1. Action Period Dates: For SPRING 2010, the Action Periods are: (1) FEBRUARY 15 - MARCH 3, (2) MARCH 1 - MARCH 17, and (3) APRIL 5 - APRIL 21.

2. Syllabus Description:

Using the internet to draw students at various universities together into an intellectual community, the Community Action Website encourages students to consider ethical issues that lie at the interface of anthropology and the contemporary world. Participating in the Community Action Website project helps students improve both their critical thinking and writing skills.

Students will write Op-Eds -- or opinion pieces of roughly three to seven hundred words -- expressing their view on the steps that should be taken to resolve the ethical issue the project is addressing. Past participants have played a critical role in encouraging large scale institutions to move toward more ethical actions.

Students pay a $10 register fee to participate in the project. The book students read (Why a Public Anthropology?) costs $9.95 on line -- meaning students get the book plus the project for the same basic cost as the book itself. Once registered, students have full access to the website, a copy of the book used with the project, and all activities associated with the project. They also have a free help email address to assist them with all problems.

You have to complete the entire project to receive a grade for the project.

3. Credit Given for Course: The project MUST BE A REQUIRED ASSIGNMENT. (We had too many problems when we allowed teachers make the project an optional assignment.) Usually teachers make the Community Action Website Project 5% to 15% of the grade with 10% being the norm and tending to work best. And, as noted, in the description, STUDENTS MUST COMPLETE THE ENTIRE ASSIGNMENT TO GET CREDIT FOR IT.