LEAD 101 Syllabus

If you prefer to read the syllabus in form of a text document, click here to obtain the google doc. For the calendar page of the syllabus click here.

Travelers as Learners, Learners as Travelers
Prof. Gundolf Graml; TTh 11:30am-12:45pm

Learning is often compared to a journey–you start out in a familiar environment, travel through unknown territory, and arrive at a new place. Along the way you encounter new people, new information, and you collect experiences. When you come back home you can sort, order, and categorize these experiences and tell others about it. At least that’s the ideal(ized) version. But what else happens when we travel, both physically and mentally? In this course we will closely examine this connection between traveling and learning both by reflecting about our own travel/learning experiences as well as by reading and discussing the written accounts of other travelers/learners.

One such travel narrative is the travelogue of German poet Johann Wolfgang Goethe’s journey to Italy from 1786-88, titled Italian Journey. Goethe’s text has become an important template for many Northern Europeans who sought education, regeneration, and relaxation in what they often considered the superior cultural atmosphere and the pleasant climates of the Mediterranean. In LEAD 101, we will make Goethe’s text the foundation of a semester-long collaborative digital research project, called the “Italian Journey Story Maps Journal.”

Here’s what will happen:

1. We will first read Goethe’s travelogue, collect geographical, cultural, historical, and anthropological information embedded in the text, and sort it according to categories we will develop along the way.
2. In a second step, we will generate appropriate research questions and critically analyze each section of the text. These questions will guide us as we try to learn more about the cultural and historical topics referenced by Goethe, and also try to figure out why he only spoke about certain topics but remained silent about others.
3. We will collaborate in groups and each group will deliver two presentations over the course of the semester.
4. We will learn how to plot Goethe’s journey on a map and how to integrate the additional information that we found in an application called Story Maps Journal. This step will consist of designing and drafting the text passages needed for the journal; selecting, analysing, and annotating the images to be included; sketching out the explanatory videos that will be featured.
5. We write, film, record, etc. the respective sections with additional material and then build the Story Maps Journal app.

Why this project? (Learning Goals)

The “Italian Journey Story Maps Journal” will be a direct contribution to scholarship, as no such annotated mapping of Goethe’s travelogue has yet been created. While you work on this project, you will assume many different roles: You will work as reader, writer, researcher, designer, and instructor, among others. By building this web app you will also pursue the learning goals and skills the faculty at Agnes Scott College has developed for all first year students:

LEAD Seminars engage every first-year student in the exploration of a specific topic while providing the intellectual orientation and skills foundational to college learning and effective leadership. All LEAD courses, regardless of topic, share specific learning goals based on the faculty’s conviction that all good leaders work well with others, think analytically, and communicate effectively. For these reasons, all LEAD seminars place special emphasis on four fundamental intellectual and leadership skills (text in blue gives you specific examples how we will practice these skills in our seminar):

• Critical thinking (an active, engaged, analytical, and evaluative approach to texts, speeches, doctrines, principles, and beliefs):
  • As we read Goethe’s text and relevant secondary literature, we will discuss how the author reflects about himself, what kind of underlying historical and cultural concepts he addresses, where his text might indicate cultural prejudices, biases, and blindspots. We will formulate preliminary hypotheses and question the arguments put forth by the scholarly literature about Italian Journey.

• Writing (understood broadly as an aid to thinking and practiced in a variety of forms through varied assignments):
  • Writing will be a central feature of this course. In addition to informal/formal in-class “writing-to-think” activities you will write a weekly reflection about your learning progress in a process log. You will also practice writing thesis statements, summaries, overviews, in different voices and for different audiences. Often you will revise your writing and circulate for peer review. We will write in a variety of environments, from pencil/paper to laptop to twitter, google+, WordPress, and other digital tools. You will become familiar with the basics of each tool and there will be help available in the Educational Technology Center.

• Public speaking (a skill encompassing not only presentations and other formal formats but also informal class discussions that develop capacities to engage in meaningful and intelligent dialogue):
  • Each student will have several opportunities to practice public speaking both individually and as part of a group. This course is run as a seminar in a “flipped-classroom” style, meaning you will do most of the reading and research work as part of your homework and class sessions will be used for presentations, discussions, and problem solving, which means: We’ll speak a lot! We will work closely with a tutor from the Center for Writing and Speaking (CWS) as we prepare for the more formal group presentation sessions.

