GSB 611

C.V.A.M.D.G.

LAS 189 Peter Alonzi, Ph.D.	*This I Believe*	Fall 2010 Time: TTh 11:30 a.m. -12:45 p.m. Room: Lewis 300
Prerequisites: None
Prework: For August 31 read The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost URL for syllabus: http://domin.dom.edu/faculty/Lpalonzi/LAS189ThisIBelieve/index.htm
Course Updates: 11/22/10 Revised reading list by changing It’s A Wonderful Life dates 11/4/10 Changed Due Date of Movie Paper #2 to Nov 11. 0/17/10 minor revision to reading list struck out errors on 10/21 & 10/28 info. 10/06/10 Changed Due Date paper #3 to 10/14/Thursday from 10/12 Tues 09/09/10 Added Movie Night Sept 29 Wednesday and Revised CV symposium assignment and revised due dates of movie paper #1 and CV response paper

Contact Information: by phone or email at: 708-524-6483 or Lpalonzi@dom.edu

Click for: [Objectives] [Rules of Respect] [Grading] [Academic Integrity] [Attendance] [Participation] [Ticket for Entry to Class] [Essays] [Movie Responses] [CV Symposium] [TurnitIn] [Common Assignment] [Class Project] [Reading Assignments]

Office Hours:

Day	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday
Time	3:30-5:00 p.m. & by appointment	By appointment	1:45-3:00 p.m. & by appointment
Place	Fine Arts Suite 220, Office C	Fine Arts Suite 220, Office C	Fine Arts Suite 220, Office C

Texts:
1. Cisneros, Sandra. The House on Mango Street. (New York: Vintage Contemporaries, 1991).
            ISBN 9-780679-734772
2. Ellison, Ralph. Invisible Man. 2^nd edition. (New York: Vintage International, 1995)
            ISBN 9-780679-732761 Invisible Man
3. McGreal, Mary Nona. Samuel Mazzuchelli, American Dominican: Journeyman, Preacher, Pastor, Teacher. (Notre Dame, Indiana: Ave Maria Press, 2005)
4. Black Hawk: an Autobiography. Ed. Donald Jackson. (Champaign-Urbana: University of Illinois Press,            1955).   ISBN 978-0-252-7235-4

Objective: Together develop an understanding of the self by exploring the life paths of others as presented in written texts, movies, lectures, and interviews, by exchanging the results of this exploration through discussions, writing assignments, and by articulating at course’s end This I believe.
Click to Return Home

Rules of Respect: Seminarium, the Latin word for nursery is the source of the English word Seminar. Just as a nursery promotes growth, a seminar is intended to promote growth, the growth of ideas. A seminar promotes this growth through discussions, sharing the results of exploration. To provide the environment promoting growth each member of this seminar will observe the following
rules of respect

1. Be on time physically for each class session.
2. Be prepared intellectually by reading before each session its assigned material
3. No stepping on each other
a. let each person finish her/his thought
b. one can take exception to the idea(s) expressed by another but never to the person.

Assessment Opportunities	Points Possible
Attendance & Participation	350
*Essays based on Readings (6 x 40 pts)**	240
*1-Page Movie Responses (3 x 40 pts)**	120
Outside of Class Event (1x 40 pts)	40
Common Assignment*	125
Oral History Interviews :Class Project*	125
Total	1000

Grading: Click to Return Home
Basis of the Grade:
There are a maximum of 1,000 points in this course. Your grade will be assigned based on the points you
earn through seven different assessment opportunities.

Letter Grade	Point Range
A	1000-900
A-/B+	900-890
B	890-800
B-/C+	800-790
C	790-700
C-	700-690
D	690-600
F	Under 600

The grading scale used in this seminar is:

* Writing assignments are due in hard copy at the start of class on the dates indicated in the reading assignments and before the start of class for the electronic TurnitIn copy. A Late assignment earns reduced points. If you think you are in an emergency or dire circumstances get the assignment to Professor Alonzi via email, snail mail, or have a student friend bring it to class. And contact Professor Alonzi immediately by email.

