ENGL 314: Assignments

1. Regular Attendance and Participation in Group Conversation

2. Questions and Insights (50% of Grade)

Because this course is primarily a reading and discussion class with a hefty reading list, I want to give you credit for doing the reading carefully and analytically. Each week you will write one question for EACH of the assigned readings that week and one insight either about one of the readings or about the whole set of readings. The purpose of this activity is to insure that everyone comes to class focused on specific questions and ready to discuss the materials in a fruitful way. A second purpose of the activity is to demonstrate to me that you have read all the assigned readings closely and carefully. At the beginning of each class, you will discuss your questions and insights in small groups as a way to focus your thinking for class discussion and zero in on the questions that your group is most interested in discussing. Consult syllabus for due dates and specific readings.

Your questions should be substantive and analytic, not simply superficial matters of fact that a re-reading would answer. They should try to get at the central issues or concerns of each reading. Your insight should be just that: an analytic idea that you have about one or more texts assigned for each week. You might frame your insight as the most important idea that you would like to contribute to the conversation each week. Your questions should make specific references to the text; they should deal with the whole text, and they should demonstrate to me that you have read all the assigned readings and have some ideas about them.

Your Questions and Insights will be typed each week and should not exceed one page each week.

Assessment Criteria:

I will read and grade your Questions and Insights each week. I will assess them according to the following scale:

5: Questions and Insights deal with all the readings; they make specific references to the readings; they ask analytic, substantive questions. On weeks when we are reading only one text, the question reflects a reading of the entire text, beginning, middle, and end. The questions clearly indicate that the student has read and analyzed all the readings and has excellent comprehension of the central issues.

4: Questions and Insights deal with most of the readings; they make specific references to the readings; the questions could be more analytic or substantive. On weeks when we are reading only one text, the question reflects a reading of the entire text, beginning, middle, and end. The questions indicate that the student has read and analyzed most of the readings and has some comprehension of the central issues.

3: Questions and Insights deal with part of the readings; they suggest that the student has read and comprehended some, but not all, of the readings and needs fuller comprehension of the central issues.

2: Questions and Insights seem vague and are not specific enough to the readings. It is difficult to tell from the questions how many of the readings the student has read and comprehended.

0: Missing or late Question and Insight

3. Group Presentation (25% of Grade) Each of you will participate in a panel of four students who will research and prepare a presentation on one of the following: an historical or cultural event or phenomenon related to the history of sexual minorities from ancient Greece to the present; a contemporary issue related to LGBT Studies; an issue from the past related to LGBT Studies; or a person or group of people important to the history of same-sex relationships, the struggle for civil rights for sexual minorities, or the history of art dealing with same-sex relationships . These presentations will deal with "real life" concerns either from the past or today. They will allow you to explore a number of concerns such as same-sex relationships within non-Western cultures, the emergence of gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender subcultures or identities, or contemporary issues confronting LGBT persons as well as various forms of activism to address these concerns. For a list of suggested panel presentation topics and dates for each, click this Group Presentation link.

4. 3-5 Page Final Essay (25% of Grade)