Course Activities and Policies (Fall 2024)

Late Paper Policy

In this class we focus on process over product, completion over evaluation. But we all also have limits to our time (including me!). For an activity to count as completed "on time," I don't give extensions for time management issues. But if you are struggling (due to family, personal, medical difficulties and crises), we always work out an alternative plan together, and you always have the opportunity to revise and re-post. Please reach out and talk to me! Not all processes go the way we want them to, but all process is some form of learning! The most important thing is for you to feel like you can get the work done and move on.

Course Organization

This course centers film, film production and film analysis as a way to understand how variously positioned filmmakers and their diverse audiences work to create the figures of "Tibet" and "Tibetans" for a wide variety projects and agendas. We draw on anthropological approaches to film and media studies, as well as critical film theories, to consider feature films as multimodal projects in world-making, an ongoing dialogue between filmmakers and shifting audiences. As such, our class discussions focus on unpacking our assigned films in the light of relevant assigned readings in the Tibetan and Chinese-Tibetan history, politics and culture, film and media theory, and film production methodology.

Reading and writing assignments are meant to encourage close, critical engagement with the history and cultural politics of filmmaking and the figure of "Tibet" in a globalizing world, as well as your thoughtful reflection on the issues they raise in the light of the anthropological perspective on media, colonialism, nationalism, states, space, and ethnicity presented in class. The reading load is heavier at the beginning of the semester and becomes lighter; 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 supplemental readings, films and links are provided on the web syllabus for your use.  Further readings are ones that are especially relevant or provide differing viewpoints; they offer points of departure for deepening your understanding of particular issues. They can be great resources for research on your chosen film.

Required readings are marked on the syllabus for where they can be found. Most of the readings are available on our Moodle ereserve or online. To facilitate discussion, you should have screened the assigned film, and have all the readings for the day and your notes ready to consult during class. Smartphones are not permitted in class; laptops will be allowed in class within limits. Please let me know if you have any trouble obtaining the readings.

Grading

In this class, we experiment with collaborative, process-focused grading. That means you will take an active role in reflecting on and assessing your own work, in terms of your own learning goals and with feedback from me. This also means we are putting quality above quantity and self-reflective assessment over professor evaluation. So everyone who participates in our course community (see below) and completes the assigned activities gets an "A".

I list below the various course activities meant to create a semester-long "portfolio" of work geared toward helping you process and learn about the figures of "Tibet" and "Tibetans" through the medium of film. All activities will be marked as "complete" or "incomplete" after the deadline, with detailed feedback (not evaluation) from me. You will always have the opportunity to revise and complete or improve incomplete work.

At the end of the semester, along with your final project, you will complete an assessment of your "portfolio" of work and, because Reed still requires letter grades, you will suggest a grade for yourself (I'll provide some benchmarks and guidelines for doing that). Then we'll meet and go over your assessment together. I reserve the right to alter the grade if my assessment does not match yours (students often grade themselves lower than I would!). Therefore, it is possible that I may need to choose a grade that is different than the one you select to make sure that the final grades fairly reflect each student’s effort and learning in the course.

Anytime a professor does something that may be different from what you have experienced before, it has the potential to create anxiety. Please reach out to me if you find this assessment approach is creating anxiety for you. Please also feel free to reach out to me at any time if you feel you need additional feedback on your classwork and/or development as a scholar in this class.

A couple benchmarks for final grading:

  • To add a "+" to any suggested grade, your film journal entries should be timely (e.g., all film journal entries completed/posted to your private Moodle Film Journal Forum during the week of the assigned film, ideally by Sunday midnight before our discussion of the film, less ideally by Fridays midnight, the week we discussed the film).
  • To receive an "A+": All film journal entries on time (see above), and you complete a "behind the scenes" process video of your work on your final film project (vs., a written process essay).

Activities to Complete: All these activities together will make up your "portfolio" for the course.

I will not be grading individual activities, but rather asking questions and making comments that engage your work, and suggesting ways to strengthen or improve it, rather than simply evaluate it. The intention is to help you focus on creating and learning in ways that work best for you, as opposed to creating as you think you’re expected to.

