GEOG 101: Fall 2008 - Newspaper.

A subscription to the New York Times is required for this class. It can be obtained at the CWU Bookstore and costs about $18/qtr. It includes only the M-F editions and can be picked up every morning at the bookstore.

Why use a newspaper?

  • To keep abreast of current events - providing relevant content to a regional context.
  • To improve reading comprehension - hopefully establishing a habit of newspaper reading.
  • To prepare informed citizens in a democracy.
  • To compare and contrast how different countries report the same news (ie. comparing the Times with the Arab News - a Saudi newspaper published on the web in english).
  • To get a better grade in this class.

Why the Times?

  • It is the nation's premier newspaper for national and international news, providing in-depth coverage.
  • It provides a link between the national community of readers and the international community on which it reports.
  • It is the most talked-about newspaper in the US and the one most high-powered people read.
  • It's coverage is not limited to national/international news, but also includes information on the arts, sciences, and sports.
  • It is printed locally in Seattle and is available every morning.

Reading the Times:

Students are expected to skim the paper EVERY day - spending about a half hour reading assigned articles and checking out the rest of the news. Every day in class, a couple of articles from that day's paper will be assigned - those articles will be briefly discussed in class the next day. Information generated from these articles will be on the exams.

Some tips:

  • Don't let back issues of the paper pile up - nothing is more boring than old news.
  • Make a ritual of reading the paper - pick a time and read every day. Coffee breaks are a good option.
  • Clip news related to your paper and add it to a file folder - don't assume you'll remember each article and can find them in a stack of newspapers.
  • If you're spending more than about a half hour a day reading the paper for this class, come see me and we'll discuss reading strategies.

Exam questions:

Approximately 20% of your exam questions will be generated from the daily assigned readings. Most will be short answer, not multiple choice.

Policy paper:

This paper is worth 15% of your grade. The information should be generated primarily from newspapers - not only the Times, but foreign newspapers.

The objective of this paper is for you to research an issue specific to a foreign country. The paper must be written from the perspective of you advising a senior US official (make it a US Senator) on how the US should deal with another country. You may make it generic (multiple issues) or focus on a specific international issue.

No more than two people may write about a single country - come see me to pick your country. Anyone who's country choice is not pre-aproved by me will get a zero for the assignment. Wander up to the front of the class and let me know.

The final paper must:

  • be 4 to 5 pages of text in length (1 inch margins, Times New Roman 12 point font, 1.5 spacing). This does not include cover pages, references, maps, figures, etc.
  • Include a title page with the title of your paper, your name, whom you are writing the paper for, and the name of the country you are writing about.
  • include an introduction in which the countryis described (approx 1 page).
  • Describe the international issues that country is dealing with (~1 page)
  • Describe how they affect (or not) US policy. (~1 page)
  • Make recommendations regarding how the US should react to this country. (~1 page)
  • Proper english counts - make sure someone proofreads your paper. I would highly suggest taking it to the writing center.
  • Do not forget to cite your sources. Use standard referencing - Pick a style: APA, MLA, or Chicago http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/online/citex.html. If you do not know how to properly cite sources, the english writing lab can help you. I would expect you to have at least a dozen recent references, if not more. Also, be sure to reference any maps, photos, or figures - not doing so is considered plagarism.
  • This paper is not a letter - do not write it in letter form. First person (I, me, my, etc) is NOT permitted.
  • Write it from the perspective of an American Citizen living in the US. Assume you have a job as a staffer for a Senator and this paper is advice to him/her.

To hand in: The paper and references (as a single file) MUST be emailed to me in MS Word format before midnight on December 3. Name the file using your CWU ID (ie - john smith would be smithj), an underscore, and the name of the country you are researching. For example, a filename might be smithj_bosnia.doc .

Some useful links:

Note: the assignment developed with the assistance of articles from:

Knowlton, S. and B. Barefoot (eds), 1999, Using National Newspapers in the College Classroom, The New York Times Monograph Series #28, University of South Carolina Press, 106 pgs.

In particular, those articles by A. Lippucci, M. Sparke, B. Stein, and J. Willerton.

And Dr. Gundars Rudzitis, Department of Geography, University of Idaho.

Bob's Homepage # Geography Dept. # GIScience Home # CWU

 

Website design and maintenance by
Dr. Robert Hickey

last updated on 4 September, 2008