UVic Q1 & P1
The first quiz will be available between the 5:00 pm on the afternoon of Tuesday May 25th and 1:00 pm Thursday afternoon May 27th. You will complete the quiz on Brightspace. It will consist of 20 multiple-choice questions on material covered to that point in class.
Since the quiz will be administered on Brightspace, you can complete it from almost anywhere. You will be permitted up to 25 minutes in which to complete the quiz. The window of opportunity to complete the quiz will open at 5:00 pm Tuesday (shortly after class) and close at 1:00 pm on Thursday (just before class). I will arrange for you to receive the answers to the quiz shortly after you complete it. That way you will have the appropriate feedback to let you know where you are on track and where you aren’t. You can then refine your work accordingly.
As to the pedagogy of this approach, the quiz will focus upon major concepts we have discussed regarding each of the psychologists covered to date. As such, the quiz will serve as something of a review of the material covered. A study sheet is provided here and on the evaluation page.
This first paper is to be short, no more than 750 words, and take the form of an op-ed piece or guest essay you might see in the Globe and Mail or New York Times. For advice on preparing an op-ed see here. Please note that while the quiz is to be completed individually, the paper may be the work of either an individual or pair of students.
The goal of the paper is to demonstrate how one of the three classical psychological approaches (psychoanalytic, behavioral or humanist) can be an effective tool in analyzing the phenomenon of populism, authoritarianism or political polarization (or their interplay/combination). Keep in mind this is to be essentially a thought piece, not a research paper. So citations should be sparing, limited to those necessary to support a direct quotation or reference.
Please note that simple description of both the psychological approach and the political phenomenon should be kept to the minimum. Instead, your focus should be on analysis and synthesis. So your piece should identify the essential aspects of the selected psychological approach and how it sheds specific light on the essential aspects of the political phenomenon you are considering. Your paper should nevertheless provide strong evidence of a nuanced understanding of the aspects of the psychological approach selected (analysis) and its specific detailed application in understanding the political phenomenon (synthesis).
An excellent paper must, of course, be well written and organized with clear indications of originality.
Detail on grading standards are available here and through a link on the evaluation page.