Instructor: Erik Kaarla

(ErikKaarla@Champlain.edu)

Tue / Thurs 3.30 – 4.20 PM Classroom: Freeman 103

Peer Mentor: Chris Ellingwood (Flogger177@aol.com)

Office Hours: Tuesday 9.30 – 10.30 or by appointment. I can also be reached at the e-mail listed above, or at (802) 860 -1857. If I am out please leave me a message with your phone number and preferred time for me to return your call.

REQUIRED TEXTS

Goldsweig, Shelli, First Year Seminar Reader

Fremont, Helen. After Long Silence

REQUIRED & RECOMMENDED MATERIALS

· A 2” (or larger) 3-ring binder

· Two sets of tab dividers to use in your binder

· Loose-leaf paper

· Highlighters, pens, pencils

· 4x6 or 5x7 note cards

· Small post-it notes

· Academic Planner (calendar)

· 3-hole punch

The following supplies are not required, but are highly recommended

· Stapler/staples

· Paperclips

· A Watch that works

· A College-level dictionary

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course is designed to help you make a successful transition to college by recognizing and mastering critical academic skills. Unlike most of your courses, this seminar focuses as much on process (how to do certain general tasks that are central to your success in college) as on content (what you must know to pass a given course). The seminar format requires hands-on learning and a high degree of participation. The course is paired with SOC 110-00 Intro to Sociology. I will be attending this class with you for the first half of the semester, and we will incorporate its content into the First Year Seminar as a basis for practicing the skills you will be learning. If you drop the Intro to Sociology class, you cannot continue in the First Year Seminar.

Some of the skills you will explore in this class include:

· understanding and using your class syllabus at the highest level

· critical reading applications

· time management practices

· strategies for test taking

· effective note taking

Additionally, you will be introduced to the broad array of resources available to you at Champlain that are designed to enhance your chances of academic success.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

During our time together this semester and beyond you will:

Demonstrate your understanding of the roles & responsibilities of a competent college student by:

· Attending/participating in classes and study groups

· Meeting with Instructors, Peer Mentors, Advisors, and Support

Staff outside of class

· Designing a realistic schedule at Champlain that accommodates

academic, social and health needs

· Keeping all scheduled appointments

· Keeping an up-to-date daily planner

· Completing all assignments on-time

· Learning about and using the academic and social resources of

Champlain College

· Honoring all academic and student policies

· Attending campus events and activities

· Asking for help and guidance when necessary

· Showing respect for classmates, faculty and staff in and out of

class

2. Demonstrate your ability to apply basic study skills through:

· Consulting syllabi regularly

· Keeping records of assignments, due-dates, exams, etc. in your

daily planner

· Practicing effective note-taking

· Keeping a well-organized notebook of coursework

· Developing and practicing exam preparation methods

3. Identify your learning style and the pros and cons of that style. Develop strategies that build on this knowledge and generate success in a variety of classes by:

· Taking Learning Style Inventory

· Reflecting on how your learning style determines preferences for processing information

· Deciding what types of teaching styles require changes in your learning methods

· Strategizing and practicing alternative learning methods

· Evaluating the success of your strategies

4. Exhibit your capacity to access and use Champlain College support services by:

· Attending a session at the Writing, Computer, Accounting or Math Lab

· Using Library on-line research tools

· Visiting Career Planning Office

· Visiting Advising Center

5. Show your development of critical thinking and reading skills, using discipline-specific sources of information by:

· Identifying distinguishing characteristics of critical thinking

· Recognizing the difference between facts and opinions

· Recognizing themes or claims

· Recognizing facts which support themes or claims

· Recognizing point-of-view and implications of point-of-view

· Recognizing evidence used to support themes and claims

· Evaluating persuasiveness of oral and written ideas

6. Explore and understand technology that applies to your major and to the academic world at large through:

· Becoming competent with simple HTML code and PowerPoint

· Using Library on-line research tools

· Working with online graphics

· Designing a variety of documents quickly and efficiently

7. Demonstrate the use of effective written and oral communication skills by:

· Completing weekly written assignments with minimal grammatical and/or spelling errors

· Actively participating in class discussions, asking and answering questions that promote thoughtful discussion

· Utilizing varied vocabulary and multiple examples, similes, and analogies in order to address all learning styles

· Choosing appropriate communications media based on the importance, urgency and content of messages

COURSE POLICIES

1. Assignments are due as scheduled. Late assignments will lose one full letter grade.

2. Academic honesty is required in the preparation of all course work including exams, reports, and other assignments. All students are expected to be familiar with, and adhere to, the Academic Honesty policy outlined in the student handbook (The Rudder). In accordance with the College Policy, a grade of “zero” will be assigned for any case of plagiarism or cheating. Please see me if you need clarification of the policy.

