The most important work in this course is to be prepared for each seminar meeting; this means having thoroughly read the material and being prepared to discuss particular points from the reading. Because this seminar also has an online component, being prepared also means having participated by writing columns for the course website. Readings are due on the day listed in the class schedule. Your engagement with the material and mastery of the online skills is vital for the success of this learning experience.
Class Participation: (15%) Students are expected to attend all classes, do the readings and computer exercises prior to class, and discuss the implications of the issues in the classroom. Your participation grade also includes (5% of your overall grade) timely submission of CATME peer evaluations.
Weekly Column: (10%) Each week, students will write a short column in WordPress (no more than 2 pages single-spaced text in a word document) that could be theoretical, social, or methodological commentary. It must also include some kind of media, whether a picture or video that you provide or one that you find from the web (properly linked back to the original site). It should also include links to other sites. You should feel free to write whatever you feel is relevant. They are due prior to the start of each seminar meeting. LATE SUBMISSIONS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.
Learning a Tool: (25%) After setting up a domain, students will learn at least two tools – WordPress and a tool to be selected by the student. Once the tool is selected, students will propose (by the 3rd week of class) the final product to be evaluated. This is part of the “Davidson Domains” campus project; we will talk about this in more detail in class.
Making a Digital Community: (50%). The course project will be conducted as part of a group and will be divided into various submissions throughout the semester. The group’s task is to work with an existing organization (community, interest, or student organization), evaluate their use of electronic communication, and come up with a solution that best fits the organization’s culture. You will be graded as a group, but part of individual grades will be determined from a self-examination conducted by the group (using CATME).
- Proposal (including bibliography, references): 5% (due week 3)
- CATME Peer Assessment: 10%
- Visualization Component: 5% (due week 8)
- Final Project: 30% (first draft for peer comment due week 10, final due week 12)
This course counts for major credit in anthropology and minor credit (pending approval) in digital studies. Evaluation of the submissions above will be reported in Moodle and follow the 4.0 grade scale, where an A is a 4.0, A- is 3.7, B+ is 3.3, etc., as detailed in the college catalog.
For an explanation of how I grade and my teaching philosophies, please read the material on my website in the “Teaching Philosophy” section.
While I encourage students to work with each other outside of class, all graded, written work must be your own and verbally pledged accordingly. All work is subject to the Davidson College Honor Code as stated in the student handbook. If there are individual accommodations for special needs, please let me know and authorize the Dean of Students to contact me so that we can work something out.