PDP 350: First-Year Seminar

Dr. Jim Josefson Office Hours:

217 Flory Hall T/Th 3:30-5

828-5322 (o) M/W 3-4

by appointment

jjosefso@bridgewater.edu

http://www.bridgewater.edu/~jjosefso

First-Year Seminar PDP350 is an introduction to the liberal arts and to the academic community of Bridgewater College. Students begin their personal development portfolios which document the processes of intellectual discovery, emotional and physical wellness, ethical and spiritual growth, and citizenship. Special attention will be given to practicing reflection skills and evaluating personal and social choices.

Objectives of the Course:

1. To introduce students to the liberal arts. Students will explore the purposes, goals and values of a liberal arts education. ‘Liberal’ means free, thus we will focus on understanding the ways the liberal arts can make us free. The phrase “liberal arts” designates the type of education we seek at Bridgewater College. Educating students in the liberal arts tradition means, on a basic level, giving them the broad skills and knowledge one acquires from study in such areas as literature, philosophy, history, and the arts, as opposed to the more specialized and technical education one would receive in professional and vocational training programs.

2. To develop students’ skills in critical reflection. To that end, there will be material assigned throughout the term that students will reflect upon, sometimes in writing and sometimes in classroom discussion. Critical reflection involves the practice of liberal learning: being open to new ideas, evaluating ideas in the light of experience and our preconceived values and ideas, and exploring the implications of the conclusions we come to for ourselves and our society.

3. To begin the student’s personal development essay, the central component of the personal development portfolio. The essay provides the opportunity to meaningfully reflect on one’s growth as a “whole person”, that is in each of the four dimensions of personal development.

THE FOUR DIMENSIONS OF PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

A key piece of the Bridgewater experience involves challenging ourselves to become free human beings by reflecting on our personal development. There are four distinct areas in which the College hopes to foster students’ development.

• Intellectual Growth and Discovery. In addition to meeting the minimum academic standards specified in the catalog, Bridgewater students develop the skills and perspectives to be passionate lifelong learners who can integrate their varied academic experiences in a meaningful way.
• Emotional Maturation and Physical Health. Bridgewater students understand the importance of emotional and physical well-being, and possess the skills to pursue wellness during their college years and throughout the rest of their lives.
• Ethical and Spiritual Growth. The curricular and co-curricular experiences at Bridgewater require students to examine and act upon fundamental ethical choices, and to define, refine, and pursue their personal spiritual paths.
• Citizenship and Community Responsibility. At Bridgewater, students become more aware, involved, and effective citizens of the communities-campus, local, national, global-to which they belong. Responsible citizenship at Bridgewater implies the ability and willingness to provide leadership and other forms of service to the community.

Academic Honesty:

You have each signed the honor code statement and it is expected that you will internalize and abide by this nor Cheating and plagiarism are taboo and are considered "serious offenses, which can result in dismissal from Bridgewater College." [See your Student Handbook] Violations will be treated seriously and swiftly referred to the Honor Council. Come see me if you are in difficulty.

Student Participation

The course will require participation by students at every level and in every activity. Seminar sessions, debates, presentations, group projects, labs, multimedia, and social occasions will be integrated to encourage learning together and to encourage personal relationships formed among students and between students and faculty. Students must come to class prepared for each day, expecting to carry much of the responsibility for the success of the course.

Students are required to attend every class. If a student misses more than 3 classes one letter grade will be deducted from his/her final grade for each class missed. This means that a student who misses 4 classes will receive a B- if they otherwise earn a B. Students who miss more than 8 classes will fail. Late assignments/ papers will be penalized one letter grade per day. Non-lame excuses given to the instructor prior to a class or deadline will receive more lenient consideration. You may have no more than 5 combined excused and unexcused absences before your grade will be reduced.

Written requirements

Activities and Participation 20 %

Essays 40 %

Final Essay 30 %

5 Service Learning Hours: 10% (2 % per hour served)

CLASS ACTIVITIES

Different kinds of activities will be suggested and required to make the class interesting and complete. Participation is expected.

• Regular Class Sessions/ Assignments

• Social Events and/or field trips
• Service learning fair, Career fair
• Possibly one service learning project

COURSE OVERVIEW

An Introduction to the Liberal Arts

The phrase “liberal arts” designates the type of education we seek to offer here at Bridgewater College. Educating students in the liberal arts tradition means, on a basic level, giving them the broad skills and knowledge one acquires from study in such areas as literature, history, philosophy, and the arts, as opposed to the more specialized and technical education one would receive in professional and vocational training programs. But on a deeper level, acquiring a liberal arts education refers to the development of a certain habit of mind, an ability (and a desire) to question, to examine, and to understand issues and ideas with increasing clarity and depth. Whether the subject under discussion is political science or athletic training, students at a liberal arts college learn to go beyond simple acquisition of information and instead embrace a process that involves measuring any new information against their own growing store of knowledge as well as their own individual experiences, a willingness to go beyond the comfortable processes of memory and simple recall into the less certain realms of analysis and synthesis. We call this process reflection, and it is the very heart of a liberal arts education.

