manhattanville college 

International Studies                                                       Fall, 2007
Senior Seminar                                                                 Mr. Bowling
                                                                                                                Mr. Tagatac

Objectives: 

1.  Completion, this semester, of all senior theses.  This means a clean copy. (Minimum requirement, this semester:  a complete, typewritten draft of your thesis.  No "incompletes," save for, of course, bona fide emergencies, will be granted at the end of fall semester unless this minimum requirement is met.

2.  Presentation of these theses, in oral form, during the scheduled class time in December.   Schedule: We will meet on many Thursday nights, but not necessarily every Thursday night.  Consultation with the instructors will continually be available.

In September, we will establish who first and second faculty readers of theses are to be, thesis topics and working hypotheses, and working bibliographies.  We will take care to create clear conceptualizations and to establish "doability."  We will discuss how to make effective public presentations.  We will share and constructively critique this material, making use of other International Studies faculty as well as ourselves.

In October, we will focus on planning & research;

in November, on writing and rewriting.

In December, the thesis presentations will take place.

It is anticipated that on a date to be announced there will be an International Careers Evening at which we will all gather,

Basic Rules of the Game

1.      Involvement. Class attendance is meaningful if you are involved in what’s going on in a course. This is particularly important in this course because it is a hands-on course. There are two parallel tracks for involvement: Sharing your experience and finding out about the other’s experience. You may learn a lot from other’s problems and solutions by listening to their presentation, and asking them questions (in class, after class, during office hours, or via email).

     Also, you will be asked to serve as a “surrogate reader” (Booth et al., p.25) for one student in your session to read and submit written comments and suggestions on their bi-weekly drafts. In the first week of September, you will have the name of this student.

2.      Step-by-step approach. In this course, the process of conducting research is emphasized. We adapt a step-by-step approach to allow you to spend an appropriate amount of time on each part of your research; exchange ideas with others; and to prevent you from drafting the entire report a few days before the end of the semester.   

3.      Work-in-progress report (WPR): Four times during the semester, you will submit an electronic copy of your WPR with the relevant section completed to the instructor and to your “surrogate reader.” Based on the comments from the instructor, your surrogate reader and the class, you will be constantly updating your report. Submissions are to be composed in a font such as Times, 12 pts, double space, 1’ margins; the final report submissions will be in paper format, not electronic.

4.      Logistics

·        You need to e-mail a copy of your draft to your surrogate reader and the instructor on the last Sunday (not later than 6 pm) before your presentation day.

·        The readers should submit their written comments (cc: the instructor) within the next two days, not later than 6 pm on Tuesday;

·        You present your paper, approximately 7 minutes long, 3 – 4 power points, in class.

5.      Etiquette. The usual rules of polite behavior apply – activities, which disturb others, including the instructor, are not acceptable. This includes late arrival, early departure, activated electronic devices, and conversation during class.

6.      Plagiarism & Honor Code. In this course, academic integrity is of the highest importance. Consequently, plagiarism will not be tolerated.

Course Outline:

Events:

60^th Annual UN DPI/NGO Conference
Climate Change: How it Impacts Us All

Wednesday – Friday, September 5 – 7, 2007

United Nations, New York

Ambassadors’ Lecture Series

Ambassador Claude Heller of Mexico

Monday, October 29, 2007

Reid Castle @ 6:30 pm

Ambassadors’ Lecture Series

Ambassador Augustine P. Mahiga of the United Republic of Tanzania

Thursday, November 15

Reid Castle @ 6:30 pm