Course Requirements (Fall 2023)

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.

Summary of Requirements

  1. Discussion leadership and avid participation (35%)
    -Participation includes: Regular and prompt attendance, engaged discussion, and Moodle forum contribution, responsible and responsive blog peer review partnering and blog commentary online and in class, engaged and well-prepped discussion facilitation, 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! listen to the audio of my opening comments! do an extra Moodle comment in the discussion forum!). Missing more than eight classes means you cannot pass this class.
    -Discussion leadership includes: signing up to facilitate discussion for one week (two sessions), devising 5-6 discussion questions on the readings for the class (these should be your own questions, not ones generated by AI tools like ChatGPT), posted to the Moodle forum for the week, and offering a short introduction to the questions for the day.
  2. Semester-long Moodle blog posts: The (Auto)Ethnography of World-Making (35%)
    -Seven scheduled blog posts (at least 400 words, can include images, audio and/or video clips) responding to prompts and presenting your ongoing ethnographic project, with reference to course readings. Due on scheduled Fridays by midnight, on your personal Moodle Blog forum.
    -Includes an annotated draft of a transcription of an interaction you will analyze in your final paper.
    -Comments on your blog partners' Moodle forum due the following Sunday, midnight
  3. Presentation on your final paper, (December 4, in class) (5%)
     -Comments on your partner's presentation.
  4. 12-15 page final paper, due Wednesday Dec 13, midnight, Word Doc uploaded to Moodle (link at the top) (25%)

Avoid Plagiarism! Plagiarism is the failure to acknowledge one's use of another's work (including AI tools). 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 writing, composition and ideas within them as centrally 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).

Course Organization

Classes will revolve around student-led discussions with occasional in-class workshops. The main assignment is a semester-long "(auto)ethnography" blog project, drawing on course materials. The blog project will culminate with an analytic essay in which you analyse and describe in light of course materials the nature and stakes of world-making in a particular performance context of your choice. I will expect your avid participation--including regular attendance, prompt completion of assignments, and active involvement in discussions and Moodle forums whenever possible. In fact, participation will comprise a significant portion of your grade. Beginning week 2 class members will take turns posting discussion questions on the class moodle and helping to lead class discussions.

Reading assignments are meant to encourage close, critical engagement with theoretical debates, histories and ethnographies of language, performance and world-making transregionally, drawing especially on a dialogue between linguistic anthropology and critical race theory in the U.S. 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.

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. All required readings are available on-line, through ereserves and ebooks. 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 in class.

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. Questions? See Reed's Covid-19 FAQ.

  • 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

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