Course Requirements

Overview

This is an upper division course and the reading and writing schedule will be rigorous. It is important that everyone stay up to date with the readings and all other expectations.  All readings must be completed before the class for which they are assigned.  Also, all assignments turned in must be typewritten using 12 pt Times New Roman, double-spaced with 1” margins.

Because this is a ‘Critical Thinking’ course, the class structure will consist mainly of roundtable discussions. Unfortunately, in the sessions we will not be able to discuss all dimensions and facets of the themes and readings. So it is up to you to engage both critically and mindfully with these outside of our meetings as well.

To help you engage critically with these themes and readings, you may wish to ask yourselves the following questions:

• What are the main points or themes?
• How (well) do the readings address important facets of the topic?
• What is the author’s central thesis?
• How is this work similar to or different from other course material, your own ideas, or other information you have come across in the past?
• Where are possible weaknesses in the author’s arguments?
• Do you agree with the author’s central assertions, theories, ideas? If so, why? If not, why not?

Considering and/or writing out answers to these questions will only help you as you prepare for the class discussions (especially in the week you co-facilitate) as well as your individual research papers. I encourage you to arrange additional student-led discussion groups outside of class as needed/desired. 

Attendance

Each person enrolled in the course is expected to engage critically with the issues that are discussed.  This requires that everyone be consistently engaged and present in each class through discussion and questions about the class topics and materials. 

Each class session will build upon previous sessions.  Consequently, if you accumulate more than three unexcused absences during the quarter, you will not pass the course.

Class Participation

Participation will consist of engagement in the class discussions as well as contributions through class preparation.  An important requirement will be that all students come to each class session ready to contribute with notes and comments you have assembled based on the readings.  These might consist of elements of the following:

• Clarification questions that you may have about one or more of the readings - these can help to address points in the readings that were confusing or contradictory
• Comments on key points in the readings, a portion of a reading, or theme(s) between readings
• Comments about (dis)agreements that you may have with assertions or themes in the readings
• Reflections on something surprising, new, or counterintuitive that you learned from the readings

Participating in class discussion, and preparing comments helps in a number of ways.  Of note, while challenging and enhancing your engagement with the material, it also provides a series of working notes from which you can draw for your roundtable facilitation and final paper.

Roundtables: Comment Sheets, Discussion Facilitation, Summary

During the Thursday sessions (except for the first week, the week of Oct 6 and group presentation weeks), everyone will take turns co-facilitating roundtable discussions of the week’s readings and themes. I will provide a sign-up sheet in the first sessions in order to pick the week and theme for facilitation. This co-facilitation will have three main elements:

1. preparation of a Comment Sheet before the session
2. Facilitation during the session
3. a Summary after the session

Comment Sheets
Co-facilitators will prepare how they tentatively plan to guide discussions. They must coordinate and draw up notes to distribute, providing a set of potential discussion points. Co-facilitators should target approximately 2 pages of comments/questions and send them to the other course participants over email by 6PM the evening before the session (remember to copy in boykoff@colorado.edu to the email too). These comments will direct us all to what co-facilitators determine to be salient, important, and key themes as well as critiques and questions from the week’s material to discuss during the session. These can be prepared and distributed individually or together.

Summaries
Based on the co-facilitated roundtable discussion, co-facilitators will each submit an approximately 1000 word summary on the content as well as the process of preparation for and activities in the roundtable discussion.  Summaries must include:

• Substantive treatment of what discussions and questions transpired in the session. Were there particular points of contention, or confusion?  Were they resolved?  Why or why not?
• Discussion of how the roundtable session may have or may have not furthered critical understanding of the themes for that week. 
• Reflections on your facilitation role in the session:  What worked in co-facilitating the discussion? What did not? What would you do differently the next time?

Team Project

This team project is designed to build skills in collaboration and critical engagement.  This project is also set up so that everyone can creatively and uniquely apply theoretical and academic tools to ‘real world’ environments. There is no shortage of contentious and important issues in politics, culture and climate change. However, teams (of 3-4) will need to select one of the themes from the list of scheduled online bi-weekly live 1PM Wednesday talks this fall as part of the National Climate Seminars, sponsored by the Bard Center for Environmental Policy. These are scheduled to be approximately 30 minute talks (with Q&A), and will be made available later as podcasts.

Based on these themes, teams will develop a presentation that identifies key actors and connected issues involved, power struggles and oppositions therein. The presentation should identify the problem(s), as they relate to culture, politics and climate change. Groups will then critique and analyze competing viewpoints and struggles over possible courses of action. Planning, coordination and organization are indispensable for success! Team project proposals will be due Oct 1 (worth 10 points) so begin this early. The proposals must be a 400-500 word description of the specific topic the group plans to pursue.

National Climate Seminars Fall 2009 Schedule: ‘The World Decides’

Conference Call Instructions
Online organizers state that “every conference call is free and accessible from any type of phone, from anywhere. If you have a national long-distance plan, are using a cell phone or VOIP service, the conference call will be free. Only domestic long-distance rates may apply as determined by your long-distance provider.”

To dial in, call 1-712-432-3100 and use the conference code 253385

The same number will be used for each session of the seminar; just dial-in on the correct date and time.
Once you dial in, two other attendee phone controls are 4* for self-mute, and 5* to signal a question.

Final Exam/Individual Research Paper

This individual research paper is designed for you to draw critically and creatively from the class readings and discussions.  This paper must be 2500-3000 words (not including references), and should center on your unique analytical perspective on a particular theme, connection(s) or contradiction(s) across themes discussed in this course. At least ten in-text/end-of-text citations must be included in the individual research paper (only three of these may be web-based). 

This assignment aims to deepen your understanding and critical analysis on a specific issue deemed to be of particular interest to you.  Treat this as another opportunity to further pursue areas, themes and issues of interest that you find exciting and worthwhile through your co-facilitation week and/or team project.  I encourage you to be very specific with your paper topic. I welcome case studies, issues and themes that were not covered in class lectures, discussions and readings but intersect with course themes. Please feel free to discuss possible topics with me before you submit your individual research paper proposal (worth 10 points) on November 3.  The proposals must consist of a 300-400 word abstract, a tentative outline, and a bibliography of relevant readings. Final exam/individual papers are due (hard copies!) at the scheduled time of the final exam on Monday, December 14 (730 PM).