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). 

  • 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

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 3 and 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 episode.

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

• Thur Mar 5 : [no class] Personal Essay #3 due by 11:59 pm. Here are the essay guidelines : TBA

Spring Break (Mar 9 - 13)

Week 9

• Tue Mar 17 : 

Week 10

Week 11

Week 12

Week 13

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

Week 14

Week 15