Course Syllabus

Fall 2024 | INT-1050-VO13 - Dimensions of Self & Society

Online Class

Online courses take place 100% online via Canvas, without required in-person or Zoom meetings.

Faculty

Katherine Leach Thorpe
View Faculty Credentials
View Faculty Statement
Hiring Coordinator for this course: Jennifer Gundy

General Education Requirements

CCV 1st Semester Seminar

Note

Many degree programs have specific general education recommendations. In order to avoid taking unnecessary classes, please consult with additional resources like your program evaluation, your academic program catalog year page, and your academic advisor.

Courses may only be used to meet one General Education Requirement.

Course Description

In this interdisciplinary first-semester seminar, students make the transition to college-level academic culture. This seminar is designed to help students develop the learning skills and habits of success that will support them throughout their college experience and as they consider career pathways. Reading, writing, and discussion are central to developing an understanding of academic and societal responsibility. Students critically examine the relationship between societal values, individual beliefs, ways of knowing, and cultural worldviews.

Essential Objectives

1. Interpret, analyze, and evaluate a text and its sources.
2. Demonstrate foundational information literacy, research skills, and academic honesty necessary for academic writing.
3. Demonstrate effective written communication skills, including active engagement in asynchronous online discussion.
4. Apply effective strategies for building new knowledge and skills through reflection on learning preferences, challenges, and goals.
5. Identify possible career goals and educational pathways.
6. Examine social issues through the lens of the individual and society.
7. Examine personal assumptions and biases, and ethical impacts of decision making and participation in society.
8. Consider issues from multiple perspectives and discuss, debate, and defend ideas with clarity and reason as part of a respectful learning community.

Required Technology

More information on general computer and internet recommendations is available on the CCV IT Support page. https://support.ccv.edu/general/computer-recommendations/

Please see CCV's Digital Equity Statement (pg. 45) to learn more about CCV's commitment to supporting all students access the technology they need to successfully finish their courses.

Required Textbooks and Resources

*** This is a low cost ($50 or less) textbook or resource class. ***

This course uses one or more textbooks/books/simulations, along with free Open Educational Resources (OER) and/or library materials.

Fall 2024 textbook/book details will be available on 2024-05-20. On that date a link will be available below that will take you to eCampus, CCV's bookstore. The information provided there will be specific to this class. Please see this page for more information regarding the purchase of textbooks/books.

INT-1050-VO13 Link to Textbooks for this course in eCampus.

For Open Educational Resources (OER) and/or library materials details, see the Canvas Site for this class.

The last day to use a Financial Aid Advance to purchase textbooks/books is the 3rd Tuesday of the semester. See your financial aid counselor at your academic center if you have any questions.

Artificial Intelligence(AI) Policy Statement

CCV recognizes that artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI tools are widely available and becoming embedded in many online writing and creative applications.

Integrated: This course's generative AI policy acknowledges the use of AI is an essential skill in today's world. By using genAI for specific purposes, students become equipped with relevant skills and tools necessary to thrive in a technology-driven society. Emphasizing the mastery of generative AI should empower you to harness its potential, enhancing your problem-solving abilities and preparing you for future challenges and opportunities. Be aware, however, that any time generative AI is used at any point in the assignment without attribution it may be considered a violation of CCV's Academic Integrity Policy.

If I suspect a violation of the Academic Integrity Policy-including the use of generative AI-I will first ask you to schedule a meeting with me so that we can discuss the nature of my concern and determine any potential next steps. Any student found to be in violation of academic integrity may be subject to disciplinary action, which could range from further education on academic integrity to suspension or dismissal. If you are found to be in serious violation of the Academic Integrity Policy, you will receive a zero for the particular assignment for which the violation occurred. If in doubt about anything, please ask me before submitting your work and I can help you navigate any questions or concerns about academic integrity!

Methods

In this class, my goal is to help you think critically and write clearly about a wide range of topics. I hope to help you see how vital cross-disciplinary exploration is for advancing our understanding of the world. Community is very important to me and I hope that we can form our own close community of inclusion, respect, and curiosity. We will meet the learning objectives through a mixture of reading assignments, discussion posts, reflective writing, and other assignments designed to help you think critically and succeed in the classroom and beyond.

We will read biographies, essays, scholarly articles, folklore, and fairytales to think about our place in society. You'll even the chance to write your own fairy tale (if you're interested in doing so) and collect folklore from people in your life!

I’m interested in learning more about who you are and where you want to go from here, and I will do everything I can to help you get the most out of this experience. Please feel free to come to me with any questions or concerns, or just to chat about what’s on your mind. I can’t wait to hear (or rather, read!) what you have to say in class!

Evaluation Criteria

Please see below for a breakdown of how your grade is calculated. You will have lots of support from me as you write your personal memoir and research essay(s), and you'll have plenty of opportunity to practice, and even resubmit if needed. None of this meant to feel daunting, it's all going to give you the tools you need to thrive at CCV and beyond!

Class participation: 30%

• Class participation consists of weekly discussion posts and response posts to your peers, as well as short writing assignments such as reflections and reading logs)

Personal memoir: 15% (due week five)

• We spend the first few weeks thinking about identity and how various factors shape who we become. As you read various personal narratives, you will have a chance to think about your own story. In the first few weeks of the class, we will do short writing assignments to help you prepare your own short personal memoir: a 4-5 page personal reflection on an aspect (education, language, etc.) that has been key in shaping who you are today.

