Senior Seminar Spring 2010 IDS 4550-101, W/S/CD/C MW 12:30-1:45 LLA 214 Dr. Derek Stanovsky Office: LLA 125  Office Phone: 262-2441 Office Hours: TBA E-mail: stanovskydj@appstate.edu Home page: www.appstate.edu/~stanovskydj Senior Seminar Blog

Course Description:
In this class, students will have the opportunity to draw together the diverse strands of their interdisciplinary studies, reflect on the connections among these strands, and produce an in-depth senior project focusing on their concentration within the major. Students will have the opportunity to reflect on methodology -- how one brings together data, methods and practices from diverse disciplines, both academic and non-academic. Students will be asked to present and discuss aspects of projects in class and present their final projects in a public forum to students and faculty. Prerequisites: Senior standing and IDS 3000 and IDS 3150. Corequisite or prerequisite: IDS 3300 or IDS 3700, or consent of the instructor.

Course Requirements:
The most important requirement for this course is steady and consistent work on your senior project. The formal grading requirements are:

Process  25%
Presentations 25%
Project  50%

The process portion of your grade will be based on regular class attendance, preparation, and participation, as well as on the timely and satisfactory completion of the various stages of your senior project. As part of your process grade, you will be asked to create and keep an online research blog chronicling the progress of your project throughout the semester. You will post weekly progress reports as well as drafts, bibliographies, abstracts, and other premliminary work.

The presentation portion of your grade will be based on various informal class presentations of your work in progress as well as a formal, public presentation at the end of the semester of your completed senior project.

Your senior project itself will consist of a substantial interdisciplinary research paper or other original scholarly/creative/service project. The details of this project will be decided on an individual basis in consultation with your instructor.

With regard to all assignments for this course, you are expected to know and follow the current ASU code of academic integrity.

Tentative Course Schedule:
This course will be run as a combination of tutuorial, independent study, online, and face to face class meetings. Details will be posted on our class blog.