Thought Papers
There are 6 required
thought papers, and the best 4 will be used to calculate your grade. We encourage you to do all of the
papers to maximize your score and prepare you for in-class discussions. In addition, you may opt to replace one
thought paper grade with the Make-Your-Own-Assignment
Option. This option has strict guidelines, but it also offers you some
flexibility for writing on a topic not covered in class.
All of the assignments are
designed to get you thinking about the major themes of the popular media
accounts and how they relate to the scientific knowledge. A set of questions is given for each of
the papers—these are guidelines
for thinking and not instructions for the paper content. The key is for you to link what you are
seeing/reading in the popular media to the science in the articles. If you are uncertain about an
assignment, please ask the instructor or TA in advance.
Format:
á
4-6 pages
á
typed and double-spaced
á
11 or 12 pt
font
á
1 inch margins
(top, bottom, left, and right)
á
Your name,
date, and the assignment number in the header
Each paper will be graded
on a 25-point scale based on the following criteria:
1.
Clear and
concise descriptions of the relevant issues in the media presentation (book or
movie).
2.
Clear effort
to understand the media issues in light of the scientific readings.
3.
Insights that
reflect careful analysis of the scientific issues and myths.
4.
Clarity and
quality of writing.
Deadlines: The deadline for each thought paper is
listed here and in the schedule.
These papers are due at the
beginning of class on the due date—NO EXCEPTIONS. If you have a
temperamental printer or are a procrastinator, be sure to plan ahead. Missed assignments will be given 0
points. If you miss more than two,
you should opt for some extra credit described above to recover some points.
(Better yet, just donŐt miss the deadlines! It is much better to turn in something for partial credit
than to receive a 0. This is
particularly important early in the semester because you never know how your
schedule will be later on.)
Assignments: BULLET POINTS ARE THINGS FOR YOU TO THINK ABOUT AND SHOULD NOT BE TAKEN AS OUTLINES FOR THE PAPERS.
|
Thought paper 1 DUE 9/17 |
Defending Your Life, untapped brain potential, & basic brain
function Reflect
on what it means to have unused brain potential. |
|
Thought paper 2 DUE 10/1 |
At First Sight and Vision á
Reflect on
VirgilŐs experiences á
How do they
speak to the ŇcorrectnessÓ of vision? |
|
Thought paper 3 DUE 10/15 |
Flowers for Algernon, IQ, & mental retardation á
Reflect on CharlieŐs
experiences before and after the procedure. á
How did the
depiction relate to the readings? á
What is IQ? How is it characterized in the book
and other readings? |
|
Thought paper 4 DUE 10/29 |
Magic Hour, feral children, and making smarter babies á
What were
the different theories for what had happened to Alice and her development? á
What role do
critical/sensitive periods play? á
How do wild
children relate to the examples from non-human animals in the readings? á
What is the
relationship between wild children and the ideas behind Baby Einstein and the
Mozart Effect? |
|
Thought paper 5 DUE 11/12 |
Memento
and Amnesia á
What was
LeonardŐs problem? á
What could
Leonard actually remember? á
How did the
depiction relate to what you learned about H.M. and memory systems? |
|
Thought paper 6 DUE 12/3 |
Eternal Sunshine and Forgetting á
What was the
basic principle on which the memory erasing method was based? á
Based on the
readings, why would it be important to remove all memorabilia? Could you really remove everything? á
How
realistic do you think the method would be? |
NOTE: THE
MAKE-YOUR-OWN-ASSIGNMENT OPTION HAS STRICT DEADLINES AND CANNOT SIMPLY BE
TURNED IN ON A THOUGHT PAPER DAY.
For problems with website, contact:
ashelton@jhu.edu
Last updated: 9/3/09