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The guided reflections are an opportunity to reflect on the significance of several practices described in assigned readings, and to explore connections between those practices and a daily practice you create for yourself. Write as if you were articulating your thoughts not just for your own reflection or for me to assess, but also to provide explanations for a peer (vs. a specialist) who is unfamiliar with the topic.
The sequence and due dates of these assignments are as follows, with links to the more detailed instructions listed further below.
| Due
Dates |
Assignments |
| February
22 |
turn
in daily
practice text |
| March 10 |
written
assessment
of practice text after
this date |
March 8 |
first guided reflection worksheet (India) |
| March
15 |
first guided reflection (India) |
April
14 |
second guided reflection worksheet (China) |
| April
21 |
second guided reflection (China) |
May 12 |
first guided reflection worksheet (Comparison) |
| May
19 |
final
reflection (Comparison) |
| May
10-21 |
oral assessment
of practice text |
This assignment is designed to get you to experience for yourself what it is like to engage in a daily art form or ritual that manifests some culture in which you participate. You will need to refer to this practice in step # 3 of each guided reflection (see below).
Instructions:
1. Choose one of the art forms or rituals listed below, which should take 2-5 minutes to complete. It should be something that helps you think about your place in the world, or your relationship to some greater reality, or is in some other way significantly meaningful to you--SOMETHING THAT YOU WILL BE WILLING TO DO EVERY DAY. You may also email me with an alternative that you feel better meets your needs; but note that practices done without approval early in the term will NOT receive full credit.
Texts, songs, etc. for all of these may composed either by you or someone else. In particular, in the first option listed above, you may copy someone else's work.
2. Find a set time every day when you are able to do your practice. Pick a time that you will be able to keep daily as much as possible.
(a) If you recite something as part of your practice, to begin with you may read your text, but after a couple of weeks you should make a specific effort to memorize it to whatever extent you haven't already done so.
(b) If you are creating something as part of your practice, written or other (see the first option above), make sure to keep a record of your work.
As you do the daily practice, pay attention to what happens to your thoughts and mood.
Assessment: Description,
including text of any passage recited, DUE beginning of class Thursday,
February 22.
(a) If you recite something as part of your practice, memorization
of your chosen practice text will be assessed, first, in writing during a class session (unannounced), sometime after March 10 (end of Unit 1), and then orally, during a private appointment scheduled at the end of the term (see schedule above).
(b) If you are creating something as part of your practice, I will ask you to write a description of what you have done in the previous week when others write out their passage, and then bring the products of your creative activity during your end-of-term appointment
In either case, you will use this practice as a reference point in the third part of each of the reflections described below.
Extra Credit: if you choose a text that is composed in a classical language--i.e., Latin, Classical Greek, Hebrew, Sanskrit, Classical Chinese, etc.--you will receive up to 5 extra points (depending on your success) for your overall score.
Asian Practices & Related Terms
Guided reflections require that you select one practice for each unit from the list below, which is divided into two groups:
A. practices found in sources assigned for TRAs and TAs.
(I generally expect a greater degree of precision in guided reflections that draw on (A) the first group of sources, since we have analyzed them together in class.)
B. those found in optional sources available for extra credit.
(I generally am more flexible in scoring guided reflections that draw on (B) the second group of sources, and will award up to five points of extra credit for the additional reading required to complete the assignment. Extra credit sources listed in either group can also be read & analyzed independently in order to increase TRA scores.)
Each practice is followed by two sets of terms:
These are to be analyzed in the second part of the guided reflection worksheet
(download PDF/MS
Word for Units 1 & 2).
**IMPORTANT:
you must analyze at least one term from
each of the two sets.**
Unit 1
A. Practices described in ASSIGNED sources |
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B. Practices described only in additional, EXTRA CREDIT sources |
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Unit 2
A. Practices described in ASSIGNED sources |
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B. Practices described only in additiona, EXTRA CREDIT sources |
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Unit 3
A. Practices described in ASSIGNED sources |
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B. Practices described only in additional, EXTRA CREDIT sources |
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Guided Reflections (Units 1 & 2)
Intended Audience:
Think of your audience for the guided reflections as an American peer who is keenly interested in Asian culture, but who has not studied it in an academic context. This person wants to know about (1) some specific example of what real people in Asian cultures actually do--their art forms, rituals and customs. Yet (s)he is also interested in (2) what those people think and say about the unseen powers and forces that they relate to what they do, and the social context for their individual actions. Finally, the most interested of such conversation partners will want to understand (3) not only contrasts but also similarities between their own American cultural context and those you have studied in the course. The worksheet provided below challenges you to address these questions in detail; you will then use the material generated by your responses on the worksheet to write a more cohesive, 5 page essay or story intended for the above reader.
