Tests & Assignments

Map of tests and assignments

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

PARTICIPATION: Contribution to discussion — Prose (and concepts) segment

From the syllabus: "You are expected to share your considered and informed opinion during the discussion of the premodern texts." By "considered" I mean thoughtful comments relevant to the theme and goals of the course that are grounded in good preparation. (Thus pop quizzes and such that check preparedness are part of this grade category.) If you are absent, please be extra participatory when present, to help make up the lost value to the group for your time when absent. Please note that just listening in this class does not achieve a full score in this grade category.

PARTICIPATION: Contribution to discussion — Films segment

From the syllabus: "You are expected to share your considered and informed opinion during the discussion of the films." By "considered" I mean thoughtful comments relevant to the theme and goals of the course that are grounded in good preparation (reading the modules, viewing the films with care). (Thus pop quizzes and such that check preparedness are part of this grade category.) If you are absent, please be sure to view on your own the segments missed and be extra participatory when present, to help make up the lost value to the group for your time when absent. Please note that just listening in this class does not achieve a full score in this grade category.

PARTICIPATION: Team facilitation

Your dynamic contribution to team discussion is absolutely essential. Your cooperative engagement with the team to facilitate meetings times (including arriving on time and prepared) is equally essential.

SHORT ESSAYS: Essay 01 (comparing the premodern texts and cultural contexts of China and Korea)

Content

Do not discuss your essay content with anyone. If you need assignment clarification, please ask me, not your fellow teammates or classmates. This work is to be done entirely on your own. Any other approach will be considered by me as academically dishonest.

Length: 500-1000 words for the body of the short essay (so, in other words, not counting the footnotes, if any, or bibliography, if any).

Document (file) type options: .doc, .docx, .rtf, .pdf

Put your name at the top, and then include this prompt: "Based on the style and tone of "Ch'unhyang" (Korea, premodern prose) and Story of the Stone, (China, premodern prose), what do you think are the authors' apparent definitions of love and what are the authors' attitudes towards it? (Measure style and tone as best as you can imagine—since most of us are reading it in some type of translations—based on our class discussions of the cultural context or other things you know about the authors and their writing contexts, what gets detailed attention, what is skipped, plot variations that are minor but suggest something of the authors' attitude, dialogue, humor, violence, and so on.)" Based on these comments, make some tentative comparison of the cultural context of Stone with that of "Ch'un-hyang".

Use standard MLA style requirements—see the specifics under the definition of style, bibliography with annotations on the Key Concepts & Terms page. (Might as well learn these now, since they will be required for all other submissions, too.)

Include a bibliography if relevant.

Late penalties

It is important to me that each student has the same amount of time to work on this assignment. Anything else is not fair because there is, indeed, a certain tight time framework as part of the assignment. Therefore, I am very strict about the timing of the submission. The percent deducted has been designed to be high enough that you will probably conclude that it is better to submit an imperfect essay than to continue to work on it. The late penalty, after 30 minutes past the deadline, will probably be a 60% reduction of whatever grade it would otherwise receive if it had been on-time.

*If I cannot open your document or if it is in any other way corrupt, it is not yet considered as having been submitted and resubmission might cause late penalties.

How to submit

Submit to me, by the deadline (see Course Outline-Schedule), via an attachment to an email, using the standard subject line and the keyword essayone.

Grading rubric

• Stay within the analytic rules of the course ("all about love", etc.)
• Remember the special definition of compare in this course (see Key Concepts & Terms page).
• Remain relevant to course theme and goals.
• Try to relate your comments to academic articles assigned and/or discussion in class.
• Clarity.

SHORT ESSAYS: Essay 2 (comparing the premodern texts, cultural contexts and/or film examples of China, Korea and Japan)

Content

Do not discuss your essay content with anyone. If you need assignment clarification, please ask me, not your fellow teammates or classmates. This work is to be done entirely on your own. Any other approach will be considered by me as academically dishonest.

Length: You are to answer both of the below prompts and the total of the two together should be 700-1200 words for the body of the short essay (so, in other words, not counting the prompts, the footnotes, if any, or bibliography, if any).

Document (file) type options: .doc, .docx, .rtf, .pdf

Put your name at the top, and then include these prompts, then answer them labeling them Prompt One Answer and Prompt Two Answer. (In other words, the two prompts are at the top and the answers follow, not one prompt than an answer then a prompt then an answer):

"Prompt One, on the three premodern texts: "Ch'unhyang" (Korea, 17th c.), Story of the Stone, (China, 18th c.) and Tale of Genji (Japan, 11th c.). Find a single instance from two or, better, all three premodern texts (so a total of two or three instances) that, when set side by side--that is, when all three (or two) are compared to each other--advance our thinking on Course Goal #3 (see sidebar). First list the three instances, giving each a separate paragraph. Then in a new paragraph(s) state how this three-way comparison advances our thinking. Absolutely avoid topical statements (example: "helps us think about cultural differences"). Instead, make content-rich statements (example: "the differences I see among these three are ... . The similarities I see among these three are ... . If this is true it suggests perhaps ... ."