3. Students are expected to attend each class and to actively participate. Three absences will result in dropping a full letter grade and an Academic Referral; excessive absences may result in being dropped from the course. Excused absences will be granted on a case-by-case basis, and do not excuse the student from homework or other assignments associated with missed classes.

4. Use of cell phones and/or pagers is prohibited in class. If you have an extenuating circumstance that requires you to be reachable during class, please see me prior to the start of class. Let’s make class a simple grounded environment.

I am available to help you during office hours, scheduled appointments, or via e-mail and phone. It is especially important to notify me if there are extenuating circumstances interfering with your ability to progress in the course.

STUDENT EVALUATION

Course Component	Objective(s)	Value (%)	Grade Calculation
Class attendance and participation	All	10	93-100	A	73-76	C
Portfolio	1 & 2	20	90-92	A-	70-72	C-
Academic Planner	1	5	87-89	B+	67-69	D+
Content Course Connection	All	20	83-86	B	63-66	D
Homework	All	25	80-82	B-	60-62	D-
Co-curricular assignments	1 & 4	20	77-79	C+	59 or less	F
Total		100

Note: Mid-term grades of Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory are mailed out in October. Students receiving a grade of Unsatisfactory will receive an academic referral.

1. Attendance & Participation: active participation in class discussions includes asking and answering questions, as well as contributing observations and insights pertinent to the discussion at hand. The ability to constructively participate in group discussions is an important professional skill. You are expected to be on time and prepared (readings and assignments completed). Arriving late to class will count as half an absence. Each full absence will lower your score for this component by three points.

Criteria for evaluating attendance and participation:

a. Marginal = present in class with all basic materials.

b. Acceptable = meets criteria in “a” and has all assignments completed, is prepared to participate if called upon.

c. Good = meets criteria from “a” and “b” and asks questions that promote class discussion and understanding.

d. High quality = meets all criteria from “a” through “c” and answers questions raised by instructor and/or other students in a well-considered, accurate fashion.

2. Portfolio: You will develop a portfolio, using a 3-ring binder, to include all notes, handouts and assignments for the First Year Seminar and the Intro to Sociology course. We cover how to organize this binder in class. I will be informally reviewing your portfolio throughout the term, and will do a formal review at midterm and the end of the term to determine your grade for this component. You may choose to develop an online version if you are more comfortable with this format.

3. Academic Planner: You will need to obtain, and actively maintain, an academic planner to record due dates for assignments, exams/quizzes, appointments, special events, etc. I will review your use of the planner at the same times as I review your portfolio.

4. Homework: You will have regular assignments, based on the FYS textbook, your content class textbook (Sociology), After Long Silence, and handouts that will be distributed throughout the term. Late homework will lose a full letter grade. No homework will be accepted later than the class period following the original due date. You may leave homework in my mailbox, e-mail it to me, or have someone deliver it for you (you are responsible for making certain it actually gets to me).

5. Co-curricular Commitments:

· Meet with me individually three times during the semester, at a mutually agreed-upon time and place outside of class

· Meet with a peer mentor (Chris) at least once

· Attend the Petra Cliffs activity on Sunday, September 7th

· Attend Helen Fremont’s large community reading on September 18^th and one of the workshops on September 10th

· Attend at least 2 other activities on campus

· Attend one of the following labs: Accounting/Math/Computer Lab or Writing Center)

· Attend at least 3 hours of study group sessions

· Interview one of your professors and submit a reflection paper on what you learned

All of the above activities are for your benefit. With some simple enthusiasm for these co-curricular commitments you can receive maximum points for participating in these events. Grumbling and undermining the experiences of the class as a whole will not improve your grade. Please be respectful of each other in this regard.

