) will indicate
excellence; a check (
) will indicate
acceptable performance. Consultation before composition of the paper should prevent it from
falling below these standards. ON DISSENT
PROFESSOR SKOVER
SPRING 2013
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
This seminar will not be conducted like the typical law school course, but is designed to operate more like a graduate school seminar. For those of you unfamiliar with that model, it is important to understand the following:
Fifty percent of your grade in the seminar will turn on your performance in class discussions and fifty percent on your performance on two written papers. There will be no final examination at the completion of the course.
There will be thirteen two-hour class sessions. Given the importance of participation in class discussion, attendance at all sessions is mandatory, and absence will not be acceptable for any other than the most compelling of reasons.
You will be required to submit two papers during the course of the seminar. The length of each paper should be approximately ten double-spaced typed pages, and the topic and parameters of each paper will be set in consultation with me.
Unlike the common "case note" or "commentary" written for law reviews, a paper is not to be a merely descriptive account of First Amendment doctrines. Rather, to borrow a somewhat hackneyed term, it is to be a "think piece" substantiated by whatever research is necessary to support or document your ideas. You are to grapple with some significant idea associated with the readings assigned in the intervening weeks, with no limitations on the originality, creativity, or provocative nature of your insights.
For both papers, you will be required to submit a "prospectus" -- an explanation of your thesis and the general outlay of your supporting arguments -- that is approximately three pages in length. The prospectus will be due at the beginning of the class period two weeks in advance of the date on which the paper is due. In the days following submission of the prospectus, you will have a one-half hour consultation in my office to discuss your prospectus. The purpose of this consultation is to identify and resolve any foreseeable problems in the framing or execution of your ideas.
One to two weeks after submission, each paper will be graded and
returned. Only two grades will be given: a plus () will indicate
excellence; a check () will indicate
acceptable performance. Consultation before composition of the paper should prevent it from
falling below these standards.
During the week following the return of first paper, you will consult with me in my office for no more than one-half hour to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of your submission. No consultation will be held after submission of the second paper.
You should not be overwhelmed or intimidated by the prospect of developing these "think pieces." My supposition is that you will find the experience to be quite rewarding.
