Peggy Cowan
Maryville College

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Freshman Seminar 120:
Perspectives on the Individual

"The unexamined life is not worth living . . . "

-- Plato

Le Penseur ("The Thinker")
by Rodin

Assignments

As with the other components of the course, assignments are designed to encourage you to become a "thinker," a person who lives deliberately and reflectively. In completing each unit assignment you will be expected to reflect on the materials we have grappled with during that unit and to integrate them into your self-understanding.

Unit I Assignment: Composing a Life

The Assignment: As you begin asking questions like “Who am I?” and Who will I become?”, it is worthwhile to reflect upon where you have been already, how you came to be the person you are at this moment. What events, both minor and life-altering, have worked to shape your personal identity? Some of the events or realities that shape our lives are affected by our choices. Some are not. Think not only about the things that have happened to you but also about the decisions you have made that have affected you in significant ways. Mary Catherine Bateson has suggested that we are all "engaged in [an] act of creation . . . --the composition of our lives." This creative work, according to Ms. Bateson, involves improvisation, i.e. adjusting to changes along the way, not following a path that has been clearly established.
Paper: Write a paper in which you reflect on the events, situations, choices, etc. that have shaped your life so far. You may want to think in terms of a composition, musical or literary. You might prefer to think of building a life, with foundations, various rooms, passageways, etc. Or you may find weaving a tapestry a more effective metaphor. Whatever device you use for thinking about your life, describe the composition that you have created to this point in time. Be sure to relate your composition to at least some of the ideas and assignments for this unit. Your paper should be approximately 750 words, typed, double-spaced.
Criteria for grading: Your project will be graded primarily on content, i.e. how thoroughly and thoughtfully do you discuss your experiences and choices and reflect on them in light of other class materials. In other words, your paper must move beyond being descriptive to analyzing and reflecting on materials and must make connections among different components of the unit. Clarity, organization, and creativity will also be considered in grading this project.

Unit II Assignment: Vocation

1. Interviews and presentations: Interview three people (two of whom are not family members or fellow students) who have very different jobs, professions, or careers. Ask them to give you several reasons why they work. Ask them what they wanted to do with their lives when they were your age and how they came to do what they do now. Are they happy with the choices they made? Would they prefer to be doing something different? If so, what? What advice would they give you? You will be asked to make a 5-minute presentation to the class in which you share part of what you learn from the interviews and relate them to the films, readings, and journal entries for this unit. How did the answers you received from the people you interviewed compare with those in the readings by Dominquez & Robin, Nerburn, and/or Bennis and the characters in Animal Dreams? Were these people shaped by dreams or a sense of mission like Moi or Martin Luther King, Jr.? What role does education play in enabling someone to live out his/her dreams? Do not simply report what people told you, but analyze, summarize, synthesize, and draw conclusions. Choose to present those things that you found most interesting, surprising, or helpful to you in thinking about job, career, and/or vocation. You will turn in a typed copy of the responses you received through the interviews and of your notes for your presentation as part of your unit portfolio (see below).

2. Library assignment: Go to the Maryville College library and find an article in a professional journal (not a popular magazine), article in a reference book, article or chapter in a book, or other print resource discussing one of the careers you are interested in investigating as a result of your visit to the Center for Career and Calling. The resource must not be an online resource or one you can acquire without entering the MC Library. Summarize what you found most interesting or useful in the resource. Make a copy of the first page with the title of the article or chapter and write the MC Library call number on it.

3. Written statement of purpose: During Orientation 110, you wrote a statement of purpose for your career at Maryville College. You may turn in a typed copy of the statement as it is, or you may revise it based on your current thinking.

4. Reflection on Vocation: Write a 300-500 word reflection on what your most valuable learning has been from the activities, readings, etc. for this unit.

5. "Career Exploration Worksheet": Include worksheet in portfolio (see below).

6. Turn in a portfolio: Place the notes from your interviews and your oral presentation, summary and title page from your article or chapter, written statement of purpose, and reflection in a folder to turn in.

