Extra credit
Extra-credit assignments are the equivalent of a required writing assignment (5 percent of your overall grade). They are not graded--a student either does the assignment well and receives the credit or does the assignment poorly and does not receive the credit. An extra-credit assignment must be turned in by the due date or it will not be considered for credit. Students may receive credit for a maximum of two extra-credit assignments.
Extra-credit opportunity 1, 23 February 2001. Attend the lecture of Professor Manning Marable, who is director of the Institute for Research in African American Studies at Columbia University, at 3:30 PM in the Askew Library auditorium. In order to receive credit for this assignment a student must take notes from the lecture in his or her own hand and present them with a written summary of the event. The summary should not only explain what Marable's presentation was about, but more importantly what you learned from it. Feel free to critique or question what Marable had to say in your summary essay. The summary essay must be at least two double-spaced typed pages for you to receive credit. Essays must be submitted to your instructor by March 1, 2001.
Extra-credit opportunity 2. Watch the movie Amistad and discuss the portrayal of slavery in the film. How does this view of slavery differ from other interpretations of slavery that you are aware of? How does the view of slavery that the film provides correspond with the the "enlightened" attitude toward slavery that is discussed in the text? You may want to discuss how enlightened ideals were incorporated into the story that movie tells. Your essay should be at least two double-spaced typed pages and is due March 8, 2001.
Extra-credit opportunity 3. Attend the lecture by Dr. Joan Jacobs Brumberg on the history of girls and Anorexia Nervosa, which will be held on March 21, 2001 at 4:30 PM in the Machuga Center Ballroom. Write a two-page summary of the presentation that explains what you learned about American culture and its view of the female body. You must include your handwritten notes with your summary to receive credit. Due: March 29, 2001.
Extra-credit opportunity 4. Watch the film Germinal, (to be shown in the Library Auditorium on Friday, April 20, from 2-5 PM) which is based on the novel of the same name by Emile Zola. The film portrays the plight of miners and their families in mid-19th century France and suggests that the seeds of a better future will be planted and sown through the suffering (and solidarity) of the workers. Write a two-page essay concerning the kinds of working-class activists depicted in the film and how they are portrayed (favorably or unfavorably and why?). Alternatively you might write an essay about the films portrayal of women and the impact that industrialization had on women's role in society. The essay is due at the final exam.
Extra-credit opportunity 5. Sigmund Freud helped undermine western beliefs in enlightened rationality through his path breaking work on dreams, which argued that human behavior was governed more by irrational or subconscious drives than it was by reason. Review Freud's work the Interpretation of Dreams and then write a two page essay concerning one of your own dreams and what it may reveal about the sub-conscious desires that govern your life. The essay is due at the final exam.