Wednesday, December 6, 2017

Leading up to Week 16

Class for December 6 is cancelled. Just prepare for the final class as described below.

Also, I will not hold office hours on December 7 or December 14. These are the only expected changes to my schedule.

On the last night of class, we will have our "final exam" which is actually a discussion/debate similar to those we've been doing all semester. The focus is on the short story by Susan Glaspell, "A Jury of Her Peers." To succeed, you must read, print, and bring this short story to class. The link is given a few posts before this one. Your arguments will not be strong unless you can quote passages from the text in support, so expect a low grade if you have no text to work with. The link is found in the post a few below this one.

There will be several questions debated. For each question, you must prepare to argue both sides. Only once class begins will I tell you which side you will defend. Of course, this is standard practice since any good argument always includes consideration of what the other side will say and how to rebut it.

This assignment is worth 20 points in total. It will proceed in three rounds (three questions). For each question, an extra 10 points go to members of the winning team (if they contribute at all to the discussion). Each student will participate as an arguer in two of the three questions, but will sit out as a "juror" on one question. The jurors are the ones who decide which team wins each round. Teams will be assembled randomly for each question.

Here are the questions once more:

1. From a moral (not a legal viewpoint), did Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters do the right thing by hiding the evidence against Minnie? This question does not ask whether they would face legal repercussions for their actions (of course, they would). Rather, it is a question about morality. Argue whether or not you feel they should be punished for their actions, regardless of what the law actually is.

2. Assume for this question only that it is proven that Minnie did indeed strangle her husband to death. By today's legal standards (and you may want to do some research in preparation as to what those standards are) could Minnie avoid a guilty conviction regardless? By what arguments?

3. At the time this story was written, it was illegal for a woman to serve on a jury. Does this story build a case in favor of allowing women to serve on a jury, or does it build case against it? As part of answering this question, examine what the story seems to be saying about the differences in essential nature between men and women (the ways in which each is "better" or "worse" than the other). You should also do some research into what the phrase "jury of one's peers" means exactly, what is controversial about it, and what is significant about naming the story "A Jury of Her Peers."

Thursday, November 30, 2017

Leading Up To Week 15

See the posts below for crucial information about the last night of class and the reading that you must print and bring to class in preparation for the final debate activity.

Friday, November 24, 2017

Leading Up To Week 14

Remember to print, read, and bring this short story to class on the final night of class, as it will serve as the material for our "final exam" discussion. "A Jury of Her Peers" by Susan Glaspell.

Questions that will be discussed were posted last week. You will need to prepare both sides of these two-sided questions, and in class you will be randomly assigned ONE side to defend on 2 of the 3 questions.

You need to attend the final class and actively participate to get these last 20 points.

Please do not ask me about extra credit or otherwise show a last-minute and desperate interest in altering the trajectory of your semester. If you are concerned about getting some extra points, channel that effort into perfecting your essay and doing well in the discussion on the last day of class. The only extra credit given is for winning the last-day debates and/or Honora Parker presentation

Finally, take note that I cannot give a grade to an essay that was never uploaded to turnitin. I will be on sabbatical beginning on December 14, 2017 and will not return to El Camino College until August 2018. All business related to the course must be concluded by the appropriate deadlines.
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Presentations
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For Tuesday's class, the winner, presenting on Pauline, was the Disenfranchised Ghouls of the Hard Rock Cafe

For Wednesday's class, the winner, presenting on Juliet, was the Combustible Pandas.

If there is something you want brought to my attention regarding members of your group who did not contribute fully to the presentation and that you believe was unfair, send me a detailed email with your concern but no later than November 30.

Thursday, November 16, 2017

Leading up to Week 13

On the last night of class, we will have our "final exam" activity which is worth 20 of the 200 participation points for the semester. There is no way to earn those 20 points other than by participating in this activity on that date.

The activity will be based on reading of  "A Jury of Her Peers" by Susan Glaspell. You must print, mark up, and read this story, and bring it to class on the final night. Of course, you should read it much earlier and prepare your arguments.

The debate will happen in 3 rounds, each round being devoted to one question. You need to prepare responses to both sides of each of these  questions because in class you will be randomly assigned ONE side to defend for each question. Each student participates in two of the three debates and acts as a "judge" for the other debate.

Your arguments will not be strong unless you can quote passages from the text in support, so expect a low grade if you have no marked-up text to work with. 

Here are the questions:

1. From a moral (not a legal viewpoint), did Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters do the right thing by hiding the evidence against Minnie? This question does not ask whether they would face legal repercussions for their actions (of course, they would). Rather, it is a question about morality. Argue whether or not you feel they should be punished for their actions, regardless of what the law actually is.

2. Assume for this question only that it is proven that Minnie did indeed strangle her husband to death. By today's legal standards (and you may want to do some research in preparation as to what those standards are) could Minnie avoid a guilty conviction regardless? By what arguments?

3. At the time this story was written, it was illegal for a woman to serve on a jury. Does this story build a case in favor of allowing women to serve on a jury, or does it build case against it? As part of answering this question, examine what the story seems to be saying about the differences in essential nature between men and women (the ways in which each is "better" or "worse" than the other). You should also do some research into what the phrase "jury of one's peers" means exactly, what is controversial about the idea of forming a jury out of "peers," and what is significant about naming the story "A Jury of Her Peers."

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On another note, class on the night of November 21/22 is optional. I will spend the night looking at complete (only) drafts of Essay 4. If you have a draft you want me to review, bring it and I will look at it one-on-one in the order you arrive. I will not use that time to help you think about an essay that is incomplete or not yet begun. I will only look at complete, typed drafts.
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On yet another note, the last night to drop a class is November 17th. After that, you will not be able to request a grade of "W" from the college. To know your position in the class, simply go to turnitin.com and look at your percentage. 90-100 = A, 80-89 = B, 70-79=C, 60-69 = D. If you are missing Essay 1 or Essay 2 you obviously don't enough points to be passing at this point. As to whether you can make up for it with the last 3 essays, participation, final exam, and presentation, you will have to work the numbers to judge for yourself. There are 580 points left to be earned and you need 700 to pass with a "C."

Thursday, November 9, 2017

Leading Up to Week 12

Remember to bring the class textbook every week. We will be using it regularly,

Thursday, November 2, 2017

Leading Up to Week 11

Remember that Nov 17 is the last day to drop classes and receive a "W" rather than an "F" for non-completion. State law prohibits us from giving a "W" to anyone still in the class past that date.

Essay 2 grades have been posted to turnitin.com. Add up your scores for Essay 1 and Essay 2. Keep in mind that the participation score is currently out of 100 points to represent the first 8 weeks of the semester. At the end of the semester, another 80 points for participation will be included (largely reflecting your work on the Honora Parker presentation), plus 20 for the "final exam" debate activity.

Get your total, then divide it by 420 to get an idea of what percentage of points you currently have. 294 is the minimal passing grade, and 58% of the points are yet to be earned.

Wednesday, October 25, 2017

Leading Up To Week 10

Assignment for Oct 31/Nov 1
For Oct 31/Nov 1, see the post just before this one for the instructions -- you need to post to turnitin.com an example of a flawed statistical study that you will discuss in class. Due to instructor absence last week, this assignment is postponed for now. We will discuss it at the upcoming class.

Groups for Presentation Leading Up to Essay 4
If you have been absent ever since we formed groups, you may no longer be in a group at all. You need to contact me at jjung@elcamino.edu so that you do not end up having to present all on your own.