The process of reflection can be applied to anything one cares to examine and understand-- a text read for a class, a difficult personal experience, a piece of music or art, a laboratory experiment, a service learning experience, or even a simple encounter or casual conversation. The process involves various stages or steps, which will be elaborated on and practiced more and more as the course unfolds, and as the four years unfold, until the process becomes second nature and the habit of examination becomes so thoroughly internalized that it becomes essential to who we are as people. This is part of what we mean when we speak of educating the whole person—helping students acquire these transformative skills and apply them to their lives as a whole.

The Process of Critical Analysis

In their coursework over the four years, students will be asked to reflect on a great variety of things: perhaps a satiric novel in an English course, or an essay of social criticism in a Sociology course, or a piece of music in a Music course, or a work of art in an Art course, or an historical event in a History course, and so forth. The list is really endless, but the process is the same and involves 4 key steps or phases. The order the 4 steps appear in an essay is less important than that they are all there. It might be very common, especially, to flip the order of phases 1 and 2.

The first phase, which we call explanation, involves identifying what is to be examined, usually the texts (movies, articles, books, paintings, just about any experience can be “read” as a text) encountered in the course. The second phase, which we call exploration, involves considering the new texts in the light of our own prior knowledge and experience. This phase involves a careful and honest critical examination of our assumptions and attitudes that might affect understanding while, at the same time, remaining open and willing for those assumptions to be challenged. The third phase, which we call analysis, involves a deeper discussion of the texts and our preconceptions to work out exactly what are our views on the topic. This analysis may be rather free flowing or it may be organized around a hypothesis, thesis statement, or conjecture. No matter what it may be called, the task is to imagine some original way to understand what is being examined, some organizing idea by which the analysis can be structured and understood. Then, finally, comes the fourth phase, which we call the synthesis or re-examination, in which we examine the implications or consequences of our analysis. This means discussing what has changed as a result of the analytical process—our goals, values, and/or actions.

Explanation=> Exploration => Analysis => Synthesis

Step One

You always need to include an explanation of the texts and ideas you encounter in PDP 350. Critical reading is crucial in this stage of the process because you cannot reflect on what you have not understood. So the first important consideration in analytical writing is ensuring that you read critically – that you grasp the ideas and the relationships among the ideas in a text. In this stage of the process, address the questions "What is the subject of critical analysis?" based on your reading. If you want, you can do this stage second and make exploration the first stage.

Step Two

Next, critical analysis requires that you turn your attention to exploring your own preconceptions and assumptions about the topic: the beliefs, attitudes, and values that you bring to the subject. In this stage, you should articulate these preconceptions and compare them with the texts you are encountering. The point here is to explore these preconceptions and not to make an argument for the Critical analysis requires that you demonstrate a certain amount of openness to revising your preconceived beliefs and values in the light of new information and reflection. Indeed, such openness is the essence of a liberal arts education. Several strategies of exploration might be pursued:

· Express confusion, the possibility that you may be pulled in several directions by conflicting values and ideas, or uncertainty about the topic

· Identify just where your preconceptions conflict or agree with the texts confronted.

· Identify some questions, implications, or issues about the topic that could be analyzed further.

This exploration will serve as a basis for analyzing the topic in more depth and addressing the confusions and conflicts highlighted by the confrontation between the texts and your preconceptions.

Step Three

Next, critical analysis requires that you analyze your preconceptions, experiences, the assigned texts, and other evidence in order to draw some conclusions about your encounter with new ideas or experiences. You may want to set out a hypothesis, thesis statement or conjecture that serves to focus your analysis. But this should not be a position you are arguing to convince someone of your opinion. Instead, you should be analyzing the issue in order to find out just what is your opinion. In a analytical essay, your analysis shouldn’t simply agree with the texts you are reflecting upon, and neither should you just defend your common sense take on the subject. Rather, your analysis develops a new sense of perspective on the topic or allows you to work through the ambiguities and confusions in your thinking.

Make sure your analysis considers several sources of information. At the very least you must revisit the texts you discussed at the explanation stage and reevaluate the information and evidence presented there. In this phase of the reflection process your personal experiences may also be relevant, but be specific and make sure that any anecdotes you offer are truly relevant to your conjecture. In other words, relating personal experience is not an end in itsel Treat your personal experience as one among many sources of evidence for exploring your conjecture, not as the ultimate authority on the topic. You might also want to bring in information from other classes or additional research at this stage.

Some Strategies for analysis might include:

· Analyze the logic and evidence behind the new texts and your old preconceptions. Do they make sense? Are they well supported by facts?

