Fyse 101-11 Syllabus
The Wall Street Journal: Focus on East Asia

Seminar Description

Knowing your way around The Wall Street Journal is an essential skill for those interested in business. To develop an understanding of how to use and learn from this newspaper and the resources contained on its companion Internet site, this seminar will take an "area studies" approach and focus on cultural, business, economic, and political news from East Asia, defined as the People's Republic of China, Korea, Japan, and the members of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations): Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malayisa, Myanmar, Phillippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Over the years, The Journal has tended to cover several countires in greater detail because of their size and importance in world business: China, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and Thailand. Thus, our seminar will generally spend more time on these countries, as well.

Marietta College Mission and the College's Core Values

Marietta College, in its desire to "provide the student with the tools necessary to function effectively in a rapidly changing world," seeks to develop the following competencies in its students.

• an awareness of global and multicultural issues,
• a basic understanding of science and technology,
• critical thinking and problem solving skills,
• oral and written communication skills,
• locating, evaluating, and using information,
• ethical issues,
• leadership, and
• preparation for life-long learning and professional growth.

This seminar directly addresses several of the College's Core Values:

• Core Value #1 -- Liberal Arts Foundation: this seminar, where learning and teaching happens using a liberal arts approach, helps prepare students for an academic life where critical thinking, unstructured problem solving, and judgment is necessary.
• Core Value #4 -- Technology: in this seminar students will continue to enhance their technology proficiencies, becoming comfortable and capable with methods of communication and ways to gather information intelligently.
• Core Value #5 -- World of Work: this seminar provides students with an education "in the various branches of useful knowledge." Requiring students to use the skills and knowledge they acquired in their liberal education, this seminar's content reflects today’s realities of worldwide market orientation and an economy based deeply on information exchange.
• Core Value #9 -- Globalization: our seminar's theme is East Asia. In matters of culture, business, economics, and politics, East Asia is a region of the globe that is not be ignored. Developing a comfort in reading about and discussing topics with an East Asian focus is important to people today and in the future.

Seminar Competencies

Upon completion of this seminar, you should be able to:

• Liberal Arts Competencies
  • perform "close reading" of articles and identify main points, subpoints, arguments, contradictions, and unanswered questions.
  • develop critical thinking skills: in other words, to think about topics from different perspectives and with an inquisitive and critical attitude.
  • develop College-quality writing skills (see my Expectations for Written Communication).
  • use the College's online databases and Internet search engines to conduct research.
  • develop College-quality oral communication skills (see my Expectations for Oral Communication).
• Content Competencies
  • understand the importance of the East Asian region in terms of culture, business, economics, and politics.
  • develop comfort in dealing with names and places that are probably unknown to most students in the seminar.
  • use The Wall Street Journal (paper and online editions) as a source of information.

Required Materials

• One-semester subscription to the print edition of The Wall Street Journal; this costs approximately $20 and includes access to The Wall Street Journal Online. We will subscribe to the Journal on the third day of class. Be sure to bring a credit card with you (to charge your subscription fee). If you prefer, you can have Dow Jones send you a bill for the subscription fee.
• A floppy disk or USB storage device for use during class time.

Seminar Components

Our seminar is unlike any other class that you will take during your Marietta College career. Because the seminar is not rooted in a particular discipline and does not rely on a textbook as the primary source of learning, we do not have a measured amount of class materials "to get through". As well, since the purpose of the seminar is "learning how to learn" rather than learning a specific quantity of material, we will proceed at a slower pace and pay more attention to the process of learning than you would in other College classes.

You shall complete assigned readings from The Wall Street Journal and occassionally from other newspapers or periodicals. These readings serve as the basis for our seminar discussions and learning. Out of class assignments provide additional opportunities for you to apply material discussed in class or to discover information related to seminar topics. Quizzes and projects provide me with more formal ways to evaluate your progress in the class.

We will employ brief lectures, guest speakers, lots of discussions, homework, and in- and out-of-class assignments in our seminar. This is very much a class based on reading and discussion, and I expect active class participation from all students. You will be called on in class. Those who participate in class tend to be more academically stronger, as they know they must prepare ahead of class, read assigned materials and review those materials already covered, and keep up with homework in order to meet the demands of seminar participation. Participation includes, but it not limited to: asking questions and responding to questions during class time, responding to homework reviews, sharing personal experiences or making comments about class topics, finding relevant articles in newspapers or journals and introducing them to the class, etc. In addition to participating in class, I will expect you to pose questions and carry on electronic discussions by way of our class e-mail list.

Seminar Attendance

Attendance is not taken. You will be treated as an adult in this regard, responsible for the outcomes of the choices you make. Please realize that because of the various teaching and learning methods employed in our seminar it is not possible to re-create the learning that takes place during class time. Absences impact your participation grade; if you're not in class, you can't participate! Do not abuse this policy by skipping classes.

Computer Fluency Requirements

You are expected to have a working knowledge of e-mail and an e-mail account, fluency in simple applications of Microsoft Excel, Word, and PowerPoint, and using Internet search engines. I will introduce you to using the Dawes Library online databases within the first month of classes.

Accommodations for Students with Disabilities

Students with learning or other disabilities are encouraged to contact me at the beginning of the semester to discuss their needs for accommodation. Any student needing accommodations due to a documented disability should notify the Academic Resource Center, located in Andrews Hall, at the beginning of the semester for further instructions.

Academic Dishonesty

Academic dishonesty occurs when a student represents someone else's work as his or her own; it includes actions such as, but not limited to:

• Copying another person's paper,
• Copying another person's words or ideas without putting quotation marks around them and citing them as a source,
• Copying entire sentences and paragraphs from a print or electronic source without providing proper documentation and credit,
• Allowing another person to write your paper and make revisions to your work,
• Collaborating with others on examinations or assignments where the work is to be done indivdually,
• Manipulating data,
• Cheating.

Any student who engages in academic dishonesty is subject to a range of penalties, depending on the extent of the academic dishonesty, from a "zero" on the assignment to an F for the course . Learn more about academic dishonesty, both in the Student Handbook under "Academic Dishonesty" and also on the Campus Writing Center's web site.

Over the last few semesters I have seen an increase in plagiarism cases in my courses. I want you to know that I am very persistent and diligent about seeking out plagiarism and reviewing your research and writing. I deal with offenders as stated in my policy: from issuing a "zero" on an assignment to an F for the course. Students frequently forget that the impact of academic dishonesty goes well beyond the assignment or the semester. It results in a long-term loss of my trust and confidence in you. As well, I would be unable to write an objective letter of reference for you for campus activities, internships, jobs, or graduate school. Simply stated: avoid any temptation to engage in academic dishonesty!

Evaluation Schedule

Evaluation Scale:

Any student (with the exception of first year students) on academic probation will also be placed on co-curricular probation effective for the spring semester. At the end of spring semester first year students can be placed on co-curricular probation effect for the fall semester. Refer to p. 144 of the 2006-07 College Catalogue for more information about co-curricular probation.