignments, ask ASAP to prevent getting behind in the course work.

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