Policies & Assignments

Course Vision:

Journals3 GGL Journals aid you reverberate each course day.

In God and the Good Life you lot volition:

  1. Larn how to argue convincingly, responsibly and productively about philosophical questions -- in item moral questions, religious questions, questions about truth and belief, and questions about what makes lives meaningful .
  2. Practice making decisions in light of your own reasoned-out vision of the adept, rather than relying only on externally imposed standards .
  3. Contribute to building a dialogue group community characterized by common encouragement, pursuit of truth, fun, and creativity, where every member knows that the others are helping them develop their vision of the good life.
  4. Abound in 5 philosophical virtues: marvel, responsibleness, intellectual backbone, humility, and empathetic reasoning.

Learning Objectives:

You lot volition develop (and be evaluated on) four specific skills related to the course vision:

  1. Shut reading of philosophical texts and analysis of their key arguments. By the end of this course, you should be able to place and the main claims and arguments in major philosophical texts. You lot should be able to reflect on how the philosopher is attempting to persuade their reader and on the virtues and/or vices of their methods. And you should exist able to compare these arguments to arguments of other philosophers, arguments you come across in everyday life, and your own philosophical positions.

  2. Close reading and analysis of philosophical arguments in popular media. Past the end of this course, you should be able to recognize and break down philosophical arguments from the news and other public venues. You should be able to identify important philosophical assumptions in these arguments, determine what evidence would be relevant to the truth of these assumptions, and argue for or confronting the author's main claim from your own bespeak of view.

  3. Sustained interpersonal dialogue. By the end of this course, yous should be able to ask potent questions designed to learn about another person's philosophical viewpoint. You should be able to actively listen and contain new testify into your philosophical insights. You should be able to sincerely articulate your views and responsibly identify and accost philosophical differences with others. And you should be able to execute multi-step, action-oriented projects within a diverse ~xv person team.

  4. Defence of your core behavior in a persuasive philosophical amends. By the end of this course, you should have completed a meaning, multi-section essay that incorporates interesting personal narratives, original philosophical arguments, and textual commentary to defend a coherent philosophical stance on the good life. You lot should also be able to anticipate and reply appropriately to objections to your core assumptions. And you should be able to draft this essay, revise it in response to coaching and edit smaller sections into a well-organized long-form essay.

Assignments:

GGL assignments are all opportunities to brand progress on course learning goals. We hope like many students you'll also observe these to exist rewarding exercises in and of themselves. The following are the major assignments you'll piece of work on this semester. Assignment descriptions can be found on Sheet.

  • Assignment 1: Stronger Questions and Stronger Reasons

  • Assignment 2: Reflect and Connect (Tutorial Coming together)

  • Assignment 3: Apology - First Section Draft (Essay)

  • Assignment iv: Amends - Final Apology (Multi-Part Essay)

  • Assignment 5: Map to the Good Life (Dialogue-Based Project)

  • Reflection Questions and Weekly Quizzes

  • Dialogue Group Work

  • Goal Setting / Coaching Coming together (with your dialogue leader)

Grading System:

Success in God and the Good Life requires consequent attendance, engaged participation, careful reading, and (most importantly) timely, successful completion of all assignments. There is no curve for the course–your course is determined purely based on the try you put in and your achievements over the form of the semester.  The teaching team wants you to grow in this class and to score equally well every bit possible on every skill, then please talk to us if you lot want to strategize well-nigh how to reach for college grades or if yous exercise not understand how you are doing.  Assignment grades will be posted to Sakai every bit soon as they are available.

Hither's a tabular array of all course assignments and deadlines.

The table linked above also includes how each assignment fits with the primary learning goals of the course, and the process nosotros use for connecting minimum betoken percentages to letter grades.

Belatedly Piece of work and Absence Policy:

Late work volition be accustomed in the course only with official documentation, and in cases where the academic code requires information technology. In full general, extensions will non be granted (except in the case of official, documentable excused absences, etc).

Information technology is your duty to know the conditions required for an absence to be excused, and to seek out and provide official documentation to your professor ahead of fourth dimension. These are specified in the educatee academic code.

Omnipresence Policy

Equally per academy policy, our course is beingness offered fully in-person this semester. Attendance is required, and you volition receive credit for completing polls / quizzes in class.

Per academy guidelines, we are not offering the class in the "dual style," just students who are officially excused for medical reasons (including to quarantine, etc), volition exist provided with an culling mode to access in-form content.

Every bit always, whatsoever accommodations requests (including those for prolonged remote engagement due to illness) should be routed through the Sara Bea Center. If you have any questions nearly whatever of this, please reach out to a member of the teaching team! We will be happy to connect you with the relevant role or person!

Grading Questions:

Have a question or business organization nearly your grade for an consignment?  First bank check the directions and rubric for the consignment and identify where y'all retrieve points were potentially missed.  Encounter with your assigned TA to hash out your questions.  The professors are also glad to meet to discuss grades or anything related to your success in the form.  Everyone on the educational activity team is committed to helping you achieve the learning objectives!

Honor Code:

This grade follows Notre Dame'due south bindingAward Code.  All work you lot submit must be your own.  Your sources must be properly cited.  In general, you can just reference grade readings by their book or commodity title.  Outside readings should be cited with a works cited or footnote system.  Straight quotations from others must be in quotation marks.  If y'all accept questions about how to attribute your sources, talk to your  TA or professor.

Support for Student Mental Health:

Intendance and Wellness Consultants provide support and resource to students who are experiencing stressful or difficult situations that may exist interfering with academic progress. Through Care and Health Consultants, students can exist referred to The University Counseling Center (for toll-free and confidential psychological and psychiatric services from licensed professionals), University Health Services (which provides primary intendance, psychiatric services, case direction, and a pharmacy), and The McDonald Center for Educatee Well Being (for bug with sleep, stress, and substance utilise). Visit intendance.nd.edu.