Syllabus

This is a draft Course Overview. Details are subject to change before the semester begins.

Accommodations and accessibility

Your experience in this class is important to me. If you have already established accommodations with Connors Family Learning Center (learning disabilities and ADHD) and/or Disability Services (all other disabilities), please communicate your approved accommodations to me at your earliest convenience so we can discuss your needs in this course.

If you have or suspect you have a disability but have not yet established services through the Connors Family Learning Center or Disability Services, you can see the relevant website for information about the registration process.

Each office provides resources and coordinates reasonable accommodations for students. Reasonable accommodations are established through an interactive process between you, your instructor, and the relevant office. It is the policy and practice of Boston College to create inclusive and accessible learning environments consistent with federal and state law.

Class recording policy

Boston College seeks to protect the integrity of what transpires in the classroom among students and professor, any course materials prepared by the professor, and the privacy of students and faculty. With this in mind, you are prohibited from recording (audio or video) any lectures, seminars, or other classroom activities without the express permission of the instructor. Authorized recordings (including any made in order to accommodate ADA considerations) and all other course materials (including any materials posted on Canvas) may only be used for the purposes of an individual’s (or group’s) study in the course, and may not be shared with any wider audience on or off campus unless the instructor has explicitly given such permission.

This class or portions of this class will be recorded by the instructor for educational purposes. These recordings will be shared only with students enrolled in the course and will be deleted at the end of the end of the course.

Religious accommodation

Both Massachusetts law  and my core values of diversity and inclusion require that I make reasonable accommodations to to help students avoid negative academic consequences when their religious obligations conflict with academic requirements. I commit to making every reasonable effort to allow students to observe their religious holidays without jeopardizing your success in this course, and I will not ask you to choose between religious observance and academic work, though you will have to make up any work missed during your absence. Please let me know as early as possible if you notice any conflicts between requirements for this course and your religious observances, so that we can agree to a solution.

Inclusion and incident reporting

Professional courtesy and sensitivity are especially important with respect to individuals and topics dealing with differences of race, culture, religion, politics, sexual orientation, gender, gender variance, and nationalities. Class rosters are provided to the instructor with the student’s legal name. I will gladly honor your request to address you by an alternate name or gender pronoun. Please advise me of your name and pronouns early in the semester so that I may make appropriate changes to my records. You can also update your name and pronouns in Canvas at any time. You can also review the Name Change resource from the Office of Student Services for more information about how you can update your name in various campus systems. If you are an LGBTQ+ student looking for additional support as you prepare to discuss your name or pronouns on campus, you are encouraged to contact Ira Kirschner, Associate Director, Thea Bowman AHANA and Intercultural Center.

In order to advance Boston College’s goal of creating a community in which everyone is treated with respect, dignity, and compassion and where acts of prejudice, hatred, and discrimination are not tolerated, the university created the bias-related incident reporting form. This form allows targets and witnesses to hate crimes or bias-related incidents to easily report the behavior and get connected to networks of care. In subsequent conversations with the Dean of Students Office, students can also get a better handle on the available institutional processes for addressing harm. You can learn more about the process at the Hate Crimes & Bias-Related Incidents Protocol website.

Classroom technology policy

A note on cell phones, texting, and checking one’s email during class: Research has shown us that even having our cell phones on the table in front of us diminishes our ability to learn well; further, taking notes via computer diminishes one’s ability to process information. Checking texts, emails, and messages is also unprofessional and disrespectful to our class community. Please turn off your phone, email, and computer during class; I will do so as well. I appreciate your cooperation with this important aspect of creating a class of which we all want to be a part.