Honors Thesis Colloquium 2009-10

Download spring syllabus [PDF]
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Yearlong Honors Thesis Colloquium
Professor Lee Quinby
Macaulay Honors College at CUNY
Spring 2010

Class: W, 4:10-6:40 PM
Office Hours: W, 3-4 PM
Office: 3rd Floor, Macaulay

Telephone: 212-729-2936
Email: leequinby@aol.com

Instructional Tech Fellow: Lindsey Freer, lindsey.freer@gmail.com
Office Hours: W 2-4, Th 12-2, and by appointment
Office: 1st Floor Reading Room, Macaulay

Spring semester SCP 85 provides the opportunity for your in-depth research to culminate in an Honors Thesis on your chosen topic. Over the course of this second semester, you will continue to meet in independent study with your faculty advisor in your research field.  As a class, we will meet at designated times in order to get updated on your research and writing, to brainstorm about revision and reorganization, and to evaluate each other’s Oral Report.  I will also meet with you individually to discuss your progress and give specific feedback on your thesis.

Class members will give their Oral Reports as scheduled and, at the end of the spring term, will present their findings in formal presentation in a conference format. Students should invite their advisors to attend their Oral Report and the Macaulay Conference and/or the Brooklyn Conference.

Required Textbooks
We will continue using the third edition of Wayne C. Booth, Gregory G. Colomb, and Joseph M. Williams, The Craft of Research (University of Chicago Press, 2003).

Your citations should be in accordance with the conventions of your field of research. You may purchase a style manual or use a CUNY Library Internet Reference Guide. Be sure you use the most recent Guide, since internet citations have been updated.

Course Requirements
Attendance is required for all class meetings.  In the event of an illness or unavoidable reason for missing class, please notify me in advance if possible or provide an official excuse to avoid a grade penalty.  Lateness is disruptive to the flow of discussion and will be considered an absence.

Class participation is vital to the discussion format of this course.  Your ideas and respectful critiques provide valuable support for your colleagues. Your class participation will be judged on the basis of the quality of the ideas expressed and the force of your arguments, your respect for other class members’ and my points of view (as shown in the way you respond to others’ ideas), and your attentiveness to the discussions.  Participation also includes peer evaluation (oral and written).

Writing Assignments: over the course of the semester, you will submit the following to me and to your advisor by the dates stipulated on the class schedule:

• 5 working pages at start of semester
• Relevant charts, graphs, or PowerPoint images
• Working Introduction
• 5 working pages for stylistic revision
• Working Conclusion
• Full Draft, including all citations used thus far
• Oral Report Outline and Notes
• Self-Evaluation of Honors Project and Work
• Completed Thesis

Conference: this is the culminating event of our year-long course. Participation is required to complete the class.

Course Evaluation
Second semester grades are based on your class participation, Oral Report, Draft, Conference presentation, Self-Evaluation, and completed Thesis.

For both semesters, I will determine your final grade in consultation with your advisor.  This includes your advisor’s written report on your Draft and your final Thesis.

Course Objectives

Knowledge Bases

Students should:

• develop ability to evaluate texts that provide material for their research projects
• develop understanding of a variety of types of discourse and print and visual media in their interdisciplinary contexts (e.g., cultural, social, historical, scientific, psychological, and political)
• develop an understanding of rhetorical strategies
• develop the ability to discern ideological inclinations of texts
• develop ability to understand and apply theoretical formulations to their issues

Academic Skills

Students should:

• be able to reason, think critically, evaluate, use evidence, and make judgments
• be able to write clearly and imaginatively in a form appropriate to their field of interest
• use appropriate conventions of language, including correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation
• be able to revise and reorganize for clarity
• be able to use the library to find appropriate print and electronic sources
• develop a sense of fairness, objectivity, and accuracy in reporting
• understand the ethics of research and writing, including the proper citation, and integration, of source materials into their work and the meaning and consequences of plagiarism
• develop listening skills
• develop ability to speak effectively

Social and Personal Skills

Students should:

• learn to be self-reflecting
• develop ability to work independently and collectively
• learn how to brainstorm about ideas
• develop respect for both intellectual and cultural diversity

Spring 2010 Schedule
Click here for the weekly class schedule for the Spring 2010 semester.

On Academic Integrity
The faculty and administration of Brooklyn College support an environment free from cheating and plagiarism. Each student is responsible for being aware of what constitutes cheating and plagiarism and for avoiding both.  The complete text of the CUNY Academic Integrity Policy and the Brooklyn College procedure for implementing that policy can be found at this site: http://www.brooklyn.cuny.edu/bc/policies.  If a faculty member suspects a violation of academic integrity and, upon investigation, confirms that violation, or if the student admits the violation, the faculty member MUST report the violation.

Students With Disabilities
In order to receive disability-related academic accommodations students must first be registered with the Center for Student Disability Services. Students who have a documented disability or suspect they may have a disability are invited to set up an appointment with the Director of the Center for Student Disability Services, Ms. Valerie Stewart-Lovell at 718-951-5538. If you have already registered with the Center for Student Disability Services please provide your professor with the course accommodation form and discuss your specific accommodation with him/her.