Prof. Gina's AAS 201: Spring 2011 class schedule

This page gives details of the required components of this course and provides a schedule of weekly class activities including assigned readings and writing assignments and exams. Please note that this is a tentative schedule for the course and to be used for students without access to Moodle. After the third week, the class schedule will no longer be updated here but at the class Moodle site.

Click link on navigation bar above to go back to AAS 201 Homepage. You can download the syllabus here:Syllabus PDF version (updated as of 01-21-11). You can also download the Guides on Readings, Films and Writing Assignments

Click the following Moodle link to log into the course's web discussion board.

Updated as of 01-21-11.

Course Format and Requirements

The course format consists of short lectures, films (9), group activities, in-class writing assignments, homework writing assignments, and class discussions. Students should read the assigned material(s) BEFORE coming to class. I expect students to be prepared and ready to engage in class discussion based on the readings. Homework assignments will be given to help students through the readings and in-class assignments and short exams are to ensure students have done the readings and achieved basic level understanding and application of the materials.

Attendance accounts for 10% of your grade or 40 points. An absence means a deduction of 1 point; tardiness or leaving class early leads to a subtraction of 0.5 point. I take attendance at the beginning of class. If you are late, make sure I mark you down at the end of class; otherwise, my record will show you have an absence. You are given automatic excuses for 2 absences and 2 tardies; after that, I accept no excuses unless it’s life threatening.  You will need to provide proof of emergencies. Given that there are 30 meeting days, the last ten points are easy points that students can earn by making an appointment for an office visit with the professor. The purpose of the meeting is for the professor to get to know the students better and for students to ask questions or address concerns that they may have about the course. It is a chance for students to familiarize themselves with coming into office hours to talk to their professors.

Class participation is required for full course credit and is based on the student’s thoughtful contribution to class discussion. Babbling without having read class materials does not count. Please note that participation correlates with attendance and involvement in class activities (40 points). I will intermittently record students’ participations during class. In addition to class participation, students can also use the class web discussion forum (via Moodle) as a way to further discuss issues raised in class. Thoughtfully asking relevant questions, answering others’ questions, and commenting on others’ responses are ways of earning participation points aside from in-class participation.

There are six writing assignments to help students better understand the reading or film materials. Each writing assignment is worth 20 points for a total of 120 points or 30% of your class grade. No late work is accepted. Correct answers to writing assignments are discussed in class where students are given opportunities to correct their assignments. For the most part, students are given full credit for doing and correcting their assignments. However, the professor also “randomly” selects papers to grade, especially papers that look like there have not been much effort put into the assignment. At times, students are encouraged to work in producing a group paper so that they could learn from one another.

Five short exams are given in the second half of the class. The exams are given intermittently as means to help students think through the readings and be prepared for class discussion. Each exam is worth 20 points for a total of 100 points or 25% of your class grade. The format is short answer, multiple choice, matching, and fill-in. These exams are given usually at the beginning of class using codenames and collected and redistributed to other students for correction in class. There are no make-ups for missing the exams except under emergency conditions (e.g., If you arrive late, you will have less time to complete the exam). These exams are to underscore main points of the readings which should help students on the final exam.

A final exam is scheduled and given on final day to test students’ comprehension, and ability to apply and integrate class materials. The format for the final exam is short answers, multiple choice, and fill-ins. The short exams and writing assignments should help in this preparation of the final exam. The final exam is worth 100 points of 25% of your grade.

Extra Credit

Opportunities for extra credit assignments are also available. Students must consult the instructor before doing extra credit assignments that are not announced by the professor. Students can earn up to 15 points of extra credit. Each extra credit paper (ECP) has a maximum of four points. ECP can be a reaction 1-2 page paper to a reading or film (not shown in class) relating to Asian Americans. Students must summarize the reading or film and discuss what they learned from it and what new questions arose from this assigned reading or film. Students are also encouraged to attend Asian American or Asian-ethnic event(s) and to write a report of what happened and what they learned from the event. Please see page 10 of the syllabus for questions. The due date for an ECP is one week after the event or film screening, usually by Thursday 5 PM. The last class meeting in Week 15 is the last time to hand in ECP. Only 2 ECPs are accepted per week.

