Assignments & Tests

Map of assignments and tests

Quick links to the below descriptions (or use the sidebar tab)

Participation — Prose (and concepts) segment

Agenda of the concepts / prose segment (sessions 2-11):

The agenda of the concepts / prose portion of the class is to set out some basic frameworks having to do with considering narrated love in general, then consider more closely world views / values of East Asia relevant to our topic. This means some initial comments on body/text, psychology, narratology and such, then introductory lectures on Daoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism but only those aspects most relevant to our topic. It includes some comments on Western romantic ideals, to help situation the discussion. We then explore the presence of these in premodern texts from Korea, Japan and China.

Goal:

• The primary question to answer is: "In what ways do Daoism, Confucianism and Buddhism affect love narratives of CJK?"

• The product: Perfect or near-perfect attendance, lively contributions to class discussion based on your careful and thoughtful reading of the material to be covered, and attention paid to me and other students. Background work on the concepts might be necessary if you know little about any one of these: Daoism, Confucianism and Buddhism. In particular, Confucianism is pervasive, provides various terms important to us. Daoism and Buddhism are more specific in their relevance and general knowledge about them doesn't link as directly to our course topic.

Grading rubric

Participation for this segment of the course means a careful reading of the material, attentive presence in the classroom (listening to me and other students), questions to clarify your own understanding, and energetic attempts to interpret the narratives at hand. In particular, the material must be read by the class session when the material is covered, not by the time of the midterm, and should be read carefully for narrative development (plot) and how the narrative is delivered (which means, by the way, that reading summaries of the texts is of low value) in terms of what that means about the status of world views and values.

Key elements for me will be attendance, equal attentiveness in class to both me and other students, and equal energy expended in reading and considering all three texts of CJK. Notice that these are "effort" type grades. Timesheets help me make a judgment. I understand that the analysis is difficult and many of the concepts new and unusual. I am more interested in your effort to sort these things out, at this early stage in the course.

Things that greatly benefit your grade in this segment:

• Good preparation (thoughtful, on-time reading of assigned material).
• Thoughtful contributions during class when appropriate—some of these sessions are mostly lecture-style but once we consider the texts we are more in a discussion mode.
• Perfect attendance (or showing me that you have covered the missed material) and attentiveness to all.

Things that put your grade at risk in this segment:

• To do two of three texts is not a "B" level grade. It is a "C" or lower grade, given the comparative project of the class. To do well only one of the three is definitely in the "D" to "F" range.
• To miss more than one class is very risky but might be OK if you establish ways to cover the material missed and can show me (probably through a written submission designed by you) that you have done so.
• Multi-tasking in class, even slightly.
• To not listen to others.
• Attentive listening without contribution cannot be an "A" although if that student seems to be contributing ideas at the team level that will be rewarded in the team project segment. We are in the business of talking with each other, sharing ideas, and the class does not function without diverse opinions offered.

About the grade given

When the prose segment is over or nearly over, I will enter grades in the gradebook and you will have access to that grade, if interested. This grade will then later be kept in mind when assigning the participation grade at the end of the term. Therefore, it isn't a "hard" grade that is part of a mathematical formula but is, approximately, 1/3 of the value of the participation grade given later.

Participation — Film segment

Agenda of the film segment (sessions 13, 15–16, 18–19, 21–22, 24–25):

We cover together five films in this course (products of Hong Kong, Beijing, Taipei, Tokyo, and Seoul). (Your team is probably also considered at least two more films, although you are welcome to use the films in this course.) We intersperse this with team reports. In this way we gradually refine our observations. Each film has a focus on some cultural aspect and most of our discussion will center around whatever that topic might be.

Goal:

• The primary question to answer is: "In what ways might Daoism, Confucianism and Buddhism (and some other worldviews and values) continue to affect love narratives and in what ways do they not, and what does this suggest about changes in cultural concepts relevant to love in CJK?"

• The product: Very good attendance, lively contributions to class discussion based on your careful and thoughtful viewing of the films to be covered, and attention paid to me and other students. Background work on the films is a big plus.

Grading rubric

To answer our questions, we are trying to look past the obvious through a careful consideration of the films in their narrative and what non-discursive film components (cinematography, music and ambient sound, body language / speech style). If you have skimmed or skipped or not finished the film your comments will lack depth. The best preparation is to view the film with your group, discuss it, and thus be ready for class. There are online materials to help in preparation and I expect you to have read them carefully. Since this is no longer groundwork material, attendance is slightly less important than earlier but near perfect attendance is still best. Since equal energy to all three countries is a bottomline requirement for the course, I will be particularly concerned if you miss a film from a culture with which you are less familiar. Timesheets will help me make a judgment in this category.