Without notifying Professor Alonzi of your circumstances and without his agreement that either an emergency or sufficiently dire circumstance has occurred, a written assignment handed in late will receive a reduced number of points. Specifically 30% of the points possible for a perfect score on the assignment will be subtracted from the student’s score for each day the assignment is late. NOTE: part of a day late counts as a full day late.

Specifically a writing assignment were worth 40 points maximum would earn no more than 28 points (a grade of the lowest C) if one day late. It would earn no more than 16 points (a grade of F) if two days late. It would earn no more than 4 points (a grade of a low F) if three days late. It would earn 0 points if four or more days late.

Academic Integrity Click to Return Home
Each student is expected to adhere to the highest standards of academic integrity. Any student who does not will be penalized severely. In the past the penalty included but was not limited to a score of zero on the task in question. There can be other sanctions Prof. Alonzi deems appropriate including failure of the course. Conduct that fails to adhere to the highest level of academic integrity includes but is not limited to dishonesty, cheating, plagiarism, and forgery. See pages 29-30 of the 2010-12 Dominican University Undergraduate Bulletin for the University’s Academic Integrity Policy and definitions of dishonesty, cheating, plagiarism, forgery, misuses of university documents or dishonest acts at: https://jicsweb1.dom.edu/ics/Resources/Student_Services/Registrar's_Office/Undergraduate_Students/Undergraduate_Bulletin.jnz

Attendance Click to Return Home
Students are expected to attend every class. Students absent from a class session will receive no credit for class participation in that session, regardless of the reason for their absence. Students who are present and hand in her/his three questions but fail to contribute to the discussion will receive based on the reading assignment for that class session a D/F borderline grade for class participation in that session. Students will receive an evaluation of their participation on a weekly basis. The next section on participation completes this attendance policy.

Participation: (14 x 25 points = 350 points) Click to Return Home
The assessment of your participation Is in part objective and in part subjective. Objectively: if you are absent you cannot participate. Subjectively you know whether you are merely physically present but mentally disengaged or merely reacting when called upon or proactively participating by joining the discussion with comments and questions, or are excelling by making proactive contributions stimulating further discussion. So weekly you will self evaluate. You will give yourself a score for your participatory contribution to the class. I reserve the right to adjust (a category of participation up or down) yourself assessment. The categories for self assessment with their points are provided in the following table.

Degree of Participation	Points per Self Assessment
Excellent participation (Proactive contribution that stimulates further discussion with and enhances the dialogue between class members)	25 points – A
Proactive participation (contribute comments and questions to the discussion/dialogue)	22 points -- B
Passive participation (react when called upon by other participants)	19 points -- C
Merely physically present (B-I-S)	15 points – D/F Borderline
Absent	0 points -- Lowest F

Ticket for Entry to Class: Questions on Reading Assignments Click to Return Home
To get into a class session you need your ticket. Your reading assignment questions are your ticket. For every class session that has a reading assignment, you are to write and hand in (at the beginning of class) three questions based on the reading assignment for that session. The questions are to be typed in 10 point Arial font. Use 8½ “ x 11” paper and 1 inch margins. In the header put your name, the date, the book title & pages of the reading assignment, and LAS 189. Header example:
Loreto Alonzi 9/2/10 House On Mango Street, pp 3-11 LAS 189

Essays: (6 x 40 points = 240 points) Click to Return Home
There will be six essays. Each will be based on the readings and worth 40 points. In total the essays will be worth 240 points or 24% of your course assessment. See the planned assignment chart below for the due dates.

> Each essay’s due date is indicated in the planned assignment chart found below.

> You are to submit a hard copy to Prof. Alonzi in class on the due date and an electronic copy via Turnitin (more on Turnitin found below) before the beginning of class on the due date.

Essays: (6 x 40 points = 240 points) (cont.)

