Global Change - Seminar
(In-Class Discussion)

Spring 2015

Note:

  1. These rules apply for in-class discussions only, not for any online discussions.
  2. Reports are due by 9 am the day of the seminar session. (This is to give me time to extract relevant discussion items from your reports.)
  3. Reports should be submitted electronically, preferably by email, as pdf files.
  4. 20% will be deducted from the final grade of the report for each day that it is delayed beyond the due date.
  5. Class attendance is required for seminar sessions.

Reports:

  • Graduate (504-level) students will be required to hand in a 1-2 page written critique of the assigned papers. The critique should attempt to synthesize the papers under the common theme linking them. The critique is not an opinion piece about the topic of the papers. It should be a thoughtful evaluation of the papers assigned. These are some points that a good critique should provide
    1. the overall theme of the papers
    2. the perspective the authors bring to the theme
    3. the underlying goal of the authors in writing their paper(s)
    4. their approach toward achieving their goal
    5. assumptions of the authors and how they limit their perspective
    6. the degree of success of the authors in achieving their goal
    7. further work that could extend or more thoroughly achieve the authors' goals

  • Undergraduate (404-level) students will be required to hand in
    1. a brief paragraph describing the major questions posed in each of the papers assigned, the methods used to address the questions and the major conclusions
    2. a question to address in the class discussion

    Discussion:

    Your seminar grade depends in part on attending and participating in class discussion. You should come prepaperd to discuss the papers for that day and to offer feedback in your discussion group.

    Graduate (504-level) students and possibly some 404 students will be leading the discussion groups. Those students should be prepared to pose questions I bring up or additional discussion points. Discussion leaders will also report back to the class when we review the discussions toward the end of the class period.

    Plagiarism is unacceptable! Consequently, you must document the source of any piece of information that is not yours. If you choose to copy a phrase directly from a source, you must place it in quotes and cite its source. However, it is recommended that you employ your own words to describe a set of data or to explain a concept. The sources of data and each assertion that is not yours (including interpretations and point of views) must be acknowledged by citing the source within the body of the text. Citations should follow the style of any of the papers you use, but you must be consistent.