On the lecture diary

I got a question

> Dear Pekka

>I wish to have more informations about “lecture

> diary” method, because this is the first time that I do it.

> In particular, can you suggest me a good way to proceed in order to

> write the diary? Do my thoughts and ideas must be write like an essay or

> do they must be separated each for one lecture? What exactly do I have

> to write in the diary?

 

Dear X.X,

if you think about the lecture diary from the point of view of an examiner of this kind of internet lecture, where there is no direct contact between people except email in some cases, the examiner needs

1. proof that you have listened to the lectures,

2. understood the contents, and

3. reflected on the lectures in your mind, so that hopefully something stays there afterwards.

Thus you need

1. to touch with at least a few sentences all individual lectures; more those that interested you, less those that you did not find so important, but anyway all of them;

2. give attention to concepts, because exact use of concepts is a proof of understanding, while simple enumeration of a few concrete details does not prove it very convincingly, and

3. put occasionally something from your mind into the text; can be reflections, comments, criticism or whatever, as long as it comes from your mind and is sensible.

The length of the lecture diary is not long, 5 pages. One reason of course is simple laziness of the examiner: I will get a hefty pile of diaries from seven different universities through three different cooperation schemes. The other reason is that the limit forces writers to concentrate on points 2 and 3, because you will have to plan your text, not just execute a writing assignment while reading. I would advice you to make notes while you listen, plan the length of how much you write of any individual lecture, and then write. You can of course listen again individual lectures when you need to refresh something. You are free to structure and compose the lecture diary as you wish; no set formula for that.

Pekka

Geopolitical adventures of the name Asia

Course description and what to do

JYU VALA511 /  JYU&UTA Alliance  /  Finnish University Network for Asian Studies

Geopolitical adventures of the name Asia is a net course, set up in summer 2006 by a team comprising Lei Hua (camera and editing) and Pekka Korhonen (lecturing), based on a manuscript by Pekka Korhonen. It contains 18 lectures.

The lectures deal with the various ways Asia has been conceptualized during the past two millennia, starting with the ancient Greeks, and ending with contemporary East Asian conceptualizations.

Viewing time is 1.2.–1.3.2012. You will get the address to the lectures here in late January.

How to get your credits? Very easy.

1. You listen to the lectures and write a lecture diary of 5 pages. The concept of lecture diary means that you write down the main ideas of the series and comment on them. Send your lecture diary as an email attachment to Pekka Korhonen at pekka.a.korhonen@jyu.fi by 1 March 2012 at 24.00 (Finnish time). Don’t send it later, and don’t beg for additional time!

You are advised to do the lectures during the first two week, so you will not miss the deadline. You are welcome to use Wikipedia and other sources for additional information, but do not let it show extensively in your diary and essay. I also have to warn you that if I get from different people two texts, which look too identical, I have to refuse them both. Please work individually.

Please write the following information at the top of the diary:
1. The name of the course: Geopolitical Adventures of the Name Asia, spring 2012
2. Your whole name, starting with your surname, placing the personal name you use for registering purposes in italics, and email. (example: Korhonen, Ari Pekka ; pekka.a.korhonen@jyu.fi)
3. Your university and major; student number in those universities that use them. For exchange students ‘your university’ means the one where you are enrolled in Finland, because this information is needed solely for registering your credits. Do not send me your social security number! I do not need nor want that information.
4. Any other specific information that I might need to know to direct your credits to the right place. Systems vary in different universities.

ENROLLMENT

JYU students:  enrol at Korppi.

The Finnish University Network for Asian Studies students: You simply enrol via the UTU coordination unit http://www.asianet.fi/asianet/english/home.html

UTA students of international politics: tell me that you are doing this as a JYU-UTA Alliance course, so that I do not mix you with UTA students doing Asian studies via UTU. Please enrol to the course by sending me an email stating so.