This course is designed to be flexible and can evolve in its format and requirements depending on our evolving collective interests, on our health, and on world events. We are still (still!) amid a pandemic twinned with some gnarly winter bugs, and we live in incredibly challenging times that may impact the group unevenly. Real life is never separate from our learning community. I hope we can maintain an awareness of these facts. For my part, I will offer alternative paths through the material if requested, whenever possible.
Above all, I want you to know that your wellbeing — and that of your family and friends — will always be more important to me than this class. My primary role as a teacher is to support you however I can. Let me know how I can do that better.
Bottom line: you can always tell me about what’s working and what isn’t, both for you and for the class as a whole.
All readings will be offered in PDF form via this site’s schedule page. Whenever possible, the links will be to open access PDFs. Otherwise, they will lead you to a Canvas sign-in to access the documents. You do not have to buy any books for this class, unless you’d like to.
I regard plagiarism as a very serious matter. In this class, plagiarism consists of work taken partially or entirely from an uncited source (the Internet, a peer, a published article, AI-generated text, etc.) and assumed as your own. Evidence of violating these guidelines will result in submission of the case to the Committee on Discipline. No one wants that to happen. It is therefore your responsibility, if you are unsure of what is and what is not allowed, to discuss the assignment with your instructor and then to adhere to the instructor’s guidelines rigorously.
The Office of Disability Services (ODS) offers a range of services to ensure that students with disabilities have equal access to Princeton’s academic and extracurricular opportunities. The office facilitates reasonable academic accommodations for qualified students who have submitted documentation verifying a disability. More information is available at princeton.edu/ods.
Princeton offers a variety of confidential services to help you through difficult times, including individual and group counseling, crisis intervention, consultations, online chats, and mental health screenings. These services are provided by staff who welcome all students and embrace a philosophy respectful of clients’ cultural and religious backgrounds, and sensitive to differences in race, ability, gender identity and sexual orientation. You can schedule an initial consultation online at princeton.edu/MyUHS.
Thanks to all guest speakers, to my colleagues at the CDH, and to Sierra Eckert, Alex Gil, Lauren Klein, Zoe LeBlanc, Alan Liu, Meredith Martin, Rebecca Munson, Miriam Posner, and others whose syllabi and pedagogy influenced the design and content of this course. Elements of the final project were inspired by similar assignments designed by Tanya Clement, Scott Weingart, Ryan Cordell, John R. Ladd, Quinn Dombrowski, and Matthew K. Gold.