Summary of Requirements (Fall 2020)

Late Paper Policy: Deadlines are strict. Barring personal crisis, family emergency, or illness (please let me know ahead of time), all late assignments will be subject to one half 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.

Resources for Anth 344 Assignments (Guidelines, handouts, etc)

1) Discussion leadership and avid participation (40%)

  • Participation includes: Regular and prompt attendance, Engaged discussion and Moodle forum contribution (including as film discussants), responsible and responsive blog peer review partnering and blog commentary online and in class, engaged and well-prepped discussion facilitation, assignments in on time.

2) Semester-long blog: "Gendered Cities Walking Tour (Auto)ethnography" (35%)

  • At least 5 multi-media blog posts (at least 400 words, including images, audio and/or video clips; all posts should be multi-media) documenting and illustrating your walking tours of your gendered city, with reference to course materials (readings and films) and credible news sources (See library research guide). Due on scheduled Fridays (every other week starting Week 3) by 8 pm, on your personal Moodle Blog forum.
  • Comments on your blog partners' Moodle forum due the following Monday, 8 pm.

3) Final Photo Essay Blog Reflection (25%)

  • Between 1500-2500 words of text, integrated with photos and, optionally, audio/video, reflecting on your Gendered Cities Walking Tour Blog with reference to course materials. Due Friday, Dec 11, 8 pm, Google Doc or Google Slides placed in your course Google Drive project folder, along with all your media files.

4) Extra Credit!!

Avoid Plagiarism! 

Plagiarism is the failure to acknowledge one's use of another's work. 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.

Course Organization

Classes will revolve around student-led discussions and presentations. The main assignment is a semester-long "Gendered Cities Walking Tour Autoethnography" blog project, drawing on course materials and credible news sources. The blog project will culminate with a photo essay reflecting on your walking tours in light of course materials. 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 Course Moodle Page and helping to lead class discussions.

Reading and multimedia assignments are meant to encourage close, critical engagement with course media materials and the issues they raise for understanding sex, gender and sexuality around the world. 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 supplemental readings are provided for your use on the online syllabus. These readings are ones that 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. Many books are available in the bookstore. In addition, all required readings are available on-line, through ereserves. 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 (whether in person or online).

For Guidelines on how we will organize our interactions online, see the Anth 344 Online Interactions Guidelines.

COVID Precautions for in-person classes and office hours

These are uncertain and trying times for everyone. Opening Reed in the midst of the pandemic is a messy, imperfect human experiment. We will be making it up as we go, relying on our sense of community and honor to keep ourselves and others as safe as we can. Here's what we will be doing for our class, following CDC, Oregon Health Authority and College guidelines:

  • I reserved outdoor space for our class and my office hours at the Rees House (top of the Woodstock hill, uphill from the Art Building). All office hours will be by appointment (sign up via Google calendar).
  • I will be holding in-person office hours on Tuesdays, outdoors at the Rees House as long as weather holds. Thursdays' office hours will be online.
  • For all in-person office hours and classes, I will require mask-wearing at all times, even outdoors.
  • I will have extra masks, hand sanitizers and clorox wipes available at all in-person meetings.
  • In order to see each others' facial expressions and gestures, I highly recommend getting a version of a clear mask for class meetings.
  • I will require us to maintain at least 6 feet of physical distance throughout class sessions and office hours meetings.
  • I MAY require you to email me in advance of in-person meetings your Reed health tracker status.

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 safe 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, papers 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.

For further information of the ethical use of images in anthropology courses, see the library guide "Ethical Use of Images".

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.