COURSE SCHEDULE

Class work

Homework

Related Projects

Semester-long assignments:

1. Complete a weekly reflection on what you learned this week (more detail to follow)

2. Social butterfly hunt: bring coordinates (time, place, etc.) for at least three on- or off-campus non-academic events you think would be worth attending (you do not need to actually attend)

Week 1

9/2

Intros, course overview

Sharing sociological theories and ideas on life direction

Have all info on Petra Cliffs ready

9/4

The roadmap towards your future career. Matching career choice with persona.

Complete notebook set up with notes from Sociology class. Be prepared to research your future career direction thoroughly.

Create your “Me in Ten Years” PowerPoint slides. (See assignment handout for details!)

Week 2

9/9

Analyzing a syllabus

Read pages 1-10 in the FYS textbook.

Reflection on Petra Cliffs experience.

Complete syllabus overview for each of your classes and file in notebook; add key dates to academic planner

(“Up from Slavery”; “Beyond Tribalism”)

Create term paper list and project overview sheet. Carol Moran-Brown and Trevor Hanbridge visit from Champlain Counseling and International Student Services

9/11

Time management

Read and fill in pages 11-22 in the FYS textbook

Complete personal time management outline. (“Making the Most Out of College”)

Share time management grids/outlines

Week 3

9/16

Note taking

Read and fill in 23-32 in the FYS textbook

Analyze your notes to date, and identify where improvements could be made: Sociology topic notes revisitation.

Begin generating a Thematic Material Work Sheet

9/18

Using the advisory resources & ARC visit; Read FYS textbook 39-42 selection on a new identity

After Long Silence: The power of identity. Bring a Thematic Material Work Sheet based on the book to class and be ready to discuss it. (“Who Shall I Be?”)

Attend Helen Fremont’s Discussion Events and Dinner Sept. 10^th and September 18^th

Week 4

9/23

FYS Textbook reading (SQ3R)

Complete SQ3R worksheet for current Sociology text

Critical Thinking Assignment: What is the relevance of the study of sociology? Answer this in a 2-page essay.

9/25

Getting help – on campus resources visit

Create concept map for current Sociology chapter

Interview an instructor of your choice and provide a brief transcript of the interview to be handed out to your classmates. Be sure to include the instructor's title, affiliations, office location, and specialties.

Week 5

9/30

Understand learning styles

Identify your learning style & describe how it helps/hinders your success in Sociology. What will you do to exploit / correct this?

Generate a brief reflection paper examining your learning style. Identify your strengths, weaknesses and compromises within the paper.

10/2

Test preparation and test taking

Hold study group session; report on how well it worked/did not work. What will you do differently next time?

Produce a TOP TEN list of the most significant "discoveries" and "understandings" that you came to during your time with your study group.

Week 6

10/7

Critical Thinking: The Ideas of Noam Chomsky

View the film “Manufacturing Consent” and choose and reflect upon some of Chomsky’s views on the media.

Prepare an essay using the Reflection Paper format.

Please focus on the relationship between our American society and the media.

10/9

Appreciating diversity:

The Champlain College Experience

What differences do you see among your classmates? Do these enhance /inhibit your ability to learn at CC? Why is this important?

Commemorate the ideas revealed in our class discussion on diversity by creating a piece that goes into your portfolio. Please combine the written and visual forms in this work.

Using deliberative dialogue.

Week 7

10/14

Champlain Recess – no class

Enjoy some time off!

10/16

Assessing your progress

What goals did you meet? Where did you fall short?

COURSE SCHEDULE (continued)


Week 8	T	10/21	Setting goals/ Schedule & pre-registration	Prepare Spring registration plan Marion Rosenthall visit from the Academic Resource Center	Begin meeting once per week
	Th	10/28	Mid-semester review: EXAMINATION OF PORTFOLIOS	What will you change in the 2^nd half of the term? Planning the annotated bibliography.	Push forward in creating a final project reading list.

Week 9	T	11/4	Intro to research and term paper composition	What electronic tools do you expect to find most helpful when doing research? What hard-copy tools will you use? What advantages /disadvantages do each offer?	Have an annotated bibliography prepared: Have it available on paper and diskette/CD Rom format.