> Each essay will:

1. be 750 words or less (i.e. use no more than the front & back of one piece of 8½ “ x 11” paper), 2. have one inch margins,
3. be double spaced,
4. be in 10 point arial font (this sentence is in 10 point arial font),
5. be printed on one sheet of paper (using front and back)
6. indicate in the header: student’s name, paper title, LAS 189, date, paper number, pages.
* Note the name, title, date required in the header do not count in the word limit.

> A sample essay demonstrates these formatting instructions is found at the end of the syllabus and can be accessed on line at Essay Format Sample.

> An essay format that can be very useful—but you are not required to use it—is a five paragraph format.
       5 paragraph form
            1. Introductory paragraph: aims the essay--by stating the theme (central idea) or posing the
                 question that will be treated in the essay—and sets out the outline for the rest of the paper.

            2, 3, 4. Paragraphs 2-4 either develop the theme in three steps or provide three different
                         perspectives on the central point (or some other trio of ways to communicate to the reader
                         the fruits of your contemplation).

5. Ending paragraph: depending on how the essay was developed the ending paragraph

could either summarize the presentation of the preceding paragraphs or conclude by linking

the strands of thought developed in the preceding paragraphs to a unifying insight(s).

The somewhat “street smart” way of stating this 5 paragraph essay format is:

Tell’em what you are going to tell’em—Introductory paragraph

Tell’em—middle three (body) paragraphs

Tell’em what you told’em—last paragraph.
mWe

Essays will be assessed on three criteria: content, clarity, and conventions.

1. Content

a. Focus: clearly stated focus or theme for the paper.

b. Ideas: thoughtful, insightful, creative, authentic, on topic
c. Evidence: evidence clearly identified and drawn from the course materials

d. Integration: degree of integration of evidence in support of particular claims; effective
connection between ideas/claims, evidence, and conclusions

2. Clarity

a. Structure of paper:

> beginning/introduction, middle, and end/summary or conclusions

> middle progresses in a systematic manner, develops the theme

b. Logical train of thought: effective transitions between paragraphs and/or effective use

of headings

c. Unified, coherent, appropriate emphasis

3. Conventions

a. proper grammar

b. proper spelling

c. effective sentence structure

NOTE: Upon reaching a third violation of conventions, Professor Alonzi will stop reading the assignment and assess the assignment based upon the material preceding the third violation.

1-Page Movie Responses: (3 x 40 points = 120 points total) Click to Return Home
The plan is that we will view three movies. In response to each you will write a one-page paper. Each is worth 40 points for a total of 120 points.   These responses are shorter writing assignments than the essays (maximum 350 words i.e. one side of one sheet of 8½” x 11” paper). They will be evaluated using the same criteria as those for the essays: content, clarity, conventions. Their formatting is the same as for the essays. See the planned assignment chart below for the due dates. On the due date, you are to submit a hard copy to Prof. Alonzi in class as well as an electronic copy via Turnitin (more on Turnitin found below) before the beginning of class.

Outside of Class Lectures/Presentations: (1 x 40 points = 40 points total)
Change to Outside of Class Lecture/Presentation Assignment: Attend the CV Symposium
One page response due 9/30/10
1. Register for the Caritas et Veritas Symposium at http://www.dom.edu/cvsymposium/register.html
2. Attend at least one of the symposium sessions on September 28.
3. Based upon and in response to the session(s) you attend write a one-page paper. It is worth 40 points.   This response is a shorter writing assignments (maximum 350 words i .e. one side of one sheet of 8½” x 11” paper) than the essay/papers. This CV response will be evaluated using the same criteria as used for the essays: content, clarity, conventions. Their formatting is the same as for the essays. The due date for this essay is Thursday September 30, On the due date, you are to submit a hard copy to Prof. Alonzi in class as well as an electronic copy via Turnitin (more on Turnitin found below) before the beginning of class.

For upto 40 points of extra credit you can do the original assignment that is struck out below! Due date for the extra credit is Oct 7.

