CMN 396
Capstone Seminar in
Communication
Fall 2010
Dr. Daniel
Makagon
LPC Office: SAC
591 (Please note that this office is only for office hours. My permanent office
is in 14 E Jackson #1828)
Office Hours:
Wednesday 9:15-10:15 PM
Phone: (312)
362-7979
e-mail: dmakagon@depaul.edu
home page: http://condor.depaul.edu/~dmakagon/
This course fulfills your senior year requirement of the Liberal Studies Core. It is taught by the College of Communication for its majors, but you will receive Liberal Studies credit rather than Communication credit. The purpose of this course is to provide a transition between undergraduate education and either the world of work or movement into a professional or graduate program and to link communication skills, knowledge, and competencies with liberal arts and sciences as you contemplate major issues facing our society. Students will be asked to reflect upon these issues, drawing from not only the readings but also an undergraduate education at DePaul, both in liberal arts and the major. Students will select the topics/themes for the second half of the quarter.
This
course is designed to allow students to reflect on the learning derived from
their undergraduate education (liberal studies, major, and minor) in order to
reach theory-based conclusions about self-identity, social relationships,
liberal education, and future directions. Thinking abilities (analysis,
synthesis, critical thinking, and evaluation), discussion abilities, written
competencies, interdisciplinary connections, disciplinary learning, ethical
issues, and theoretical applications also serve as underpinnings to both course
content and pedagogy.
The objectives are as
follows:
1.
Students will identify sources that were meaningful in their educational
formation, and dialogue with others about the impact and significance of these
sources, including multicultural perspectives.
2.
Students will utilize skills in close reading, analysis, critical thinking,
writing, and small group communication in a senior experience that nurtures
cross-disciplinary appreciation, and independent synthesis.
3.
Students will structure and complete a learning activity deemed personally
significant, and thereby, clarify the connection between course studies,
critical and creative thinking, and life applications.
4. Students will demonstrate
presentational competencies through this capstone project.
This
course is a seminar in which we all read selected materials and discuss
them and their relevance to our lives. For discussion to be rich and fruitful,
it is imperative that we read the assignments carefully and contemplate
questions and comments about them. You also should come to class prepared not
only to engage the readings fully but also to make connections among readings
from week to week and to move beyond the readings to your previous coursework,
your lives, experiences, hopes, and dreams. During the first three sessions we
will cover instructor chosen readings and activities to engage the topics. The
fourth and fifth sessions will be used for individual appointments with the
instructor, the outcome of which is an accepted proposal for your senior
project. The sixth session will cover instructor chosen readings and
activities. After session six, we move into the portion of the course that is
student driven. For the next three weeks (sessions 7, 8, and 9), while you
concentrate on finishing your senior project, we will cover theme-driven,
student-selected readings and media events that allow you to share meaningful
materials with one another while we continue the seminar. Students will be
responsible for identifying themes and working in groups to select materials
for those three weeks. Each theme-related group will plan the class for the
night of their topic and lead the activities and discussions.
All course
readings are available on-line. Download and print the files.
http://condor.depaul.edu/~dmakagon/student/
Readings for group
presentations will not be available until we begin group sessions. These
readings will include all of the materials from the three student groups for
sessions 8, 9 and 10.
You are
required to complete the reading assignments before you attend class. This will lead to more fruitful
discussion.
There are four graded
aspects to this course, which are weighted as follows:
Participation 10%
Quizzes 15%
Course Leadership Group
Teaching Session 35%
Senior
Paper (6-8 pages)
40%
Quizzes
We
will take multiple-choice quizzes for each reading. When group presentations
occur, each group will create a quiz on their readings. Groups will provide a
range of multiple-choice questions. I will select the questions from each
group's suggested list.
Course Leadership Teaching Session
Each student will join one of three groups who will
be responsible for a class session in the second half of the quarter. Students
will select the three topics to be covered and join one group during the first
class session. Groups may not divide
up a huge topic and have six or seven different presenters (i.e., have everyone
do their own thing). Rather, the class sessions should be thematic and smooth.
The responsibilities of the group will be to plan the class sessions:
1.
