Plate Tectonics Seminar (GEO 310)
Winter 2003, GVSU
Instructor: Figen Mekik
Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays 2:30-4:00
Office: 146 Padnos, 331-3020
Class meets: TTh 1-2:15pm; 108 Padnos
Text (required): The Rejection of Continental Drift (Naomi Oreskes, 1999)
Plate tectonics is the very recent “unifying theory” for the earth sciences, helping to explain the origins of
geological phenomena from volcanoes and earthquakes to sedimentary basins and mass extinctions (and
much more in between!..) It took years of observation and creative theory-making and heated debate for
geologists to finally accept the idea that the Earth’s outer crust is divided into rigid plates that move—
“continental drift.” In this course we will discuss plate tectonics from several angles: (1) why it took so
long for the theory to take hold, (2) what the current theory entails, and (3) what this theory means for our
daily lives. Along the way, you will exercise your creative and analytical thought processes through the
scientific method in readings, lab exercises, discussions, and a written effort.
Course requirements: Attendance at seminar and completion of all assigned work are expected. You will
be graded on weekly reading outlines, a midterm and final exam, a paper and presentation, and
participation at discussion. The course breakdown is:
Reading outlines (weekly): 10%
Midterm exam: 20%
Final exam: 20%
Paper, presentation, peer review: 50%
**Work must be completed on time. Let me know ahead of time if you will have to miss classwork due
to legitimate school or sports reasons, and work will be made up prior to your being absent. If you miss an
assignment or test without informing me beforehand, it needs to be a serious emergency. Be careful.....I
reserve the right to determine what constitutes an emergency.
Grading system: A = 90 - 100 B = 80 – 89 C = 70 – 79 D = 50 – 69 F = below 50
Weekly reading outlines: These are intended to help you organize the Oreskes text and generally practice
pulling crucial information from dense scientific work. The outline itself can be no longer than 1 page.
You will also include with each outline (on a separate page) a list of unkown terms and three burning
questions related to the reading. Your outline for that week’s reading will be due on Tuesday of each week.
Paper, presentation, and peer review: This is perhaps the most important part of the class and will be a
very useful exercise in creative and analytical thought, writing, and presentation. All of these processes
(thinking, writing, and presenting) can be intimidating at the start—but with practice you will become more
adept at them all. You will chose a topic from the list below (or one of your own) and will then write a
paper in the IMRAD format (Introduction, Methods, Results, Analysis, and Discussion) based on your own
research of the topic. You will present your paper in class at the end of the semester, and you will also peer
review two of your classmates’ papers. You will have several deadlines to meet, to turn in your: (1) topic,
(2) detailed outline, (3) first draft, (4) peer review notes, (5) presentation, and (6) final draft. More details
about your paper and presentation will be given during the semester. DO NOT DELAY in choosing a
topic and gathering your research materials. Some of these can take a while to order from the library.