Week 10	T	11/11	Critical thinking: Topics in Sociology	Now that you have prepared an annotated bibliography please attempt to begin formulating at least three questions that you hope to be answering through your varied readings. How will these ideas fuel your thesis of your final paper in Intro to Sociology?	Have 3 questions listed along with 3 brief paragraphs of predicted answers on a diskette. Brief presentations to ensue during class time.

Week 11	T	11/18	Using PowerPoint	Create a presentation: Surviving Freshman Year at College	Have your presentation available on the college server or on CD/diskette so that we may view it during the next class.

Week 12	T	11/25	Viewings of Surviving Freshman Year at College Piecing together the portfolio	What is the nature of a solid portfolio?

Week 13	T	12/2	Portfolio techniques	Style vs. Content	Sign up for final instructor conf.

Week 14	T	12/9	Assembling final portfolios	Finalize portfolio & review with instructor.	Hand in a 3-hole binder with your compiled portfolio or an address for your electronic submission.

Week 15	T	12/16	Preparing for finals	Study for finals!

Portfolio Guidelines

A comparatively large percentage of your grade is based upon your final portfolio. Though this compilation of your experiences and insights through the semester may seem like a daunting work, there are some actual benefits in creating this “structure.” As you are continually experiencing and learning throughout the semester, the portfolio can be seen as a scrapbook of your freshman year experiences. It is quite possible that you will be able to use some of the included papers, images, and thematic material in it to fuel your future academic work at Champlain. The portfolio is a compendium of new knowledge for you to draw upon. In keeping with this spirit, the way that it will be evaluated will reflect on its originality and purposefulness. Please see the following grading rubric:

First Year Seminar Grade Final Grade

Portfolio Evaluation
	2	3	4	5
Completion	The portfolio is missing significant pieces	The portfolio is missing some pieces	The portfolio is complete	The portfolio is complete with additional material
Reflection	The reflections are incomplete	The reflections are partially complete	The reflections are complete	The reflection are all complete and give strong insight to learning
Evidence (Artifacts)	Very few artifacts	Artifacts are missing	All artifacts are included	All artifacts are included and represent a wide range of participation
Content	The content is thin.	Most of the required content pieces are included, but few are dealt with in a substantive manner.	All of the required content pieces are included, as well as some of the optional ones. This student examines some of the content substantively.	All of the required content pieces are included, many of them extensively and insightfully examined. In addition, much of the optional content—and perhaps even some that is self-discovered—is included.
Production	You should have been more mindful in designing and producing the portfolio. Generally, it’s sloppy and poorly edited. It seems rushed.	At times, you show that when focused on doing a professional job, you are able to produce good work. But the quality is uneven; some of it needs more attention and time.	This project is well produced. It is attractive, neat, and orderly. The writing needs little editing, and the evidence is detailed. You obviously spent a lot of time producing a good portfolio.	The portfolio is exceptionally well produced. In other words, it’s very attractive, neat, and orderly. The writing is fully edited; the evidence is detailed and carefully selected. You spent a lot of time bringing a professional touch to your portfolio.
Verve	Here and there enthusiasm and energy glimmers, but it’s faint. Reading the portfolio one finds oneself wishing that you had been more committed to demonstrating joy in learning.	Although from time to time you allow yourself to have fun accomplishing the portfolio, the evidence of commitment to and joy of learning is decidedly uneven.	At times, there is evidence that you had a lot of fun doing the portfolio and that when inspired, you enthusiastically addressed the challenge.	Ample evidence of commitment to and joy in learning throughout. You accepted this challenge with remarkable energy and enthusiasm: with VERVE!

Reflection Paper Guidelines

A solid reflection paper should start out by answering the questions that all good journalism moves towards: WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY, and SO WHAT? Your responses should be clear and meaningful. The reflection paper should strive to explore how you now feel differently towards a fresh perspective or a new skill learned. As is the case with any good essay, it is essential to have a central thesis and to explore it through employing good writing practices. In grading your writing the following criteria will be employed:

Breakdown of Essay Components

Grade

Thesis

Organization

Evidence

Mechanics

The writer knows what he/she wants to say and why he/she wants to say it. The thesis is the governing idea that clearly determines what goes into the entire essay, and the writer uses the thesis to change the reader's vision.

