500 Wilcox Street
Joliet, IL 60435
SPRING 2008
CRN 20249 - HONS
180A: Duns Scotus Core II Colloquium
INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Salim M. Diab
Meeting Time: F
12:00-12:50 N217
Office: Room 215, St. Albert Hall
Office Hours: MWF 9:00-10:00 AM
Phone: 740-3855 (Ext. 3855)
Home Phone: 730-8302
e-mail: sdiab@stfrancis.edu
Homepage:
http://www.stfrancis.edu/ns/diab/etherman.htm
Philosophy:
The program is designed to create a learning community
of motivated
students who are challenged to excel academically.
Participants are expected
to develop a deeper appreciation of Franciscanism and
integrate it
into their experience; develop stronger skills for
graduate study or careers,
deepen their awareness of interconnectedness of
knowledge, appreciate
the variety and richness of intellectual expression,
appreciate encounters
with diverse populations and learning styles, sharpen
thinking and
communication skills through intensive writing,
increase their ability
to do significant original research, and develop a
commitment to
academic excellence with the goal of developing wisdom
with humility in
order to serve mankind. [USF Catalog, p-50, 2006-2008]
Course Description:
The Core II Honors Colloquium is a one-credit course
designed to deepen the core experience of Duns Scotus Fellows, leading them
into research, writing and publishing experiences. All eleven sections of Core
II/College Writing II have different reading lists that all revolve around the
great paradigm shift caused by the ideas of Marx, Darwin, and Freud. The
Colloquium will be devoted to investigation and discovery of epistemological
ideas that shape our world. You will be asked to research a source weekly,
sometimes on assigned readings from your regular section of Core II, sometimes
on your own investigative paper. We will be doing authentic
research: the kind generated by meaningful questions that can produce
meaningful results, which is to say genuine discoveries for the
researcher. Documenting such research in this class will mean writing
annotations and revising your work. Part of the researcher’s job, though,
is also to publish - that is, to make the work public. In this class,
that will take the form of being engaged in This I believe National
Public Radio Project. My expectations are such that each of you will submit an
essay, which if selected, will be aired on NPR. For more details please see
attachment and browse the website: http://www.thisibelieve.org/.
A sample College Curriculum can be found at: ThisIBelieveCollegeCurriculum.pdf
Course Objectives:
At the end of this course,
you should be
-- adept at mining the
databases available through the U.S.F. Library;
-- skilled at reading
secondary sources for their main ideas, their underlying assumptions, and their value for you;
-- skilled at recording these
things in writing;
-- more deeply conscious of
what you recognize to be interesting, illuminating, and worth knowing more
about.
Expectations:
- Attendance is required.
- Completion of weekly reading and research on
assigned topics (and in-class reports on the annotations) as assigned;
completion of a portfolio; oral presentation concerning your research;
reviewing and editing This I believe assignments.
- Submission to NPR’s This I believe.
IMPORTANT: All assignments must be submitted electronically
through
http://www.turnitin.com/. You must
log on and sign up for the course using the following ID and password – after
which you will create your own password: Please note that the password is
case-sensitive.
Class ID: 2109671
Password: core08
- Mandatory attendance to two lectures:
Hunger and Poverty (Ash Wed, Feb 6)
Reading/Research List
You will be reading a series
of lectures on Modern European Intellectual History:
http://www.historyguide.org/intellect/intellect.html#table
Sample Reading Assignments:
Lecture 1: Modern European
Intellectual History: An Introduction
Lecture 17: The Origins of the
Industrial Revolution in England
Lecture 19: The French
Revolution and the Socialist Tradition: Early French Communists (1)
Lecture 20: The French
Revolution and the Socialist Tradition: English Democratic Socialists (2)
Lecture 23: The Age of
Ideologies: General Introduction (1)
Lecture 24: The Age of
Ideologies: Reflections on Karl Marx (2)
Recommended
- This I Believe, The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women, Forward by
Studs Sterkel, edited by Jay Allison and Dan Gediman, NPR Publication,
2006.
- Great Feuds in Science, Ten Disputes that Shaped the World, Hal Hellman,
B&N, 1998.
- Seven ideas that Shook the Universe, Nathan Spielberg and Bryon Anderson, John Wiley
and Sons, 1985.
- The Structure of
Scientific Revolutions, Thomas Kuhn, 2nd
edition, 1970.
