General Studies (GNST) 201 - Lecture S03
Inquiry Seminar: Identity, Participation and Place-Making
Fall 2008

Mondays 10:00-12:50 EDC 384

Instructor:	Dr. Chui-Ling Tam
Office Location:	SS 336
Office Phone:	(403) 220-7182
E-Mail:	cltam@ucalgary.ca
Web Page:
Office Hours:	Mondays 14:00-16:00 pm or by appointment

Additional Information

 

For electronic communication with the instructor, students are encouraged to use their ucalgary accounts or Blackboard - the instructor will normally reply within 48 hours, during regular business hours. Questions of general interest will be addressed in class or on the Discussion Board in Blackboard.

Course Description

First-year students are introduced to university-level research through identifying and examining struggles over space, and how humans participate in creating and shaping built and natural places. Possible places for investigation may include: parks, neighbourhoods, landfills, cultural and sport facilities, shelters, and transportation, among others. The motives for and styles, structures and processes of participation are determined by and help articulate who people are, the communities to which they belong, and their concepts of value and ethics. Students are expected to attend all classes, participate in class discussion, analyse primary and secondary sources, and attend public events, meetings, decision-making processes, and other communicative forums. Coursework is incremental, leading to a final research paper.

Objectives of the Course

The successful student will develop a deeper understanding of:

• how society is expressed and contested spatially
• how to ‘do' critical thinking, evaluation, and verbal and written expression
• how to conduct research with primary and secondary sources, including fieldwork
• how scholarly inquiry informs practical outcomes, and vice versa
• how to profit from teamwork, joint analysis, and critique by and with other students
• how to integrate source material into an original argument

Textbooks and Readings:

No textbook is required. However, students are expected to find readings through UofC Library holdings as part of their learning; these readings will in part be determined by the instructor, and in part negotiated and announced in class and/or on Blackboard.

 

Assignments and Evaluation

Task	Value	Due
Discovery assignment	None	Mon 8 Sep
Critical reading	10%	Mon 22 Sep
Seminar (idea generation)	10%	Mon 6 Oct
Field report (poster)	20%	Mon 20 Oct
Research proposal/dossier	20%	Mon 3 Nov
Research paper	30%	Mon 24 Nov
Test	10%	Mon 1 Dec

 

Discovery assignment      

This is an ungraded exercise designed to acquaint students with the university library and relevant sources for the course during the first week of classes.

Critical reading

Students will pick one of the articles ‘discovered' in the library exercise, and review it critically with reference to two other scholarly articles, and one relevant case study in the Calgary area based on any publication, event or personal experience. The case studies will be assembled for class discussion; students will collectively develop a selection of case studies or theme topics to pursue for a group work seminar.

Seminar

Each group of 4-5 students will make a 15-minute oral presentation to discuss research sources and data-gathering activities related to their case study. Non-presenting students are expected to engage in joint analysis, critique and brainstorming.

Field report

Student groups will present and critically reflect on the results of their data-gathering efforts by creating a ‘poster presentation' for sharing and viewing within the Faculty of Communication and Culture, at which students will be available to explain their work.

 

Research proposal/dossier

Students will develop a research proposal relevant to the course topic, including their ideas for references and other sources; the outline is a work-in-progress and subject to revision. In lieu of attending regular classes, students will schedule a one-to-one meeting with the professor to discuss their research proposal. Students will assemble all the reference materials, including scholarly articles, mass media publications, and cultural and social events that will be used in their research paper. These references will be presented with an annotated bibliography. Students should plan a one-to-one follow-up meeting with the professor. Maximum length of proposal is 500 words or 2 pages, excluding dossier and bibliography.

Research paper

Students will build on their experiences and assignments thus far in the course to prepare a research paper that addresses the them of identity, participation and place-making through a combination of theory, analysis, and case study evidence. A clear position must be stated or reached, via a clear purpose to test an hypothesis, answer a research question or defend a thesis statement. Students are expected to stay true to the spirit of their essay proposal, but may add to or delete materials from their research dossier as their essay develops. Tables, charts, images and list of references are not included in the maximum length. Approximate length is 3,000 words or 12 pages. There is no minimum length.

 

Test

This is a one-hour test to evaluate students' familiarity and perspectives with course themes, based on ideas introduced and discussed throughout the term.

 

Style and Length Requirements

Students are urged to stay within the maximum word and/or page length, or risk a penalty. A bibliography and brief appendix are not included in the length restrictions. All written assignments must be TYPED and DOUBLE-SPACED in 12 PT FONT. Page margins should be 1 INCH (2.5 cm) wide, and all pages should be numbered. Double-sided assignments are encouraged to save paper, but are not mandatory. Information to be included on the title page are: title of paper, course code, instructor's name, student's name, student ID, and date of submission. References should follow a bona fide format.