Every paragraph supports the main argument in a coherent way, and clear transitions point out why each new paragraph follows the previous one.

Concrete examples support general points within the essay. The essay explains the source and significance of each example.

The essay uses correct spelling and punctuation. In short, it generally exhibits a good command of academic prose.

The essay has a solid, consistent focus, but it doesn't quite know why it does what it does.
The essay includes some imaginative ideas that hint at a convincing and important argument, but they are not yet working as an argument.

The essay as a whole works in a logical way, but the paragraphs within it do not always follow a consistent logic. Some paragraphs do not offer a reason why they appear where they do.

The essay offers a mix of solid evidence and unsupported generalizations. It uses most evidence well, but the essay needs some more or needs to clarify the significance of some of what is already there.

The essay contains occasional but limited errors in syntax, agreement, pronoun reference, and/or punctuation.

The essay replaces an argument with a topic, giving a series of related observations without suggesting logic for their presentation or a reason for presenting them.

The observations of the essay are listed rather than organized. Often, this is a symptom of a problem in developing the thesis, as the framing of the essay has not provided a path for evidence to follow.

The essay offers very little concrete evidence, instead relying on plot summary or generalities to talk about a text. If concrete evidence is present, its origin is not clear.

The essay contains frequent errors in syntax, agreement, pronoun reference, and/or punctuation.

The essay lacks even a consistent topic, providing a series of largely unrelated observations.

The observations are listed rather than organized, and some of them do not appear to belong in the essay at all.

The essay offers no concrete evidence or misuses a little evidence. It does still try to support its thesis, though.

The essay contains consistent and basic errors in syntax, agreement, reference, spelling, and/or punctuation.

The reflection paper itself will be evaluated with the following rubric:

Scoring Rubric: FYS Reflection Assignment

Writing	Does Not Meet Objective			Meets Objective
	0	1	2	3	4
Purpose	Purpose and focus are not apparent.	Purpose and focus are minimally apparent.	Attempts to establish a purpose; focus of writing not fully clear.	Establishes a purpose and focus.	Establishes a clear purpose and focus.
Organization	Lack of organization makes writing almost impossible to follow.	Serious organizational problems make writing difficult to follow.	Lapses in organization affect unity or cohesion.	Organization moves forward with few lapses in unity or cohesion.	Organized from beginning to end, logical progression of ideas, fluent and coherent.
Voice or Tone	No personal expression or appropriate tone.	Attempts at personal expression or appropriate tone.	Some personal expression or appropriate tone.	Establishes personal expression or effective tone.	Distinctive personal expression or appropriate tone enhances the writing.
G.U.M.	Errors render writing very difficult to understand.	Errors interfere with understanding.	Numerous errors are apparent and may distract the reader.	Some errors or patterns of errors are present.	Few or no errors present. OR departures from convention appear intentional and are effective.
Content	Does Not Meet Objective			Meets Objective
	0-3			4-5
Experience	There is no personal experience conveyed, or what’s conveyed does not come together to make meaning.			Writer conveys personal experience with clarity.
Insight	The writer only describes experience, never pausing to reflect on the experience’s significance.			Writer reflects on personal experience and considers its meaning(s).
Evidence	Little or no evidence to support the writer’s position.			Writer offers evidence in the form of examples, statistics, and quotations to support her/his position.
Depth of Reflection	Paper shows little depth or reflection and is mostly written on the surface.			Strong evidence of critical and reflective thinking linked to personal experience. It is evident that much thought and passion was put into this paper.
Score				Percentage_______ Grade_______		____ out of 36

Citing Sources Correctly

As honor students you are well aware of the power of using outside authorities and primary resources in support of your academic work. In this spirit I would recommend you getting well acquainted with both MLA and APA referencing styles respectively. The Modern Language Association essentially determines the style of outside source notation for the humanities. Your typical English paper will employ MLA style.

The American Psychology Association determines the style of outside notation for the social sciences. In your sociology class you will be employing this as a vehicle for source notation.