Choose one of the Asian art forms, rituals, or customs (all broadly referred to as "practices") listed for the relevant unit under "Asian Practice & Related Terms" above. Make sure that
Ideally, the Asian art form, ritual, or custom you choose should also have something in common with your own daily practice, although that Asian practice will most likely also be quite different from what you are doing each day.
Once you have chosen your story, complete all three parts of the "Guided Reflection Worksheet" available for download (PDF/MS Word), which asks you to address the three points numbered in the first paragraph above. Although the questions on the worksheet are laid out for you, the thinking process required is the most challenging task you will undertake for this course, requiring you to integrate many of the skills honed through team assignments.
A completed worksheet, submitted BOTH in the SacCT dropbox (under "Assignments") AND brought to class, will receive 25 out of the total number of points for the assignment. No partial credit will be given; incomplete forms will be returned for completion.
Once you have completed the worksheet, bring a printed copy of it with you on the day it is due (March 17 for Units 1-2, May 12 for Units 3-4). At the beginning of these classes, you will exchange your worksheet with another student, making sure to find someone who has chosen a source different than yours to focus on. You will have 5-7 minutes to read each others' papers and make marks and notes, as follows:
When the time for reading has elapsed, exchange papers again and read the comments on yours. Then ask questions about anything you don't understand, and thank the person for their feedback.
Unless your partner for this exercise is a speed reader & writer, you will not receive comments on the entire worksheet and will need to complete this stage outside of class. Your options are:
A completed worksheet, turned in with a minimum of 10 comments (at least 3 praises and 3 critiques), will receive 25 out of the total number of points for the assignment. No partial credit will be given; unreviewed or incomplete forms will be returned for completion.
The final step of this assignment is to write a 5 page essay based on the deep analysis and reflection stimulated by the worksheet and its review. Your paper should include the same three things addressed in the worksheet:
These three points should be integrated by extracting the most important details from the GRW, as suggested by questions 1(g)/(h), 2 (e)/(f), 3(c)/(d) & summary B. This final product will be assessed based on (a) thoughtfulness with which initial responses on the worksheet have been revised and integrated and (b) the extent of and insightfulness with which the essay, story, etc. addresses the three points ennumerated above.
Creative Options: I encourage you to consider options other than the 3rd person, declarative prose of a standard academic paper, including but not limited to:
IMPORTANT: If you choose one of these alternative genres, make sure to include parenthetical page numbers references within the text--e.g., "The Rg Veda praises the sun" (p.105)--*even if you don't quote your source directly*, and even such references seem out of place in such non-academic writing.
Standard Paper Option: If you choose to write in 3rd person, declarative prose, make sure to frame your paper in a way that is understandable to someone unfamiliar with the class or the assignment (see "Intended Audience"). Such a person would not know what you mean by "my chosen Asian practice," "the term I chose that relates to the unseen/to community," or "my daily practice;" so delete these phrases and talk in more generally understanding terms about what you and people do, what they think about what they do, and who they relate to as they do it. Also make sure to include
Cutting and pasting responses from your worksheet may provide a solid foundation for the final product, but note that in most cases (as suggested in GRW summary B) such responses will require substantial revision to receive an adequate score.
Finally, please observe two WRITING TIPS for standard academic prose:
"All cultures have practices that inspire people in various communities to reflect..."
"Throughout this course we have studied many examples of people in Asia doing practices that inspire reflection."
"In considering this practice, it is very important to understand term X."
"There are many similarities but also some differences between my practice and that of culture Y."delete it and focus more precisely on the details of the practice & terms and what you want to say about them. For example
"The practice of A in culture B vividly demonstrates that reflection and community can...."
"At least some of the people engaged in the practice of X necessarily reflected on the concept of Y, as evidenced by..."
"While A is done in culture B and what I do is part of contemporary American culture, they both serve the purpose of..."
NOTE: you can view samples of final products in the "learning modules" tab in SacCT.
REMINDER: As noted in the syllabus, I will generally elect severe penalties for academic dishonesty (which in journal reflections usually involves inclusion of material from uncited sources): a zero score for the assignment, and failing the course for a second offense. You are responsible for reading my comments regarding the importance of academic honesty, and my no-tolerance policy for incidents of dishonesty, in FAQ, #10-13; as well as for requesting clarification if there is anything you do not understand.
Other Requirements for Final Product (Stage 3):
**IN CASE OF LOSS, ALWAYS KEEP AN ELECTRONIC COPY!! **
See also FAQs re: late papers & formatting.
