Imagining the Body

Week Ten: What happens to identity when our bodies deviate from the norm? (part three)

READ before Monday seminar:

Feinberg, Leslie.  2003.  "Transgender Warriors: Making History."  Pgs. 272-279 in Heasley, Robert and Betsy Crane (eds.) Sexual Lives.  (required; available on website.  Bring printed copy to seminar)

Wright, Kai.  2003.  "To be Poor and Transgender."  Pgs. 339-344 in Heasley, Robert and Betsy Crane (eds.) Sexual Lives. (required; available on website.  Bring printed copy to seminar)

LISTEN to the following NPR stories BEFORE Monday seminar:

"Two Families Grapple with Sons' Gender Preferences," by Alix Spiegel, at

            www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90247842

"Parents Consider Treatment to Delay Son's Puberty," by Alix Spiegel, at

            www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90273278

Evaluation Week: December 15-19 

Do not make plans to leave campus before December 19th, which is the end of the quarter. Evaluation conferences will be scheduled with your seminar faculty member.

SEMINAR GUIDELINES

Seminar is at the heart of your Evergreen education and can be very rewarding when all students complete the readings, participate collaboratively in intellectual sharing, and challenge and learn different perspectives. 

The quality of seminar decreases when some students do not complete the readings and discuss them on the basis of incomplete knowledge or when some students monopolize the seminar.  If you did not finish the readings, don't talk in seminar. 

Please be mindful of balancing speaking and listening by being aware of how often you speak and how long you speak (minutes per class).  When everyone is mindful, there will be enough time for all learning community members who completed the book to share their feedback or ideas.

Seminar Preparation and Participation

• 1. As you read, identify the author's main points and what evidence, arguments, or reasons the author uses to support these main points.
• 2. Read actively. Try to anticipate the author's arguments. Remind yourself of the bigger picture - e.g. what chapter or subsection are you reading, and what is the general topic of the week? Try to write a sentence or two summarizing the author's writing every few pages.
• 3. Find connections between the program's lectures, workshops, other readings, and the seminar readings. This ability to integrate material is a hallmark of more advanced thinkers.
• 4. During seminar, speak clearly. If you are a quiet speaker, look at the person farthest away from you and talk to him or her.
• 5. Use specific examples from the text, including page numbers and passages. Wait a few seconds until the rest of us can find the page and passage.
• 6. Always bring at least one meaningful quotation to seminar and be prepared to discuss its significance to you, to the text, to the theme of the week, and to the program's guiding question.
• 7. Ask specific questions or state a particular point from the text to the seminar group (including the page number). Argue the author's point from your perspective and not your general personal opinions. Learn from the diversity of opinions and ideas. Being offended when others disagree with your ideas or opinions prevents you from learning to think from multiple perspectives.
• 8. It is fine to disagree with the opinions of others, but do so in a respectful manner.
• 9. Involve others by asking for their perspective on the topic. This will help avoid monopolizing; letting a few people dominate the discussion leads to an unsuccessful seminar.
• 10. Take responsibility to make yourself intellectually challenged by initiating questions and/or comments to the seminar group. You can only be bored or unchallenged when you become a passive learner who waits for someone else to speak on what you would like to discuss. No one can read your mind.
• 11. Be an active participant and keep the discussions on topic and away from tangents.

Imagining the Body

Fall 2008 and Winter 2009

Program Covenant

The following statements describe the procedures to be employed in the interactions between members of our program community.

I.  COMMITMENTS OF THE FACULTY TO THE STUDENTS AND FACULTY COLLEAGUES

We agree to enter into a learning community with you.  It is our goal to challenge everyone in this program, whatever his or her level of preparation and ability.  We agree to:

• 1. Prepare and present workshops, exercises, assignments, and lectures that supplement and highlight the major ideas of the program themes and readings.
• 2. Prepare for, convene, and assist students in applying the programmatic content to academic and professional situations in seminar discussions and student-faculty conferences.
• 3. Read, comment upon, and return in a timely fashion, students' written work turned in for review.
• 4. Respond to questions and concerns about the material, pace, or organization of the program.
• 5. Attend all program activities, when not ill or absent for professional or agreed-upon activities.
• 6. Attend all team business meetings and faculty seminars when not ill or absent for professional or agreed-upon activities.
• 7. Be available for individual or group student conferences throughout the program; adhere to the principles of the social contract, and provide environments free from sexual harassment and discrimination.
• 8. Notify in writing any student who is having academic trouble and may be in danger of receiving reduced credit by the end of the 5th week of each quarter.
• 9. Conduct evaluation conferences at the end of each quarter with their seminar students to provide an opportunity to discuss the student's academic progress. Encourage students' self-reflection on learning, and complete formal evaluations in a timely fashion.
• 10. Contribute to a socially and intellectually stimulating program environment.
• 11. Be aware of our own needs as scholars and as human beings, reserving the right to reevaluate and adjust the pace of the program should it be deemed necessary in order to achieve personal and program goals.

II. EXPECTATIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF STUDENTS
A. Committing to Program Goals, Focus, and Direction

The program will integrate studies from diverse but complementary disciplines.  Some segments of it might be described as the equivalent of conventional courses, but even those will be integrated into the whole program in a way that continually stresses the integration of information.  A primary purpose of the program is to help students learn to bring together materials from many sources and fields, integrate them with considerable critical thought, and apply them to the real world.  It is expected that students will work hard to develop these skills.

B. Accepting Responsibility for Full Program Participation 

• 1. You are expected to be a responsible and committed member of the learning community. To this end, please commit to the program for both fall and winter quarters and honor the program covenant. Your first priority is your program. Attending school full time is more than a full time job. Do not create opportunities to be angry and resentful by having multiple commitments simultaneously. Cutting class in order to do other things (going to work, doing homework, other social obligations and commitments, etc.) is neglecting your commitment to the program.

• 2. You are expected to commit yourself to intensive academic work and participate in all facets of the program (book and process seminars, lectures, workshops, guest speakers, movement activities, feedback sessions etc.) in order to experience interconnectedness as an individual and as a member of the learning community. When you miss any part of the program, you may feel disjointed and disconnected from the program and the class community. Your absence will interfere not only with your learning but also others'; following your example, others may also be tempted to attend other activities. Your presence or absence matters to the class community. Attendance will be taken and will be included as a part of your evaluation.

• 3. You are expected to complete the assigned readings prior to class. If you don't, you can't fully participate in the discussions and you will find yourself pretending that you've read it or will be worried about someone finding out about the fact that you did not complete the readings. You will be anxious or use defense mechanisms to "save face." These will not lead to learning; they will only enable you to pretend, and pretending creates stress, agitation, and anxiety.

• 4. You are expected to be punctual. To be counted as present, be on time and stay all the way to the end of the day. When you are late in the morning or from the breaks, the entire class community is disturbed. When you leave early, you are not participating in all facets of the program. There are other students who also have an intense schedule, and even if they want to leave early and take care of other things they stay because they have committed to the program. How you balance self and community will be one of the focal points of faculty evaluation.

• 5. You are expected to submit complete assignments and projects by the due date. Written assignments must be typed, use standard font size, use uniform margins (at least one inch), be double spaced, be stapled, have page numbers, and include your name. Faculty will not read papers that do not meet these requirements. Please do not wait until the morning of due dates to complete your work, since it is possible to have printer and /or computer problems on that day. If you are going to be absent due to an emergency on the due date, e-mail your assignment to your faculty on that day. As indicated above, late assignments will not be counted towards your evaluation. Our responsibility as faculty is to allow you to practice skills that lead to professionalism, inner peace, and a sense of accomplishment.

•6.      Food will be allowed during class time only if it is not disruptive to others, and only if you clean up after yourself.  This is to respect students' right to process instructional material without distraction.  For this same reason, computers and cell phones are also not allowed in the classroom.

• 7. You are expected to successfully demonstrate appropriate, college-level writing, thinking, and oral communication skills. This involves the conscientious development of:

a. the writing, reading, and thinking skills to successfully complete this program.

b. the interpersonal communication and collaboration skills to support successful work with student and faculty colleagues.  Do not personalize class members' verbal and nonverbal behaviors.  You are here to learn and challenge your intellectual as well as emotional growth.  Personalization prevents your learning.  When you want to address your concerns to faculty, speak only from your perspective.  Do not include what other program members think and say.  (i.e., "I know lots of students are frustrated....").  The faculty cannot help other students unless they come and raise the issues themselves.  Dragging in others is often a sign of non-assertiveness or wanting to create rumors.  Communicate to the faculty what they can do so that your learning can be facilitated.  If you do not want to talk to your faculty directly, feel free to put suggestions under the faculty members' office doors or in their campus mailboxes. Think about and feel your responsibility for your own "irritation" (issue or problem).

c. the ability to work with and respect people of various ages, genders, ethnic groups, sexual orientations, religious affiliations, learning styles, and physical and mental abilities.

d. the agreement to discuss fully, promptly, and openly any personal or professional disagreements with care and mutual respect.

e. the agreement to uphold academic honesty. As a program participant, you agree that whenever you copy or use ideas, arguments, or data from sources that you did not create, you will cite the source.  You also agree to acknowledge joint authorship of program assignments.  All forms of academic dishonesty, including cheating, fabrication, facilitating academic dishonesty, and plagiarism are violations of the Evergreen Social Contract.

• 8. You are expected to read and act in accordance with the Evergreen Social Contract, the Student Conduct Code, and the Sexual Harassment Policy. Violators will be dismissed from the program. Note that Evergreen is a non-smoking campus except in designated areas.

• 9. You are expected to follow the campus grievance and appeals procedure, outlined in the Student Conduct Code. If you have a grievance, it is your responsibility to first take it up with the individual involved. If that does not resolve the situation, the faculty as a team should be consulted. If still no resolution can be reached, the faculty will suggest students go to the Academic Deans, and finally, to follow the college's formal grievance procedure.

• 10. You are expected to learn to use electronic resources. The program web page will be updated when necessary, and after Week 2 may be the primary source of program "handouts." Students are expected to check the web page regularly, and to read online or to print and read paper copies of all handouts. In addition to the handouts, links to relevant sites will be provided to complement material presented in program meetings. Most material on the web page will be available to students with Internet connections at home, and locations at which campus computers are available will be discussed in class. Students will also be expected to check their e-mail at least weekly, as e-mail may also be used for communicating program plans or changes in plans. On potential days of inclement weather, the college places a message regarding school closures on its telephone system (866-6000) by 5:30 a.m.

C.  Evaluation and Award of Credit

Students receive credit for fulfilling program requirements and meeting college-level performance standards.  At Evergreen, it is possible for a student to attend regularly yet receive reduced credit because of unsatisfactory performance or missing work.  Assessment will be based on faculty, peer, and self-evaluations of program members' written and oral work, participation in seminars and group projects, quizzes, and portfolios.  The quality of your work, the level of your understanding, and the extent of your improvement will all be reflected in your evaluation.  Decisions on reduced credit will be made by the faculty team.

The following establishes a minimum basis for the award of credit:

• a) Attend and participate in all program meetings, including lectures, workshops, movement labs, peer meetings, and seminars. Persistent absence or tardiness will be noted in your evaluation and may result in a loss of credit. In instances of excused absences (pre-notification of faculty for illness, etc.), students need to talk with faculty about the best ways to make up the work and follow through on the resulting plan without faculty prompting and in a timely manner.
• b) Complete all assignments on time. The faculty members will not read or comment on late work. If lateness is a continual problem, it will be noted in your evaluation and you may lose credit.
• c) Demonstrate through your written and oral work that you have completed the assigned readings.
• d) Compile a complete portfolio of program work and submit it on time to your seminar faculty.
• e) Write a self-evaluation and bring it to the evaluation conference. The evaluation must be signed, proofread, and typed on the required forms.
• f) Complete a faculty evaluation. This evaluation may be submitted to the faculty member or the program secretary. The evaluation must be signed, proofread, typed on the required forms, and completed by your evaluation conference. Deadline for revision of your faculty's evaluation of you is within one week after evaluation conferences end.
• g) Schedule and attend an end-of-quarter evaluation conference with your seminar faculty member. Students should not plan on leaving campus before the end of evaluation week.
• h) Demonstrate minimal comprehension of the subject areas covered. This is a judgment based on the faculty responsible for each program element, but the criteria will be discussed by the faculty team.

D. Dismissal from the Program

A student may be asked to leave the program for failure to meet the responsibilities and guidelines set forth in this covenant, for violating the Evergreen Social Contract, or for behavior that is consistently disruptive, antagonistic, or detrimental to the program. Use of drugs or alcohol during any program activity or attending program activities under the influence of drugs or alcohol constitutes grounds for immediate dismissal from the program.

Stacey Davis          Cynthia Kennedy         Toska Olson    Eric Stein

E.  Important Note

By remaining in this program, you agree to abide by the expectations and responsibilities listed in this covenant.

I have read and understood the articles in the 2008-2009 Imagining the Body program covenant and agree to abide by them.

Print name here:                                                            ________

Date:                                                                            ________       

Signed:                                                                          ________

Keep this document for your records. (Submit one copy of this signature page to your seminar faculty on 10/01/08)

E.  Important Note

By remaining in this program, you agree to abide by the expectations and responsibilities listed in this covenant.

I have read and understood the articles in the 2008-2009 Imagining the Body program covenant and agree to abide by them.

Print name here:                                                            ________

Date:                                                                            ________       

Signed:                                                                          ________

Keep this document for your records. (Submit one copy of this signature page to your seminar faculty on 10/01/08)