Work & Grading | MIMS 603-18

Final Blog Project

Medium Blog Project

Everyone will prepare a final written project which will be published online in our class Medium Series. You will choose one of three substantive themes of the class (Restricting Movement, Skill & Economy or Forced Migration) and draw on the readings assigned to write persuasively and accessibly on a topic of your choosing. There are only three requirements: 1) You must rely on a minimum of 10 sources, at least three of which are from the syllabus; 2) you must engage meaningfully with an example outside of the Americas (though you can discuss the Americas in comparative perspective); and 3) you must engage your topic from an intersectional standpoint, that is, addressing one or more of the following - race, gender, sexuality, socio-economic status, religion, ability, age or another identity category.

Example topics:

What image of migrants does the IOM present in its “I Am a Migrant” campaign?
Are migrant detention centers like prisons?
As more women migrate for work are gendered assumptions about breadwinning changing?

Grading

Requirements, Assignments and Grading

Assignments Percentage of grade

Reading responses and discussion leadership 30%

Medium Blog Assignments 30%

Incorporating feedback on writing assignments 10%

Discussion Participation 30%

Class Attendance & Participation

Your participation in class discussion is absolutely essential for success – both for the success of the seminar itself and for your success academically. Coming to class prepared to contribute significantly and meaningfully throughout seminar is the most important way you will learn this semester. Participation will be evaluated by considering the following factors: attendance; discussing course material and themes; demonstrating evidence of comprehension and critical analysis; contribution of stimulating comments and questions to class discussion; and engagement with ideas raised by other seminar participants.

Reading Responses and discussion leadership

Everyone will sign up to respond to the readings and to co-lead our discussion of the readings at three different seminar meetings over the course of the semester. Critiques are ~1300 word responses which give us a short summary of the content, define the core concepts, identify the main argument(s), evaluate the evidence and raise questions to move our discussion forward. It is useful to think about the readings as in conversation with one another, and the weeks as in conversation as well, so don’t feel your critiques should be limited only to that week’s particular theme. Drawing connections, asking questions, and integrating material from across the semester will make your critiques, and our discussion, stronger.

Co-leading the seminar means being prepared to spend a minimum of 10 minutes kicking off our meeting by talking about the readings you critiqued, the theme and any relevant current events. It also means taking an active role in shaping our discussion for the entire seminar meeting by posing questions, directing our attention to particularly interesting or problematic passages, and generally keeping up energy and enthusiasm in our discussion.

Medium Blog Project

Everyone will prepare a final written project which will be published online in our class Medium Series. See details above. Grading is as follows:

Assignment Word Count Due Date Percentage

Format, topic & outline ~1000 9/20/18 5%

Draft of argument ~1000 10/11/18 5%

Draft of entire post At least 2000 11/1/18 5%

Final published post 3,500* 11/29/18 10%

*with flexibility, if you use images/video or other media

In-class presentation 15 mins 12/6/18 5%

Written Assignment Formatting:

All writing assignments should be written in Microsoft Word (Free USF download, here).

Format: Choose a sensible font in a sensible size, double spaced, sensible margins. Your work should be proofread for errors.
When you cite, please use any recognized system (Chicago, MLA, APA etc.) If you’re unsure how to cite something, then try your best. An incorrect citation will get a note from me about how to fix it; failing to cite ideas or words that aren’t yours will affect your grade.
All assignments will be submitted in hard copy in class AND on Canvas. The former allows me to get you detailed comments quickly, the latter is there just in case anything gets lost.
More details about the exact structure, content and purpose of each assignment will be given in class

Writing

Writing clearly, concisely and accurately is just as important as the content of what you are you trying to communicate. Checking your work for spelling and grammar errors before you submit it is very important. Everyone brings different levels of comfort, familiarity and enjoyment to writing. I do not have a predetermined threshold that your writing must meet, but at a minimum I expect that you have taken a small amount of time to proofread your work and that you have used spelling and grammar check as

needed.

Writing is a skill and it takes work to develop. There is a wealth of resources on campus for developing your writing abilities. If you would like additional assistance you can attend either a drop-in session or make an appointment at the Writing Center: https://myusf.usfca.edu/student-life/lwc/writing-center.

You may wish to make use of the online tools Grammarly and WriteLab (use your USF email to sign in to both.) I am also happy to discuss writing tips and advice in office hours.

In-class presentation:

Final presentations will be 15 minutes long and should be Ted Talk-style – that is, the focus should be on making your project engaging and interesting. Tell us the most fascinating things you’ve learned, and make your argument compelling.
You are encouraged to use visual, audio or interactive elements that suit your project.

Grading

Assignments