~~Due~~ ~~October 5~~ ~~at the start of class.~~ Click to Return Home
The former master of the Dominican Order, Timothy Radcliffe, O.P., the former master of the Dominican Order will be closing the Caritas et Veritas Symposium with a presentation on the evening of September 30. Go to his presentation, reflect on it, and then do one of the following:

a. Creative art response: Make an 8½” x 11” collage or make a poster giving your creative response to the event. Since it is creative I want you to provide your response. But if you need some guidance, here is some. Your creative response could present the main idea, theme of the lecture; the insights it gave you; the connections to your beliefs (reinforcing or challenging them), and the questions it raised in you.

b. Writing response: Write a poem, write a story, or write a five paragraph essay on the event. The poem, story, or essay should be no longer than 350 words and will be assessed on the three C's (Content, clarity, & conventions). An essay should follow the 5 paragraph decribed above.

c. ~~Do you have an idea for some other way to present your response? Talk to Prof Alonzi about your idea and to receive the okay to go ahead. Do not assume the okay.~~

TurnitIn.Com Click to Return Home
You are to submit your six essays and your three 1-page movie responses to TurnItIn.com in addition to submitting a hard copy to Prof. Alonzi! Submission deadline date for an assignment is the same for the Turnitin.com submission as for the hardcopy submission with it understood that the assignments are sent to TurnitIn.com before the start of the class session.

To use Turnitin you must first create a user profile using the Class ID Number and Class Enrollment Password that Professor Alonzi will give announce in class.

If you are a first time user of Turnitin.com here is what to do:
1. Log onto www.Turnitin.com
2. Find the New Student start here section and click on create a profile.
              Note: below the create a profile link there is a link to an information video
                       to help you create a student user profile if you need more help.
3. Fill in all the info (Prof Alonzi will give you the Class ID and Class Enrollment Password in class).
              NOTE: the Class Enrollment Password is CASE SENSITIVE!
4. Once enrolled submit a document to the assignment titled I Registered.
              This will confirm you are all set.

If you have used Turnitin before you know what to do once given the ID & Enrollment Password.

The due dates/deadlines for submitting your essays and 1-page movie responses to Turn It In.com are the same due dates/deadlines as set for the hard copies but these electronic submissions are to be made before the class session.
Please those students who are experienced users of TurnitIn help those who are inexperienced learn how to use TurnitIn.

Common Assignment: (125 points) Due Nov. 30 @ start of Class. Click to Return Home
Background: All first year students in their Liberal Arts Seminar (LAS) are required to complete a common-text assignment. What is common across all first year LAS is that the assignment will be a:
1) a thesis-driven essay,
2) engage the common text--which is Invisible Man for first year Liberal Arts Seminars (LAS),
3) address the theme of the particular seminar—which is This I Believe for our LAS189,
4. address the central focus of the freshman seminar—which is the self (What is "the self"? Is "the self" made? . . . inherited? . . . given? . . . discovered? What are some of the key influences on a person's physical, emotional, spiritual, and intellectual development?)
5) will demonstrate integration of ideas by drawing on the common text to support the ideas advanced in the essay.

Common Assignment: (125 points) Due Nov. 30 @ start of Class. (cont.)

Common-Text Assignment: Invisible Man concludes with the question “Who knows but that, on the lower frequencies, I speak for you?” [IM, p 581].

In an essay address the question: In what respects does IM successfully speak for what you believe and in what respects does IM fail to speak for what you believe?

Required Format: 750-1000 word essay (i.e. 3 to 4 pages double spaced), type written, using the same format as required for the shorter essays.

Turn in two hard copies of your essay and email Professor Alonzi an electronic version of your essay.
Professor Alonzi keeps one hard copy and returns the other assessed copy to you.
No Turnitin for this writing assignment.

Note: While your essay must utilize and draw on IM, your essay may also incorporate and draw on any or all of the other books, movies, discussions, and Sinsinawan interviews that are part of our course which helped you understand better what is the self and what you believe.

Due date: November 30, 2010 at the beginning of class.