· Look for ways in which apparent conflict between new texts and your preconceptions gives way to deeper agreement on further reflection. New texts and experiences may enrich your old views even when you initially thought they were incompatible.

· Analyze your confusion. Further analysis of the texts may indicate that they make more (or less) sense that you thought at first glance.

· Search for additional information and evidence that will better enable you analyze the topic.

Step Four

The final stage in the process of critical analysis is synthesis/re-examination. Here you should discuss the implications of your analysis in stage four. This means doing more than just restating the key points of the paper so far. Instead, you should engage in a new exploration of the implications of that analysis. Synthesis involves a new examination (a re-examination) of the topic. Ideally, this re-examination from a new (informed and analyzed) perspective casts new light on your former, current, and future knowledge. Some strategies for synthesis may be:

· Explore the implications of your conclusions for your actions. Explain how the conclusions you arrived might impact your activities in college, in life after college, or as a citizen affecting public policy.

· Explore the consequences of changing or not changing certain values, goals, actions, or beliefs in the light of the analytical process.

· Explore remaining uncertainties about the topic and discuss future research or activities that could address these issues.

The Personal Development Essay

The focus on analytical writing in PDP350 helps prepare students for the central requirement of the PDP program at Bridgewater College: the senior PDP portfolio. In your personal development essay you will reflect on your development in the four dimensions of PDP and set goals for your future. We will discuss the elements of this portfolio towards the end of the course.

You cannot graduate without a satisfactory senior portfolio (PDP 450), which is evaluated outside your major department and given one credit. PDP 200/ 300/400 activities will be evaluated by your PDP 200/300/400 instructor on a satisfactory/ unsatisfactory basis without course credit.

TEXTS:

Available in Bookstore:

Neal Stephenson. The Diamond Age. (Bantam).

Jonathan Shay. Achilles in Vietnam: Combat Trauma and the Undoing of Character (Scribner)

Robert Shoenberg. Why Do I Have to Take This Course? (AAC&U)

Available on the Web:

Plato, The Myth of the Cave from The Republic

http://www.bridgewater.edu/~jjosefso/The Myth of the Cave.htm

Jim Josefson. “Learning is Not Fun: Reflections on the Liberal Arts and Living Your

Best Life”

http://www.bridgewater.edu/~jjosefso/learning%20is%20not%20fun%20Josefson.pdf

Carolyn R. Pool. “Up with emotional health,” Educational Leadership 54 (1997) p.12f

http://www.bridgewater.edu/~jjosefso/up%20with%20emotional%20health.pdf

Geoffrey Canada., “The currents of democracy: the role of small liberal arts colleges,”

Daedalus, 128(1999) p121ff.

http://www.bridgewater.edu/~jjosefso/Canada%20currents%20of%20democracy.htm

Available on Ebscohost or Academic Search Complete:

Earl Shorris, “As a Weapon in the Hands of the Restless Poor” Harper’s Magazine 295

(September 1997): 50-59.

Tentative Schedule:

Unit One: Intellectual Growth And Discovery: Intellect

9/ 7 Introduction to Course: Shoenberg, entire

9/9

9/ 12 Plato, The Myth of the Cave

9/ 14

9/ 16 Josefson, “Learning is Not Fun”

9/ 19

9/ 21 The Diamond Age, pp. 1-86

9/ 23

9/ 26 Shorris, “As a Weapon in the Hands of the Restless Poor”

9/ 28

9/ 30

Unit Two: Emotional Maturity and Physical Health: Wellness

10/ 3 Carolyn Pool, Up With Emotional Health

10/ 5

10/ 7

10/ 12 Geoffrey Canada. The currents of democracy: the role of small

liberal arts colleges. Daedalus, Winter 1999 v128 i1 p121

10/ 14

10/ 17

10/ 19

10/ 21

Unit Three: Ethical and Spiritual Growth: Character

10/ 24 Isaiah 53, Romans 12, I Corinthians 13, Luke 15, Exodus 20

http://www.hti.umich.edu/k/kjv/

10/ 26

10/ 28 Neal Stephenson, The Diamond Age

10/ 31

11/ 2

11/ 4

11/ 7

11/ 9

11/ 11

Unit Four: Character and Community Responsibility: Citizenship

11/ 14 Jonathan Shay, Achilles in Vietnam

11/ 16

11/ 18

11/ 21

11/ 28

11/ 30

12/ 2

12/ 5

Unit Five: Introduction to Senior Portfolio

12/7

12/9

Section 01 Monday, Dec. 12         12:30p.m. Final EssayPortfolio Due

Section 02 Thursday, Dec 15        3:30 p.m.. Final Essay Portfolio Due
Essay Evaluation—PDP 350

Student’s Name___________________________________________________

Depth of Reflection (15 pts each) (A=15; B=13; C=11; D=9)

Explanation (the “what”): _______

Discusses readings and experiences with clarity

Exploration (the “what I used to think”): _______

Explores what the author thinks about the subject and compares and/or contrasts

that thinking with the readings and experiences explained.