  • Participation: this means active engagement in our collaborative course community and activities. Beyond attendance in class (which is expected at all times--please let me know ahead of time if you can't make it!), determine what participation in our community looks like for you – online, in-person, in our physical classroom, during office hours, in whatever combination you can best contribute and learn. Listening and reflecting can be just as important as speaking and questioning. We will treat writing and filmmaking as collaborative processes, so I encourage you to focus a good amount of your energy on helping your peers, reading/viewing their work, championing their accomplishments, and offering feedback that pushes them in their own creative process.
  • Film Journal: 250-300 word entries for each assigned film, posted to your private (only you and I will see them) Moodle Film Journal Forum. These are informal notes on the film for your use, ideally by Sundays midnight the week the film is assigned (so that you are prepped for our discussions), less ideally by Fridays midnight that same week (after we discuss the film).
  • Self-reflection: Reflect on your own work. This course is about process, not product, and so writing about our own writing and filmmaking processes is among the most important work we'll do. Each assignment will be accompanied by a short process reflection paper.
    • This includes collaborative work with me, in three one-on-one meetings (Week 1, Week 7, and at the end of the semester) to check in together on your process and goals.
    • This includes a 1 page (~400 words) Learning goals reflection (posted to Moodle, Friday Sept 13, midnight).
  • Two class sesssions as Film Discussant in Pairs (weeks 3-8, sign up week 2): Each week on Mondays, two students will work together to post 4-5 discussion questions on Moodle, and select and present a scene from the week’s assigned film. They will also facilitate that day's class discussion in terms of the week’s topic and assigned readings.
  • Final 10-minute, (auto)ethnographic video on a Tibet-related feature film of your choice, with 3-page process/goals discussion (posted to Moodle with complete film journal and portfolio assessment, including a suggested grade), Tuesday, Dec 17, midnight. You will choose a Tibet-related feature film and tell a story about its ongoing relationships with audiences by recruiting 3-5 students to view the film together and discuss it. This project will unfold in steps across the semester:
    • 5 in-class workshops with Tony Moreno, on film production and analysis (learning imovie, narrative, mise-en-scene, cinematography, editing, sound)
    • 3-5 page Final Project Prelim Plan and process, Friday Sept 27, midnight, posted to Moodle
    • Midterm Process Essay (and optional storyboard), Friday Oct 18, midnight, posted to Moodle
    • Storyboard and 1-2 page process essay, Friday Nov 8, midnight, posted to Moodle
    • Presentation and discussion facilitation of your chosen film, starting week 10 (Nov 11): one class session, including suggest 1-2 readings (background, theory/methodology, theme) and circulating questions and focus scenes by the night before.
    • Dec 18-19 one on one meetings (20 mins) to assess together (in person or on zoom).

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.

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 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 further information on the ethical use of images in anthropology courses, see the library guide "Ethical Use of Images".

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 resources at Reed, I encourage you to contact DAR at dar@reed.edu to request an appointment.

Ilness-related Absences

When your health allows, you are expected to be present and engaged in class. At the same time, each community member has an individual responsibility to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus and other infectious diseases. Following public health guidance is part of living in an honorable community. 

The following recommendations should guide your decision about coming to class:

  • Self-isolation is the recommended course of action for anyone experiencing flu-like, especially respiratory symptoms, whether due to possible coronavirus or to other illnesses.  Please stay at home if you feel sick, and contact the Health and Counseling Center (HCC) or your healthcare provider to discuss. If you test positive for COVID-19, the CDC recommends that: You can go back to your normal activities when, for at least 24 hours, both are true:
    • Your symptoms are getting better overall, and
    • You have not had a fever (and are not using fever-reducing medication).
  • When you go back to your normal activities, take added precaution over the next 5 days, such as taking additional steps for cleaner air, hygiene, masks, physical distancing, and/or testing when you will be around other people indoors. This is especially important to protect people with factors that increase their risk of severe illness from respiratory viruses.
    • Keep in mind that you may still be able to spread the virus that made you sick, even if you are feeling better. You are likely to be less contagious at this time, depending on factors like how long you were sick or how sick you were.
    • If you develop a fever or you start to feel worse after you have gone back to normal activities, stay home and away from others again until, for at least 24 hours, both are true: your symptoms are improving overall, and you have not had a fever (and are not using fever-reducing medication). Then take added precaution for the next 5 days.
  • The CDC suggests that people with the following symptoms may have COVID: fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, new loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, diarrhea.  As always, please consult a medical professional (members of the HCC or otherwise) if you have any questions about your health or health safety. 

If you need to miss a class, or series of classes, due to illness, self-isolation, and/or quarantine, you are responsible for emailing me to let me know as soon as possible. You are also responsible for coordinating with me to complete work that you might miss due to absences. I will always provide makeup options in cases of excused absence; this might include a written response, a Moodle post, or other check-in assignments.