Write a memo for given articles
You reflect on the readings and lectures for a week. Primary reflection memos will consist of critical evaluation of lecture and reading material. Do you agree with the arguments and what new resources and information can you bring to bear? How do you see the material manifest in your experiences? What more do you want to learn about the week’s topic? These are some guiding questions for primary reflections, but you may expand your discussion in ways you see fit.
The other four memos will be responses to another student’s primary reflection. These “response” memos will engage with other students’ arguments, ideas, views, and perceptions. Response memos should not simply be “I agree, good point” kinds of responses, but should challenge other students’ points of view and bring additional insight to the primary memo. For example, a good response memo will provide additional evidence or counterevidence to a claim made in the primary memo, provide corroborating or refuting examples, and ask questions that may open up new questions.
You may submit memos starting week two. In any given week, you may submit either a primary or a response memo. You may not wait until the last three weeks of class and bombard the discussion space with response memos and multiple primary memos. Keep track of your progress, and join the discussion early to give yourself a break during the hectic end of the semester. There are four weeks when a memo may not be submitted: the three review and exam weeks and the last week of class.
