Richard Beans
Survivor: The Castaways Go
to College
COR 101: Cornerstone Seminar
Foundations in the Liberal Arts Tradition
Fall 2001 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. (Tuesday and Thursday) Marston
Hall 102
Instructor: Dr. Richard O. Beans Office: Hogue Hall 303
Student Assistant: Amanda Blankenship
Her role is to help facilitate class discussions, help you with
material and projects outside of class, keep you up-to-date on college-life
activities, and in general, give you an experienced-student perspective
on Greenville College life. Get to know her.
Email: rbeans@greenville.edu
Office Phone: 664-6812 Home Phone: 664-0895 Office Hours: 1:30p.m.
- 3:00 p.m.
Greenville College Mission
Greenville College transforms students for lives of character and
service through a Christ-centered education in the liberating arts
and sciences.
Course Description:
Cornerstone Seminars introduce students to the rigors and rewards
of the college experience. Faculty from all academic departments
design these seminars, and they develop topics that will lead students
into college-level study and reflection. As students explore the
seminar's topic, they develop and refine critical academic skills
and the habits of mind necessary for success in college. While students
choose from course topics that vary with each professor, all Cornerstone
Seminars are unified through their pursuit of common educational
goals. The primary goal of COR 101 is to help students begin a pilgrimage
of curiosity-driven, transformational learning in a Christian liberal
arts community.
Each seminar's limited enrollment allows for substantial dialogue
between teacher and students, student-to-student interaction, and
experimentation with teaching/learning methods. Throughout the course,
students will explore, explain, and analyze the seminar topic through
expository writing.
The seminar groups first meet in the orientation period so that
students are introduced to the academic life of the college at the
same time that they learn to find their way into a new social environment
Common Enabling Goals and Objectives:
In order to achieve the desired course outcome of helping students
become active scholars who own and shape their learning and education,
each COR 101 seminar is designed to achieve the following goals
and objectives:
Common Goal #1:
The Cornerstone Seminar will help students explore, analyze, and
explain the broadly integrative nature of the Christian liberal
arts tradition and Greenville College's specific commitment to education
for character and service.
Common Goal #2:
The Cornerstone Seminar will help students begin to develop the
foundational critical and creative thinking, reading, speaking,
writing and technological skills necessary for success in any academic
discipline.
Common Goal #3:
The Cornerstone Seminar will help students build bridges from their
previous experience to the religious values, social matrix, and
academic culture of Greenville College in order to help them create
plans to shape and achieve life goals.
Educational Objectives:
COR 101 will enable a student to:
A. explain what a "worldview" is and how it affects them
in the process of their spiritual formation and lifelong learning,
and be able to identify the elements of a Christian worldview. (CG
1, 2, 3)
B. explain in their own words the liberal arts value of approaching
a problem from a variety of disciplinary perspectives. (CG 1, 2,)
C. recognize and articulate relationships between the Christian
faith, the intellectual life, human creativity, and vocational vision.
(CG 1, 2, 3)
D. begin to demonstrate competence in creative expression in the
arts and sciences
E. demonstrate competence in the foundational skills of active reading
and annotation. (CG 2)
F. begin to demonstrate competence in critical thinking skills:
o through identifying and developing their personal learning and
thinking patterns.
o through employing strategies of invention, inquiry, and problem-solving
o through evaluating the logic of an argument
(CG 1, 2)
G. begin to demonstrate competence in their oral communication skills
in class discussion, informal small group interaction, and formal
class presentations. (CG 1, 2, 3)
H. begin to demonstrate competence in the expository writing skills
of summary and analysis. (CG 1, 2)
I. demonstrate foundational skills and critical discernment in the
use of technological tools such as e-mail communication and the
World Wide Web. (CG 1, 2, 3)
J. demonstrate the value of integrity in the academic community
of Greenville College. (CG 1, 2, 3)
Advising Objectives:
COR 101 will enable a student to:
A. identify behaviors and tasks that will help them to succeed in
college, and formulate and implement a plan (using those behaviors
and tasks) to integrate themselves into the academic and social
fabric of the college. (CG 2, 3)
B. articulate their unique God-given gifts and strengths, and to
begin to explore a life-calling or vocation based on these gifts
and strengths. (CG 1, 2, 3)
