See:

• Schedule of assigned readings and topics for small group days,
• Guidelines/ground rules for small groups

Once a week for most weeks (2,4,5,7,8,9), students will discuss different course material than for the rest of the week, usually referring to some controversial topic that generates conflict, however also one poorly covered by commercial news media. In many cases these centers of controversy involve powerful groups competing to ‘frame’ the issues for public consumption. On discussion days you’ll be asked to turn in a short ‘abstract,’ 150-200 words, summarizing the readings and providing your own brief analysis.

In class your group will be given a set of questions. You need to respond to them as a group, and submit them by the end of the period. See the guidelines for my expectations.

If you miss a discussion group session:

You can make up a missed session if you turn in an extended abstract (2-3 pages) within a week of the date it was due, which includes your answers to the questions groups responded to in class. I will post the questions at the end of the week. Respond to these (following the directions), paste in your abstract, and turn your make-up in Canvas. You can do one of these over the course of the term. Otherwise, there’s not much point in small group work if you’re turning stuff in from home at midnight.

150 points possible from participation in discussion sections (plus week 3, which is 50 points)