Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Forum 3 Grades

Excellent job on Forum 3, everyone! That was an interesting discussion, and I liked that you were having more of a conversation with one another.

Here's a link to your grades. As always, send me an email if you know you posted but don't see a grade - it's very easy to lose track in these threads, and I may just have typed in your student ID number incorrectly.

The post is worth 75 points; response is worth 50 points.

Midterm 2: Kant


Here's a link to your Kant Midterm; you won't be able to complete all the questions yet, but if you want to download it and get started, feel free. Read the instructions carefully!

Let me know if you have questions while you're working on the exam; get started early so that you can get help if you need it.

Good luck, have fun.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Forum 3: The Laramie Project

***NOTE***
Because of the power outage, we introduced Kant in class today instead of finishing the movie. We'll finish watching the movie on Tuesday (I'll email the location before class). New due dates for your forum answers are below.

***NOTE***
Please read all of the comments before you post - my goal for these projects is to make them a real conversation. So see what other people have talked about before you post, and then take that into consideration in your own comments.

**NOTE**
Please stick very closely to the questions below. There are all kinds of discussions one could have about the ethical issues raised by this film, and there's value in having those discussions. But if we're all going off in different directions, it's impossible to pursue any one question in depth, and that's what I want to do.

***NOTE***
Make absolutely sure that you're speaking with respect for everyone in your comments. Comments that display disrespect for persons will be deleted and you will not get credit for your answer.

**NOTE**
Don't forget to sign your name to your post! I have more than one class at a time posting to various blogs, wikis, and whatnot, and I can't keep track of everyone's handle. Put at least your first name and last initial so I can record your grade.

Please post your response to one of the questions below by Friday, March 25, at 8 p.m. Then respond to 1 of your colleagues by Sunday, March 27, at 8 p.m. Your comments should be substantive and thoughtful. Try to elaborate on your ideas, and explain why you think about things the way you do.

  1. Many people were particularly upset that Matthew Sheperd was murdered because he was gay. Do you think there's something particularly bad about crime when it's aimed at someone because of their inherent characteristics (like their race, ethnicity, gender) rather than, say, because you wanted to steal something from them? Why or why not?
  2. What unexamined ideas and assumptions do you think the young men had, that made them react the way they did to Matthew? What do you think motivated those assumptions?
If you missed watching the movie in class, you can get it from the library: The Laramie Project

I can't find transcripts from McKinney's trial online; here's a story about the defense from the New York Times.
image published by Xnatedawgx under a creative commons attribution/share alike license

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Term Paper 1: Aristotle


Here's the link to your Aristotle paper. Some of the questions may not make sense until we're finished discussion on Thursday, but if you want to get started on the earlier questions, go ahead!

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Grades for Forum 2

Here's a link to your grades from Forum 2. The post is worth 75 total points; the response is worth 50.