GS 204: Spirit & Nature: Religion & Science

Course Requirements - Block 2

Course Objectives

Block 1 Requirements

Block 2 Requirements

Weeks 1&2 Schedule

Weeks 3&4 Schedule

Weeks 5&6 Schedule

Weeks 7&8 Schedule

Honor Code

• Class Participation (8% of final grade--4% for each block):
  A. Because of the intensity of the block system, attendance at every class session is essential. If you cannot be present, you must arrange for an excused absence.
  B. Active participation in class discussion and class activities, particularly the Darwin Re-Acting Game, is expected. This means having completed the assignment and coming with specific responses (questions and/or observations) and thoughtful attention to the contributions of each member of the class.

• Electronic Journal (12% of final grade--6% for each block):
  A. Because we will not be able to discuss every aspect of the materials we study or the varied responses that may be evoked, I ask each of you to keep a course journal, one that responds to ideas and issues encountered, and experiences you’ve had in the course.  In addition there will be a class folder, The Darwin Game, in which entries made in conjunction with the Darwin Re-acting Game are to be placed.  Your individual folder will be accessible only to yourself and the instructor.  The class folder will be accessible to all class members and the instructor.
  B. There are 4 “Rs” in journal writing for courses:
       1. Reporting about what you’ve experienced.
       2. Reacting to ideas, issues, experiences
       3. Reflecting on course materials and experiences
       4. Relating course materials & experiences to your
           own aspirations as student & citizen of the world.
  Reporting and reacting journal entries are primarily for you as a record of your experience in the course. Reflecting and relating entries are the ones that I will be most interested in, as a measure of the parts of the course that have engaged you.
  C.  A course journal is not a collection of reading notes! Keep notes for yourself in another note book.  Include in those notes a Glossary of Key Terms.
  D. Keeping a journal requires getting into a pattern of regular entries. You should write no less than 3 times a week. On occasion I will specifically assign a topic for you to reflect on in your journal in preparation for the next day’s discussion. 
  E. I will read your journals occasionally to provide feedback to help you with R’s 3 & 4.
  F. The evaluation of the journals will be based both on the quantity of your journal entries and the quality of reflecting and relating within the entries.
  G. For Instructions on E-journaling, click here:(If you have trouble viewing the MS Word Document try in Internet Explorer)

• Essay on Evil (11% of the final grade):
  After reading Rosemary Ruether’s Gaia and God, Lance Morrow's Evil: An Investigation, and viewing portions of the video: Faith & Doubt at Ground Zero you will write a 4-6 page paper reflecting on the nature of evil in human experience. You will be asked to draw upon Ruether’s models of destruction, domination and deceit to explore the way evil is characterized and responded to in religious perspectives; and Morrow's investigation. (More information on this assignment will be provided.)

• Project on Nature Poetry (7% of the final grade):
  We will read 2 nature poems by A.R. Ammons. You will be asked to do research on a nature poet and a poem of his or hers,  utilizing library and internet resources. The technical aspect will be introduced early in this block, but a final short paper, including a selection of your favorite nature poem will be submitted on the last Monday of the block and you will give an oral presentation of the poem(s) you have selected.

• The Community Service Learning Project in Cheyenne Mountain State Park (10% of the final grade):
  This project will consist of two parts:
  A. In teams of 3-4 surveying 10 meter by 10 meter plots in transects within the park for indications of wildlife (tracks, scat, nests, etc.
  B. Providing the State Forest Service with the data you gathered, and your analysis of it, in a report on the Cheyenne Mountain State Park transect study.  
  Additional information on this two-part project will be provided during the block.

• The Darwin Re-Acting Game (22% of the final grade, 11% for each block): 
  Re-enacting the Royal Society's meetings during which it is decided (among other issues) whether to award Charles Darwin the Copley Medal for his work.