Assignments

Given the nature of this intensive course, late assignments will not be accepted.

Evaluations and Assignments
This section gives you a general overview of what you are responsible for completing in this course. It is imperative that you keep a close eye on the Canvas course homepage and read the more thorough descriptions of each of these assignments there.

1. Discussion & Class Participation – 25%

2. Short Writing Assignments – 20%

3. Reflective Paper – 30%

4. Journal – 25%

1. Discussion Contributions & Class Participation
1. Discussion Contributions – You will be responsible for substantially engaging in our online discussions a minimum of nine times throughout the semester. Note the word ‘minimum’ - those who only achieve minimum standards are achieving an average level of performance for this assignment type. There are three ways for you to ‘substantially’ engage in online discussion:
1. New online discussion post - for example, either initiate a new conversation through a new topic, question or position of your choice or answer a question or issue raised by another that you take in a direction different from the intended direction of that post. You can also provide a post answering one of the problem sets we’ve chosen for the following class period.
2. Reply to post - replying to a post involves you demonstrating your engagement with some aspect of a post (you can reply to your own post or the post of another).
3. Instructor questions - post a question for the instructor(s) with "instructor question" as the subject. The instructor(s) will respond, but, if pertinent, others are also encouraged to contribute a response to the question even before the instructor does.
2. Class Participation - although this is generally the most vague part of a student’s evaluation, there are specific ways you are being evaluated on your participation in this class:

Explicitly and consistently demonstrate engagement with our course activities, discussions and lectures (i.e. you are PRESENT in class and during our travel asking questions, contributing explanations and comments, responding to other students and people we meet, and otherwise using the bulk of your time in class and on-site with us attentive to that which is at-hand).

2. Short Writing Assignments – Throughout the duration of the course, we will spontaneously ask you to show your knowledge of course readings for the day, provide me with your understanding and interpretation of the text, give a critical analysis of a central passage or idea, and/or explain your own position(s) in relationship to the authors or other positions brought up in class discussion. These assignments may take the form of one of the following: an in-class writing exercise, a writing exercise while abroad, a short online writing assignment, comments within the online discussion forum or comments on faculty presentations posted on our course website. There will be no make-up short writing assignments, but the assignment with the lowest grade will be dropped from your final grade calculation.

3. Reflective Paper – You are to provide a 6-8 page paper considering your own sense of human rights and social justice as it pertains to our course discussions, readings and lectures as well as your own experience(s) in India. You should demonstrate how your own thinking has developed over the course as a whole.

4. Journal - Throughout the entirety of the course, you are to keep a detailed journal that covers the readings, how you relate those to your experiences during our time of travel, and how you reflect upon these two once we return. You will be required to turn it in periodically throughout the semester, so see Canvas for the specific deadlines for this assignment. The format, style, length and details are not quantitatively standardized, so use the following as guidelines:

1. Note what appear to be key concepts and/or ideas in the readings and explain them as best as you can to yourself
2. Work through any interpretations by thinking through examples, possible alternative perspectives, consistent explanations with other parts of the text, etc.
3. As we travel through India, develop your own thinking with regard to the issues we raise and take note of your own reflections, ideas and experiences you have
4. Brainstorm, reflect, doodle, diagram, rant - whatever it takes to make the readings and our experiences in India something specific and meaningful for you

Grade Scale

A   94-100 A-  90-93 B+ 87-89 B    84-86 B -  80-83 C+  77-79

C    74-76 C -  70-73 D+ 67-69 D    64-66 D-  60-63 F 59 and below

Letter Grade Interpretation

• Superior (A = 90+) - Demonstrate specific mastery with the assignment by articulating one’s ability to work beyond what is given to you and displaying a wide engagement with and understanding of related issues and questions
• Above Average (B = 80-89) - Generally excel at fulfilling the requirements for assignments
• Average (C = 70-79) - Meet the minimum standards for assignment completion
• Below minimum standards (D = 60-69) - Weakness(-es) in work in order to sufficiently fulfill the minimum expectations for assignments
• Failing (F = 0-59) - Fundamental academic obstacles to meeting the minimum standards (i.e. need specific attention and development with writing, reading, listening, following instructions, etc.)