REQUIREMENTS

There are three basic requirements for this class: (1) in-class participation; (2) weekly 1-page "thought pieces"; and (3) a 20-35-page research paper. In-class participation (as described in more detail below) will count for 20% of the final grade, the thought pieces 10% of the final grade, and the final paper 70% of the final grade.

PARTICIPATION

There will be two components to in-class participation: (1) general in-class participation; and (2) presentation of a preliminary outline of your research paper. Together, these components will account for 20% of your final grade for the course.

1. General Participation. Because this is an upper-level seminar, class participation is critical to the quality of the learning experience. Accordingly, I will expect you to attend class and to be generally well-prepared. A pattern of unexplained absences will be taken into account for grading purposes.

2. Outline Presentation. The second half of the seminar will consist of the presentation of works-in-progress. Each student will be assigned a day to present an outline of his or her research project. Students must prepare and distribute, ahead of time, a small amount of reading materials (e.g. an outline, synopsis, and/or background materials) regarding the research project. Each presentation will last no more than 15 minutes, with an additional 15 minutes for comments by class members.

WEEKLY THOUGHT PIECES

Every week before class, each student must turn in a short, 1-page (max.) "thought piece" based on the readings for that week. These thought-pieces are meant to be short and informal reactions to the assigned materials. For the first half of the class, you may write on any aspect of the assigned readings (e.g. your reaction to a particular article/case, speculation about the implications of a case, etc.). For the second half of the class, you will be assigned to comment on one of the papers being presented for the week, to ensure that each presenter gets several written reactions to his/her presentation. These weekly papers must be emailed to me or physically handed to me before the start of class. These thought pieces will account for 10% of the final grade.

RESEARCH PAPER

The main requirement for this course is a 20-35-page research paper. Students will spend the first half of the course researching and selecting a paper topic. As topic selection is often the most difficult part of writing the paper, I will be available throughout this time for consultation about paper topics. A 1-2 page topic statement will be due by Sept. 30, an outline and bibliography by October 14, and a rough draft by November 18. The final paper will be due by 5 p.m. on December 6, and will count for 70% of the final grade for the course.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Probably the easiest way to contact me is by email, at liujr@bc.edu. If you have a short question or comment, feel free to email me or call me. However, I also encourage you to come talk to me at my office hours or by appointment. Feel free to swing by to chat about anything, whether related to the course, about intellectual property generally, about career-advice, or about nothing at all.