Notes to Self

The assignment is comprised of two letters: Note to Self 1 and Note to Self 2. The purpose of this two-part assignment is to interrogate your assumptions about what philosophy is, to evaluate if or how your beliefs have evolved over the class, to promote metacognition about learning you do in class, to promote autonomous and active learning and to help keep you accountable to yourself and to me (so that you get the most out of your experience!). 

These are self-graded, and are cumulatively worth 15% of your overall grade. Note to Self 1 is due September 6th, and Note to Self 2 is due December 15th.

Note to Self 1 (due September 6th)

This is the first of a two-part assignment. It is a letter, due September 6th at midnight, must be at least 500 words long and is addressed to your future self. In this letter you must ask yourself the following questions:

  • Why did I decide to take this class?
  • What content do I hope to learn about in this class? (hint: take a look at the reading schedule)
  • What skills do I want to practice in this class? (hint: take a look at the learning objectives)
  • What is one thing about this class that I am not looking forward to? 
  • What is philosophy and why might it be important? (Challenge yourself by NOT looking the answer to this question up on the internet!)

Requirements: MS Word Document, 500 words. If you cite or quote a text you get brownie points, but only if you include a bibliography. I leave style decisions (font, layout, etc.) in your hands.

To complete this assignment, you must upload your assignment into Blackboard by navigating in the course menu to Hand In Assignments –> Notes to Self –> Note to Self 1 and then by clicking the upload button. Its title should be “Note to Self 1_Your Last Name”.

Note to Self 2 (due December 15th)

This is the second of a two-part assignment. It is a second letter, due December 17th at midnight, which must be at least 1000 words long and must be addressed to your current self. In this letter you must ask yourself the following questions:

  • Look back at Note to Self 1. Have my views about what philosophy is changed or stayed the same?
  • Which branch of philosophy do I feel most drawn to, and why?
  • What argument(s), if any, changed my beliefs or outlook?
  • What argument(s), if any, solidified my beliefs or outlook?
  • What new information or considerations did I learn about in class that will inform my conversations and beliefs of relevant issues from now on?
  • What things do I wish I had learned in this class?
  • What topics did this class touch on that I am still confused about?
  • What grade would I give myself for this class? (This is the grade you will get for this 15%)

Requirements: MS Word Document, 1000 words. If you cite or quote a text you get brownie points, but only if you include a bibliography. I leave style decisions (font, layout, etc.) in your hands.

To complete this assignment, you must upload your assignment into Blackboard by navigating in the course menu to Hand In Assignments –> Notes to Self –> Note to Self 2 and then by clicking the upload button. Its title should be “Note to Self 2_Your Last Name”.