Participation
When grading participation, I use a √ system, which allows me to take a holistic view of your participation grade at the end of the semester. I do not release these to you, but simply use these as a guide in my assessments; however, I share my rubric so you know how you are being evaluated. You are always welcome to meet with me at any point in the semester to discuss your participation grade. I grade to your strengths and I look for progress. No one is expected to get all √+s. Rather, I will want to see improvement in your participation grade as the semester progresses and key areas where you are excelling.
Participation is divided equally into three parts: note cards, class discussions, and embodied exercises.
Note cards
Each class you will bring in an index card with one quote (include page numbers or timestamp) written down by hand on one side (if you wish to “quote” a moment in a production with no dialogue, please write a brief description of the scene). On the other side, write a question you have about this moment in our reading/viewing. This can be a question of genuine confusion (be specific: “what does this quote mean?” isn’t helpful to you or me); it can be a question about how this moment connects to other materials/themes in class; or it can be a discussion question you would like to pose in class.
Rubric:
0 You did not submit your note card
√- Your question did not engage with the material.
√ Your question engaged the material and sufficiently opened up an interesting dimension of the text.
√+ Your question engaged thoughtfully with the material and opened up a nuanced exploration of a dimension of the text.
Class Discussion
We will spend a great deal of class discussing our texts and unpacking their meanings. You are expected to share your thoughts aloud, respond to the thoughts of your peers, ask unanswered questions etc. You are welcome to pull from your note cards during discussion and pose your question to the class.
A note on discussion: being “right” is not an expectation of this class. When analyzing texts, we often talk about “strength” of analysis, not “correctness.” The strengthening of your analytical muscles is what we are after here. A crucial part of this process is thinking aloud, offering speculations, posing thoughtful questions, and sometimes straying off the path. These are all things you will be rewarded for. If being “right” is a prerequisite for you to speak up in class, you will have a very difficult time this semester. It is infinitely more valuable to understand why your comment missed the mark than it is to hit the mark and not understand why.
Rubric
0 You were not in class.
√- You did not speak in class and/or did not engage with the material.
√ You spoke in class in ways that engaged with the material.
√+ You spoke frequently in class and deeply engaged with the material and the responses of your peers.
Embodied Exercises
This class entails several embodied exercises where we will explore the dynamics in our texts on our feet. These exercises demand both presence and playfulness. Please come to class prepared to move, explore, and collaborate with openness. These exercises are places of discovery, not mastery. You will not be evaluated on your theatrical talents, but rather, your commitment to move through a given prompt and your attentiveness to what you discovered, encountered, and transformed in doing so. While this aspect of the class may feel unfamiliar and uncomfortable to many of you, I expect you to push yourselves from wherever you are starting from over the course of the class.
Rubric
0 You were not in class.
√- You completed the embodied exercises but did not push yourself further than this.
√ You committed to your embodied exercises and were sufficiently attendant to what you learned by doing them.
√+ You were creative and imaginative in your embodied exercises and thoughtfully reflected on what you learned by doing them.