Oral History Class Project—Interviews of Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters: (125 pts) Due December 7 at the beginning of class. Click to Return Home
Our first year LAS intends to awaken an awareness and develop your understanding of the self at its very core—beliefs. Each student will do this by examining life stories through reading books, viewing movies, discussing, and writing. And each student will interview another person—a Sinsinawa Dominican Sister. The interview is our class project. This project includes on your part: contributing to the development of the questions to ask, then actually asking those questions, and preserving the questions/responses by writing up the interview and making an MP3 audio recording of the interview as well. (The Sinsinawan Sisters have responded enthusiastically to participate as the interviewees.)

In the process of interviewing implicitly you will compare your own story to another’s as you listen, converse, and write up your interview. In this process you get to know your own self better. And you can come to know better the Sinsinawan Sisters whose faith and spirit founded and nurtured this school since 1902 and continue to sustain and guide it in this 21^st century.

The Interview Process: Students will be paired in teams and each team will interview one Sister. How the team chooses to conduct the interview can vary. One approach is for one student to ask the questions, and the other student to be a dedicated set of ears at the interview specializing on taking the notes of the interview. Afterwards both students discuss the what they heard and contribute to the write up of the interview. Another approach is for students to alternate the roles of questioner and “ears” during an interview.

How long should an interview take? Target an hour. But if the conversation is very good and the Sister is willing take the extra time (fifteen or thirty or sixty minutes) and questions spontaneously develop in the course of the conversation, then go for it.

A set of core questions will be developed by our seminar class. These questions will be the ones that give you the basis for each interview. The team is responsible for covering the core questions. But a question might be missed depending on how your conversation goes. And, then again during an interview a new question(s) can emerge as the conversation may take an unexpected turn or a good follow up question pops into your mind that is just begging to be asked. Ask those questions too! Hopefully the interview becomes an authentic conversation in which you utilize the core questions as the base for an effective interview that can range further.

Oral History Class Project—Interviews of Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters: (cont.)

Courtesy requires that Sister have a real opportunity to review a well written, next-to-last draft of the write up. This allows your Sister to check that the interviewing team represented accurately her thoughts & to clarification nuances. Undoubtedly this follow up will require time. So Plan Ahead!

Follow Up—Completing the Interview:

First, for the follow up give the Sister a hard copy of the write up (or if the Sister prefers an email with

a copy of the write up attached) and set a time for a final meeting to go over the Sister’s comments. Whether the follow up takes a lot or a little time just depends on the quality of your initial write up. Then Sister can make comments on the hard copy (or electronic copy) for the student to incorporate.
Second, have a final meeting with the Sister at which you get and discuss her comments to make sure
you understand her comments so your account reflects what the Sister wanted to say.
Third, send a thank you note.

The Write Up of the interviews will be

A. due no later than Thursday December 7 at 11:30 a.m. (beginning of class). The student is to

bring a hard copy to class and to email Prof Alonzi an electronic copy (No Turnitin electronic

submission on this writing assignment!) If Prof Alonzi wants revisions the revised copy is due 12/15.

B. will have three sections:

I] HEADING giving the names of the interviewers indicating who was the lead student and who the

assistant, the name of the interviewee, the date, time, and place of the interview

II] QUESTION/RESPONSE presenting the question and response pairs in the order followed by the

interview

III] REFLECTION BY THE INTERVIEW TEAM open ended

C. Utilize the format provided by Professor Alonzi.

Planned Reading Assignments as of 08/23/10
Revised reading assignments will be posted if the need arises. Check the date in upper left-hand corner for most recent reading assignments Click to Return Home

