Attendance and class requirements

Intensives: 

Students have the opportunity to attend five intensives, online or in person (if offered). All of the material covered in class is assessed. Students who attend asynchronously will have access to recordings of all lectures and discussions in the intensives and opportunities to participate in discussion via assessed online fora.

Preparedness:

Students are expected to arrive in class having done the assigned readings for the session, thought about them, and prepared to discuss them throughout the lecture or seminar. In order to make the most out of our sessions, there will not be any time for reading or reviewing assigned readings during class time. Students will be responsible for engaging with the material during class sessions, by asking questions, responding to questions posed by the lecturer and their peers, and interpreting and critiquing the ideas presented in readings and lecture. In order to succeed in written course-work components, students must be prepared to read the assigned materials carefully and critically.

Devices:

Students are encouraged to limit the use of laptops and tablets during lectures and seminars, unless to refer to course readings provided electronically. This course engages with critical thinking, reading, and discussion; it is crucial in this class that students engage and participate in the lectures and seminars, and avoid distractions online. Please silence mobile phones and keep them in your bags. 

Exclusionary Speech:

Exclusionary speech and behaviour hurt our ability to maintain an open, safe, and productive class environment, in which all are able to participate and learn. Exclusionary speech can happen unintentionally, by using unreflective language that privileges dominant perspectives over others. Comments that assume that everyone in the classroom has had the same life experiences and holds the same attitudes or preferences excludes members of the group who identify differently from the perspective assumed by the speaker, and may damage their feelings of inclusion and their ability to speak from their perspective. We all have an interest in maintaining openness and inclusivity in our discussions, first because it enables the learning of everyone in the classroom, and second because it contributes to the maintenance of rich and interesting conversations and debates. We may sometimes fall short of our goals of inclusivity and openness, but students are expected to be conscientious about avoiding exclusionary speech in discussions and debates.