Class meets in person in HH 306 on Tuesday and Thursday from 3:30 pm - 4:45 pm and live on Google Meet on Wednesday from 4:00 - 4:50 pm unless otherwise indicated. Assigned readings should be completed before class the day they are listed (since we'll discuss in class).

Note that UMD defines 1 credit hour as being equal to 3 hours of work. This is a 4 credit hour class, so in total you should expect to spend about 12 hours a week on this class. 4 hours are devoted to attending class, leaving 8 hours per week for reading, writing, etc. Please let me know if you find that you are spending significantly more time on this class than that. 

Week 1

• Tue Aug 26 :  [HH 306] First Day of Class. Introductions. What's In A Name? 

• Wed Aug 27 : [Google Meet] Read the Introduction of So You Want To Talk About Race (aka Talk About Race). Discuss. 

• Thur Aug 28 : [HH 306] Read Chapter 1 and 2 of Talk About Race. Discuss. What is a Personal Essay? 

  • Note that the Introduction and Chapters 1 and 2 are approximately 30 pages.

Week 2

• Tue Sept 2 : [HH 306] Read Chapter 3 of Talk About Race. Discuss. 

• Wed Sept 3 : [Google Meet] Read Chapter 4 of Talk about Race. Discuss.

• Thu Sept 4 : [HH 306] Read Chapter 5 and 6 of Talk About Race. Discuss. 

  • Note that Chapters 3, 4, 5, and 6 are approximately 60 pages.

• Sun Sept 7 : Personal Essay #1 due by 11:59 pm. 

  • Here is your prompt : Discuss your personal experiences of race. What race do you consider yourself to be, and how has that factored into your life? What advantages or disadvantages come with being a member of your race? Have you experienced racism or prejudice due to being a member of your race? If so, and only if you are comfortable doing so, please discuss those experiences and the impact they have had on you. Have you had close friends or family of other races? If so, what races were they, and how did you perceive their race impacting their lives? What advantages or disadvantages did you perceive their race causing them? Did they experience racism or prejudice due to being a member of their race? If so, what impact do you believe that those experiences had on them, and did it have any impact on you? 

Week 3

• Tue Sept 9 : Read Chapter 7 of Talk About Race. Discuss. 

• Wed Sept 10 : [Google Meet] Read Chapter 8 of Talk About Race. Discuss.

• Thur Sept 11 : Read Chapter 9, 10, and 11 of Talk About Race. Discuss.

  • Note that Chapters 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 are approximately 65 pages.

Week 4

• Tue Sept 16 : Read Chapter 12 and 13 of Talk About Race. Discuss.

• Wed Sept 17 : [Google Meet] Read Chapter 14 of Talk About Race. Discuss

• Thur Sept 18 : Read Chapter 15 of Talk About Race. Discuss.

  • Note that Chapters 12, 13, 14, and 15 are approximately 50 pages.

• Sun Sept 21 : Personal Essay #2 due by 11:59. 

  • Here is your prompt : Which two chapters in So You Want To Talk About Race have made the biggest impressions on you? These can be positive or negative impressions. A positive impression could be based on it having some connection with your life (past, present, or future) and/or being helpful in giving you ways to handle or understand a situation you may have faced or worry about in some way. A negative impression could be based on a chapter (or ideas in a chapter) contradicting your experiences or causing confusion or even disagreement with what you believe. What were these chapters about and why did they make the impression they did? Please support your observations with specific examples from your own experiences. Make sure to identify the chapters by number and/or the question it asks. Please make sure you have read Chapters 1 through 11 before deciding on these. If you have read even further that is better still. 

Week 5

• Tue Sept 23 : Read Chapter 16 and 17 of Talk About Race. Discuss. Wrap up Talk About Race.

• Wed Sept 24 : [Google Meet] Midterm 1 take home exam questions introduced.

• Thur Sept 25 :  [no class] work on Midterm 1.

Week 6

• Tue Sept 30 :  [no class] Midterm 1 due by 11:59 pm.

• Wed Oct 1 : [Google Meet] Introducing our Podcast Assignment and The 1619 Podcast (links to our Canvas Files where you can download the episodes)

  • • We will be discussing The 1619 Podcast over five class periods. Please download the mp3 files from Canvas. If you get from Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc. you will be asked to subscribe (which you should not do). Please make sure you listen to the episodes before the class period for which they are assigned.

• Thur Oct 2 : Listen to Ep 1 of The 1619 Podcast (42 minutes). Discuss.

Week 7

• Tue Oct 7 : Listen to Ep 2 of The 1619 Podcast (31 minutes). Discuss. 

• Wed Oct 8 :  [Google Meet] Listen to Ep 3 of The 1619 Podcast (34 minutes). Discuss.