Extra Credit: up to five points of extra credit may be given for any reflection that indicates thorough reading of one of the optional primary sourceslisted for the relevant unit under "Asian Practice & Related Terms" above. Make sure to hand-write "PLEASE CONSIDER FOR EXTRA CREDIT" at the top of your paper if you wish you reflection to be considered.
Intended Audience:
As you approach the end of your term in this course, the peer addressed in your first two guided reflections wants to know: Is Asian culture an irresolvable diversity, or are there unifying cultural threads binding all of Asia together? And what about Asian culture outside of India and China? And what are the most important differences and/or similarities between the different Asian cultures you've been telling me about?
The Final Reflection worksheet guides you through the in-depth process of comparing examples from two different parts of the course, using the same structure as in the first two reflections, which culminates in a 5 page paper. Once again, the steps are clearly laid out by the form, but the thinking process required for this final assignment is even more challenging than before.
Step 1: Worksheet
Rather than focusing on a single Asian art forms, rituals, or customs (i.e, "practices"), for this assignment you should choose two similar or contrasting Asian practices: one from Unit 3 (chosen from those listed under "Asian Practice & Related Terms" above) and the other from either Unit 1 or 2 (chosen from the earlier lists for those units). The practice from Unit 1 or 2 can be the one that you already considered in an earlier reflection, or it can be something new.
As before, the Asian art form, ritual, or custom you choose should ideally also have something in common with your own daily practice, although that Asian practice will most likely also be quite different from what you are doing each day.
Once you have chosen your story, complete all three parts of the "Final Guided Reflection Worksheet" available for download (PDF/MS Word), which asks you to address the same three points as before, with two changes: compare two practices in #1, one term addressing reflection of the unseen and one addressing community for each practice (a total of four terms) in #2. As before, the thinking process required is the most challenging task you will undertake for this course, requiring you to integrate many of the skills honed through team assignments.
As before a completed worksheet, submitted BOTH in the SacCT dropbox (under "Assignments") AND brought to class, will receive 25 out of the total number of points for the assignment. Again, no partial credit will be given; incomplete forms will NOT be returned for completion since this is the end of the term, and will receive a zero for this part of the assignment.
Step 2: Peer Review
The peer review process for the final guided reflection is the same as that for the previous two reflections. As before, no partial credit will be given. Unreviewed or inadequately reviewed forms will NOT be returned for completion since this is the end of the term; they will receive a zero for this part of the assignment.
Step 3: Final Product
Once again, the final step of this assignment is to write a 5 page essay based on the deep analysis and reflection stimulated by the worksheet and its review. Your paper should include the same three things addressed in the worksheet, which in this case are
Remember that these three points should be integrated by extracting the most important details from the GRW, as suggested by questions 1(g)/(h), 2 (e)/(f), 3(c)/(d) & summary B. As before this final product will be assessed based on (a) thoughtfulness with which initial responses on the worksheet have been revised and integrated and (b) the extent of and insightfulness with which the essay, story, etc. addresses the three points ennumerated above.
Creative Options: As before I encourage you to consider options other than the 3rd person, declarative prose of a standard academic paper (see options listed under "Guided Reflections (Units 1 & 2)"), making sure to include parenthetical page numbers references within the text even if you don't quote your source directly.
Standard Paper Option: If you choose to write in 3rd person, declarative prose, make sure that you adapt what you have written in your worksheet for a more general audience and provide a clear structure as advised for the previous two reflections. Remember that cutting and pasting responses from your worksheet may provide a solid foundation for the final product, but in most cases such responses will require substantial revision to receive an adequate score.
[Please review the writing tips and samples mentioned under "Guided Reflections (Units 1 & 2)"]
REMINDER: As noted in the syllabus, I will generally elect severe penalties for academic dishonesty (which in journal reflections usually involves inclusion of material from uncited sources): a zero score for the assignment, and failing the course for a second offense. You are responsible for reading my comments regarding the importance of academic honesty, and my no-tolerance policy for incidents of dishonesty, in FAQ, #10-13; as well as for requesting clarification if there is anything you do not understand.
Other Requirements for Final Product (Stage 3):
**IN CASE OF LOSS, ALWAYS KEEP AN ELECTRONIC COPY!! **
Review also FAQs re: late papers & formatting.
Extra Credit: up to five points of extra credit may be given for any reflection that indicates thorough reading of one of the optional primary sourceslisted for the relevant unit under "Asian Practice & Related Terms" above. Make sure to hand-write "PLEASE CONSIDER FOR EXTRA CREDIT" at the top of your paper if you wish you reflection to be considered.
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