Criteria for grading: Your project will be graded primarily on content. Are all of the pieces in the portfolio? Did your presentation move beyond being descriptive to analyzing and reflecting on materials and making connections among different components of the unit. Does your summary accurately reflect the content of the article/chapter? Does your statement of purpose reflect careful thought? Is your "Career Exploration Worksheet" complete? Does your reflection demonstrate a willingness to engage the materials in the unit and grow from them?

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Unit III Assignment: Philosophy of Wellness

1. Review your Wellness Questionnaire results, stress questionnaire results, stress log, longevity exercise outcome, in-class discussions and activities on health and lifestyle, and the readings for this unit.

2. Write a statement about your current wellness and expectations for the future if you make no changes in your lifestyle or health behaviors.

3. Based on what you have learned about yourself and on what you have found in the articles and exercises in this unit, formulate your own philosophy of wellness. What does the concept of wellness mean to you and how can you relate it to your own lifestyle? Use the various materials from the course to support your position or provide points of disagreement. Write a 3-page, typed, double-spaced, well-constructed paper explaining your philosophy of wellness. Criteria for grading will be similar to those used for the first two unit projects.

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Unit IV Assignments: Note that the first assignment is not the Unit project

Assignment: Comparisons of Different Religious Traditions

Go to the website www.religioustolerance.org and click on “other religions” in the left-hand column. Look up your assigned religion. Answer the following questions for each. Obviously, this brief exploration will result in only scratching the surface of any religious tradition. However, it is a first step in beginning to understand religious differences and similarities. This will replace one of your journal entries.

What are the basic underlying beliefs of the religion?
Is it monotheistic? Or does it fit better into a different category (see above)?
What rituals and ceremonies are associated with the religion?
How are the beliefs of the religion translated into action by its followers?

Exploring Questions of Belief

1. The Purpose: The final unit of this course is designed to encourage you to ask yourself what you believe, where your beliefs come from, why you believe these things, and how your beliefs impact your identity, sense of vocation, and lifestyle. One of our tools for exploring beliefs is looking at different sets of traditions, worldviews, or ways of seeking meaning beyond the self. Paul Tillich defines such quests for meaning (religion or faith) in terms of our ‘ultimate concern,’ which is the phrase he uses for the divine. As Shirley Guthrie puts it, “’God’ is whatever is more important than anything else." According to Guthrie, the way in which a person understands God and the way a person understands him/herself are closely tied together . Furthermore, Thomas Merton suggests that what one thinks or believes must be expressed in the way one lives if it is genuine (Perspectives 216). Thus, one's ultimate concern is expressed in core values or a core belief that shapes the way one lives. This assignment is designed to help you define what your core belief or value is and to reflect on how you might live out that belief in multiple arenas of life.

2. The Questions to consider: What is your core belief or the primary principle that guides the way you live your life? Think about all the arenas in your life where your core belief might be manifested. We will develop a list of approximately 10 such arenas in class. Explain how your core belief influences the way you live in all of these arenas.

Other questions you may choose to consider: What is your ultimate concern? How is it reflected in your core belief? Where did your beliefs come from? Why do you believe what you believe? What challenges to your belief system have you faced? How did you respond to those challenges? What important questions remain?

As you reflect on these questions, think about the way in which Anglo- Americans' ideas about the relationship of humans to the natural world and to God differ from native American views in Animal Dreams. Consider Shug’s challenge to Celie that she needs to revise her image of God. Then reflect on how your beliefs shape your identity and how you might translate your belief into action or vocation as does Sister Helen Prejean. You might also want to return to some of the ideas about connectedness and wholeness as you reflect on how your core belief defines your relationship to other parts of reality: friends, family, the community, other nations or cultures, the natural world, etc.

2. The paper: Write a 3-page (750-1000 words) paper in which you define your core belief and explain how you might live out that belief in multiple arenas of life. Use course materials and optional questions to help you flesh out your reflection.

3. Evaluation: Evaluation will be based on :

            1) content: how thoughtfully and effectively you describe your core belief and explain
             how that belief influences the arenas of life on the list developed by the class
             2) integration: your use of course readings, films, discussions, etc. as tools for careful
             analysis and reflection
            3) engagement: your willingness to wrestle with difficult questions and challenges that
             confront all people regardless of what they believe and to think analytically about
             questions of belief and application of belief
            4) presentation (written): clarity, organization, and creativity.