It is the student's responsibility to keep a copy of each submitted assignment.
Note: Please hand in your essays directly to your tutor or instructor if possible. If it is not possible to do so, a daytime drop box is available in SS110; a date stamp is provided for your use. A night drop box is also available for after-hours submission. Assignments will be removed the following morning, stamped with the previous day's date, and placed in the instructor's mailbox.

Registrar-scheduled Final Examination:  No

Policy for Late Assignments

Assignments submitted after the deadline may be penalized with the loss of a grade (e.g.: A- to B+) for each day late.

Writing Skills Statement

Faculty policy directs that all written assignments (including, although to a lesser extent, written exam responses) will be assessed at least partly on writing skills. For details see www.comcul.ucalgary.ca/info. Writing skills include not only surface correctness (grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, etc) but also general clarity and organization. Research papers must be properly documented.

If you need help with your writing, you may use the Writing Centre.  Visit the website for more details: www.efwr.ucalgary.ca

Grading System

The following grading system is used in the Faculty of Communication and Culture:

Faculty of Communication and Culture

Number to Letter Grade Conversion Table

 

Old Scale:	New, Effective Fall 2008
A+ 96-100	96-100
A 92-95	90-95.99
A - 86-91	85-89.99
B+ 81-85	80-84.99
B 77-80	75-79.99
B- 71-76	70-74.99
C+ 65-70	65-69.99
C 62-64	60-64.99
C- 59-61	55-59.99
D+ 55-58	53-54.99
D 50-54	50-52.99
F 0-49	0-49

 

The above scale will be used to convert final weighted scores to final grades.

 

Where a grade on a particular assignment is expressed as a letter grade, it will normally be converted to a number using the midpoint of the scale.  That is, A- would be converted to 87.5 for calculation purposes.  F will be converted to zero.

 

Plagiarism

Using any source whatsoever without clearly documenting it is a serious academic offense. Consequences include failure on the assignment, failure in the course and possibly suspension or expulsion from the university.

You must document not only direct quotations but also paraphrases and ideas where they appear in your text. A reference list at the end is insufficient by itself. Readers must be able to tell exactly where your words and ideas end and other people's words and ideas begin. This includes assignments submitted in non-traditional formats such as Web pages or visual media, and material taken from such sources.

Please consult your instructor or the Writing Centre (SS 106, efwr.ucalgary.ca) if you have any questions regarding how to document sources.

Students with Disabilities

If you are a student with a disability who may require academic accommodation, it is your responsibility to register with the Disability Resource Centre (220-8237) and discuss your needs with your instructor no later than fourteen (14) days after the start of the course.

Students' Union

For details about the current Students' Union contacts for the Faculty of Communication and Culture see www.comcul.ucalgary.ca/su

"SAFEWALK" Program -- 220-5333

Campus Security will escort individuals day or night -- call 220-5333 for assistance. Use any campus phone, emergency phone or the yellow phone located at most parking lot booths.

Ethics

Whenever you perform research with human participants (i.e. surveys, interviews, observation) as part of your university studies, you are responsible for following university research ethics guidelines.  Your instructor must review and approve of your research plans and supervise your research.  For more information about your research ethics responsibilities, see

The Faculty of Communication and Culture Research Ethics site: http://www.comcul.ucalgary.ca/ethics

or the University of Calgary Research Ethics site: http://www.ucalgary.ca/research/compliance/ethics/info/undergrad/

Schedule of Lectures and Readings

Week	Date	Topic and activities	Outcome
Wk1	Sep 8	Introduction and library tour	‘Discovery' of scholarly works
Wk2	Sep 15	Developing information literacy and identifying academic literature	Critical thinking and analysis
Wk3	Sep 22	Brainstorming, group work, fieldwork. (Short class. Groups meet with instructor)	Competency and confidence in public participation
Wk4	Sep 29	Conducting reconnaissance/initial research, preparing a poster.	Understanding sources, academic research and documentation
Wk5	Oct 6	Seminars: public speaking, brainstorming, feedback	Competency and confidence in presentation and evaluation
Wk6	Oct 13	Thanksgiving. No class.
Wk7	Oct 20	Mutual evaluation of posters and poster show	Field report and poster. Feedback, presentation skills
Wk8	Oct 27	Preparing a research proposal and dossier. Gathering and documenting evidence.	Learning to refine ideas and developing a good argument. Bibliography and research rigour
Wk9	Nov 3	Redrafting a work-in-progress (WIP) (No class. One-to-one meetings with instructor.)	Quality time to talk individual research.
Wk10	Nov 10	Reading Days. No class.
Wk11	Nov 17	Talking through research paper, sharing research tips	Self-directed and shared learning
Wk12	Nov 24	What makes a good research topic? Time management.	Final research paper.
Wk13	Dec 1	Post-mortem and test	Being part of a knowledge-making community