Expectations

Collaborative Learning

The use of Translated texts


Grading:

25% -- Participation / In-class Performance
25% -- Foro electrónico
50% -- Writing Portfolio



Instructor: Prof. Barnett




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Participation / In-class Performance: (25%)

 

Since 396 is a seminar you should not expect formal lectures which focus on my interpretation of the work; rather it is the responsibility of the student to read the texts and to formulate your opinions and ideas before coming to class.  25% of your grade will be determined by how well you arrive at your own conclusions and then, equally important, how well you share those ideas in class.  As such, attendance is mandatory.  Only those who take an active role in class (meaning, those who initiate debate and not just respond or passively join in) will receive a grade of superior.

| Writing Portfolio |  Foro Electrónico | Top of the page |








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Writing Portfolio (50%)

A sizeable part of your grade (50%) will be based on the creation of a portfolio which brings together your ideas on each author.  The portfolio can be considered a compilation of "author profiles".  I encourage creativity but at the very least each profile should contain the following:

• a short biography (1-2 pages)
• a summary--based on our background reading and other secondary sources--of the overall stylistic and thematic characteristics found throughout the author's corpus of works (2-3 pages)
• a commentary or synthesis of the literary work(s) we have read in class as an illustration of these same characteristics. (2-4 pages)
• a primary bibliography of the author's most important works
• a secondary bibliography of works cited (The bibliographies may be combined at the end of the portfolio or after each individual author.)
• note: keep consecutive pagination throughout the portfolio; observe proper documentation such as footnote/endnote, etc.


By following this schemata, you should be able to complete by the end of the term a very useful, cohesive document of some length (45-50 pages) which shows that you can write effectively, can prolong an idea, and have an in-depth understanding of five of the most important writers of Twentieth-century Latin America.


Grading: Your entire portfolio grade will be based on ...

• expression (grammatical accuracy, sophistication of style)
• thoroughness (the quantity and scope of the material)
• quality of comments
 
 

Note: You will turn in drafts for each profile at the end of our study on each author.  By draft, I mean that I expect you to make changes (grammatical and sytlistic) for the final copy. The entire portfolio will be handed in on Tuesday of Week 12.   Since employers and Graduate Schools often want to see writing samples, you should come by my office after the second week of the WinterTerm to pick them up.


Helpful hints and suggestions:

• Although I have established the minimum requirements, I want to encourage you to be creative, especially with the design of the overall presentation of the portfolio.  I'll be glad to talk to each of you about your plans.   I especially want to encourage you to create a Web-based portfolio instead of a word processed paper.  Regardless of the means, there are many innovative techniques you can use to enhance your presentation.

• Identify each part of your paper to ease organization (i.e., use sub-titles such as Su vida, Su obra, then followed by the title of the work we're treating.)

• Once you have a model, you will probably be able to follow the same for all the authors. In fact, you should strive for consistency from one author to the next in order to give cohesiveness to the overall portfolio.

• Much of your success depends on the appropriate use of secondary sources.  Remeber, this is not a "research paper" in the traditional sense, but you'll need to make use of general Literary Histories and Literary Encyclopedias.

• Although there are many ways to approach an encylopedia type writing of this nature, you should consult the following works and those in the same vicinity of the reference shelf to have a better understanding of what is expected.  The following three provide very different types of models for you to emulate.

• Latin American writers / Carlos A. Solé, editor, Maria Isabel Abreu, associate editor

PQ7081.A1 L37 1989
• Encyclopedia of Latin American literature / Verity Smith, editor

Pq 7081 A1 E53 1997
• Hispanic literature criticism / Jelena Krstovic, editor

PQ6039 .H5 1994 v. 1

 | Writing Portfolio |  Foro Electrónico | Top of the page |

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Foro electrónico -- Discussion Forum (25%)

*NOTE*: The Forum requires a user-id and password.

If you are not a member of the class and would like to join in or view the Discussion Forum, use the following User-id and Password:  (Use lower case)

Name:    guest396
Password:  396

Remember the Name / Password since you may be required to enter it during the session.

 

1. Expectations:

SPAN 396 is a student-led discussion and readings course. As such, each student is dependent upon the other to come to class prepared and ready to share one's ideas about the work.  This class is intended only for those who are willing to read the works carefully and analytically, and then offer insightful and provocative statements in class and in our electronic Web Forum.
We will share our ideas in several ways; each one constitutes one part of your grade: (See Grading.)
 
•  In-class (informal: oral statements, conjectures, questions, debates, etc)
•  Discussion Forum (informal: written statements and questions shared via the Web)
•  Portfolios (formal: written, composed thoughts that bring together your own ideas)





 

2. Collaborative Learning:

Students are strongly encouraged to work together on daily assignments and to help one another prepare for daily discussion.   Students may work in groups, share notes, comments, etc. although each individual is still responsible for reading the entire work.
The written portfolios however should represent your own work and will be pledged.  As such, you are not allowed to seek help from another individual (i.e., another cannot proof your paper).   Nevertheless, you are permitted and encouraged to use Spell Check, "El corrector" (software for the proofing of Spanish compositions in the TMC), Micro Tutor, grammars, dictionaries, or other similar grammatical resources.






3. The use of Translated texts

I have placed the English translation on reserve for several of our required texts.  My policy regarding translations is that you in fact may consult these works but only after an attempt has been made to understand the Spanish first. You should use the English version as a means of "confirming" or "clarifying" what you understood initially.  This will be especially useful for our first work, Hombres de maíz, given the difficulty of language.
On Reserve:
 
• Men of Maize
• Of Love and Other Demons
• Love in the Time of Cholera
• The Labyrinth of Solitude


Since our library has many translations available of works by Neruda and Mistral I have not placed them on Reserve.