08/23/10 Planned Assignments
Session/Date	Topic		Minimum Assignment
#1/Aug 31 T	Seminar Organization The Road Less Taken -- Frost – Choice
#2/ Sept 2 Th	House on Mango Street (HMS): Family		HMS: Ch 1-4, pp 3-11
#3/ Sept 7 T	HMS: Neighborhood 1		HMS: Ch 5-17, pp 12-48
#4/ Sept 9 Th	HMS: Esperanza		HMS: Ch 18-24, pp 43-64
#5/ Sept 14 T	HMS: Neighborhood 2		HMS: Ch 25-33, pp 65-85 Paper #1 Due
#6/ Sept 16 Th	HMS: Sally & Esperanza: Two Paths Diverge		HMS: Ch 34-44, pp. 86-110
#7 Sept 21 T	Campus Field Trip start at classroom 11:45 pmro1o		DU Walking Tour – CV – Fr. Samuel Paper #2 Due
~~Movie Night: Bronx Tale~~
#8/ Sept 23 Th	Bronx Tale
#9/ Sept 28 T	Caritas et Veritas Symposium		~~Movie Paper #1 Due~~
**** Sept 29	Movie Night		Bronx Tale
#10/Sept 30 Th	Caritas et Veritas Symposium Timothy Radcliffe, O.P. tonight! !! !!!		CV Symposium Response Paper Due
#11/Oct 5 T	Invisible Man (IM) Prologue & Epilogue		IM: Prologue & Epilogue pp 3-14, 572-81 Movie Paper #1 Due
#12/ Oct 7 Th	IM: From Home to College		IM: Ch 1-6. pp 15-150 (For extra credit Timothy Radcliffe response)
#13/Oct 12 T	Freshman Assembly Fr. Francis X. Clooney, SJ Non-Violence in Practice 11:30 a.m. Lund Audit.		~~Paper #3 Due~~
#14/ Oct 14 Th	IM: To NYC & Liberty		IM: Ch 7-10, pp 151-230 Paper #3 Due
#15/ Oct 19 T	IM: After Liberty—What is it?		IM: Ch 11-13, pp 231-295 ~~Paper #4 Due~~ changed to Oct 26
#16/ Oct 21 Th	IM 14-17: Brotherhood—Round 1		IM: Ch 14-17, pp 296-382 Oral History ~~Revise Interview Question List~~
#17/Oct 26 T	IM: Brotherhood—Round 2		IM: Ch 18-22, pp 383-478 Paper #4 Due
#18/ Oct 28 Th	IM: Epiphany		IM: Ch 23-25 + Epilogue 479-581 ~~#6: List of ChTitles for IM~~
#19/ Nov 2 T	IM: Lessons Oral History #1 Interviewing the Sisters		Paper #5 Due
Movie Night: The Matrix
#20/ Nov 4 Th	Samuel Mazzuchelli (SM) #1: Map Quest Oral History #2: Core Questions	Ch 1-8
#21/ Nov 9 T	SM #2: Sr. Janet Welsh presents Fr. Samuel Mazzuchelli	Ch 9-16 ~~Movie Paper #2 Due~~ moved to Nov 11
#22/ Nov 11 Th	SM #3: ~~Interviewing Fr. Samuel~~ Oral History #3: How to Mechanics Core Questions Revised	Paper #6 Due (3 Questions for Fr. Samuel) Movie Paper #2 Due
#23/ Nov 16 T	SM #4 Interviewing Fr. Samuel Oral History #3b: How to Mechanics Core Questions Revised	~~If Tuesday is a movie night then no class on Thursday Nov 18~~
~~Movie Night: It’s A Wonderful Life~~
#24/ Nov 18 ThSFA	~~It’s A Wonderful Life~~
#25/ Nov 23 T	~~It’s A Wonderful Life~~ Oral History #4 Interview Question List Finalized	~~Movie Paper #3 Due~~
Nov 25 Th	Thanksgiving
#26/Nov 30 T	~~Interviews~~ It’s A Wonderful Life	LAST DAY COMMON ASSIGNMENT ACCEPTED
#27/Dec 2 Th	~~Black Hawk: An Autobiography (BH)~~ It’s A Wonderful Life	~~BH: pp 32-94 in the assigned edition~~
#28/Dec 7 T	BH It’s A Wonderful Life Discussion	~~BH: pp 94-156~~ INTERVIEW WRITEUP DUE
#29/Dec 9 Th	What the Sister Said Course Wrap Up
Dec 14 Tuesday 10:30-12:30	Revised Interviews No Final Exam	Revised Interviews Due Movie Paper #3 as Replacement Credit: Due