• Teamwork (a skill involving reflective, analytical self- and social awareness):
  • This course revolves around the main digital collaborative project, which means that we practice teamwork in pretty much every situation. This does not mean that you will never work individually, but that you are aware of what others in your group are working on, what strengths/skills you can contribute to the group, and what other group members expect of you.

“How much time should I budget for this course?”

Most courses at Agnes Scott College are four credit courses even though they meet twice or three times a week (in both instances the total meeting time is two hours and thirty minutes). In addition to the in-class meetings per week, expect that you will spend approximately five hours per weeks on readings, project collaboration, and writing outside of class. Additionally, you will spend an approximate three hours per week on preparation for class sessions: watching films and clips as a class or online; participating in online discussions, answering reading questions, attending lectures by outside speakers, etc.

Participation in and preparation for course

This course is conducted as a seminar (not a lecture), its success depends on your preparation and participation. What exactly does this mean? Here’s a list that covers the main points:

• You regularly consult the syllabus and our course website for homework, assignments, work schedules and possible updates.
• You read assigned texts and complete all related activities by the due dates listed in the syllabus or announced in class. Reading assignments imply that you take notes and come prepared for class discussion. Simply skimming a text to be able to summarize it is not satisfactory participation.
• You come to class and are prepared for the discussion. This does not mean that you have to say something “smart” — thoughtful questions can be very helpful contributions to a discussion as well.
• You participate in group work and take full responsibility for your group’s performance. Most of the work on the Story Map Journal will be in groups. Sometimes I might ask groups to rotate or will assign specific tasks to group members. Regardless of that, all group members must be able to adequately describe the group’s progress at a given time, to discuss the problems you might have encountered and the ideas you are pursuing.
• You hand in all assignments on time and in acceptable form.
• You make an appointment for one of my office hours whenever you have questions about the course, the readings, or an assignment before they are due.

A note on writing

Throughout the semester, we will work in a variety of different writing formats and genres inside and outside of class.

Informal writing:

• Short, in-class writing before and/or after discussions
• Exploratory writing as a first step for collecting ideas about a new topic
• Short reactions to lectures, readings, etc. that will sometimes also be assigned as homework.

Informal writing assignments are generally not listed on the syllabus. They count as part of your participation.

Formal writing:

• Writing for the Story Map Journal: For the main project in this course you and your group members will write a series of different texts. For instance, you might write a description of a particular location on Goethe’s itinerary; or you write a footnote-style text in which you further explain a particular phrase or word; you might also write a longer text in the form of an encyclopedia entry that explains a section of the travelogue; each group will produce at least one short video and you will practice writing a video script. Each writing activity will go through a draft process and each student will submit all written documents before finalizing the various elements of the Story Map Journal.
• “Blogging” for the Process Blog: Once per week (15 times) during the semester you will post an entry about your process on our course blog. Sometimes I will offer a prompt, sometimes I will simply ask you to reflect on your individual process of learning. This kind of writing will facilitate your thinking and will, ideally, be the basis for some of your individual and group projects. Although you work in groups, each student will work on specific writing tasks and will also be evaluated individually.

Group presentations:

Twice during the semester you and your group will give a more formal presentation of about 20 minutes. For each presentation, you will receive detailed instructions and you will meet with me and/or our Writing Center tutor.

Attendance Policy:

Attendance for all class meetings is mandatory. Life happens, which is why you can miss two classes during the semester without any penalty. After that, each class you missed will result in a loss of twenty participation points, unless you can provide a doctor’s note or any other written documentation from a legitimate source. Of course, it is up to you to find out what we covered and what you need to make up in order to stay on track in the course. This is especially important for the group collaboration. If you miss six or more class meetings you will receive an F in this course. I reserve the right to take off points for extreme and/or chronic tardiness.

Classroom behavior:

You are welcome to bring your coffee or tea to class (you will definitely see me with a coffee cup!). Please do not bring any food into the classroom!

It will be quite helpful to bring a laptop to class. Cell phones need to be turned off when entering the classroom. (It’s not ok to quickly send a text or post a message on Facebook!).

