Course outline and structure

• You will present, at the end of the course, your research as a paper.
• The guidelines are posted separately. No length is specified, but if the paper exceeds 15 pages you will need to justify the length.
• You will be primarily responsible for one class period at which time you will present your findings (In no more than twenty minutes) for discussion. And you will lead the discussion.
  
  

First: topic proposals

For the second Class Period you will prepare a topic proposal for consideration by the class. This is what you are proposing as your personal research topic for the semester. Post your topic proposal in the "Topic proposals" forum on our Moodle class site.

On Monday (second class period) you will come prepared to defend your topic and seek initial approval by the class, and the director(s).

At the second reading, on the next Monday, we shall approve or fail to approve proposals.

Bound sets of the papers from past seminars are available in the Good Library, and may have useful bibliographic starting points. Your final paper will also be published. The catalog entry for the "Natural Science Senior Seminar" (available in the library stacks at Q111.N37x) claims it has papers only through 1998, but they're actually current to at least 2007.

Weekly structure

Each Monday will, in general, be a discussion led by a student--the presenter.

The class must be prepared to engage in the discussion. So the presenter will begin by providing background as follows:

Friday midnight The presenter will write a five page paper describing the research topic to be discussed Monday. This will be posted on a Moodle forum so that all students and professors will have access.

The five pages should serve to introduce the topic in straightforward language, describe the questions and difficulties that seem to face people about the topic, and suggest some areas for consideration in the discussion. Include references as appropriate. may also be given, although that is not required.

Saturday (before midnight) all students will post their analysis of the topic as a response in the presenter's forum.

In your analysis speak to the topic. Be blunt. If you disagree with things, say so. The presenter will read all of these and plan their Monday presentation in part based on the responses.

Paul will grade your analyses based on HOW WELL YOU THINK. He will not care if you agree with what the presenter thinks, or what he thinks. The important thing is what you to think. Explore your own thoughts. Write about the topic based on your thoughts.

Particularly valuable are reflecting on ways in which the topics raised in the 5-page paper intersect with your own experience, or readings you've done on your own or for other classes.

If what you write leaves us suspicious that you have not read what the presenter has written and thought carefully about it, we shall respond accordingly!

Monday (Please be on time) The presenter begins at  7 pm and has up to 20 minutes to outline the evening's topic. (You may take far less than 20 minutes.) Do not repeat what you wrote in the five page paper. The presentation should reflect what the class has written and any new thoughts the presenter may have. Then the discussion begins.

We must be Quaker about some of this. Silence only means we are gathering thoughts. We need sometimes to sit in silence.

After the discussion: Discussion ends, directors leave the room, and the class writes on the evening. This is a time to explore your thoughts post discussion. We'll collect these ___ and we disband.

We read and comment to you as individuals. WE GRADE ON THE DEPTH AND BREADTH OF YOUR REACTION AND DIGESTION OF THE MATERIAL PRESENTED. But all comments are to the individual students. These are not public.

Allow yourself to think about some small part of the discussion. Ask yourself what you think. Explore your thoughts and write about them. No flowery writing! Don't try to cover all bases: Deep thoughts are more valuable than many thoughts.

The conference?

Usually we take part in the Goshen Conference on Religion & Science which takes place during the Spring semester. We may take advantage of a similar opportunity.

The final paper

Writing style and organization

In your Monday night response writing, you do not have references available, and so we value your subjective responses, and responses reflecting your personal "digestion" of the material, and philosophical musings about the implications of some of the position put forth.

But in the final paper you will be using references. You will of course be using your own subjectivity to select, organize, and weigh information from a variety of sources. But you will be researching what has already been written about your topic, as a means of immersing yourself further in something that interests you greatly.

You may or may not already have have an opinion about your topic. But you will spend a period of time finding resources on your topic, and reading different authors who have something to say about it. Gradually, you should find yourself coming to hold a particular point of view on your topic, and you should be able to point to some concrete reasons (evidence plus interpretation) for your point of view. You should distill from this point of view a few concrete conclusions and a thesis which you can use to organize your paper.

It may be helpful to think of writing up the results of your research in terms of a lawyer building a case: It is clear at the start of the case which *side* the lawyer is on. But he/she starts the case by presenting relevant evidence and showing how it bears on the case. At the end of the case--the summing up--a clear picture (or narrative) of what the evidence *means* is offered, and the lawyer argues why this is the *best* way to interpret the evidence that has been shown:

• You will start by stating your thesis.
  
  
• Then you will provide a bit of context for the topic you are researching.
  
  
• You will present various kinds of evidence that bears on the topic that you are researching. It is usually more efficient to paraphrase and summarize evidence rather than depending on quotations. (The author who you are tempted to quote was probably not thinking about exactly the topic that interests you.)
  
  
• Avoid the temptation to offer your own interpretation of the evidence too soon. At the *end* of the paper you will offer your own evaluations and interpretations of the evidence, and show how these lead *inevitably* to your conclusions.

Formatting and organization

See the bogus "Final-Paper-Outline.doc" file for an example.

Resources

See the "Bibliography and Resources" topic.

Grades

Your course grade will depend, to the greatest extent, on the quality of your final paper.  

You will receive bountiful feedback on your weekly preparation writing, weekly reflections, and first draft.  In order to receive a course grade of B or better, you should be routinely writing "good" (not necessarily excellent) reflections and preparation pieces towards the end of the course, should be an active participant in class discussions, take part in the conference, and your draft should be handed in on time and show a good faith effort.