Academic Integrity

Behaving with integrity is part of our responsibility to our shared learning community. It is therefore essential that all of us engaged in the life of the mind take the utmost care to appropriately handle the ideas and expressions of other people. For assignments in which the ideas or materials of others are used, they must be cited. For assignments in this class that require citations, please use Chicago Style formatting. In any situation, if you have a question, please feel free to ask. Such attention to ideas and acknowledgment of their sources is central not only to academic life, but life in general. Please acquaint yourself with the University of Washington's resources on Academic Conduct. Acts of academic misconduct may include but are not limited to cheating (sharing answers and previewing quizzes/exams) and plagiarism (representing the work of others as your own without giving appropriate credit to the original author(s).

What about ChatGPT?

We have entered new, still relatively uncharted territory when it comes to AI, and I assume that many, if not all, of you are experimenting with how ChatGPT may or may not play a role in your education. Please keep in mind that the current sources it has to draw upon in relation to our course materials and assignments may be relatively thin, possibly inaccurate even if authoritatively stated, and even confabulated. When it comes to course assignments, writing is not a product to simply generate but is the process itself of developing critical, creative thought. I have carefully designed class assignments with that in mind. I’m not interested in policing use of AI-based tools, but I am interested to know if you find them useful in any way to your development as a critical thinker. If you use ChatGPT or other tool as part of an assignment, please be transparent. Explain what you used it for and the extent to which it pushed your analysis skills further. That said, the academic integrity statement above holds for machines as much as humans.

Classroom Community

This is your education. Make the most of it. You are learning from the course materials, the instructor, and each other. You will have different viewpoints and perhaps even strong feeling about certain topics discussed in class. The different perspectives you bring are vital to the learning process. We expect you to listen to each other with respect, interest, openness, and attentiveness. It is my intent that students from diverse backgrounds will be well served by this course and that the materials presented will respect differences of gender, sexuality, disability, age, class, ethnicity, race, and culture. Your suggestions are encouraged and appreciated. Interacting in an informed way also requires responsibility to yourself and others to keep up with the readings so that you can contribute in a meaningful way in classroom discussions.

Feminist Pedagogy

Feminist analysis of the world moves across scales, making connections between sociopolitical structures and embodied, everyday lives. In discussion of course materials, students may choose to share personal experiences. Be respectful and keep that person’s story safe: don’t talk about it outside of class without gaining their explicit consent. Remain open to the ongoing work of introspection and unsettling normative assumptions; this individual and collective theorizing is hard but potentially world changing. Please use preferred pronouns and other identifying language with care, while realizing we all are learning.

Technology

Please turn cell phones, wifi, and alerts off or on vibrate during class so that you can devote your full attention to lecture and discussion and provide a distraction-free learning environment. Students may use laptops or tablets to take notes, but please demonstrate respect for your peers by refraining from any other activity. Always request permission from the instructor and other students before recording any class content.

Late Assignment Policy & Communication

All assignments should be submitted via Canvas by 11:59 pm of the due date. Assignments submitted late will receive a -10% grade deduction for each day past the deadline. Students requesting an extension in extraordinary circumstances may petition the instructor at least 48 hours in advance of the deadline. Extensions are rare and should not be relied upon. No extension can be assumed without a written response. Please feel free to speak with me for further clarification of assignments or if you have questions about course materials. I make every effort to respond to email within 72 hours. Students who have lengthy or complex questions should meet with me during office hours (see sign up link above). As an instructor, I want to help you learn and would much prefer to get to know you and talk in person than through email!

Access and Accommodations

Your experience in this class is important to me. It is the policy and practice of the University of Washington to create inclusive and accessible learning environments consistent with federal and state law. If you have already established accommodations with Disability Resources for Students (DRS), please activate your accommodations via myDRS so we can discuss how they will be implemented in this course. If you have not yet established services through DRS but have a temporary health condition or permanent disability that requires accommodations (conditions include but not limited to; mental health, attention-related, learning, vision, hearing, physical or health impacts), contact DRS directly to set up an Access Plan. DRS facilitates the interactive process that establishes reasonable accommodations. Contact DRS at disability.uw.edu.

Religious Accommodations

Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at Religious Accommodations Policy. Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request form.