Institutional Objectives
1. Seek truth.
2. Learn to think critically and creatively.
3. Understand and value the wholeness of creation.
4. Understand our world.
5. Respect human life and understand the human condition.
6. Understand and apply basic social structures and processes.
7. Develop self-understanding.
8. Value personal accomplishment.
9. Respond to God's expression.
Brief Description of the Course:
Students in Survivor: The Castaways Go to College seminar will study
the group dynamics of the contestants on Survivor. Students will
use group dynamics theory as a lens to examine the theological and
psychological underpinnings of the dominant worldviews found in
contemporary American culture as expressed in Survivor. We will
examine the psychological principles of group dynamics via the Survivor
phenomenon by asking questions such as: How does belonging to a
group affect our sense of identity? How can we manage conflict in
groups? What role do competition and cooperation play in group behavior?
What does our culture's fascination with so called "Reality
TV" shows like Survivor say about the quality of our real relationships.
Can we be one way in public and another way in private and still
maintain personal wholeness? This course will ask you to watch Survivor
with a critical eye, informed by both psychology and theology.
Additionally, students will build bridges from their previous experience
to the religious values, social matrix, and academic culture of
Greenville College in order to help them create plans to shape and
achieve life goals.
TEXTBOOK:
Oyster, Carol K., Groups: A User's Guide,
Boston, MA: McGraw Hill
CLASSROOM NORMS AND EXPECTATIONS:
· Classroom participation is expected and required. Class
periods will be used for various purposes: discussion of textbook
chapters, instruction on specific areas of composition, viewing
of related films, and student development related aspects. All students
are expected to participate in all of these activities.
· Students must respect their classmates and their opinions.
Each student is also expected to share his/her opinions and ideas
respectfully.
· All work is to be handed in on the due date.
· Students are expected to come to class fully prepared,
having read the assigned chapters and being able to discuss the
various issues presented in the chapters.
· Quiz Make-ups are given at the Social Science Division
office.
· Plagiarism will not be tolerated. If it is obvious that
one student has copied an assignment from another, both students
will receive a failing grade on the assignment. If this happens
more than once, the student involved in the repeated behavior will
be dropped from the class or receive a failing grade in the course.
· Students are expected to do all their own work. Although
asking for help from a tutor is acceptable and encouraged when help
is needed, the student should not ask another student to do or write
his/her assignment. If this practice is obvious, the student will
receive a failing grade for the assignment.
· Students are expected to come appropriately dressed to
the class. This means that clothing should be clean, tasteful, decorous
and non-offensive [i.e. slogans on t-shirts that are not appropriate
for a Christian institution].
· Students must know keyboarding to survive in college. If
you do not, buy a cheap computer program and take a crash course!
· DO NOT SLEEP IN CLASS!
· Every class period is important. Students should select
each absence carefully. Each student will have 2 "free absences"--
no points will be taken off for these absences; however, any work
done on these days cannot be made up. The absences may be due to
sickness, hospitalization, a death in the family, etc., please understand
that these absences count towards the 2 "free absences."
After the third absence, a student will lose 10 attendance points
for each absence. Too many absences can lead to a lower grade. (Absences
due to official Greenville College activities such as class trips,
athletic events, etc. are excused, and are not counted against the
student, but s/he is still responsible for the work due on those
days. If a quiz is given on the day of the official absence, the
student should make arrangements to take the quiz at another time.)
EVALUATION:
Students will receive instructions on the format to follow and the
information required to complete all major essay assignments. All
papers should be typed using Times New Roman size 12 font and should
follow the APA Style faithfully. The professor will explain the
APA format expectations.
For those students who might need additional help in completing
the assignments, the Writing Lab tutors can help them. The Writing
Tutors can be found in the Academic Enrichment Center/English Composition
laboratory in the evenings.
The grade for each written assignment will be based on how well
the student:
- followed format instructions for each specific assignment.
- developed the introductory paragraph and phrased the thesis statement.
- developed each main idea in the body paragraphs.
- topic sentences served as support or proof of the thesis.
- provided adequate support in each of the paragraphs.
- used quotes and paraphrases to support his/her ideas and used
them correctly.
- developed the conclusion paragraph.
- worked on conciseness and precision of expression.
