Grading Philosophy for Graduate Seminars

The grading for the course will follow the normal traditions of graduate seminars--individual participation in class discussions, a small group presentation, and a final project that allows a student to apply what has been learned and/or expand on materials and sources studied in an extended essay--but with the new context of the Web and the course collaborative Wiki site. Final grade will be based on seminar participation and collaborative Wiki contributions (40%) and the final project in the form a Wiki article / essay (60%).

The Final Wiki Essay

The final individual essay will enable seminar members to use the advantages of Wiki and Web hyperlinking architecture. The point is to use the Wiki and Web hyperlinking environment as a space to think with and through. Your Wiki essay must have a discursive argument and your own interpretive framework, but you can also use link to other sources and a "bibliography" of references to supporting materials in any medium (text, image, video, sound/music).

Using the approach in the seminar for the heuristic use of theory, choose and develop a topic for an extended essay (a Wiki article). Your essay should be about the equivalent of 12-15 pages of traditional writing, but with a fully developed set of references and links to relevant sources.

Format of the Essay:

• Introduction (establishing your topic and approach, your sources and methodology)
• Main body of the essay (explanation and interpretation, development of the main argument)
• List of Web sources and links
• Bibliography or Works Consulted (all the relevant materials you have considered or want to reference to support your essay)

The Wiki Space for your Essay

Select your "individual essay" article space linked by your GU NetID in the Metapedia Wiki.