*Assignment descriptions to be posted*

You will complete four major assignments over the course of the semester. For each of these assignments, you will have drafts due in advance of a final project deadline.

Overview of Assignments

  • Discourse Analysis of a Data Object (20%)
    • Draft Due: Sept 18
    • Final Due: Sept 30
  • Literature Review (20%)
    • Annotated Bib Due: Oct 9
    • Draft Due: Oct 16
    • Final Due: Oct 28
  • Tech and Justice Issue Explainer/Memo (20%)
    • Draft Due: Nov 13
    • Final Due: Nov 18
  • Writing Data Project (25%)
    • Data Due: Dec 4
    • Data Visualization & Reflection Due: Dec 11

Other Components of Your Grade

  • Engaged Participation (incl. discussion, peer review, and writing) (15%)

I expect you to come to each class prepared to engage in active writing and discussion. This means having a tool to write (in this course, a laptop or tablet will be best), having read the assigned reading, and bringing the reading with you (whether on a device or printed out). I reserve the right to give a pop reading quiz at any time if I feel that discussion is lacking because folks haven’t done the reading. I’d like to highlight here that I notice and value when you ask questions about things you may not know or understand, as well as when you listen actively and respond generously to your classmates, just as much as when you make notable contributions in discussion. Please feel free to approach me independently if I can offer you some discussion strategies — whether for taking turns talking; amplifying others’ voices; or critiquing/disagreeing with ideas offered by your colleagues, me, or the texts we will be reading.

On days when we have assignment drafts due or peer review scheduled, I will also expect you to come to class prepared with that work completed, ready to share with both me and your classmates. I will be using these drafts, partly, as a barometer for how the class as a whole is progressing on an assignment. Because I recognize that not everyone writes or should write at the same pace or in the same way, we will discuss in class what reasonable drafts might look like for each project. I will be not grading these drafts, but I will be checking whether or not you submit them.

You will peer review throughout the semester in small groups — sometimes in class, and sometimes on your own time. Peer review is some of the most important work you will be completing this semester, as it will teach you not only how to critique the work of others, but how to notice areas that need improvement in your own work. You will be evaluated on whether you made an effort to provide useful feedback to your peers, which we will cover how to do in class.