WORKING SEPARATELY BUT EXCHANGING IDEAS

Where we are in the JES process, where we are headed

Your team now has selected and viewed the films it will compare. The remainder of the JES is in three phases:

First, I require submission of a series of very short studies ("PCS", see sidebar) comparing the films in various ways:

1. "East" to "West"
2. premodern to modern
3. country to country

Second, the team decides on one specific topic ("NDT", see sidebar) that is relevant to both of the films and the JES goals already committed to. This becomes the jointly held topic upon which each team member will write (working independently and blind to one another) a research essay ("ICE", see sidebar).

Finally, near the end of the term the team members meet to compare their individual essays and jointly write a final segment of the JES.

JES05/JES05R, JES06/JES06R and JES07/JES07R are the set: PCS #1, PCS #2 and PCS #3. They are all part of the first phase above. In other words you will now write three short studies on the two films.

Special note. Here's a comment from a student written at the end of the term, after the full JES process was finished, in a space where students can add anything they want: "JES05-07 were very helpful in helping us understand each other's way of thinking. However, while the to-n-fro exchanges made us notice the difference in our interpretations, they worked a little too well in aligning our thoughts. By JES07 we both talked about the same 2 broad topics w/o prior communication. We actually had to take note to stop our discussion at one point in JES08 because we were worried that our ICEs may become too similar. It may be helpful to future students to know that this is also a potential problem D:" So, discuss! But if you have the type of team where you like to talk a lot and you talk about lots of different things about the films, try to avoid over-arching, full interpretations of your films, or at least sharing all of that with your partner. I want you to stimulate each others' thoughts but this isn't the place to argue towards conclusions and you anyway should leave space for the partner to have his or her own ideas.

The basic structure for any of the three PCS

The basic idea for JES05 through 07 is this: by writing a series of short comparative studies you will be very familiar with your films by the time you need to decide the NDT for your essay, which is the single most definitive moment in the JES process.

All three PCS follow the same file exchange pattern. In about a weeks time (more swiftly in the summer) each team member will write three PCS (JES05, JES06, JES07) and respond to the three PCS of his or her team member, for a total of six submissions. You both write PCS #1 at the same time, send the submission via email at about the same time (copying me), and respond to the incoming PCS received at the same time (labeling these responses JES05R, JES06R, JES07R — the "R" means "response". You cannot move on to JES06 until you get JES05R from your partner (and read it!), and so on. I will log these in so you will get ACCEPTED from me, but I cannot keep up with the pace of the exchange so please do not wait to hear from me to respond and move forward.

Instructions

Basically you download the form (here is Form-JES05), retitle the file, complete the contents, and send to your partner, copying me (using the subject line below). Then, when you get your partner's form you retitle the file and complete it as the respondent, then send it to your partner, copying me. Example:

Let's say that PCS #1 is due January 10 and the response to PCS #1 is due January 12 and PCS #2 is due January 14 —

• Before January 10, Student A and Student B are both completing the Form–JES05.
• By the January 10 submission deadline, each student will email it to me and their partner. Use the subject line: EA105_JES05_groupnumberstudentletter_LASTNAME_classname etow (the "etow" means East to West).
  • This is a fast-moving process and all submissions MUST be on time. Past-deadline submissions are scored as "zero" in most cases. Even so, the student must complete, at some point, all three PCS in order to get any credit at all for the entire JES process.
  • Some might think to write out ahead of time answers for JES06 and JES07, as a time management solution. While I would not be able to determine if you did this or not it runs counter to the concept of the assignment. Each PCS is meant to build on the dialogue of the previous PCS. You put your ideas out there, receive a response from your partner, rethink things, and so on.
  • The partner DEFINITELY DOES NOT look at his or her partner's completed JES05 form until he or she has finished and sent his or her own form. If you refer to the form to help complete your own your ideas will "blend" into your partners and this almost certainly will have a negative impact on your grade both on this assignment and future JES submissions.
• After both forms have been emailed and before January 12 submission deadline. Once both team members have finished sending out the JES05 form they can now respond to their partner's form. (They will know this based on having received their partner's form. I do not insert myself into the process. I will send out ACCEPTED at some point but I do not try to match the speed of the exchange of these many files.)
• After both forms have been emailed and before January 12 submission deadline. Each team members opens his or her partner's document, and before anything else CHANGES THE FILE TITLE to EA105_JES05R_groupnumberberstudentletter_LASTNAME_ classname.
  • PLEASE REMEMBER TO ADD THE "R" ("response") AFTER "JES05" AND CHANGE THE NAME FROM YOUR PARTNER'S NAME TO YOUR NAME.
• By January 12 submission deadline. Each team member, working with the form his or her partner originally wrote but which now has a new file title on it, completes the portions of the form that have been built into it for response and emails it to me and the partner using the subject line: EA105_JES05R_groupnumberstudentletter_LASTNAME_classname etow.
• After the PCS response has been received and before writing PCS#2. Each student reads his or her partner's comments.
• After reading his or her partner's response and before the submission deadline of PCS#2. Each student completes the JES06 form and emails it.