Requirements (Spring 2023)
Late Paper Policy: Deadlines are strict. 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.
Summary of Requirements (see Resources for Anth 397 Assignments)
Classes will revolve around student-led discussions and presentations. I will expect your avid participation--including regular attendance, prompt completion of assignments, and active involvement in discussions whenever possible. In fact, class participation and attendance will comprise a significant portion of your grade. Beginning week 2 class members will take turns posting discussion questions on the course Moodle Page and helping to lead class discussions.
Reading and writing assignments are meant to encourage close, critical engagement with the texts and the issues they raise. The reading load is moderate to heavy 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. There are 3 informal commentaries in which you respond to some issue in the readings and films. Your commentaries will be shared with the class on your personal Moodle blog forum. The commentaries will be also be interactive, as you will be responding to your blog partners' commentaries. You will also work on your own semester-long multimedia/modal final project, in which you investigate some aspect of media/mediation in people's (including your own, if you choose) lives and produce an analysis or exploration of it by combining text with at least one other media form (image, graphic art, video, audio/podcast).
Weekly further readings are provided for your use on the online syllabus. These readings are ones that 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. I tried to provide multiple places for most readings. Multiple copies of all texts are available on reserve in the library, and many books are available in the bookstore. Most of the readings that are excerpts from books are available via ereserve. In addition, several of the required readings are available on-line through the library's collection of e-journals. Their URLs are available on the course website. To facilitate discussion, you should 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.
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.
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.
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 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, you should not attend class for five days. Please contact the HCC and continue to isolate until you receive a negative antigen test, or until 10 days have passed since your positive test. You can find more information on Reed’s COVID policies here.
- 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.
Covid Protocol for Our Class
As a community of learners, we have obligations to protect one another’s health. Please wear your masks at all times in class (I will have some available if you forget!). If you have a medical issue that will make this challenging for you, please see me and/or Disability and Accessibility Resources to discuss accommodations. It is also possible that we may have bigger disruptions due to COVID. We will navigate the situation together, and I will try to maintain open communication so that we all know what is going on.