Neither one of these citation methodologies are rocket science, yet they require quite a large amount of practice in order to recognize the specific approaches and nuances that make for a professionally presented paper that accurately presents all source materials.

Thematic Material Worksheet

What is thematic material? It is simply a way to identify the major points involved in a piece of writing or performance. When exploring themes it is important not to just list random ideas like “the power of money.” If money as power is presented again and again in a text – what other ideas are linked to this? How is power defined? What are the connections established between power and money by specific characters and institutions in the written work?

In preparing a thematic material worksheet, I would like you to include the following:

Text Box: QUOTATIONS: Who said it and how does this reflect on the character?

CONTENT: What exactly was this person discussing?

INTERPRETATION: Does the author offer any clues as to the exact meaning or
significance of the idea being reflected upon?

CORRELATION: Where else does the information go? What else does it
connect to?

Forming Study Groups

For the first study group event (10/2), please log what you did and write a brief memo with concern as to what you accomplished in your group review. It will be extremely valuable to know about both the negative aspects and the positive aspects about your collective study session. Please include in your memo information on what specific concepts and theories were examined in detail during your study session. Please include the names of your study group members in your memo.

Critical Thinking Assignments

The purpose of the critical thinking assignments is to allow for an opening up of thought on such topics as ethics, politics, government, diversity, cooperation, and everyone’s favorite – the nature of power. Within the critical thinking assignments is room for you to observe and understand your reactions towards specific themes. I would ask that you dive right in and begin to question the nature of knowledge itself. Can you find it in a textbook, in an instructor, on the Web, or in an internationally established figure?

Within the critical thinking assignments is room for you to report, criticize and assess the issues being examined. Please feel free to bring up related topics and concerns in your reflection papers.

The following pages will address the topics themselves and introduce the major thematic material:

Noam Chomsky

Noam Chomsky (1928 - )

Noam Avram Chomsky was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on December 7, 1928. He received his early education at Oak Lane Country Day School and Central High School, Philadelphia. He continued his education at the University of Pennsylvania where he studied linguistics, mathematics, and philosophy. In 1955, he received his Ph. D. from the University of Pennsylvania, however, most of the research leading to this degree was done at Harvard University between 1951 and 1955. Since receiving his Ph. D., Chomsky has taught at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he now holds the Ferrari P. Ward Chair of Modern Language and Linguistics. Noam was married to Carol Schatz on December 24, 1949 and has two children.

Chomsky has made his reputation in linguistics. He learned some of the historical principles of linguistics from his father, William, who was a Hebrew scholar. In fact, some of his early research, which he did for his Masters, was on the modern spoken Hebrew language. Among his many accomplishments, he is most famous for his work on generative grammar, which developed from his interest in modern logic and mathematical foundations. As a result, he applied it to the description of natural languages. As a student, Noam was heavily influenced by Zellig Harris, who was Professor of Linguistics at the University of Pennsylvania. It was Chomsky’s sympathy to Harris’s political views that steered him toward work as a graduate student in linguistics.

Noam has always been interested in politics, and it is said that politics has brought him into the linguistics field. His political tendencies toward socialism and anarchism are a result of what he calls "the radical Jewish community in New York." Since 1965 he has become one of the leading critics of U.S. foreign policy. He published a book of essays called American Power and the New Mandarins which is considered to be one of the most substantial arguments ever against American involvement in Vietnam.

Chomsky is very respected and has been honored numerous times in the academic arena. He has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of London and the University of Chicago, as well as having been invited to lecture all over the world.

In 1967, he delivered the Beckman Lectures at the University of California at Berkeley. In 1969, he presented the John Locke Lectures at the University of Oxford and Sherman Memorial Lectures at the University of London.

Noam Chomsky was born December 7, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of William Chomsky, an emigrant from Russia. His father was a teacher of Hebrew and published a scholarly edition of a medieval Hebrew grammar. Between 1940 and1945 he became acquainted with the workings of the socialist-anarchist New York City Jewish intellectual community and considered emigrating to Israel to work for Arab-Jewish cooperation.

