Expectations

Collaborative Learning

The use of Translated texts

Grading:

20% -- Participation / In-class Performance
15% -- Reading Journal
20% -- Paper 1
20% -- Paper 2
25% -- Student's Choice: Final Exam or Paper 3


Instructor: Prof. Barnett




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Participation / In-class Performance: (20%)

 

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.  20% 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. There are no excused are unexcused absences. After your second absence, your final grade will be lowered one grade letter per absence

Paper 1 and Paper 2 (20% each)

Given the creative nature of our texts, the major writing assingments are intended to allow you to explore your own creative abilities. You will be required to write two short stories that emulate the sub-genre for that unit. There is no prior expectation that we are all professional writers; however, the exercise allows you to integrate your Spanish in a challenging way as well as prove that you have grasped the structure and nuances of the unit. More details will be given in class.

Reading Journal (15%)

You will be required to keep a written journal for every class period in which you chronicle your thoughts and reactions to the texts. More than an exercise to judge your formal writing, the Reading Journal is more akin to laboratory notes that help you remember and formulate ideas so our class discussion will be more efficient.

For each text you will provide the following:

(1) Info: Author, title, brief plot summary
(2) Focus: How does this text reveal a unique (or distinct) reality?
(3) Personal reactions (these may be simply a bulleted list, disjointed ideas, queries, etc.)

*The length of your journal entries will vary from text to text and class to class given the complexity of a work and your own subjective reading.

Final Exam or Paper 3 (25%)

For the final exercise you may choose to take a comprehensive exam over the course material or write a third paper. If you choose the latter, you will write a textual analysis on a theme--given by the professor--on our final work: Cien años de soledad.

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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.

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 papers however should represent your own work and will be pledged.  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. You are not allowed to rely on another individual to proof your paper; however, if time permits we will experiment with "peer reviewing".






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 final work, Cien años de soledad
 
• Aura
• Morel's Invention
• One Hundred Years of Solitude: {note: PQ8180.17.A73 C513}
• Rhinoceros
• The Metamorphosis
• Selected articles on open reserve


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