• Thur Oct 9 : Listen to Ep 4 of The 1619 Podcast (39 minutes). Discuss.

Week 8

• Tue Oct 14 : Listen to Ep 5 Part 1 and Ep 5 Part 2 of The 1619 Podcast (65 minutes). Discuss. 

• Wed Oct 15 : [Google Meet] What are algorithms?

• Thur Oct 16 : Read Chapter 1 (10 pages, Introduction) of More Than a Glitch (MTAG). Discuss. 

• Sun Oct 19 : Personal Essay #3 due by 11:59 pm. 

  • Here is your prompt : Once you have listened to all five episodes of The 1619 Podcast, think back on everything you've heard. I'd like you to discuss the five most interesting or surprising facts or stories from this podcast, and why they caused that reaction. Please be specific in describing the facts or stories and also mention the episode each comes from. These should come from at least three different episodes. What made them interesting or surprising to you? Questions you might think about as you are working on this could (optionally) include : How do they connect to things you observe in the world around you or in your own life? Are there any unifying themes that tie these facts and stories together? Did any of these change your understanding of the past or present? Did any of these facts or stories contradict things you have previously learned or believe? Please write this as a single, unified personal essay and not as a list or a series of bullet points (e.g, the first thing was, the second thing was, etc.) 

Week 9

• Tue Oct 21 : Read Chapter 2 (18 pages, Machine Bias) of MTAG. Discuss. 

• Wed Oct 22 : [no class, do this activity instead] Create a Machine Learning model with Teachable Machine. 

  • First, watch the following videos that explain how to use it  : 

    • Introduction (2 minutes)

    • Tutorial 1 : Gather (2 minutes)

    • Tutorial 2 : Train (1 minute)

    • Tutorial 3 : Export (1 minute) 

  • Second, create a 3 class model with Teachable Machines that distinguishes between a phone, a book, and a pen/pencil. Make sure to give your classes descriptive names so I can try out your algorithm. Upload your model and get a shareable link. Test the link to make sure it is working and then submit that shareable link to Canvas by 11:59 pm tonight. This will count as your attendance for class today. If you don't submit anything today will be marked as an absence. 

• Thur Oct 23 : [no class] Fall Break

Week 10

• Tue Oct 28 : Continue to discuss Chapter 2 of MTAG.

• Wed Oct 29 : [Google Meet] Read Chapter 3 (15 pages, Facial Recognition) of MTAG. Discuss.

• Thur Oct 30 :  Read Chapter 4 (20 pages, Justice System) of MTAG. Discuss.

• Sun Nov 2 : Personal Essay #4 due by 11:59 pm.

  1. • Prompt is here : You should have read Chapters 1 - 4 of More Than a Glitch (MTAG) before writing this Personal Essay. I'd like you to discuss the three facts or stories from these chapters that stood out the most to you (for whatever reason). Each should come from a different chapter of MTAG. Be specific in describing the facts or stories and also mention the chapter and page number/s where each appears. What made each of these stand out to you? After you explain that, connect each fact or story to an idea from So You Want To Talk About Race. Describe that idea and explain the connection between MTAG and Talk About Race. Each connection should come from a different chapter in Talk About Race. When selecting facts or stories from MTAG, please do not discuss the racist soap dispenser, Robert Williams, or Robert McDaniel since those will be covered in class. Please write this as a single, unified essay and not as a list or a series of bullet points (e.g, the first thing was, the second thing was, etc.) As you are reading these chapters, take notes about interesting facts or stories that you might include in this essay. Do this in the Google Doc where you will write this essay. Your notes should include 2 possible facts or stories from each chapter with a few details about each, including the chapter and page numbers where they appear. Once you are finished reading and have created your notes, make an outline by listing all the elements from the prompt followed by the points you will make to address each aspect of the prompt. You should finish both your notes and outline before starting your essay. Your submission should start with your notes and outline and then be followed by your essay (so please do not overwrite your notes and outline). 

Week 11

• Tue Nov 4 :  Read Chapter 5 (13 pages, Education) of MTAG. Discuss.

• Wed Nov 5 : [Google Meet] Midterm 2 questions introduced. 

• Thur Nov 6 : [no class] Work on Midterm 2

Week 12

• Tue Nov 11 :  [no class] Midterm 2 due by 11:59 pm.

• Wed Nov 12 : [Google Meet] Disability Bias aka Ableism. Exercise due by 11:59 pm.

• Thur Nov 13 : Read Chapter 6 (22 pages, Ability and Technology) of MTAG. discuss.

Week 13

• Tue Nov 18 : [no class] Personal Essay #5 due by 11:59 pm. Here is your prompt : 

  1. • First read Chapter 6 (Ability and Technology) of More Than A Glitch. Then, do your own accessibility audit of UMD based on locations that you are using this semester. 

