This project is designed to help you conceptualize your education so far and develop an intellectual roadmap for a life of meaning and purpose after graduation. Your syllabus will count for 15% of your seminar grade.
Drawing on your American core and elective classes as well as your co-curricular experiences, prepare a “life syllabus” that articulates themes, questions, and concepts that you will take with you to explore the world.  You will develop these syllabi using Storymaps.
In your syllabus, you will present to your viewers/readers texts (essays, monographs, novels, works of art, films, documentaries) and experiences(things to do, place to see). These texts and experiences should be curated in such a way that they:
- Reflect the depth, range, and interdisciplinarity of your American Studies education
- Highlight questions and themes that have been important and guiding to you
- Demonstrate how you make connections between your different classes and experiences
- Explain why a particular text(s) are meaningful or significant to you. (You may want to highlight specific texts while offering others as curated lists).
Each syllabus should include:
- A Title Page
- An introductory paragraph or two that lays out the purpose and goals of the syllabus and prepare the reader for what’s ahead. (You may decide whether or not to use one or more Storymap panels for this)
- Carefully proofread, concise, and engaging prose
- Compelling visual imagery: This might mean photographs, film clips, maps, graphs, etc
- Hyperlinks when they add to your story and/or provide citation
- Reflection on next steps. For those of you who are seniors, you might consider addressing the connections between your UR education and your next steps–what will you take with you? For those of you who are juniors, what courses, challenges, or experiences do you want to take on next year?
On Citations
You do not need to follow academic footnote style (such as MLA or Chicago Turabian). However, you do need to offer hyperlinks (to sources that are not paywalled) as well as a clear system of documentation. I would suggest:
For books: Author’s Full Name, Full Book Title (Year Published)
For films/documentaries: “Full Title” (Year Released)
For magazine and online essays: Author’s Full Name, “Full Title”
For academic essays (usually paywalled): Author’s Full Name, “Full Title,” Journal Title (Year Published)
