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

• Wed Jan 14 : [Google Meet] First Day of Class. Introductions. 

• Thur Jan 15: Read the Preface and Introduction of So You Want To Talk About Race (aka Talk About Race). Discuss. What is a Personal Essay? 

  • Note that the Preface and Introduction are approximately 15 pages.

Week 2

• Tue Jan 20: Read Chapter 1 and 2 of Talk About Race. Discuss. 

• Read Chapter 3 of Talk About Race. Discuss. 

• Wed Jan 21 : [Google Meet] Read Chapter 3 of Talk about Race. Discuss.

• Thu Jan 22 : Read Chapter 4 and 5 of Talk About Race. Discuss. 

  • Note that Chapters 1 - 5 are approximately 75 pages.

• Sun Jan 25: Personal Essay #1 due by 11:59 pm. Here are the essay guidelines : 

  • • NOTES : Reflect back on your life and make notes about about experiences you remember or were told about that have to do with your race or that of someone in your life (family or friend). You should describe whatever that experience was, who was a part of this, was anyone impacted for good or bad, and if so in what ways. You should have at least two experiences from each of these periods in your life : Pre or Elementary School (ages 0 - 10), Middle School (ages 11 - 13), High School (ages 14 - 18), and College (ages 18+). Note that these experiences do not have to be from school itself they should just be from that "era" in your life. You should have at least a total of eight experiences. 

    • OUTLINE : Once your notes are finished, 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 : 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 Jan 27 : Read Chapter 6 and 7 of Talk About Race. Discuss. 

• Wed Jan 28 : [Google Meet] Read Chapter 8 of Talk About Race. Discuss.

• Thur Jan 29 : Read Chapter 9, 10, and 11 of Talk About Race. Discuss.

  • Note that Chapters 6 - 11 are approximately 75 pages.

Week 4

• Tue Feb 3: Read Chapter 12 and 13 of Talk About Race. Discuss.

• Wed Feb 4 : [Google Meet] Read Chapter 14 of Talk About Race. Discuss

• Fri Feb 5: Read Chapter 15 of Talk About Race. Discuss.

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

• Sun Feb 8 : Personal Essay #2 due by 11:59 pm.  Here are the essay guidelines : 

  • NOTES : Please make sure you have read at least Chapters 1 - 13 before you start this. Pick five chapters from Talk About Race that made an impression on you in some way (either positive or negative). For each chapter please indicate the chapter number and the question being asked in the title of the chapter. Briefly describe the answer to the question posed by the chapter title in your own words (based on the content of the chapter). Then, pick out one fact, definition, or statistic from each chapter and include that, as well as a brief explanation of what makes that stand out to you in some way. Finally, for each chapter pick out one piece of advice that stood out to you. Briefly explain it and why it stood out.

  • OUTLINE : Once your notes are finished, 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. Please do not use tabs to separate them. 

  • ESSAY : Which two chapters in 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 as well as content from the chapter. Make sure to identify the chapters by number and the question it asks. The two chapters you discuss in your essay should be included in your notes, although you do not need to use all of the content from your notes on these chapters in this essay. You should not have an introductory paragraph or summarizing conclusion in these essays given their relatively brief length (minimum 500 words). 

Week 5

• Tue Feb 10 : Read Chapter 16 and 17 of Talk About Race. Discuss. 

• Wed Feb 11: [Google Meet] Midterm 1 take home exam questions introduced. There will be two questions. Please work individually and do not use AI in any way. However, you are welcome to consult with The Writer's Workshop on any aspect of this exam.

• Thur Feb 12 : [no class] work on Midterm 1.

Week 6

• Tue Feb 17 : [no class] Midterm 1 due by 11:59 pm.

• Wed Feb 18 : [no class - weather] See email or Canvas for work on your own instructions : Introducing our Podcast Assignment and The 1619 Podcast (link to our Canvas Files where you should 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 Feb 19 : Listen to Ep 1 of The 1619 Podcast (42 minutes). Please take notes as you listen and jot down at least five interesting points that come up in Ep 1. Please bring those notes with you to class on a piece of paper (handwritten or printed) so you can refer to them during our discussions. I will collect this at the start of class and use this when assigning small groups. Please use the handout I gave in class or this document to record your notes. You should be able to make a copy of this document and then edit if you want an electronic document (although please print and bring to class). Keep your notes after class as they will be useful when preparing Personal Essay #3.

Week 7

• Tue Feb 24 : Discuss Ep 2 of The 1619 Podcast. Listening time 31 minutes. Please bring Ep 2 notes to class. 

• Wed Feb 25 : [Google Meet] Discuss Ep 3 of The 1619 Podcast. Listening time 34 minutes.

• Thur Feb 26 : Discuss Ep 4 of The 1619 Podcast. Listening time 39 minutes. Please bring Ep 4 notes to class. 