Things that greatly benefit your grade in this segment:

• Good preparation.
• Thoughtful contributions—give it a try even when unsure!
• Excellent attendance and attentiveness to all.

Things that put your grade at risk in this segment:

• To not have viewed the films is pretty much disaster for this grade.
• To not have covered the assigned support material has a similar effect.
• Multi-tasking in class, even slightly.
• To not listen to others.
• Attentive listening without contribution cannot be an "A" although if that student seems to be contributing ideas at the team level that will be rewarded in the team project segment. We are in the business of talking with each other, sharing ideas, and the class does not function without diverse opinions offered.
• Remember the rules: "average Joe" and "all about love".

About the grade given

When the film segment is over or nearly over—and this will be at the end of the term—I will enter grades in the gradebook. Depending on how busy my grading schedule is, you might or might not have access to that grade. If you are very concerned about your grade in the course, we will need to start a dialogue on that earlier than when this grade is determined. Like the film segment participation grade, this isn't a "hard" grade that is part of a mathematical formula but is, approximately, 1/3 of the value of the participation grade given when calculating final grades. However, since I am interested in your increased ability to interpret love narratives as the term progresses, increased participation during this segment will likely over-shadow uncertain contributions in the prose segment.

Participation — Team project (TCP)

Agenda of the team project (all course sessions once team membership is announced, based on in-class activity but also on the team report):

Goal:

• The primary question to answer is: "In what ways might Daoism or Confucianism or Buddhism (or some other selected worldview or value, in any event you need a specific focus) affect, or not, the love narratives of the films you have selected and might this suggest about changes in cultural concepts relevant to love in at least two countries from the CJK set?"

• The product: Design a role in the team project that is substantive, plays in part to your linguistic and cultural strengths, but includes most definitely engagement in a culture of the CJK set that is less familiar to you.

Grading rubric

The key elements here are having an equal role in team activities (including what you do, team meetings and team discussion), and an equal role in the comparative analysis (you can't just be the Japan specialist, for example).

Things that greatly benefit your grade in this segment:

• A cooperative attitude towards scheduling meetings.
• An equal role in team activities (including what you do, team meetings and team discussions both in and outside of class). Timesheets will help me make a judgment on this.
• An equal role in the comparative analysis. (You can't just be the Japan specialist, for example.)
• Giving one of the four presentations.

Things that put your grade at risk in this segment:

• An evident passive attitude towards the team (as I might observe in class or otherwise learn of or notice).
• An evident imbalance in interest towards one or two (if dealing with three countries) of the countries that are part of the team project.
• Skipping or being late to team meetings, particularly when having committed to attendance.
• Dominating a team, thinking that you need to organize them to get a better grade. This will work against you. Equal discussion/contribution from all team members is the best team project profile you can hope for. Please avoid the "males speak - females listen" communication pattern.
• Conversely, allowing others to do the work and discussion of the team. It is your responsibility to talk with your team, your team leader, or me, if you feel your ideas are being shut out.

Things that are grade neutral although you might worry that they are not:

• Some are not well-cut out for presenting. I can usually tell who these students are but you can communicate with me if you think I don't know that about you. If you skip the responsibility when it seems you could do a good job, that is a negative, but if you skip presenting because it really isn't your thing, I can understand that. To be on the safe side, you should probably replace this work with some other sort of contribution to the team.
• There will be a team leader. This does not improve the participation grade but if your leadership is particularly good this might be considered as general extra credit and might slightly improve your grade. However, in practice, group leaders tend to be "A" students in this course and so there wouldn't be a grade difference, unless you are tied for the "A+" and this becomes a deciding factor.

Participation — Presentations built around "instances" (films segment of course, spring 2013 only)

Definition

This is a presentation to the class on a scene selected by the team (or two scenes if your purpose is to compare, the "instance") based on a prompt by me. The presentation question or theme prompt might be given in class or might be given before class, so watch the announcements. If will not announce a prompt less than 24 hours before the class session. If I have given a prompt ahead of time it means, automatically, that you, working in the blind, bring two ideas to the session and hand a copy of these two me at the beginning of the session. Your name should be on the paper, the time stamp for the scene, a description of the scene, and why you think it is a good choice.

Process

Each team gives a presentation that includes showing the scene AND projecting an outline or statement.

• "Showing" the scene might be screening it, or only a part of it, or just showing a still image if that is sufficient for your purposes.
• "Projecting" will be described below.

The presentation content might be selecting a scene to help answer one of the questions already stated on the module, or it might be in response to a theme prompt by me ("money" "deception"), in which case it is in two parts: interpretation, then analysis.