"Prompt Two, on the two films: Chunhyang (Korea, 2000) and Double Suicide (Japan, 1969). Find one instance from each film (so a total of two instances) where a premodern value relevant to love has been altered or diminished or dropped. State the instance for Chunhyang (Korea, 2000) then, in a new paragraph, provide your observations / analysis. Then state the instance for Double Suicide (Japan, 1969) then, in a new paragraph, provide your observations / analysis."

Use standard MLA style requirements—see the specifics under the definition of style, bibliography with annotations on the Key Concepts & Terms page. (Might as well learn these now, since they will be required for all other submissions, too.)

Include a bibliography if relevant.

Late penalties

It is important that each student has the same amount of time to work on this assignment. Anything else is not fair because there is, indeed, a certain tight time framework as part of the assignment. Therefore, I am very strict about the timing of the submission. The percent deducted has been designed to be high enough that you will probably conclude that it is better to submit an imperfect essay than to continue to work on it. The late penalty, after 30 minutes past the deadline, will probably be a 60% reduction of whatever grade it would otherwise receive if it had been on-time.

*If I cannot open your document or if it is in any other way corrupt, it is not yet considered as having been submitted and resubmission might cause late penalties.

How to submit

Submit to me, by the deadline (see Course Outline-Schedule), via an attachment to an email, using the standard subject line and the keyword essaytwo (not "essay two" or "essay2"). Give your document the same title as the email subject line.

Grading rubric

• Stay within the analytic rules of the course ("all about love", etc.)
• Remember the special definition of compare in this course (see Key Concepts & Terms page).
• Remain relevant to course theme and goals.
• Try to relate your comments to academic articles assigned and/or discussion in class.
• Clarity.

MIDTERM

View ahead of time the films on the following playlist (a total of about 1 hour 15 minutes)—you will need to use at least one of them for the final: EA105Su13 Final. (Email me ASAP if you cannot get access!)

Special note: "da Capo" is an extra credit film short.

The support material should be viewed ahead of time as well (bSpace > Resources > Midterm > EA105Su13 Midterm support material.pdf).

The partially available test questions are at bSpace > Resources > Midterm > EA105Su13 Midterm early release partial version.pdf. They were written for specific films. I have hidden the film titles and some instruction content (using "XXXXX") until the beginning of the exam at 10 AM, so, at this point, you do not know which questions might be for which films.

Prepare by watching the film shorts ahead of time and refreshing in your mind the concepts, premodern readings and class films (the "three legs of the stool"). Remind yourself of what worldviews and values are and you should probably brush up on the word "compare", too. There are all on the Key Concepts & Terms page. Ask your classmates if you are unclear. I have already answered this question as best I can in class, and online.

Check to see if you have access to, and can edit, the GoogleDoc EA105Su13 Midterm Questions. It will be where you can ask question to me during the exam. Note that this makes your questions public to the other students taking the exam, which is only fair.

What to do before the midterm (as in ASAP Monday evening):

Email me confirming that you have access to the playlist and each of the seven film shorts that are there AND that you will be able to submit electronically by noon once your receive the midterm exam, which becomes available automatically on bSpace at 10 AM Tuesday morning. Use as a subject line EA105Su13 LASTNAME classname playlistOK. (By the way, one of you is consistently using EA103 Su13. Please change that to EA105 and get rid of the space between EA105 and Su13. Thanks.)

What to do on exam day:

Go to the GoogleDoc EA105Su13 Midterm Questions to ask questions. I will be monitoring that one source. I don't guarantee that I will be monitoring emails.

Download the test from bSpace at 10AM, which is when it will become available. It will be at bSpace > Resources > Midterm > EA105Su13 Midterm full version.pdf.

Select the question you want to answer, and answer it following the directions on the midterm. Send your answer to me by noon. Actually a couple of minutes before noon is preferred since some of you love to work right to the last second and, at this end, miss the deadline by a minute or two. I don't want to have to ask myself whether I should deduct points because you worked longer than others.

You can type your answer into an email if you want but I prefer a .doc / .docx or .pdf. If it is a .doc or .docx I'll have MSWord count your words. If it is a PDF please give me the count yourself.

Send using the subject line EA105Su13 LASTNAME classname MTDONE. (By the way, again, one of you is consistently using EA103 Su13. Please change that to EA105 and get rid of the space between EA105 and Su13. Thanks.)

Wait to get an email confirmation from me that I received your document and was able to open it properly. This will probably take about 20 minutes.

Good luck!