SOCIAL SCIENCE 4452 3.0
State and Civil Society in Latin America

Reading Exercises

Reading Exercises (RE) are designed to help students develop critical reading skills, encourage preparation of course material, facilitate student participation in class, create the conditions for more student-directed discussion, and deepen student understanding of topics covered in class.

Due Dates: REs are due weekly at the beginning of each class. REs will not be accepted late for any reasons.

Grade: RE are worth a total of 20% of the final grade. Each RE will get a maximum of 2 points.

Length: a maximum of two typed pages per reading (could be presented in point form).

INSTRUCTIONS FOR REs

1) Write an annotation for each author
Summarize, in your own words, the central argument of the reading and its conclusions (leaving out all the content or details) attempting to be true to the meaning and intention of the author.

2) Identify and explain the key concepts used by each author to develop and support his/her argument. Why do you find these concepts useful?
A concept helps to explain or make sense of data, detail, information, and experience. It is a general idea or notion that goes beyond the empirical and experiential, beyond what we can observe or directly experience.

3) Outline your most important insight from this reading
Identify something that you found interesting and provocative and explain in what ways did this insight shift, challenge, expand or support your thinking about the topic?

4) Identify one statement, concept or argument that you do not understand
Try to explain what it is you don't understand (and why)

5) Connect the ideas of the various authors
Describe the common subject matter of these texts and/or differences.  What does each article contribute to the study of this topic area? Explain why you think these articles have been grouped together under this specific topic?

6) Prepare one question you would like the class to discuss (see Guide to Writing Questions below).