Assignments

Reflection Papers

Students will be required to submit brief reflections papers for 8 of the 11 class sessions that include readings.

Students can opt out of submitting a reflection for 3 sessions of their choice during the semester to balance their workload with other classes, and should notify the teaching staff when they intend to opt out. Reflections should focus on questions and observations from the readings, and tie together readings and topics from different sessions as the class moves forward. They are not intended to be book reports, but are rather the student's own impressions of the reading and how they feel the readings are connected with the larger themes of the class. Each reflection should be 1 to 2 pages in length.

Three of the eight reflection papers may also be written in response to attending one of the MIT150 symposia, whether assigned as class time or not. These should also be 1–2 pages in length and should be submitted by 5pm of the day following the last day of the symposium. They should be based on attendance of at least three hours of an individual symposium, though they need not be the three hours corresponding to class time. They should tie together presentations and discussions at the symposium with themes and readings from the rest of the class.

Writing Assignments

Guidelines for Preparing Scholarly Essays

First Writing Assignment

Final Writing Assignment