Your group will
select the readings (use the page counts for my assigned readings as a guide)
and any other materials or activities to be used that evening. All materials that need to be scanned for
the class must be delivered to me by October 20th. Originals need to be
single-sided, legible, and clean (not underlined and marked up). (If you are
scanning your own materials, make sure the scans are of clean copies and you
scan in black and white—not grayscale or in color unless it is impossible
to read B/W—at 200 to 300 DPI. Email me the scans so I can put them in
the folder.)
2.
Confirm that
students did the readings by developing a quiz for the class to take (and
provide me with a key for the quiz with which to grade it). Your quiz should
contain multiple-choice questions, and you should provide me with more
questions than will be used. I will select which questions will be on the quiz
the students take and will Xerox the quiz for the class.
3.
Create and lead
the discussions and/or exercises appropriate to the topic. Here the team has
two primary objectives: (1) to stimulate class discussion in such a way that
many students participate, and (2) to direct the discussion in such a way that
students learn how the readings are tied together and linked to the topic at
hand. (NOTE: Do not simply lecture about
the material to the class; you are teaching us rather than presenting a topic.)
4.
Evaluate
yourself and people within your group. My own and your classmates' evaluations
of the group presentation will be added to the grades you generate.
NOTE: Each group has the right to kick out a
non-participating member. Any member kicked out of their group automatically
loses the points for this group project (35% of your total grade). The group
should exercise EVERY means possible for getting the group member to do his/her
part. In the event that the individual still does not participate, the group
should speak with me before kicking out the member.
I am more than happy to work with your groups if you would like my
input.
5.
You will turn in
a written agenda and analysis of the readings. Type a 3-5
page (double-spaced) report. Analysis: Do not simply summarize
the reading materials, but indicate why you chose them (connections to liberal
studies, communication, and the topic) and provide your own critical thinking
and in-depth analysis of the readings. Agenda: Create an agenda for
leading the class discussion. Be specific in describing what you will say to
the class, the questions you will ask, and your procedures for conducting any
activities. (NOTE: Do not just list what
you plan to do; instead, provide a rationale for each step of your group's
session.)
Grades are based on the following percentages: My
evaluation of your presentation (50%), My evaluation of your written agenda
(30%), peer evaluations (10%), class evaluations (10%).
Senior Paper
This course provides the opportunity for you to critically examine your desired career choice through textual research and qualitative fieldwork (e.g., interviews with people in your chosen area and observation). You should submit a brief proposal (2-3 pages) during the third session of the quarter. Your proposal should clearly state what you intend to do, summarize your data sources, and present a general timeline for completion. This should be written in the form of an essay, not written as an outline. I will meet with students during sessions 4 and 5 to discuss proposals.
Your 6-8
page final paper should critically examine your career choice. You should build
a case that argues for what it takes to succeed in your area. Additionally, you
should address how a liberal arts-based communication education is connected to
these goals. Your support material should come from published research, trade
publications, and interviews (either in person, on the phone, or via email).
Cite all sources. I expect at least 3 interview citations and at least 7
reputable published sources. I should be clear that this is a critical
examination of the career itself, not an autobiographical tale. The point is to
understand the connection between a formal education and a way of life.
Although the paper is clearly about your career choice, anyone should be able
to read the paper and gain some sense of how a DePaul education prepares
someone for this career and what it would take to be successful in the area discussed
in the paper.
This project will be graded in two parts: proposal =
5% and final paper = 35%.
Written
Assignment Requirements
All
papers should be typed, double-spaced throughout the entire essay, and use a
consistent style (e.g., MLA, APA, etc.). Use one-inch margins and 12-point
font. I do not accept electronic copies of student work. See the syllabus
addendum (available in the folder that contains pdfs
for this class) for a description of my grading policies and expectations as
well as further details on written assignments.
For assistance with your writing,
contact or visit the Writing Center: Lincoln Park at 802 W. Belden, 150 McGaw Hall, 773-325-4272 and The Loop at 25 E. Jackson,
1620 Lewis Center, 312-362-6726. wcenter@depaul.edu.
Course
Policies
Promptness
is expected as a general rule. If you are consistently late to class your grade
will be negatively affected. Leaving before the class ends or arriving more
than 10 minutes late is an absence.