Week 8

• Tue Mar 3 : Discuss Ep 5 Part 1 and Ep 5 Part 2 of The 1619 Podcast. Listening time 65 minutes. Please bring Ep 5 notes to class. You can have one note sheet but have 5 items for each part (10 total).

• Wed Mar 4 : [Google Meet] Wrap up discussion of 1619 Podcast (all episodes).

• Thur Mar 5 : [no class] Use time to finish up Essay 3 if needed

• Fri Mar 6 : Personal Essay #3 due by 11:59 pm. Here are the essay guidelines : 

  • NOTES : For each of the five episodes in the 1619 Podcast, make notes on two stories that stood out to you. By story I mean a series of events that are described in the podcast that have an impact on an individual or group of individuals. Note the key characters (by name) in the story and the main events that make up the story. Who was impacted and how? Why did this stand out to you? Your notes should be in bullet points form and not written out as paragraphs, etc. as they are just your notes. Make sure your notes are clearly organized where each episode is identified by both its number and title (eg. Episode 1 - The Fight for a True Democracy) as found on the mp3 file names in Canvas. There are five episodes so you should describe a total of 10 stories in your notes.

  • OUTLINE : Once your notes are finished, 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. Please do not use tabs to separate them. 

  • ESSAY : Which three stories (from your 10 in your notes) stood out to you the most and why? Each of your stories should come from a different episode. Tell each of these three stories in your own words and clearly enough so someone who has not listened to the podcast can understand. Who was involved in each story, what events make up the story, what was the impact of the events, and who was impacted (and how)? Why did it stand out to you? For each story you select, please connect it to a chapter in So You Want To Talk About Race. Explain the connection and clearly indicate the chapter from Talk About Race from which it comes by using both the chapter number and title. You should not have an introductory paragraph or summarizing conclusion in these essays given their relatively brief length (minimum 500 words). 

Spring Break (Mar 9 - 13)

Week 9

• Tue Mar 17 : Read Chapter 1 (10 pages, Introduction) of More Than a Glitch (MTAG). Discuss. 

• Wed Mar 18 : [Google Meet] What are Algorithms?

• Thur Mar 19 : Read Chapter 2 (18 pages, Machine Bias) of MTAG. Discuss. 

Week 10

• Tue Mar 24 : Read Chapter 3 (15 pages, Facial Recognition) of MTAG. Discuss.

• Wed Mar 25 : [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. This will be an Image Project so your training data will be photos of you holding these different objects. 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 Mar 26 : Read Chapter 4 (20 pages, Justice System) of MTAG. Discuss.

Week 11

• Tue Mar 31 : Read Chapter 5 (13 pages, Education) of MTAG. Discuss.

• Wed Apr 1 : [Google Meet] Midterm 2 questions introduced

• Thur Apr 2 : [no class] Work on Midterm 2 

Week 12

• Tue Apr 7 : [no class] Midterm 2 (take home exam) due by 11:59 pm. 

• Wed Apr 8 : [Google Meet] Disability Bias aka Ableism. 

• Thur Apr 9 : Read Chapter 6 (22 pages, Ability and Technology) of MTAG. Discuss.

Week 13

• Tue Apr 14 :  [no class] Personal Essay #4 due by 11:59 pm. Here are the essay guidelines : 

  • 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 low vision, 3) a person who is deaf or hard of hearing, 4) a person who is very sensitive to sound, light, or scents and 5) a person who has 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). If you take notes by hand please enter those into your Google Doc.

  • 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 this semester 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.

  • Finally, please remember you may not use AI in any way in creating yours notes, outline, or essay. Make sure that the Google Doc with your submission 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

• Wed Apr 15 : [Google Meet] Read Chapter 7 (14 pages, Gender Rights and Databases) of MTAG. Discuss.

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

• Sun Apr 19 : Podcast due by 11:59 pm 

Week 14

• Tue Apr 21 : Read Chapter 9 (22 pages, An AI Told Me I Had Cancer) of MTAG. Discuss.

• Wed Apr 22 : [Google Meet] Additional Discussion of Health Care (Chapter 8 and 9 of MTAG)

• Thur Apr 23 :  Read Chapter 10 (16 pages, Creating Public Interest Technology) of MTAG. Discuss.

Week 15

• Tue Apr 28 :  Read Chapter 11 (16 pages, Potential Reboot) of MTAG. Discuss.

• Wed Apr 29 : [no class] Personal Essay #5 due. Essay guidelines will be here  by Mon Apr 20.

• Thur Apr 30 : Last day of class. Review and Wrap Up.

Final Exam 

Take home exam similar to Midterm 1 and 2 in format, due by 11:59 pm our scheduled Final Exam day which is Thur May 7. You can anticipate 2 questions on More Than a Glitch and related content although you may be asked to make connections between that and our other two units (So You Want To Talk About Race and/or The 1619 Podcast).