Advices to Students on Professional Development

Here is a list of things NOT to do to be a professional student (points will be deducted if you repeat these bad habits):

1. Emailing me to find out what you missed in class. Please befriend your classmates and ask them what you missed. Assignments will usually be posted on the web end of the week.
2. Having your pager/phone/video game on while the professor conducts class.
3. Reading materials (e.g., newspapers/magazines) not relevant to class activities during class.
4. Disrupting class discussion by having your private conversation with other students.
5. Sleeping in class. If you are not feeling well, rest at home. The classroom is not your bedroom.
6. Disrupting class by arriving late or leaving early.
7. Faxing/emailing me your paper. If I don’t have your paper by the due date, you’ll have a zero.
8. Disrespecting others in class, including name-calling, cat-calling, snickering, disrupting.
9. Cheating and plagiarizing.

Things to do to be a professional student:

1. Be organized and allocate study time (~ 8 hrs/wk) for this class as you do for each of your other classes.
2. Attend class regularly and arrive on time.
3. Be respectful of everyone in class and keep an open mind.
4. Contribute positively to class discussion by active listening and thoughtful commenting.
5. Read assigned readings or do assignment before class and arrive prepared to discuss readings or assignment.
6. Hand assignments in on time, typed and stapled.
7. Take notes in class and on assigned readings. Go over them for reinforcement and write down questions on items you still need clarification. Ask these questions in class.
8. Ask questions when you don’t understand. Remember, the best way to learn is to ask questions.
9. If you miss a film, go to the media library on the 2nd Floor of Oviatt Library to watch it.
10. Visit the professor during office hour for extra help, if need be, or just to familiarize yourself to speaking to your professor and to keep in touch in case you ever need a recommendation letter.

Additional Advice from Your Professor

Let’s humanize our experience! I highly encourage you to see me during office hour or by appointment at least once (you  need to do it anyway for 10 points) so that I will have a chance to know you and that you can ask me questions about class, majoring/minoring, graduate school, and career options. If you have any struggles (e.g., financial difficulties, family obligations, learning disability), please let me know ahead so we can work around them. However, scheduling in work or a doctor appointment during class time is not excusable unless it is life threatening. If you are really shy, you can bring along another classmate to make the experience less intimidating.

To get the most out of this class, you should:

• actively engage in the course materials (do the assigned work on time)
• listen mindfully to thoughts, experiences, and emotions shared by others (to understand; not to judge)
• accept that there are usually more than  two ways of viewing the world and that your perspective is shaped by your limited experience in the world
• remain open to new ideas that may conflict with your own for it is in conflict that we can learn and grow

Because the issues discussed in this class can be controversial and can provoke strong emotions, please temper your questions, answers and comments with respect for others' differences in opinions and with patience for others' unskilled expressions so that we can create a safe environment for learning issues of which we might be ignorant or misinformed. The best way to do this is to first see our common humanity with our strengths and weaknesses in a struggle to survive and to be accepted/loved. Once we can see this, we can become more open to differences and can always remember to return to this commonality when we are frustrated, angry, confused, condescending, hurt, etc. As a class, if we can be mindful that what we know and feel are based on our limited experiences in the world, then we can try to be less judgmental and more aware of how our reactions and emotions to differing ideas are based on our own limited interaction in the world. While logic and social scientific evidence can help us through muddy thinking, our strong emotions can steer us in other ways. Hence, be thoughtful, self-reflexive and committed to fostering a safe space in the classroom to discuss difficult issues that will encourage each of us to grow and expand our mind, and in the process, hopefully to also open our heart.    

This class has a webpage where updates are made at the end of the week and students are encouraged to view it to stay on top of things they might have missed when absent. Please also befriend your classmates for help in catching up and to collaborate on some class assignments and to study together.

A Note on the Rules of Scholarly Discourse in the University**

In this course we will be discussing very complex issues of which all of us have strong feelings and, in most cases, unfounded attitudes. It is essential that we approach this endeavor with our minds open to evidence that may conflict with our presuppositions. Moreover, it is vital that we treat each other’s opinions and comments with courtesy even when they diverge and conflict with our own. We must avoid personal attacks and the use of ad hominem arguments to invalidate each other’s positions. Instead, we must develop a culture of civil argumentation, wherein all positions have the right to be defended and argued against in intellectually reasoned ways. It is this standard that everyone must accept in order to stay in this class; a standard that applies to all inquiry in the university, but whose observance is especially important in a course whose subject matter is so emotionally charged.
[**From UCLA Professor Melvin Oliver’s Sociology 156 syllabus, Fall 1991.]

AAS 201 Spring 2011 Schedule