Course Requirements (Spring 2024)

Resources for Assignments:

Late Paper Policy: Deadlines are strict, but I tried to schedule them humanely so that they are manageable. Barring personal crisis, family emergency, or illness, all late papers will be subject to one half grade point off (out of 10) per day late. I do not give paper extensions for time management issues. I also cannot guarantee detailed comments for late assignments. If you are struggling, please reach out and talk to me! We can come up with an alternative plan together.

Course Organization:

Classes will revolve around discussions and analyses of course readings and video clips. The main requirement is a semester-long field project, Investigating the Language Politics of Houselessness Policy in Portland, in which we will focus on issues related to the ongoing crisis of houselessness in Portland and the larger municipal area. Such issues could include: urban housing policy, management of the houseless, gentrification, houselessness and mental illness, houselessness and addiction, race and gender/sexuality issues and houselessness, grassroots advocacy for the houseless, etc. As part of the project, there will be in-class presentations as well as jointly and individually submitted writing assignments. I will expect your avid participation--including regular attendance, prompt completion of assignments, and active involvement in your research pairs and in class discussions. In fact, class participation and attendance will comprise a significant portion of your grade.

Reading and writing assignments are meant to encourage close, critical engagement with the history and cultural politics of linguistic processes in the U.S. and elsewhere, as well as your thoughtful reflection on the issues they raise in the context of the anthropological perspective on language, culture and power presented in class. The reading load is moderate and it is assigned per week. On average, you should expect to put in two to three hours of work outside of class for every hour of in-class time.

Weekly further readings, links and related films are provided online for your use. These materials are are especially relevant or provide differing viewpoints; they offer points of departure for deepening your understanding of particular issues. 

Required readings are marked on the syllabus for where they can be found. Many books are available in the bookstore. In addition, all required readings are available on-line, through ereserves. Ereserves can be accessed via the course Moodle page. Please let me know if you have any trouble obtaining the readings. To facilitate discussion, you should have all the readings for the day and your notes ready to consult during class.

Requirements:

1) Discussion leadership and avid participation in class and in research pairs (40%)

  • Participation includes: Regular and prompt attendance, engaged discussion, in-class workshop participation, and Moodle forum contribution (as scheduled discussants), responsible and responsive research partnering and blog commentary online and in class, engaged and well-prepped discussion facilitation with 5-6 questions (these should be your own questions, not ones generated by AI tools like ChatGPT), research assignments in on time.
  • Attendance policy: Beyond specific accommodations, everyone gets to take one rest day during the semester at a time of your choice (please let me know when!). Whenever possible, please let me know if you are ill or if there is an emergency that will make you miss class. You are responsible for making up missed work (come to office hours! contact your peers for notes! do an extra Moodle comment in the discussion forum!). Missing more than eight classes means you cannot pass this class.
  • Extra credit: In-class Workshop Transcript and Field Descriptions: uploaded as pairs to Moodle the Friday after workshop.

2) Semester-long Research Project: Investigating the Language Politics of Houselessness in Portland  (60%)

  • Research pairs choose fieldsite(s): This could be: 1) attending public, in-person or online meetings at a Portland govt or NGO organization related to gentrification and urban housing development, housing policy, or managing houselessness; 2) participant observation and volunteering at an organization addressing houselessness issues in Portland, including at least two recorded interviews; 3) as last resort: online fieldwork on a chosen organization addressing houselessness issues in Portland, e.g., websites, video news reports, video recorded meetings, chat forums and at least two recorded interviews.
  • Research pairs conduct fieldwork:, 1) Public meetings: attend at least 2 meetings over the semester in realtime, either via Zoom or in person (at least one by week 7, optionally, you can add a third that you did not attend but was recorded previously), record the meeting with permission; 2) Participant Observation: Each partner volunteers for at least 4-5 hours for the same organization, and does one recorded interview; 3) Partners divide up online research work, participate in forums and each does one recorded interview.
  • Research pairs upload a Research Proposal and Post 4 Field Commentaries: (35%) Research pairs post four Field Commentaries over the course of the semester to their Moodle Commentary Blog forum, two authored by one person, while the other person comments, and vice versa. These will be shared with the class.
    • Sunday Feb 18, midnight, Research pairs upload a 2-3 page (~700-1000 words) research proposal, including a research schedule, to Moodle
    • Friday Feb 23, midnight, first 250-400 word Field Commentary
    • Friday Mar 8, midnight, second 250-400 word Field Commentary
    • Friday Mar 29, midnight, third 250-400 word Field Commentary
    • Friday Apr. 12, midnight, fourth 250-400 word Field Commentary
  • Research pairs upload audio/video clips you will analyze:
    • Upload at least 2 video or audio clips (per pair): including at least ONE news media report relevant to issues of houselessness in Portland that you will explore; and ideally, a recorded meeting you attended in realtime (if impossible to do so, you can include an online recorded meeting you did not attend but plan to analyse along with your fieldnotes from meetings you attended).
    • Audio or video should be uploaded to your course Google drive media folder (one at midterm, one at end). This will allow you to link them to your papers. They should be of interactions you will analyse in your final papers.
    • Audio or Video to be linked to your final papers should be no longer than 5 minutes (you will need to clip some) and they should be fully captioned in your papers.
  • Final Individual Analysis: (25%)
    • Draft/outline of individual final paper (some more writing than the proposal; or a new proposal; or an outline): due in class for peer review Wednesday Apr 24.
    • 7-10 page individual final analyses: Individually upload your own final analyses to Moodle by Tuesday May 7, midnight. Your research pair should upload at least two audio or video files you each will link to and analyse in your final papers.

