Active Participation
- Please come to class prepared to participate in the activities for the day. This means having read, taken notes on, and thought about any reactions or questions you have to all assigned reading and your classmates’ podcast episodes. You can keep up with the course schedule by referring to the course calendar.
- Listening Along: you should listen to each episode we produce and be prepared to discuss them in class. You are encouraged to refer to other groups’ episodes in your own.
- To each class, please bring: the current text we’re discussing, a notebook (or method for note-taking on the device of your choice), and your homework (when it is assigned). I will assume that everyone has done the assigned reading before class begins. Those students that do not keep up with the reading will see that reflected in their participation grade.
Classroom Expectations
You will be working together throughout the quarter. Disagreement can be productive, and people in many fields depend on disagreement to strengthen their arguments, discover errors, and challenge their own thinking. However, in order for disagreement to be productive, it must be respectful and courteous. Be generous with others and try to assume good intentions. That said, personal attacks, disrespectful language, and disrespectful behavior have no place in the classroom. Hate speech will not be tolerated. You are expected to use language and actions that show respect for gender, race, religion, ethnicity, sexuality, and ability in order to create a safe and welcoming community.
General Guidelines for Class Discussion:
- The content and discussion of this course will necessarily be engaging with race, gender, political ideology, and violence, including sexual violence. These topics are not abstract; be aware that what you say can have real impacts on other people.
- Listen carefully to others, and do not attempt to respond before they’ve finished what they have to say.
- When someone else is talking, try not to focus on how you disagree or the way you want to reply. Instead, focus completely on what they’re trying to communicate until they finish.
- Stay on topic and connect what you have to say with the readings and/or with what others have said.
- Write down your thoughts so you can return to them.
- Ask follow-up questions of others, and try to repeat your understanding of what they’ve said as part of that follow up.
- Speak up even when you’re not sure you’re right.
- Try not to dominate conversations. Make sure everyone in your group is included, and invite others to speak.
During week 3, we will revisit guidelines for classroom and small group discussion, and I will ask all of you to come up with additions to discussion expectations. In the first couple of weeks, then, be thinking about what specifically seems to be working in discussions, and what doesn’t.
Technology
Think of these policies as being about respect for your classmates and instructor.
- Laptops may not be used in class unless the instructor specifies otherwise. This may seem counterintuitive in a course where we are making a podcast, but production will happen largely out of class. Certain technologies are more useful in certain situations: pen and paper allow for better focus and less disruption in a discussion course. If you are concerned about this policy, please see me.
- Phones: Please set your phone to vibrate at least; silent would be even better. Don’t text during class. It’s disrespectful, and you will be embarrassingly called out.
Attendance
- Although attendance is not required (per UW policy), lack of attendance will have a significant impact on your participation grade. This impact is enumerated further in the ‘Class Discussion’ section above.
Missing Class
- It is expected that you will attend all classes. However, I understand that people get sick, traffic gets bad, things come up. Please send me an email at mjpoland at uw dot edu before class if you will miss so I can plan accordingly.
Late Work
All assignments are due on the time and date specified, and I will not accept any assignments submitted in any other way unless given approval ahead of time. Please refer to the assignment prompts for details about what is an acceptable minimum viable product for each assignment, versus what I will expect to have from each group for each assignment by the end of the term. Unless you have spoken with me ahead of time, late work is due by the next class meeting and you will lose participation points.
Submission Guidelines
All podcast episodes will be submitted to the class Google Drive folder. More information will be provided in the podcast manual. Blog entries and discussion responses will be posted to the class Canvas page.
If you have concerns, please come talk to me. For assistance with MLA formatting, I also recommend the Purdue OWL website (http://owl.english.purdue.edu/).
Academic Integrity
Plagiarism, or academic dishonesty, is presenting someone else’s ideas or writing as your own. In your writing for this class, you are encouraged to refer to other people’s thoughts and writing – as long as you cite them. As a matter of policy, any student found to have plagiarized any piece of writing in this class will be immediately reported to the College of Arts and Sciences for review.
Accommodations
If you need accommodation of any sort, please let me know so I can work with the UW Disability Resources for Students Office (DRS) to provide what you require. This syllabus is available in large print, as are other class materials. More information about accommodation may be found at http://www.washington.edu/students/drs/.