The purpose of the course is to:

• Introduce Latin America as a region, society, and culture from the "regional studies" perspective.

• Learn to use the key library resources available on the region.

• Meet faculty across the UR campus who have a specialty focus on various themes on Latin America.

• Discuss and explore some useful spatial analysis tools (SERVIR-VIZ, Google Earth, ArcExplorer) that facilitate regional studies.

• Discuss and explore individual issues of interest to you within Latin America and consolidate your thoughts into a research paper.

We will consider the region in a truly inter-disciplinary manner--from the perspective of: anthropology, geography, politics, economics, environment, and social change. There is one primary instructor involved as coordinator with support from 4-5 other members of the UR / LAS Advisory group providing specialized segments each about two weeks long.

You will be assigned to a group that focuses on one of the four sub-regions of Latin America. Time will be provided throughout the semester for your group to research the area/region in question in small-group diascussions. On an assigned date at the end of the semester, your group will make a presentation about your region to the others in the class. Following is a summary of key criteria to be used in evaluating your oral/group project. The group presentation, skit, or other activity is to focus on a key theme, issue or problem that you believe is central to understanding the region or sub-region.

CRITERIA FOR ORAL PRESENTATIONS 

• Each student should be involved in some specific way, e.g. assist in media use and presentation, discussion, oral presentation, etc. The group may have one person do more of the oral presentation--as designated spokesperson--but avoid making the presentation  a “one-person” show.
 
• 35-45 minutes per team presentation is the maximum--excess use of time will bring penalties!  Allowe about 15-20 minutes for Q & A (questions and answers).
 
• Use good presentation techniques, e.g. overheads, media, charts, maps, handouts.
 
• Be organized, focused, specific, and persuasive!  Use good oral presentation methods.
 
• The paper should focus on the goal of the group project which is to focus on the key issues affecting their assigned region, country or group of countries.  Don’t be encyclopaedic!
 
• Be as specific as you can--use relevant and timely data--where appropriate and available.
 
• Consider the same criteria given for the “written” report in aspects such as organization, content, timeliness, quality, conciseness, balance, fairness, creativity, accuracy, etc.
             

 

Evaluation Form for Oral Presentations

Structure/organization of presentation          1     2     3     4     5
Individual / team allocation of time              1     2     3     4     5
Persuasiveness of argument                        1     2     3     4     5
Quality of graphs/charts/maps                     1     2     3     4     5
Accuracy and specificity of facts                 1     2     3     4     5
Answered questions well                            1     2     3     4     5
Creativity/innovativeness                            1     2     3     4     5
Objectivity/fairness/cultural awareness         1     2     3     4     5
Timeliness and quality of sources                1     2     3     4     5
Evidence of team-work / effort                   1     2     3     4     5

      POINTS POSSIBLE = 50 =    _____
 

Each person also must consolidate your research into an individual paper on a particular topic within their assigned region.  It should be typed, double-spaced, and  ten to twelve pages long (not including appendices, maps, title page, references cited etc.).  You will be helped through the process with specific assignments scattered throughout the semester including a Statement of Purpose, a Bibliography, and a Web Resources Review. You also must choose one of the three following styles from guides available at the bookstore.

• A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations by Kate L. Turabian
• Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association
• Chicago Manual of Style (e.g. as used in geographical journals - see Annals of the Association of american Geographers)
 
GO TO separate handout which explains the research project in more detail.

WEB REVIEW:
 

Within the first FOUR WEEKS you need to do a Web Resources Review which is basically an annotated review of resources/publications available online that focus specifically to your selected region/topic(s).  Within each team you will divide-up topic areas and responsibility, e.g. environment, demography, social relations, history and then  produce a review of AT LEAST 5-8 distinct web documents per person/document that are of high quality and THAT ARE NOT ALREADY INCLUDED IN DR. FORD'S WEBRESOURCE LIST!

You should write up the Web Review in HTML format (if possible) or WORD format and then forward the file to Dr. Ford as an attached email file!
Each document reviewed will include the URL (web address or Universal Resource Locator), a title/author/publisher line and a paragraph or two (at the most) evaluating and describing the document, e.g. who produces the site, what topics/resources are included and how credible it is (does it have a bias or not), etc.

You are encouraged to look for high quality documents and websites that have academic merit as well as others that might be of travel/touristic or commercial interest.  The evaluation of your reviewed documents will consider the diversity and quality of documents you found as a prime criteria in grading!

Send your report/review to Robert E. Ford's email address:  rford@igc.org or robert_ford1@redlands.edu

Your loose leaf journal is your organizer.  Some of you may not be as organized as others, and some may feel that they don't need to waste time on this form of organization since they have functioned very well without it in the past.  So think of it in terms of organizing for someone else who in the future will want to know exactly what you did in your class, without you there to guide them through it.  You must pass it in on assigned dates so that your instructors can evaluate it for content, form and style and in general ensure that it meets their expectations. On the last day of the semester, your journal should contain everything that you did for the class.

The journal should include:


• Statement of Purpose and any revised statements

• Bibliography

• Any essays / short papers or reviews assigned by the faculty during the course

• Web Reviews (two)

• Group presentation outline

• Individual Research paper

• Any handouts used in presentations

• Notes from class (includes films) and any comments and questions you wish to include

• The steps your group took from the beginning to the presentation, and a reflection on the process

• Notes from the library and the web

• Notes from group meetings

• The steps you took from the beginning until the final writing of your paper, and a reflection on the process

 

A well organized journal also includes organizational aides such as:
 

• tabs to separate its different sections

• different colored highlights further separating items or simply making something (a question or a comment) stand out

• a table of contents

• all materials passed out during the class placed in context (i.e. what they are related to)

 

It should be designed to indicate the processes you went through. That means we should see what you were first thinking about doing, your mistakes and your successes, how you revised your approach, and finally what you would have done differently.  It includes not only your individual experience, but also your group experience.  Reflection and opinions are very important in journals.

You are expected to be an active participant in the class.  It includes regular attendance and thoughful discussion within the context of the instructor's presentation of a topic.  It also is based on your cooperation with the other members of your group. You should communicate with them frequently, share any knowledge of materials that might enhance their individual papers, and actively help to initiate, organize, and finalize the project.
 

Your grades will be based on the following distribution:
 

• Mid-Term EXAM 25%

• Web Resources Reviews 10%

• Participation 5%

• Individual Paper/Project 30%

• Statement of Purpose and Initial Bibliography 10%

• Group Oral Presentation 20% (includes 5% audience, 5% group members, and 10% instructor's input)

Journal/notebook (Deleted Fall 2007)

COURSE HOMEPAGE

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Last Revised: December 16, 2007 REF