Academic Reading ESOL 172

Location and Time:
Fridays, 5:30 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. Dickson Hall 122 (Linguistics Seminar room) -- 7:30 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. Dickson Hall 182 (the Mini Lab)

Office Hours:
In Cyberspace, Thursday, 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. (download and install NetMeeting)

Required Texts:
Hofstadter, D. R., & Dennett, D.C. (2000 - 2nd Ed.). The Mind's I (Fantasies and Reflections on Self and Soul.
Free Inquiry articles.

Evaluation Procedures:

Your grade will be calculated as follows: participation in classroom and online discussions, 15%; completion of readings, short exercises, and written assignments, 35%; exams, 50%. Please set up an MSU e-mail account.

Date	Topic	Reading Assignments
September 6	Reading for Critical thinking and learning. Self-evaluation of reading and writing skills. Dave's ESL Cafe	How to read effectively. Read the Introduction. Assignment #1: identify key words you do not understand and prepare a glossary of terms to share with your classmates next week.
September 13	Post to the ESL Bulletin Board	Class discussion about readings. Read A Sense of Self: Borges and I; Reflections. Explore Interactive Technologies (Text to Speech)
September 20	Mandalas and Fractals	Benoit Mandelbrot and Fractals. Video presentation and discussion. Read Rediscovering the Mind by Morowitz and Reflections.
September 27	Class Discussion and First Exam	Exam #1: Based on the readings from Part I, A Sense of Self. Consult the Merriam-Webster OnLine.
October 4	Soul Searching	Part II: Read Computing Machinery and Intelligence by Turing and Reflections. Speaking to the Machine Please use the OED online.
October 11	Listening skills in action.	The Matrix (video presentation). Assignment #2: Write a summary and analyze life in The Matrix. What philosophical questions are being posed?
October 18	Beasts	Read the Soul of Martha, a Beast by Miedaner and Reflections. The Soul of the Mark III Beast and Reflections.
October 25	Fantasy and Myths	Class discussion of Clive Barker's Hermione and the Moon. What is the nature of love? What do fantasies, myths, and religions represent?
November 1	From Hardware to Software and Selectios from Censored	Read Selfish Genes and Selfish Memes by Dawkins and Reflections and assignments by Mrs. Frances Moore.
November 8	Reading and Listening Comprehension	Read and analyze the following interview with Sir Laurens van der Post.
November 15	On Mind -- Created Selves and Free Will	Read The Riddle of the Universe and Its Solution by Cherniak and Reflections. Is God a Taoist by Smullyan. Circular Ruins by Borges and Reflections.
November 22	Free Will and Minds	Read articles 14, 16, and 18 in the Censored 2001 book and write a summary for each one. Please use your own words. We will also watch a classic film about a man's unusual brain patterns that change reality when he dreams, Lathe of Heaven. Exam #2: Your task will be to analyze this film carefully and answer short comprehension questions.
November 28 -- 31 Thanksgiving Holiday (no classes)
December 6	The Inner Eye The Seekers Series	Read A Conversation with Einstein's Brain by Hofstadter and Reflections.
December 13	Week of Finals: Reading Comprehension and Writing Skills.	Exam #3: Reading comprehension questions based on readings and short documentary.