Between 1945 and1950 Chomsky was a student at the University of Pennsylvania and began his study of linguistics. During this time, he proofread Zellig Harris’s Methods in Structural Linguistics and developed a sympathy for Harris’s ideas on politics. He was also a student of Nelson Goodman, the radical-empiricist philosopher. In 1951, he accepted nomination by Goodman as a Junior Fellow to Harvard University. In 1953, Chomsky traveled to Europe. En route, he resolved that his attempt to formalize structural linguistics would not work because language was a highly abstract generative phenomenon. Determined that his further work should concern models of this phenomenon.

During the year of 1955, he left his Fellowship at Harvard University and obtained a position at MIT where he taught for the next 19 years. He was also married to Carol Chomsky, a Professor at Harvard. Noam now holds Ferrari P. Ward Chair of Modern Languages and Linguistics. Between 1965 and1973, he played a major role in the American resistance against the Vietnamese policy of the United States Government, he published views on Southeast Asia and United States policy in magazines such as New York Review of Books and Ramparts and spent a week in North Vietnam just before Cambodian invasion. Truly, Noam Chomsky is an impressive man.

References:

Lyons, John. Modern Masters: Noam Chomsky. New York: The Viking Press, 1970.

Rai, Milan. Chomsky’s Politics. London: Verso, 1995.

Leiber, Justin. Noam Chomsky: A Philosophic Overview. Boston: G.K. Hall and Co., 1975.

Related Chomsky Information:

http://www.synaptic.bc.ca/ejournal/chomsky.htm Above passage is from this Web site.

http://www.zeitgeistvideo.com/manufacturingconsent/mc.html This film will be available on reserve at the Champlain College Library. Feel free to view it in groups or individually.


			"AN INVIGORATING INTRODUCTION TO ONE OF THE LEAST SOPORIFIC OF AMERICAN MINDS." - Vincent Canby, THE NEW YORK TIMES

			Funny, provocative and surprisingly accessible, Manufacturing Consent explores the political life and ideas of world-renowned linguist, intellectual and political activist Noam Chomsky. Through a dynamic collage of biography, archival gems, imaginative graphics and outrageous illustrations, Mark Achbar and Peter Wintonick’s award-winning documentary highlights Chomsky's probing analysis of mass media and his critique of the forces at work behind the daily news. Available for the first time anywhere on DVD, Manufacturing Consent features appearances by journalists Bill Moyers and Peter Jennings, pundit William F. Buckley Jr., novelist Tom Wolfe and philosopher Michel Foucault.


			Noam Chomsky reflects on the film * Extended excerpts from the1969 Firing Line debate with William F. Buckley Jr. * Filmmaker bios and production notes Running time: 167 mins Aspect ratio 1.33:1

The Interview

When doing an interview it is extremely important to go into the entire process with powerfully interactive questions. In interviewing a professor at Champlain asking a simple "Do you like teaching at Champlain College?" will not necessarily illicit all sorts of wonderful observations and clever stories. Always have more questions ready than you need to ask.

Some interviewers use tape recorders and some prefer taking notes. How about employing both of these techniques? If you have the entire interview on tape or even on camera, you obviously tend not to forget any relevant details.

Know something about the person and their role at the college. Have some point of reference ready to use even if you are interviewing a professor of nuclear physics. Look up what exactly takes place in the study of nuclear physics. What are some of the main areas of debate that even the general public tens to understand?

Finally, try to pursue a theme of some sort when you are interviewing a flesh and blood human. What kind of a person do they seem to be and what is their life philosophy?

Create and find the heart of the story:

Lessons from the National Writers Workshop (http://www.poynter.org/dg.lts/id.5243/content.content_view.htm)

Hearts and Guts: Writing the Personal Profile

By SUSAN AGER
Lifestyle Columnist, Detroit Free Press
Synopsis by BINH HONG

When Susan Ager, lifestyle columnist for the Detroit Free Press, was 10 years old, she was diagnosed with diabetes. That experience has defined her life.

She thought she wouldn’t live past 30. She’s now 47. She thought it would be too dangerous and decided never to have kids.

"Until you understand your own life, you can’t hope to write about someone else," Ager said.

Struggles help define a person, she said. Struggle and change are inherently interesting.

When writing a profile, think of yourself as the reader. Why would you want to read about someone you’ve never met? Can you see ways this person is and isn’t like me?