     • NOTES : As you go about the next few days on campus, pay attention to classrooms, residence halls, outdoor areas, or other spaces you use (eg. labs, library, hallways, etc). Take notes on locations at UMD that could pose barriers to 1) a person in a wheelchair, 2) a person who is blind or has limited vision, 3) a person who is deaf or has limited hearing, 4) a person who is very sensitive to sound and 5) a person who suffers from a learning disability that affects their ability to focus. Find two locations that impact each group. Be specific about the nature of each barrier and how it would affect someone with that disability. Record building and room numbers or fairly clear directions to find the location in your notes (if outdoors or not in a specific room). 

     • OUTLINE : After you have finished your notes, make an outline by describing each element from the prompt below that you will need to address in your essay. Each item in your outline should be followed by the specific points you will make to address them. You should complete both your notes and outline before writing your essay. Please start  your essay after your notes and outline so that all are immediately visible in your submission. 

     • ESSAY : Write a personal essay that describes one location from each of the 5 groups above and the barrier that exists in each location, and who that impacts. When selecting the barriers to include in your essay please select those that seem to you to be the most serious or difficult to overcome. How could those barriers be reduced or eliminated? Your description should include the specific location as well as any general characteristics of the space (large, small, what it is used for, etc). You should also discuss how often you personally use that location and what you do there. Be specific about your use of the space. Also comment if you have been impacted by any of the barriers you identified.

     • EXTRA CREDIT : Include photos of all five locations from your essay for 1 extra credit point on this essay (max possible score of 6 out of 5). Insert the photos at the end of your essay in the order you discuss the locations in your essay.

• Wed Nov 19 : [Google Meet] Read Chapter 7 (14 pages, Gender Rights and Databases) of MTAG. Discuss.

• Thur Nov 20 :  Read Chapter 8 (16 pages, Diagnosing Racism) of MTAG. Discuss.

• Sun Nov 23 : Podcast due by 11:59 pm

Week 14 

• Tue Nov 25 : [no class] Read Chapter 9 (22 pages, An AI Told Me I Had Cancer) of MTAG. Answer discussion questions and submit to Canvas by Sun Nov 30 for attendance credit for today.

• Wed Nov 26 : [no class] Thanksgiving Eve

• Thu Nov 27 : [no class] Thanksgiving Holiday

Week 15

• Tue Dec 2 : Read Chapter 10 (16 pages, Creating Public Interest Technology) of MTAG. Discuss.

• Wed Dec 3 : [no class] Personal Essay #6 due by 11:59 pm. Prompt is here :

  1. • You should have read Chapter 6 - 10 in MTAG before working on this essay.

     • NOTES : Review Chapters 6 - 10 in MTAG and takes notes in the Google Doc you are using for this essay about one fact or story from each chapter that is somehow connected to you and your life (or to close friends or family). These connections can be in the past, present, or future. Your notes should be detailed enough where you can rely on them to respond to the essay prompt you find below. Make sure your notes include the chapter and page number for each of your five facts or stories (one from each of Ch 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10). 

     • OUTLINE : After you have finished your notes, make an outline by describing each element from the prompt below that you will need to address in your essay. Each item in your outline should be followed by the specific points you will make to address them. You should complete both your notes and outline before writing your essay. Please start  your essay after your notes and outline so that all are immediately visible in your submission. 

     • ESSAY : Write a Personal Essay that describes three facts or stories from Chapters 6 - 10 of MTAG that are somehow connected to you and your life (or to close friends or family). Briefly describe each fact or story, and indicate the chapter and page number/s where it occurs. Then discuss the connection to your own life or those of close friends or family. What is the potential impact of each fact or story on you or a close friend or family member? The connections you make should be specific and uniquely associated with you or a close friend or family member.

     • Make sure to review the guidelines for Personal Essays but in brief remember that you may not use AI in any way and you should have a minimum of 500 words. Make sure to submit your notes, outline, and essay. Do not include an introductory and/or concluding paragraph that summarizes your essay since it's already quite short and these aren't necessary. Make sure that the Google Doc with your essay is shared so that anyone with the link is an editor. If you aren't sure how to  do that, please watch the following very worthwhile 2 minute video : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7q6h1fYuYM4  

• Thur Dec 4 : Read Chapter 11 (16 pages, Potential Reboot) of MTAG. Discuss.

Final Exam 

• Take home exam, due Thur Dec 11 by 11:59 pm. There will be four questions on the exam similar in style to those from Midterm 1 and 2. The focus of the exam will be on More Than a Glitch although ideas from So You Want to Talk about Race and the 1619 Podcast may be included.