Course Format

The time commitment for this course is 18 hours total, spread over 6 weeks. It meets once per week for 80 minutes, and assigns approximately 90 minutes of work outside of class each week.

Pre-class activities. Before class, students are asked to spend about 60 minutes preparing for class by completing readings on the topics to be discussed that week, and then writing a reflection in the form of a journal entry (should be 1 paragraph - about 150 words). For their reflection, they may choose to respond to one of a few possible prompts, write a free response, or introduce a new source and explain the new perspective it adds.

In-class lectures. At the beginning of each class, students will hear a short guest-lecture by a domain expert on the topic of the week.

In-class discussions. The course is primarily structured around in-class discussions, which will comprise the majority of each in-class session. Students will complete discussion activities with the same assigned ~4-person group each week, with some opportunities for cross-group and whole-class discussion.

Post-class reflections. After each class, students will be asked to spend about 30 minutes completing a written reflection (should be 1-2 paragraphs - about 200 words). Students may either post on the class discussion board, or submit an individual response. In writing this response, they may reflect on a reflection question of their choice (designed to synthesize this week’s material) or write a free-response reflecting on the week.

Course Schedule

All times in this syllabus are US Eastern Time.

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