"It’s that animal instinct in humans that makes us want to sniff each other," she said.

Most profiles do not tell someone’s internal resume – feelings, thoughts, who they were at different points in their lives.

Every life has a plot, where the internal and external resumes are combined. Every life has a turning point or fork in the road. Every life has oddities, quirks and surprising details.

"With every question you ask, you’re pulling a thread," Ager said. "Some lock and don’t go anywhere; others unravel and reveal who a person is."

Journalists can introduce readers to the people they are too busy to get to know themselves, she said.

Yet, to a reader, many profiles are like meeting too many people, and they can’t remember any specific one. Good profiles have anecdotes that reveal how the person became who they are.

The subjects of profiles could be people who are on the brink of change, unusual people, people in the community others may have wondered about but never bothered to notice, such as someone who styles the hair of dead people.

"I used to think the world was divided into two people – the interesting and the boring," Ager said. But her husband pointed out that maybe she hasn’t asked some of them the right questions yet to make them interesting. So now she practices by talking to strangers on airplanes.

Questions to ask yourself while preparing a profile:

Why this person?
Why now?

What kind of profile should I try to do?

A vignette: A moment in time.
A day in the life
Fifteen minutes of fame

Psychological profile

Do readers understand why they should care about my subject?
What’s the payoff for readers?
Can I provide insight and/or inside details about my subject?
What do average readers want to know?
What’s the payoff for my subject?
Why should he/she admit to this process?
Can I watch my subject work/live/play?
Will I keep the interviews conversational?
Will my questions be fresh, direct, specific?
Will I ask about mundane details, as well as touchy, intimate matters?
Can I make time for two, three or more interviews, even if they are brief?
Have I talked to others who understand my subject or might see my subject with different eyes?
Do I, by the end of my reporting, understand what motivates my subject, and will I make that clear to readers? Is my story plump with vivid, memorable details about how my subject works and lives?
Will the reader want to recount those details to friends?

The Annotated Bibliography

Annotated Bibliography Guidelines

Essentially, the annotated bibliography is a compilation of information on information. As the writer you give information on the book or journal and then you provide a synopsis as to how this info fuels your own research applications and investigations. The writer must write and arrange the bibliographic entries (citations) just as in any other bibliography. This is usually arranged alphabetically by the first word, which is typically the author’s last name. Plan to use a specific and focused style such as APA, MLA, Chicago, CBE, etc. The annotation may then immediately follow the bibliographic information or may skip one or two lines depending on the style manual that is used. Remember to be brief and include only directly significant information and write in a detailed manner.

SAMPLE ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY ENTRY FOR A JOURNAL ARTICLE

► Note: Following examples are from http://www.library.cornell.edu/okuref/research/skill28.htm#sample of Cornell University Library Services

The following example uses the APA format for the journal citation:

Goldschneider, F. K., Waite, L. J., & Witsberger, C. (1986). Nonfamily living and

the erosion of traditional family orientations among young adults. American Sociological Review, 51, 541-554.

The authors, researchers at the Rand Corporation and Brown University, use data from the National Longitudinal Surveys of Young Women and Young Men to test their hypothesis that nonfamily living by young adults alters their attitudes, values, plans, and expectations, moving them away from their belief in traditional sex roles. They find their hypothesis strongly supported in young females, while the effects were fewer in studies of young males. Increasing the time away from parents before marrying increased individualism, self-sufficiency, and changes in attitudes about families. In contrast, an earlier study by Williams cited below shows no significant gender differences in sex role attitudes as a result of nonfamily living.

This example uses the MLA format for the journal citation:

Waite, Linda J., Frances Kobrin Goldscheider, and Christina Witsberger. "Nonfamily Living and

the Erosion of Traditional Family Orientations Among Young Adults." American Sociological Review 51 (1986): 541-554.

Release Form

I _________________________________ give my permission for

(please print)

Erik Kaarla, my First Year Seminar Instructor, to have access to

any and all of my academic records and to speak with any and all

of my instructors and advisors concerning my academic progress

for the purpose of helping me to successfully transition into college life.

Signed _________________________________ Date ___________

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Meets Objective

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Noam Chomsky (1928 - )

References:

Related Chomsky Information: