LOL Fall 2013
Assignments

Full attendance and participation in all program activities, as well as completion of all program assignments, are pre-requisites for full credit in LOL. This includes student team meetings outside of class. Answers about unavoidable absences and late assignments can be found in the program covenant.

Classes – Come to all program classes and activities prepared. Have your readings done and bring with you any assignments that are due. Respect yourselves and your colleagues (faculty and fellow students) by attending and participating genuinely in all classroom activities. Be alert and ready to learn – i.e., not too stoned, too hung over, too sick, or too stinky.

Seminars – The learning community divides in half to hold two separate seminars on Thursdays and Fridays, 12-2pm. We reserve Thursday reading seminars for discussion of assigned readings and submission of reading response papers. We reserve Friday integration seminars for coordination of our interdisciplinary studies through activities like discussion, reflection, and future planning about program materials and themes.

Small Groups – In seminars and larger group meetings, we often divide into small groups of five or six students for discussions, learning exercises, etc. We reconvene in our classrooms before the end of each period. All small groups are responsible to submit an attendance signature sheet when we reconvene.

Panel Teams and Team Meetings – We will organize students into teams of three and four. These groups will stay together for the Fall Quarter. Each team will plan and make panel presentations as assigned. Student teams or panels will be responsible to schedule and attend their own meetings outside of class for planning and preparation of panel presentations. Mondays 3-5pm are reserved for this purpose, but teams are free to choose another time if more convenient.

Readings – All readings listed in the syllabus are required. We understand the reading load is heavy. Because we are committed to notions of contemplative education, we would rather you read some portion of each reading quietly and deeply rather than blow through the whole thing at a surface level. This reflects long-term goals for this three-quarter program. With a year to plan for and practice contemplative reading, you will develop over time the motivation and focus to completely engage program readings and ideas.

Reading Response Papers – Your written response to the assigned readings is due every Thursday at 2pm at the end of seminar. In one or two pages, you should make a brief summary and assessment of the week’s assigned readings and make note of any particular ideas or questions you may have or want to discuss in class. This short but serious assignment each week is meant to help you focus your thoughts for discussion in seminar on Thursday afternoons. It should reflect a thoughtful engagement of all program materials and themes. It can be formal or informal, according to your taste. It must be printed in a normally sized font, double-spaced, and turned in on time.

Digital Photography – You are required to produce and post 3 digital photos each week. Photos must be thoughtfully composed and reflective of program themes. Last minute snapshots are easy to spot. We reserve the right to identify them through our own judgment and not count them toward completion of your assignments.

Outlaw Visual Studies Panels – Student teams will present a slideshow and fishbowl panel discussion exploring a chosen theme or genre of outlaw folklore and visual iconography from the historical period currently under discussion. Slideshows will include digital photographs created by panel members and may include mash-ups with their own photos and/or images collected online. One or two Outlaw Panels will present each week on Mondays, 1:30-3:00pm.

Legal News Notes Panels – Student teams will present a slideshow and fishbowl panel discussion exploring breaking stories and ongoing themes in contemporary news media. Presentations will resonate with, or reflect, the legal and constitutional issues in historical periods currently under discussion. Slideshows will include digital photographs created by panel members and may include mash-ups with their own photos and/or images collected online. Students will present as a coherent group with appropriate conversation and dialog. One or two Legal News Notes Panels will present each week on Thursdays, 3:30-5:00pm.

Film Notes and Summary Paragraphs – Films are another form of a text that you will be studying in this program. The primary purpose of this assignment is to help you recall the film content and to draw connections to other program content. When a film is scheduled and projected, you are expected to take hand written notes during the film. Do not worry about the legibility of your notes. However, it is necessary that you be able to read your writing. At the end of the film, you are expected to hand-write a summary of what you have viewed and to make connections with other program content. You should be quiet during this process. You must submit both your hand-written notes and your summary at the end of this process. If you miss a film screening, you are responsible to track down a copy, watch it, and submit your notes and summary at our next class meeting.

FALL TERM PROJECT: Wikipedia Article Proposal – In week five, we will begin a series of short research and writing assignments to develop a topic and plan of research for a Winter Quarter paper to be written in the form of a Wikipedia article. Topics may contribute an article new to Wikipedia, develop an existing stub, or substantially revise and augment an existing article. Viable proposals will be due in Week 9 of Fall Quarter and provide a specific research starting point for Week 1 of Winter.

SELF EVALUATION – Informal self evaluations are required to receive full credit for each quarter you stay in LOL. Formal self evals, and an academic statement, are required when your membership in the program ends. We will have several workshops for evaluation and statement writing throughout each term.

PORTFOLIO – At the end of each term, each of you will turn in a portfolio of your collected notes and assignments for the term to your seminar faculty. Portfolios should include the seminar papers you turned in, plus any notes from panels research, class lectures or activities, research for you Fall Term Project, a formal copy of your Fall Term Project, and a Fall quarter self evaluation. Digital images and any other e-content may be submitted to us on dvd or online.