• "Interpretation" means, essentially, "we think this is what is going on in this film". It might include point out aspects of the scene that might easily go unnoticed (such as the upside-down spade making a heart in Black Widow's exchange with Chow in 2046).
• "Analysis" explores what the teams interpretation of the instance might suggest regarding the given theme and the team here should provide either tentative conclusions "Might this suggest ..." or interesting lines of further analysis "If this interpretation is true, perhaps we should look as X or Y in this film and see if ...." Something along those lines.

It will probably help us follow you if you keep interpretation and analysis separate as you present, and label them, but sometimes there is greater clarity in not splitting them apart. Use your good judgment.

When possible, bring a copy or copies of the films to class to facilitate searching through them. (When there is only one copy of, for that matter, only one laptop, you are severely limited in moving around in the film. The more laptops with film access, the better.)

Presentations will be for four minutes:

• first 2 minutes—teams present their ideas,
• third minute—I will probably ask a student or two to respond to the presentation's content,
• final minute—I will continue with student questions or might make a further comment.

Please designate one of your team members to be a "timer". This person raises her or his hand 20 seconds before the end of the presentation BEFORE their own presentation, to signal me to wrap up. This person is also responsible to tell the team when to start the presentation and as well as stopping the team at the 2-minute mark (which means that, if that person has a spoken part in the presentation is should not be the last part, so the person is free to watch time).

Presentations will be screened like this:

• Half the screens will have the scene you wish to project. You can run this silently or with the sound on. However, if the sound is on please do not speak during the sound.
• Half the screens will present the outline or main point or such of your presentation. I will provide a GoogleDrive link. Therefore someone in the team needs a laptop or notebook that can upload to GoogleDrive.

Grading rubric

If the team works on their own presentation rather than listening to that of others, they will be disqualified from presenting and will receive zero credit for their work. Please, no talking and no writing, just alert listening and asking questions.

It does not at all enhance participation grades for everyone to speak a portion of the presentation. Do this only if, for other reasons, that is good for you.

Please remember that participation, the way I grade it, is not only about what you contribute to the class but how carefully your are listening to the presentations of others. We are sharing ideas, not showing off ideas.

If you were to have brought ideas to the session, these will be evaluated by me.

While there are no official grades on this exercise, your activity related to it is very important to me in getting an overall sense of your participation in the film segment of the course. It is, therefore, related to that aspect of your overall grade profile.

Midterm 01

Test coverage

Sessions 02 - 11: lecture content, and assigned readings.

Test structure

The test is closed book for all three parts.

Part A is multiple choice, checking your memory of major characters and major events in all three works, as well as lecture content on the wide variety of ideas we have covered (major points, not subtle points). It will be about 20 questions long. It will NOT key in to a certain text so, for example, I might ask "Woman who killed others due to jealousy" and give choices and the correct answer, the only correct answer would be Rokujo. She represents jealousy, is an icon of it, and thought there are others who might also have killed for jealousy, they are not the BEST answer. I might ask "Which thought system / religion suggests that a married couple can be successful even without romance?" (Confucianism is the best answer.) This part of the test will have a limited amount of time since these are the sorts of answers you should know immediately, in real time, not something you slowly work towards. Perhaps 15 minutes for the 20-25 questions.

Part B will be one essay question based on a short passage that is key to one of the texts. The passage will not have its context given and will be abbreviated. The idea here is that you have read the actual work, not a summary of it, and you have read well enough to understand a major scene when you encounter it. Since it will be from one text only, to prepare you need to read all three works since you will not know which work will be given to you in particular. (There will be at least four passages distributed so that you are not sitting next to someone with the same passage.) ... This part checks whether you have read beyond the simple question of "What happened?" and understand something of the themes, atmosphere, worldview and values of the text.

Part C will require a comparison of all three texts, and will check to see that you handle all three texts will equal vigor, interest and knowledge. (Remember that if you are comparing "A" aspect and it is present in only two of the three texts, there are still things you can say—about its absence. Comparing things that are present is not the only type of comparison.) It will be a very short prompt based on the EA105 Course Basics content (so I will be seeing if your essay pursues, within bounds and following the course rules, the goals and themes of the course). Review the page since you will not have access to it during the exam. I have wanted to rewrite this page, to tailor it better to our class this semester but have not found the time to do so, and probably won't. However, if I do make changes over the weekend, I will announce them. If I have made no changes by Monday 10 PM, I will not make any. ... This part checks whether you are in tune with the goals of the course and are developing the expected skills in the special methods of this course.

What to bring to the test

A pencil for Part A!! I will not accept anything else. An eraser of some sort.

For Parts B & C, since you will be writing a lot (essay) so you can use your favorite writing instruments. Pen / pencil, I don't mind, but please avoid light colors that are hard for me to read.

Paper, time announcements and such will be provided by me.

On test day

Arrive on time. There will be a seating chart.

Make a rest room stop before the exam. If you must leave during the exam, you will need to turn in your test as far as you were able to get and that will become the basis of the test grade.