Avoid Plagiarism! 

Plagiarism is the failure to acknowledge one's use of another's work. Many people mistakenly believe that plagiarism can occur only if the writer willfully appropriates someone else's words or ideas in a paper. This is not the case. Whether by intent or by omission, plagiarism occurs whenever one utilizes another's language, concepts, or creative work in any medium and fails to accurately cite the author or source. The Reed Honor Principle, which you have agreed to uphold as a student at Reed College, prohibits such acts of academic dishonesty. To avoid plagiarism, take comprehensive, accurate notes and consult a writers' manual for the proper form with which to cite your sources. More questions? See the Doyle Writing Center's Guidelines on Plagiarism and Citation and the link on Anthropology Citation Practices above, under "Resources for Anthropology 201 Assignments".

NOTE: When you write papers and other course discourse, you are claiming the words and the ideas within them as your own. Thus for this class, you may not use generative artificial intelligence or large language models such as Chat GPT to compose all or part of your papers, Moodle blog posts, comments or discussion questions. Such materials written entirely or in part by others, including generative AI, will be considered violations of academic integrity and the Honor Principle. However, some uses of AI tools are permitted (see the course AI Tools Policy).

Sensitive Topics and Ethical Use of Images

Anthropology courses address some of the most sensitive issues humans face (kinship, race, gender, sexuality, class inequality, violence, state politics, etc.). At the same time, class discussion is the central activity of this course and students are required to be proactive in their preparation for it. I define active participation in class as promoting a positive and inclusive learning environment through respectful discourse with students and me about the topics at hand. While most of our readings, films and assignments will not directly portray graphic or violent material, I will use "Content Notes" to alert class members to any such content ahead of time. I prefer that term (vs. "Trigger warnings") because it avoids psychologizing us and does not assume what our responses to material will be. I also prefer the more neutral-sounding "Content Notes" because it encourages us not to prematurely foreclose our engagements with difficult material, but just to be aware of our own needs and to provide extra care for ourselves if necessary.

Similarly, please be thoughtful and respectful in your image-sharing practices (in your blogs, papers and Moodle posts). All images or videos shared with class members or me should be framed or contextualized with some information about their sources, why they are relevant to the discussion and any Content Notes you feel are needed. For more information on ethics and linguistic anthropology research, like the U.S. law against "video voyeurism," see the first page of the Anth 201 Course research guide

Disability and Accessibility Resources and this course

If you have a disability that may impact your work in this class and you have received an accommodations letter from Disability and Accessibility Resources, I encourage you to meet with me early in the semester or as soon as possible after receiving your letter. Discussing your accommodation needs early on can help clarify expectations and allow time to implement accommodations that require some coordination. If you have not yet requested accommodations through Disability and Accessibility Resources for this semester, or you are interested in learning about disability and accessibility resources at Reed, I encourage you to contact DAR at dar@reed.edu to request an appointment.

COVID Precautions for classes and office hours

While the urgency of the COVID threat has waned, the immuno-compromised and those suffering from long COVID continue to experience challenges. Based on our class feedback, we will thus take necessary precautions to protect our peers and their families.

  • Depending on what class members decide (in a confidential poll), we could do one of the following: 1) all participants mask all semester when in class; 2) all participants mask for the first few weeks, and then masking is optional; 3) masking is optional, but any student feeling symptoms, especially coughing, should contact the professor and stay home, and mask in class when recovering
  • I will require masks for in-person office hours
  • I will have extra masks available in class and for office hours