Analysis (the “so what”): _______

Gives a deeper analysis of the readings, experiences and preconceptions that are

the basis for reflection. Provides evidence (cites texts) for the analysis.

Synthesis (the “now what”): _______

Reveals an understanding of the implications of the reflection. Explores actions

or consequences that follow from the reflection.

Breadth of Analysis (20 pts) (A=20; B=17; C=15; D=13):

_______

Integrates a variety of ideas, evidence, or perspectives or

Clearly explains the relevant dimension and uses reflection effectively to build

a deeper understanding of the dimension or Discusses ideas and experiences in

each of the four dimensions (PDP personal essay).

Expression (10 pts each) (A=10; B=8.5; C=7.5; D=6.5)

Personal Voice and syntax _______

Expression is individual, authentic, and sincere with a creative sense of rhetorical

style. Avoids clichés and generic expressions.

Organization and Mechanics _______

Expression is coherent and organized without mechanical flaws.

Total _______

Comments:

Josefson’s Guide to Writing a Critical Analysis

1. Opening Sentence (1)

Introductory or topic sentence

· Introduces the topic of the paragraph. Don’t try to put everything into one sentence. Don’t try too hard to capture reader interest. Don’t cite the dictionary. Ignore your high school teacher.

· Provides a transition from the preceding paragraph by building on or referring to some idea in that paragraph. This transition is more important than providing an in-depth explanation. Transitions provide logical flow.

2. Explanatory Sentences (1-3)

Explains the topic of the paragraph in more depth.

· Always put your maximum effort into the second sentence of a paragraph. It’s the REAL topic sentence.

· Each sentence builds on and transitions to ideas in the preceding sentence. The best way to do this is to use pronouns that have clear antecedents in the previous sentence. (For example: Some students will complain my paragraph guidelines are stupid. However, they are obviously wrong. They in the second sentence is a pronoun with the antecedent some students in the previous sentence. See how that flows?

3. Exploratory Sentences (1-3)

Explores the author’s views on the topic by comparing and/ or contrasting them with the material being explained. Exploration clarifies the author’s preconceptions so that they can be critically evaluated. Exploration also helps to clarify the explanation of the topic.

· Reflect on views you the author have held on the subject. Say, for instance, Before I read this author, I thought that…

· If you do not have clear preconceptions on the topic, explore what you might have thought about the issue before you encountered the new material you explained.

· Exploratory sentences identify some conflict, confusion, or agreement between the new material and the author’s preconceptions that can serve as the basis for further analysis.

4. Evidence Sentences (1-4)

Provides evidence for the point being made in the paragraph. There are several kinds of evidence, and you may use them in combination or more than one of each. Never begin a paragraph with evidence, as it obstructs flow.

· Examples or illustrations. Use For example, For instance, or tell a story based on your experience or common knowledge.

· Quote from a text. Always introduce a quote. Never start a sentence with a quote. Cite.

· Paraphrase from a text. Provide data or evidence from a text without quoting by explaining the views of an author in your own words. Cite ideas that come from another’s work even when you are not quoting.

· Logical analysis. Explain why an idea or view is either logical or illogical by exploring fallacies or logic.

5. Analysis Sentences (1-3)

Just providing the evidence is not enough, especially when your evidence is a quote. You need to analyze the evidence in order to explain why it supports the idea of the paragraph.

· For example: Dr. King says segregation “substitutes an ‘I-it’ relationship for an ‘I-thou’ relationship and ends up relegating persons to the status of things” (King 1963, 13). When he uses the word “thou”, he means it to invoke some of the sense of respect the word connotes from its frequent use in the Bible to refer to God.

· Ideally your analysis should go beyond the evidence you provide from other sources to offer new insights into the topic. Do this by drawing novel connections between sources, by examining surprising similarities between otherwise differrent views, by identifying distinct differences between largely similar views, or by exploring your own unique ideas on the topic.

6. Synthesis Sentences (1-2).

Do not just restate the central idea of the paragraph. Rather, explore the implications or consequences of what you have said in the paragraph in a way that could point towards the next paragraph. Synthesis explores the “now what?” question. What actions are required because of the reflection presented in the paragraph?

· For example, the implication of the analysis of the King quote above could be: King’s lesson here points beyond the issue of segregation to direct us to identify all prejudices and institutions that keep us from treating others with the respect of a Thou. There are still such institutions today.

· If this is the last paragraph you should still suggest or imply certain actions on the part of the reader, further explorations, or unresolved issues that could be addressed as a consequence of the ideas presented in the paragraph.