Midterm 02

Quizzes during the film segment of the course (Spring 2013)

I have been unable to persuade students to arrive on time. I usually have very little time to set up a session (explain what we will do) since much of what we do takes up large chunks of class time, and my mind is racing, and when students arrive late part of my mind goes back over what I said to see if it needs repeating and/or I make an estimate of how disadvantaged the student will be, or the team, if it is not re-explained and to what degree I will be using the day's activities towards a grade of some sort. Late arrivals, therefore, throw me off rhythm significantly. The noise of the knocking, then asking someone to open the door, and so on are also disruptive.

So ....

On a day when there is a pop quiz that quiz will start promptly at the beginning of class. There will probably already be an index card sitting at your spot. I will project a question or questions to be answered, probably within 60 seconds. These will be simple questions that can easily be answered if you watched your film. They do not ask for analysis; I'm just checking whether you read the assigned module material, or recall an important point from the session just before this one, or watched the film.

Examples from Flying Daggers: "Who died in the final scene of the film?" "Who took a bath in that film?" Examples from 2046: "Did Jing Wen get married?" "Who do we see in the taxi?" (Chow, Bai Ling, Su Li Zhen — any one of these would be correct.) "The first time we see Jing Wen on screen, she is saying over and over "Maybe I'll go." "Yes, I'll go." etc. The camera shows a close-up of her _______ ."

Examples from modules: these would be similar to the sorts of questions I've already been asking at the beginning of class but I would select the easier of these.

Examples from a prior session: Last time I showed a scene where Chow was strongly trying to get Bai Ling to accept a gift, as a way of apology. The next scene I showed was about money. What was it?

The projected questions will be in four quadrants (the rectangular screen will be divided into four areas). Those areas will be numbered 1, 2, 3 or 4. You will answer the question(s) that is associated with your name on the teams sheet. (I have updated the team HTML in give everyone on number. Access it through the sidebar tab "Teams".) Inside the quadrant will be a written question or a screen capture from the film. If it is an image, identify it with a simple sentence but be specific. If it is a scene of, say Bai Ling and Chow talking at a dinner table, and you say "That is Chow and Bail Ling talking" that won't be enough. You should add "and this is where they discuss the $5,000" or such, anything to get it from the generic "talking" which happens all the way through the film.

As stated above, I might ask questions about module background content, or film content, or the previous session (not the previous previous session) content. Not all students will have the same type of question.

Quizzes cannot be made up. The door will close at 9:40 and will not be opened until after the quiz is complete.

The quiz grade will be calculated as part of the Midterm 02 grade. The rationale is that I will be asking for interpretations on that midterm and my belief is that students who are present in class participating over and again in our various ways are learning the methods of the course and those who are absent are less expert at this. So the quiz tracks on-time attendance and outside class preparation (solid viewing of the film).

Quizzes will not be returned. Grades may or may not be posted. Let's see how it goes. In theory, everyone should score perfect on these quizzes, since the questions will be easy.

Midterm 02 itself (Spring 2013)

Announced Sat, April 27, 2013:

Consider viewing ahead of time the films on the following playlist (a total of about 1:15). You will need to use at least one of them for the final: EA105Sp13 Final. (Email me if you cannot get access!) Of course they will be shown on test day (I will select two from the list) so if you don't want to bother you can see them then. They will be shown once, then silently looped after that (probably). Also, there are questions in a bSpace folder (EA105Sp13 Midterm 02) for the exam. While they were written for specific films, I have hidden the film titles so, at this point, you do not know which questions might be for which films. There will also be other questions, unannounced at this time, that you can choose from. To prepare for those, just refresh in your mind the premodern readings and class films. Also, there is a sheet to print out and bring to the exam. Notice that there is a space for you to write notes into (about films, books, character names, whatever). Except for that space, this is a "closed book" exam.

Announced Mon, April 29, 2013:

I have made available, on bSpace, some of the instructions for tomorrow. You should most definitely read those ahead of time. They are complicated and represent only half of the instructions / questions. You should also read carefully the model questions provided earlier. They appear in similar forms on the test. Doing these two things now will save you 20 minutes of precious time.

On that sheet I note that it is open book. Please do not print out a bunch of stuff for this exam. It is very unlikely to help you at all.

Having a device with internet access is very useful and I recommend it. However, I have a Plan B for those who do not own such devices, or in case AirBears itself is off line for some reason.

Arriving on time is critical. I will first pose a choice at 9:40 and you must answer on the spot. If you are not there, I have a default choice for you already. Further, the next thing I will do is screen the short film. If you are not there you will miss the screening. If you are not there for the screening, and also do not have an internet enabled device to view it then on your own, you will need to take a makeup test with me. It will be challenging, so I suggest you do what is necessary to be there on time.