Attendance and Active Participation are expected and required. You are allowed one unexcused
absence in this class, and two absences total if at least one of those is
excused (e.g., you have documentation about a medical illness/emergency, legal
issue/civic responsibility, or are missing because of an official DePaul
function). If you miss more than two class sessions, or have more than one
unexcused absence, you will receive an "F' in the class (even if the absences
are excused). Missing this many class sessions (more than 20% of the term)
undermines the integrity of the classroom experience. If you miss this much
class because of illness or a family emergency, you should meet with the Dean
of Students to discuss withdrawal options.
All
assignments are due on assigned days and in class. There will be NO MAKE-UPS. Documented illness or
documented emergencies are the only exception to this policy. Changes in work
schedules, personal celebrations (e.g., birthdays), assignments
due in other classes, car problems/EL congestion, etc. are NOT considered to be
legitimate reasons for missing deadlines or class meetings. If you have an
excused absence for a class session when you would turn in a paper or take a
quiz then you can give me the paper on the next date you attend class and/or
make up the quiz during the next class session. (Note: If you will be missing a
class because of a religious holiday, let me know in writing at least two weeks
before the holiday so we can make arrangements to make up missed work.)
Students
with disabilities should provide me with documentation from the Office of
Students with Disabilities.
Cellular Phones: If you have a cellular phone or pager, turn it off or set
it to vibrate, and keep it in your backpack or purse. All cell phones must be
put away during the class session. I will confiscate cellular phones for the
remainder of the class session if you are sending or reading text messages or
using your phone to check email/surf the Internet.
E-mail:
I often send e-mail announcements to the class. You need to (1) make sure your
preferred email address in Campus Connect is the address you check regularly so
messages do not bounce back and (2) make sure my email address will pass
through your spam filter.
Plagiarism
I have
often found that plagiarism becomes tempting if students are feeling pressured.
Remember, when in doubt quote. If you are quoting someone else in your
presentation, you need to clearly identify the information as a quote and the
source. Similarly, when paraphrasing, you should clearly identify your source.
If you are quoting somebody directly in your paper then you need to list the
information within quotation marks and cite a page number. If you are
paraphrasing then you need to cite the person and a page number. Never copy and
paste entire documents into your paper and do not quote others to the point
where your ideas become indistinguishable from your source's ideas. There is no
reason to plagiarize given the resources available to you (e.g., opportunities
to meet with me; coaches in the writing center; my handout on writing for the
class; and DePaul's policy on academic integrity, which can be found at http://studentaffairs.depaul.edu/). If you do plagiarize, you will automatically receive a
grade of "F" in this class. Moreover, the Academic Affairs office will be
contacted.
Grade Scale
93-100 A, 90-92 A-, 88-89 B+, 83-87 B, 80-82 B-, 78-79 C+, 73-77
C, 70-72 C-, 60-69 D, 0-59 F
(I do not assign incompletes)
DATE
READING
ASSIGNMENTS
9/8 Course
Introduction
Selection of course leadership groups
The Value of a Liberal Education
9/15 John
Agresto, "The Public Value of the Liberal Arts"
Mark
Edmundson, "On Lite
Entertainment for Bored College Students"
Earl
Shorris, "In the Hands of the Restless Poor"
The City at Night
9/22
Jeff Ferrell, Empire of Scrounge (excerpts)
Career Opportunities Part I
9/29 Guest
Speaker: Michael Elias
Read:
“Don’t Let Facebook Ruin Your Job Search”
Sherry Roberts and Terry Roach, “Social Networking
Web Sites…”
"What would I Find in Your Refrigerator"
"What to Ask at a Job Interview"
Proposals for Senior Projects Due
10/6 Individual
Project meetings with me (in my office)
All
groups should be meeting and working in preparation for the group-led classes
(and getting your reading packet finalized to be handed in next week)
10/13 Individual
Project meetings with me (in my office)
All
groups should be meeting and working in preparation for the group-led classes
(and getting your reading packet finalized to be handed in next week)
Career Opportunities Part II
10/20 Guest
Speaker: Ed Childs
Read: Katherine Hansen, “Ten Ways to Market Your Liberal Arts
Degree”
Stephanie Clifford, et al., “The New Science of
Hiring”
Randall Hansen and Katherine Hansen, “Your First
Days Working at a New Job”
**
Scans due to me
Group
Leadership Sessions
10/27 Group Presentation
11/3 Group Presentation
11/10 Group
Presentation
Final Papers
11/17
Senior Papers due by 6:00PM (Hard copies with SASE to 14 E Jackson)