2012 Physics 280 Extra-Credit Essay Opportunity B (ECEO-B)

To qualify for this extra credit, you must attend the talk "How to deal with Iran" by Professor Stephen Zunes and submit an essay about his talk before the deadline listed below.

The talk will be at 7:00 p.m., Thursday, February 16th, in the South Rec Room of Allen Hall, 1005 W. Gregory Drive, Urbana, IL.

In order for us to be able to accept and grade your essay, you must sign the special sign-in sheet that will be at the back of the room.

After attending this event, you must submit an essay that summarizes it and assesses it critically. You will submit only one version (extra-credit essays are not revised).

Your essay must be at least 1.5 pages but no more than 2.0 pages in length.

Your essay should have the following structure:

• A brief introductory paragraph that explains what the event was about.
• One or two paragraphs that summarize the information and arguments presented by the speaker.
• One or two paragraphs that critically evaluate the information and arguments presented by the speaker.
• One or two paragraphs that mention information or arguments you found interesting or important and explain why they were interesting or important to you. Which information and arguments did you find persuasive? Unpersuasive?
• A closing paragraph that summarizes your main conclusion about the subject of the lecture.

Assume your audience is a typical University of Illinois student, but not a student in Physics 280. Begin each paragraph with a strong topic sentence and omit any information that is not essential for addressing the points listed above. Make your paragraphs clear, concise, and to the point. Avoid repetition and unnecessary words, especially adjectives and adverbs, and use active voice.

The Student Handbook provides complete guidance on how to format and submit an extra-credit essay and how the score you earn on an extra-credit essay is counted in computing your total course score. Be sure to review the writing assignment submission checklist in the Handbook before you turn in your essay!

In order to receive credit for your report, you must upload an electronic copy and insert a printed copy in the 280 Homework Box by 1:55 p.m. on Thursday, February 23rd.

Stephen Zunes is a Professor of Politics and International Studies at the University of San Francisco, where he chairs the program in Middle Eastern Studies. He has traveled frequently to the Middle East and other conflict regions, meeting with prominent government officials, scholars and dissidents. He has served as a political analyst for local, national, and international radio and television and as a columnist for the National Catholic Reporter, Huffington Post, Truthout, Alternet, and Common Dreams. He has published scores of articles and op-ed pieces on such topics as U.S. foreign policy, Middle Eastern politics, Latin American politics, African politics, human rights, arms control, social movements, and nonviolent action. He is the co-editor of Nonviolent Social Movements, the author of Tinderbox: U.S. Middle East Policy, and the Roots of Terrorism and the co-author (along with Jacoby Mundy) of Western Sahara: War, Nationalism, and Conflict Irresolution.

For further information about this event, click here.