Participation
In order for this class to be productive you will need to come to class each and every day prepared to discuss the material. This requires more than simply doing the reading (WHICH IS ESSENTIAL), but arriving at class with a readiness to discuss the issues for that day. Despite the size of this class, it is my hope that we can have engaging and productive conversations. While I will lecture, it is expected that the class be interactive. In an effort to facilitate dialogue and to encourage collective interaction, I am requiring that you purchase a clicker for this class. Your attendance and clicker is the primary basis of your participation grade –academic misconduct as it relates to clicker and/or attendance sheet will result in a 10% reduction (or an entire letter grade) from overall grade.
Beyond attendance, your contributions/participation via clicker (about 80% of score), your participation score will also be derived from in-class participation and participating in online discussions, which consists of commenting on the course blog – on “Participation posts.”
Additionally, participation extends beyond clickers, attendance, and talking in-class and within online space but rather all the things you can do to enhance the course.
Recognizing that silence is not always a result of a lack of interest or preparation, I envision participation along many lines. Participating in class not only consists of talking, but also includes listening (please do not talk while others are speaking), interacting with your peers, and contributing to our classroom energy (body language, being engaged – no newspapers, no playing “rock, paper scissors,” or cell phones). Your participation score will consist of clicker points, attendance, and in-class/online participation.
There are four additional ways to enhance your participation grade and contribution to class:
- You can e-mail me comments or questions prior to class,
- You can hand me a note at the beginning of class that asks specific questions (or relays comments) about readings, a previous lecture or film – I will do my best to incorporate into that day’s class
- Coming to office hours
- You can also enhance participation grade by reading the daily newspapers in print or online and bringing the class’s attention to relevant articles/developments
- Lunching with DJL; come to discussion sessions
As noted above, participation score will be derived from participation in class/online, attendance, and clicker points.
Participation Portion of grades based on following:
145-160 Points: Attends class (less than 2 absences); active participant in class in all regards; enhances and invigorates the class; active and successful with student response device; active in online community
128-144.99 Points: Attends class regularly (less than 2 absences); uses i-clicker with great frequency; participates and contributes on occasion either in class or online
110-127.99 Points: 3-5 absences; low clicker score; contributes in-class and online with rarity
85-109.99 Points: 3-5 absences; low clicker score; doesn’t participate in class and online
50-84.99 Points: Rarely contributes, more than 5 absences and low clicker score; shows limited effort and interest in class
25-49.99 Points: Does not contribute, and is often absent; brings little energy and generally demonstrates little interest or effort within class
0-24.99 Points: Rarely in class and when in class detracts from overall success of class because of disinterest, use of cell phone in class, sleeping during class, disengagement, negative attitude rudeness, non or disruptive/destructive participation, etc.
Ethnic Studies 101 
Ripley Rand, U.S. attorney for the Middle District of North Carolina’s quote, “We don’t have any evidence that this was part of an organized effort against Muslims. This appears, at this point, to have been an isolated incident,” proves that colorblindness is involved in this racially motivated crime. The white man who committed this crime associated these peoples’ race with feeling extra threatened, known as “Islamphobia,” which is why he felt the need to defend himself by shooting them, although there was really no threat. This feeling of being threatened was simply created by Islamic stereotypes that ignorantly links them to violence and hatred against white people. However the system will protect this man from being fully indicted as deserved, simply because it is a system that exclusively serves and privileges the white man, like Craig Hicks. Although Hicks is in fact a terrorist because of his expressed hatred and hate crimes motivated by racial prejudices, society is hesitant to label him a terrorist because he is white, and a white man does not fit the classic and stereotypical idea of what a terrorist looks like. The connection between minorities and crime is linked to their dispositional attributes, but white people and crime is attributed to social influences, in order to preserve white peoples’ security and privileges of being white. Those who fight back against “terrorism,” are in fact terrorists. This Rolling Stone cover is also highly disturbing because it sexualizes this man who murdered a large group of people, and highlights and exotifies his horrific actions, simply because a light skinned man who is capable of this crime, must be because of situational attributes, an Eastern practice, rather than attributing his actions to dispositional attributions, in which Westerns commonly do. This would make this man “tainted” and deviant from the white skinned peoples’ ideal purity, which is why they blame their failures on external factors, and successes on internal factors, in order to preserve the idea that the white man is dominant and the societal and biological norm of all mankind and this cover simply adheres to this stereotype. That is why the caption of the photo links Dzhokhar Tsarnaev “popularity to “failed by his family” and “became a monster” as if the family is the reason of why he became the Boston bomber. This reminds me of the Lebron James and Giselle Bundchen covers that was compared to King Kong that depicts black racial stereotypes as “ape like” and aggressive, while Giselle appears as the weak, damsel in distress.
LikeLike
I was exploring the blog and I noticed that in some article it says participation or double participation. What does it mean? Do you get participation point for reading those articles? Thank you.
LikeLike
I will make sure to clarify on Thursday but YES … one way to add to your participation score is to read and comment on these article
LikeLike
I think having the extras ways of earning participation points is awesome especially for those who don’t speak up in high class settings (including myself). It makes it easy for those people to still be able to talk about their opinions, but avoid the huge classroom of people
LikeLike