- Abusing Science, The Case Against Creationism, Philip Kitcher, MIT
Press, 1989.
- The Sacred Beetle and Other Great Essays in
Science, Martin Gardner,
- A Short History of Scientific Ideas to 1900, Charles Singer,
- The Logic of Scientific Discovery, Karl Popper, Harper and Row, 1968.
4.
Grading: You have the option of
taking this course for 1 or 0 credit hours, but you will receive a letter grade
that will appear on the transcript in any case. In order to receive
honors credit for Freshman Core II, you must receive a C or above in the
course, and in order to do that you must, at the minimum, fulfill all of the
requirements listed. Failure to fulfill the requirements will not hurt
your grade in your regular section of Core II, but it will result in your not
getting honors credit for the class. If you take the class for 0 credit
hours, your grade will not count in calculating your GPA.
GRADING
POLICY
(University
of
Excellent (A): The student performs in a consistently active,
accurate, creative, and independent manner. An ability is demonstrated not only
to master the course material, but to synthesize and evaluate what was learned.
Very Good (B): The student is able to master the course content and
often demonstrates creative thought and independence, but does not give
evidence of a consistency in excellence.
Satisfactory (C): The student meets the basic expectations of the
instructor, usually shows little initiative in attacking new problems, and
indicates some progress in personal development.
Passing (D): The student demonstrates an inability to master
fully the basic course requirements, but does give indication of minimal growth
expectations.
Failure (F): The student fails to meet the minimum course
requirements.
The
PLAGIARISM
The following passage will serve as a working
definition of plagiarism for this course:
All academic work, written or otherwise, submitted by
a student to his or her instructor or other academic supervisor, is expected to
be the result of that student's own thought, research, or self‑expression.
In any case in which a student feels unsure about a question of plagiarism
involving his or her work, the student is obliged to consult the instructor on
the matter before submitting it.
When a student submits work purporting to be his or
her own, but which in any way borrows ideas, organization, [or] wording . . .
from another source without appropriate acknowledgement of the fact, the
student is guilty of plagiarism.
Plagiarism includes reproducing someone else's work,
whether it be a published article, chapter of a book, a paper from a friend or
some file, or whatever. Plagiarism also includes the practice of employing or
allowing another person to [write or significantly edit] the work which a
student submits as his or her own, whoever that other person might be. Students
may discuss assignments among themselves or with an instructor or tutor, but
when the actual work is done, it must be done by the student and the student
alone.
When a student's assignment involves research in
outside sources or information, he or she must carefully acknowledge exactly
what, where, and how those sources have been employed. If words of someone else
are used, the student must put quotation marks around the passage in question
and add an appropriate indication of its origin. Making simple changes while
leaving the organization, content, and phraseology intact is plagiaristic.
However, nothing in these rules shall apply to those ideas which are so
generally and freely circulated as to be a part of the public domain.[1][1]
Submitting plagiarized work will result in an F on the
assignment, and may result in an F for the course.
______________________________________________________________________________
[1][1] Based on the Student Code of the
NOTE: All students are responsible for being familiar with the
"Guidelines on Academic Integrity" published in the
Academic
Integrity
Academic integrity requires that all academic work be
wholly the product of an identified individual or individuals. Collaboration is
only acceptable when it is Explicitly acknowledged. Ethical conduct is
the obligation of every member of the University community, and breaches of
academic integrity constitute serious offenses. Since a lack of integrity
hinders the student’s academic development, it cannot be tolerated under any
circumstances. Violations include but are not limited to: cheating,
fabrication, plagiarism, and denying others access to information or material -
See USF Catalog for further clarification and information on grievance
procedures.
Special Needs The University strives to be in compliance with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations. Students with disabilities who require reasonable accommodations to fully participate in course activities or meet course requirements are encouraged to register with the Office of Disability Services to discuss access issues.? Please call 815-740-5060 or visit the Library? L 214 to coordinate accommodations.
Let the Fun Begin…
As a Catholic university rooted in the liberal arts, we are a welcoming community of learners challenged by Franciscan values and charism, engaged in a continuous pursuit of knowledge, faith, wisdom, and justice, and ever mindful of a tradition that emphasizes reverence for creation, compassion, and peacemaking. We strive for academic excellence in all programs, preparing women and men to contribute to the world through service and leadership.