Short research essay: 15% (due week seven)

• This essay (4-5 pages) will help you learn to produce college-level research. Throughout the semester we will learn how to research, distinguish between various types of sources, and site our sources. The short research essay is your chance to show what you've learned about producing college-level academic work. We will work together to come up with a relevant topic that you'll be excited to research and write about!

Folklore collection project (collection and analysis): 15% (due week nine)

• Folklore - the stories we tell and traditions we have - is such a huge part of culture and society. After learning more about what folklore is and what it encompasses, you will have the chance to collect and analyze your own folklore. Whether it's traditional family recipes or food traditions, in-jokes among your friend group, or the music or stories of a particular community, this assignment will ask you to collect folklore from your own lives and think about the role of folklore in society.

Final project/paper: 25% (due week fifteen)

• The final project allows you to synthesize all that you learned as you explore a topic of particular interest to you. Final projects can take many forms: you can choose to write a more traditional academic paper (6-7 pages), or you can get creative with it. Past final projects have included an in-depth lesson plan for an elementary class; a creative writing project that reimagines a popular childhood fairy tale; a documentary; a podcast, etc. We'll talk a lot about final projects throughout the term and you'll have plenty of guidance on this and on the assignments above!

Grading Criteria

CCV Letter Grades as outlined in the Evaluation System Policy are assigned according to the following chart:

	High	Low
A+	100	98
A	Less than 98	93
A-	Less than 93	90
B+	Less than 90	88
B	Less than 88	83
B-	Less than 83	80
C+	Less than 80	78
C	Less than 78	73
C-	Less than 73	70
D+	Less than 70	68
D	Less than 68	63
D-	Less than 63	60
F	Less than 60
P	100	60
NP	Less than 60	0

Attendance Policy

Regular attendance and participation in classes are essential for success in and are completion requirements for courses at CCV. A student's failure to meet attendance requirements as specified in course descriptions will normally result in a non-satisfactory grade.

• In general, missing more than 20% of a course due to absences, lateness or early departures may jeopardize a student's ability to earn a satisfactory final grade.
• Attending an on-ground or synchronous course means a student appeared in the live classroom for at least a meaningful portion of a given class meeting. Attending an online course means a student posted a discussion forum response, completed a quiz or attempted some other academically required activity. Simply viewing a course item or module does not count as attendance.
• Meeting the minimum attendance requirement for a course does not mean a student has satisfied the academic requirements for participation, which require students to go above and beyond simply attending a portion of the class. Faculty members will individually determine what constitutes participation in each course they teach and explain in their course descriptions how participation factors into a student's final grade.

Participation Expectations

Weekly participation in the discussion forums is important and is worth 30% of your weekly grade. Group discussions are a key part of this course, which is most impactful when we can engage meaningfully with each other and share questions, ideas, and responses to the readings and topics each week. Everyone is expected to follow the policies below. Please reach out if you have any questions or if anything is unclear. I look forward to getting to know you all throughout the course of the semester!

PARTICIPATION EXPECTATIONS:

Weekly discussion posts:

1. Initial post: Each student is required to post one initial reflection in the weekly discussion board. I encourage you to post earlier, if possible, as it will help make the discussions more fruitful and engaging.

• Your discussion should respond to the questions(s)/prompts for that week, and should demonstrate that you have read and thought critically about the week’s readings.
• Please also conclude your response with a question for us all to ponder.
• Weekly posts should be a minimum of 200 words and are due no later than Thursday 11:59pm Eastern Time.
• Your weekly initial post is worth 10 points. Two points will be subtracted for every day your response is late.

1. Response to peers: Each student must also respond to at least two posts by your classmates.

• Responses should be reflective. Please don’t just respond with “great point, I agree!” and nothing else - posts of this nature will not be counted! If you agree, why do you agree? If you don’t agree, tell us why! Please make sure to post thorough responses.
• Each response is worth five points and are due no later than Sunday at 11:59pm.

So, at minimum, you should be posting THREE significant posts each week (your initial post, plus at least two responses to classmates). You are free to post more responses and engage with your classmates as much as you want. In assessing points for the week, I will factor your two strongest response posts into your weekly participation grade.

How I monitor and assess posts:

Each week I will use Canvas to review each student’s contributions for the week. I will assess the quality and quantity of each post. I will provide you with a rubric outlining the grading criteria.

1. Initial posts should demonstrate that students have read the assigned readings. You should relate your insights, ideas, and observations to the course materials and demonstrate an understanding of the topic. You should also show a willingness to engage with and ask questions of the topics we will be exploring. Your posts should also be a minimum of 200 words.
2. Response posts should engage with the post to which you are responding. These posts should provide additional insights, ask meaningful and probing questions (in a respectful manner), and/or offer constructive feedback.

Missing & Late Work Policy

Please note that the ‘week’ runs from Tuesday to Monday. For discussion post assignments (initial post and two response posts), two points will be subtracted for every day your post/response is late, up to a maximum of five days. No points will be given for anything posted after the week ends. If you know you will be gone or unavailable on a given week, please post your discussion post early so you can at least get credit for that.

All other work: Canvas will automatically deduct 5% of the grade for each day it is late, up to a maximum of seven days. After seven days, the assignment will receive a zero. Extensions may be granted in extenuating circumstances only if communicated in advance. Please reach out to me to discuss any potential extension.

Accessibility Services for Students with Disabilities:

1. Provide disability documentation to the Accessibility Coordinator at your academic center. https://ccv.edu/discover-resources/students-with-disabilities/
2. Request an appointment to meet with accessibility coordinator to discuss your request and create an accommodation plan.
3. Once created, students will share the accommodation plan with faculty. Please note, faculty cannot make disability accommodations outside of this process.

Academic Integrity