Absences: Beyond the Edges of the Material World

Taught by: Dr Phillip Meadows

Reviews

AY 24/25, Sem 1

Content (Structure/Organization): 4

course is pretty structured for a writing course, each week is structured around an aspect of academic writing taught through the lens of a theoretical question on absences. For example, learning to incorporate the back-and-forth structure of argumentative writing in your essay through reading Roy Sorensen's argument on the Eclipse Riddle and other authors' response to it.

Academic writing weekly learning outcomes:

- How to state an academic problem

- Summarizing and referring to sources

- Developing and stating a thesis

- Being clear about academic motive

- Conversational structure of academic writing

The learning outcomes are quite broad but I think they're pretty sufficient for a writing course. 

Three main assignments to work toward:

- Summary paper

- Formative paper (1.5k max wordcount)

- Final research paper (3 drafts, 2.5k max wordcount)

Manageability of Workload: 2

Average workload for an NTW course (ie high workload is a standard but definitely not the highest workload across all NTW courses)

Nothing much to prepare for classes weekly besides doing your readings, but the prof does the bulk of talking/explaining during class; not much discussion because the readings can be really confusing sometimes and no one really fully gets them

NTW2037 has three drafts for the final research paper (first draft to be peer reviewed, second draft to be discussed at consult with prof, then your final submission), while some other NTWs have two, so it really depends on whether you'll like more drafts but less time to edit between each or spend longer on each draft.

Ease/Difficulty of Attaining Grades:

Pick a topic that's easy to argue and has a lot of existing literature specifically on the topic you're writing on. I've heard of people getting As and A- for formative so it's definitely possible, but average grade hovers at B+

Spend more time researching and understanding the readings that you'll want to write your essays on and give up on the others to save time

Learning Value/Recommendation: 3

I have never done such rigorous academic writing in my life nor have I been exposed to philo topics. I don't think I will be applying these concepts much to my daily life but I also don't think that takes away from the fact that it was a fruitful learning experience. I did find it kind of interesting, but I would not want to do it again

About the Instructor:

Dr Phillip Meadows is very passionate about his area of study and is very patient and understanding. I think he quite understands the learning curve for students new to philo, so he always welcomes questions and consultations (although it might be quicker for you to ask questions right after class because sometimes he misses emails). Great guy all around 10/10

AY 23/24, Sem 1

Content (Structure/Organization): 3

It’s very flexible I think! The content is actually hard complex (i mean it’s abt absences so you’re literally trying to think of negatives and what not) but I like how you don’t actually have to understand the content but rather the line of thinking is more important. he allowed us to work on concepts and phenomena we are more interested in for our papers.

Accessibility and Assessment: 3

I think it’s quite accessible if you focus more on the concepts and thought process because the content ranges from many different topics such as physics to law and so on so it’s unlikely you are going well versed with all of them but he will go through them in a less content heavy way but more focused on arguments that are made and how conclusions form. However, the feedback on papers is actually quite limited so it is beneficial to reach out for extra consults or go to the writers center. 

Manageability of Workload: 3

the workload is not v heavy since our readings get shorter over the sem and we have an earlier/faster timeline than other ntw (we start our final paper around wk8/9 and would finish it before reading week which is a good thing because then you can focus on the others) however, it requires quite a bit more time for research and mostly just writing (since the content is not the most typical so there would be a need to spend more time creating solid arguments) 

Ease/Difficulty of Attaining Grades:

He gives a quite wide range of grades so A is definitely possible but most of us tend to be hovering around the B+/A- by mid sem and it really takes final paper to push it (the final paper is split into several parts of submission tho so you can get intermediary grades and most people tend to score arnd A during the research and bibliography sections instead) however, it is important to note that it’s q easy to write things that misalign with the requirements due to the nature of the topics so there is a need to be careful and thoughtful about selection of topics (he allows any topic) 

Learning Value/Recommendation: 4

i actually learnt a lot from this course and it has helped me a lot with ngn and nsw in the next sem because this course focuses more on teaching the way to express yourself in complex and confusing topics with a line of thinning that is easy to follow 

About the Instructor:

he is very nice and will engage in avid discussion in class about any qualms you might have but his written feedback is lackin 

Additional Comments/Word of Advice:

A disclaimer would be that you will be confused, 100% you will think that some of what you are reading is nonsense (since it’s people’s arguments) but you don’t need to understand the content to do well. take the course only if you’re okay with the above and would like to challenge yourself a bit with the focus on creating arguments. (ps he likes short and clear sentences and arguments in papers). 

AY 23/24, Sem 1

Content (Structure/Organization): 3

Course covered a range of disciplines from art to philosophy to physics to justice. But granted our paper 1 is focused on a philosophy paper, it did feel like most of the content was philosophy related. By the time we reached justice (last one or two weeks) I think most people gave up on the readings

Accessibility and Assessment: 2

I found it very difficult to be engaged with the course. While I came in with a healthy amount of interest I found the readings taxing and class discussions more on clarification and working through the readings rather than discussion (at many times it was mostly a monologue).

Despite this Prof is more than willing to discussion and help with any questions and seemed genuinely eager to talk about the topic which did help a lot

Manageability of Workload: 1

My engagement with the course material steadily decreased through the semester as the readings got denser. When papers were due it was... not pretty. Granted I think this NTW has a smaller workload than other NTWs: we have 2 main papers while I think a number of others have three. I found P2 more manageable than P1 since it was a) a topic of our choosing and b) having a more structured timeline as each step of the crafting process from gathering potential sources, essay plan, peer review and instructor review had to be submitted, with the bibilography and essay plan being graded.

(It was a bit odd to have the bibliography and essay plan graded, they had a higher weightage than our P1. But it did help to have those be compulsory submissions)

Overall i had to spend a lot of time on NTW and had some struggle balancing this with 24 units including NGN. (My P1 was due around the same time my NGN P1 was due... and my P2 draft was due the same day as my major course's essay so... it was not fun) But I would say prof's guidance and kindness did make this experience better

Ease/Difficulty of Attaining Grades:

I think Prof is quite lenient especially since this is a new course. I don't think my essay especially P1 was really up to standard

Learning Value/Recommendation: 4

I'm glad I took it but I would not put myself through that again.

About the Instructor:

Prof was very helpful and eager and genuine. If I had to do this course again (which is not. something I would voluntarily want to do. I would be kicking and screaming the whole time. but if I really had to.) I would try to engage with prof more and get more help from him for my essays

Additional Comments/Word of Advice:

Go to writer's centre. If you really have to, submit a late draft instead of a hastily done one so you at least can get useful feedback for your final.