- maintained unity and coherence within paragraphs and between paragraphs.
- used the English language well: spelling, grammar, punctuation,
sentence structure,word choice.
The papers will be graded using the holistic method of grading.
Each paper will receive a score from 0 to 100.
In order to receive an A (90 -100) the student should have an almost
perfect paper, which means s/he has:
· Followed the instructions for the assignment faithfully.
· Included a focused and argumentative thesis statement.
· Developed the body paragraphs well by including a topic
sentence in each paragraph that "proves" or "supports"
the thesis; by including an appropriate amount of quality details
(facts, etc.) to support the main ideas.
· Used transitions and coherence devices within and between
paragraphs.
· Paid attention to detail, avoided wordiness, used correct
grammar, punctuation and spelling, etc.
· Demonstrated a good command of academic English by avoiding
common phrases (clichés), simple language/sentence structure,
imprecise language, etc.
A paper that receives a B (80-89) usually has flaws in one of the
areas stated above; it means the student:
· May not have followed the format instructions.
· Failed to include a good, focused, argumentative thesis
statement.
· Failed to include topic sentences for each paragraph that
serve as proof of the thesis statement.
· May not have included coherence and transition devices
between paragraphs or within paragraphs.
· May not have included enough details to support her/her
main ideas.
· May not have demonstrated good command of academic English.
· May be a "bland" paper with little evidence of
"engagement with the topic" on the part of the writer.
Papers that receive a C (70-79) usually indicate there are some
problems in development and/or language usage:
· The student failed to complete the requirements of the
assignment.
· The student may have failed to develop his/her own ideas
and simply restated the ideas of the author using the author's words.
· The paragraphs probably are underdeveloped, lacking support,
evidence, etc.
· There may be serious grammatical, spelling, and sentence
development errors
· The word choice may be a problem--lack of precision, use
of trite phrases, colloquialisms or slang.
· The student may have produced sloppy work.
Papers that receive a D (60-69) or F (0-59) indicate that there
are serious problems with the completion of the assignment. This
means that, in general, the student has failed in three or more
of the points indicated in the categories above. A paper that receives
a D or F is usually indicative of a writer who did not put in enough
time to focus on the assignment and did not dedicate the amount
of time necessary to complete it correctly.
Each student should keep track of the points s/he has received for
every assignment.
[In order to obtain your average in the course divide all the points
you have into the total number of points for the course. The professor
will give the total number of points accumulated in the course at
different times in the semester so you will know where you stand.]
Students will receive the following points for the assignments,
quizzes, and projects:
Chapter quizzes (11@ 25 pts each) 275
Book Critique 25
Due Oct. 11
Attend one play at the Factory Theatre 5
Attend one exhibition at Archer Gallery 5
Attend one college colloquium 5
Attend one music department concert 5
Attend one intercollegiate sporting event 5
Oral Presentation 50
Group Experiences Journal 100
First Journal Check Oct. 25 Final Submission Dec. 13
Short Essay Answers (10 pts for each one) 100
Annotated Reading 25
Due Sept. 20
Final Exam 100
A summary paper 100
Due November 8
An analysis paper 100
Due December 6
Participation/attendance 100
TOTAL POINTS POSSIBLE 1,000
The final grading scale for this course is:
1000- 900 A 699 -600 D
899 -800 B 599 - 0 F
799 -700 C
Oral Presentation:
Each student will be required to take part in an oral presentation.
All oral presentations will be done in teams of two and will be
assigned during the second week of classes. In general, oral presentations
should be approximately 20 minutes long and should connect the topic
of discussion to a current Survivor episode. You and your partner
will have to read the chapter in advance, videotape the show, and
show clips, which demonstrate the theoretical points we are discussing
in class. Please note picking out the right slice of behavior is
quite challenging and will require a lot of thought. The onus of
communication is on you; for any segment you show, you must make
a clear and plausible connection to group dynamics. It is not enough
to find a particular segment interesting - you must demonstrate
why it is applicable to group dynamics.
Book Critique:
In consultation with the professor students shall select a college
level book, which demonstrates a particular worldview. Students
will critique the book by analyzing the worldview presented in the
book and comparing it to the contrasting worldview (Christian/Non-Christian).