The classroom is a safe space for discussion and the voicing of different opinions about sometimes challenging material. Disagreements are an essential element of academic life, but they should be expressed in a respectful and productive manner. Please avoid all personal attacks and insults. I encourage you to see me during my office hour if you have any problem with the discussions during class and don’t want to raise them in public. What you tell me will be treated as confidential. If you do not want to discuss it with me, you can also contact the Advising Office.

ACADEMIC HONESTY

The Agnes Scott College honor code embodies an ideal of character, conduct, and citizenship, and is an important part of the College’s mission and core identity. This applies especially to

academic honesty and integrity. Passing off someone else’s work as your own represents intellectual fraud and theft, and violates the core values of our academic community. To be honorable, you should understand not only what counts as academic dishonesty, but also how to avoid engaging in these practices. You should:

• review each course syllabus for the professor’s expectations regarding course work and class attendance.
• attribute all ideas taken from other sources; this shows respect for other scholars. Plagiarism can include portraying another’s work or ideas as your own, buying a paper online and turning it in as if it were your own work, or not citing or improperly citing references on a reference page or within the text of a paper.
• not falsify or create data and resources or alter a graded work without the prior consent of your professor. This includes making up a reference for a works cited page or making up statistics or facts for academic work.
• not allow another party to do your work/exam, or submit the same or similar work in more than one course without permission from the course instructors. Cheating also includes taking an exam for another person, looking on another person’s exam for answers, using exams from previous classes without permission, or bringing and using unauthorized notes or resources (i.e., electronic, written, or otherwise) during an exam.
• not facilitate cheating, which can happen when you help another student complete a take home exam, give answers to an exam, talk about an exam with a student who has not taken it, or collaborate with others on work that is supposed to be completed independently.
• be truthful about the submission of work, which includes the time of submission, place of submission (e.g., e-mail, online, in a mailbox, to an office, etc.).

You should understand that penalties result from dishonest conduct, ranging from failure of the assignment to expulsion from the college. You should speak with your professors if you need clarification about any of these policies.

Course evaluations

At the end of the semester you will receive an e-mail asking you to submit an evaluation of the course. Please give feedback! Your input is very important to the college as a whole and to me as a teacher. I take your comments very seriously and, whenever possible, use them to adjust the course the next time I teach it.

Grade distribution

Grading Scale

93 to 100 A

90 to less than 93 A-

87 to less than 90 B+

83 to less than 87 B

80 to less than 83 B-

77 to less than 80 C+

73 to less than 77 C

70 to less than73 C-

67 to less than 70 D+

63 to less than 67 D

60 to less than 63 D-

Less than 60 F

A = achievement that is outstanding relative to the level necessary to meet course requirements.

B = achievement that is significantly above the level necessary to meet course requirements.

C = achievement that meets the course requirements in every respect.

D = achievement that is worthy of credit even though it fails to meet fully the course requirements.

S = achievement that is satisfactory, which is equivalent to a C- or better (achievement required for an S is at the discretion of the instructor but may be no lower than equivalent to a C-.)

F (or N) = Represents failure (or no credit) and signifies that the work was either (1) completed but at a level of achievement that is not worthy of credit or (2) was not completed and there was no agreement between the instructor and the student that the student would be awardedan I (see also I).

I = (Incomplete) Assigned at the discretion of the instructor when, due to extraordinary circumstances, e.g., hospitalization, a student is prevented from completing the work of the course on time. Requires a written agreement between instructor and student.
Agnes Scott College seeks to provide equal access to its programs, services and activities for people with disabilities. If you will need accommodations in this class, please contact Kelly Deasy in the Office of Academic Advising (X6150) to make complete the registration process. Once registered, please contact me so we can discuss the specific accommodations needed for this course.

“For the safety of the entire community, any incidence of or information about sexual misconduct must be reported immediately to Title IX Coordinator Karen Gilbert (kgilbert@agnesscott.edu, 404-471-6435) or Deputy Title IX Coordinator Kristian Contreras (kcontreras@agnesscott.edu, 404-471-6394).”

“This course adheres to the principles of diversity and inclusion integral to the Agnes Scott community. We respect people from all backgrounds and affirm people’s decisions about gender expression and identity. Please feel free to correct me if your preferred name or gender pronoun are different from that listed on the class roster.”