Any worldview attempts to answer three basic questions:
1. What is the origin of the universe?
2. What is the cause of the problems in the universe?
3. What is the solution to these problems?
You can select a book, which clearly advocates a Christian worldview
or one that does not. In either case you must be able to critique
the book from both a Christian and Non-Christian point of view.
This will require that you do additional reading in order to understand
how one might view the same set of phenomena differently. If you
expose yourself to only one side of the debate you will be unable
to understand the issues fully. When the other side's arguments
are not acknowledged it makes your arguments seem less valid. If
you have examined an issue from a variety of perspectives then the
conclusion you come to is more likely to have merit.
Some examples of books, which you might read, are:
The Road Less Traveled Sociobiology
Moses and Monotheism All God's Children and Blue Suede Shoes
Amusing Ourselves to Death Postmodern Times
To Life Roaring Lambs
The Idea of a Christian College Contact
Life on the Edge Christian Liberal Arts
Walden Two Mere Christianity
Man's Search for Meaning The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind
How, Now Shall We Live
Some authors who you might look at are:
Stephen J. Gould, Nicholas Wolterstorff, Stephen J. Hawking, Albert
Ellis, Abraham Maslow, Ron Sider, Tony Campolo, and Randy Balmer.
Portfolios at Greenville College
Academic departments within the College are required to assess
the impact of their programs upon the lives of students who graduate
in each major. One of the ways this is done is through a student-owned
portfolio containing a collection of "best works" which
the student considers to be evidence of personal growth toward what
the GC mission describes as "transformed lives of character
and service." The portfolio contains the StrengthFinder, papers,
projects, videotapes of performances or presentations, audiotapes
of radio/music class works, and a summary of a student's co-curricular
experiences in music, athletics, ministry, newspaper or yearbook
articles/photos, and volunteer service to the community. Assignments
that are evidence of student excellence are drawn from courses contributing
to general education, the major, the minor, leadership experiences,
and service.
Students are encouraged to talk with their professors and advisor
regarding the collection of best works to be included in the portfolio.
Assignments and projects from any course may be included in the
portfolio. Students may select the way in which their portfolio
is compiled: 1) as a collection of papers within a three-ring binder
or other professional folio/folder; 2) as a collection of files
on a floppy disc; 3) as a collection of works on a CD; or 4) as
a periodically updated personal web page. Norm Hall, Dean of Student
Development is coordinating a pilot project for students interested
in developing web-based portfolios. If you are interested in this
method, contact him at extension 7117.
Before the close of the semester, talk with your advisor and the
professor teaching this course regarding those assignments, tests,
or papers you consider to be "best works" and worthy of
inclusion in your portfolio.
STUDY TIME: Most students need to study 2 hours outside of class
for every scheduled class hour. This includes time spent reading
the textbook, studying for exams, writing papers and reports and
rehearsing and preparing for oral presentations.
Greenville College Writing Standards
Greenville College is committed to helping students improve writing.
It is reasonable to expect that any course may contain a writing
component as part of the evaluation of student progress. We expect
students to produce written work that is focused, well developed,
organized, and relatively free of grammatical, punctuation, and
spelling errors. Papers that fall short of this standard will not
be accepted; the work will be returned to the student for revision
within a reasonable time.
September 6 Introduction
September 11 Short Answers
September 13 Quiz Chapter 1
September 18 No Class - All College Hike
September 20 Quiz Chapter 2
September 25 Short Answers
September 27 Quiz Chapter 3
October 2 Short Answers
October 4 Quiz Chapter 4
October 9 Short Answers
October 11 Quiz Chapter 5
October 16 Short Answers
October 18 Quiz Chapter 6
October 23 Short Answers
October 25 Quiz Chapter 7
October 30 Short Answers
November 1 Quiz Chapter 8
November 6 Short Answers
November 8 Quiz Chapter 9
November 13 Oral Presentations and Short Answers
November 15 Quiz Chapter 10
November 20 Oral Presentations and Short Answers
November 22 Thanksgiving Break
November 27 Oral Presentations
November 29 Quiz Chapter 11
December 4 Oral Presentations
December 6 Oral Presentations
December 11 Oral Presentations
December 13 Oral Presentations
December 19 Final Exam
Last updated: September
13. 2001
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