Class Contract “I acknowledge . . .”

Continued enrollment in this course beyond the Add/Drop period constitutes my __[Name of Enrolled Student’s]____ agreement to the below expectations as well as to any course policy listed on the course policy page:

I acknowledge that:

  • I have reviewed all course policies listed on the course policy page and agree to adhere to those policies as a participant in this course.

I acknowledge that

  • I have familiarized myself with the syllabus (schedule of assignments) page on this course site, and I am aware of the deadlines reading and other assignments.

I acknowledge that

  • I have read the “assignments” page, and I have a general sense of the type and amount of work that will be required in this course over the course of the Fall 2020 semester.

I acknowledge that:

  • I have been provided with with written, visual, verbal, and/or live-demo instructions on how to access, follow, and post to the class blog (which includes information on how to become a member of the blog).

I acknowledge that:

  • I have the knowledge and necessary material to access and post to the class blog in a timely fashion.

I acknowledge that:

  • AADS/ENGL 3326 is an African and African Diasporic Studies course that is cross listed with English. The course can be registered under AADS 3326 or ENGL 3326. Students in collaboration with their respective academic advisors are responsible for deciding the best course designation to enroll under.

I acknowledge that:

  • The course deals with cultural and historic texts across a variety of mediums including but not limited to visual arts, film, dance, music, and literature. Relative to a strict performance, theater, and/or performance art class, the course syllabus includes more traditionally “literary” works. Yet there are notably less “literary” texts on the syllabus than one might find in a traditional literature course.

I acknowledge that:

  • The questions we ask in this class stem from the interdisciplinary fields of black studies while drawing heavily from texts, ideas, and methods of analysis often featured in the fields of performance and theater studies, visual studies, literary studies, and even dance studies.

I acknowledge that:

  • There are no pre-requisite for this course. Students need not possess a prior familiarity with the questions and methods literary studies or performance studies. Similarly students are not expected to have an extensive knowledge of black history and culture nor the various scopes and modes of inquiry associated with black studies.

I acknowledge that

  • This course is a 3000 level course. The course is not an introductory or survey course. The course materials are not intended to provide a field or chronological coverage. The professor will typically supply a historical and thematic framework for texts, but students should also actively help provide such a context for themselves by looking up information related to the author’s biography; publication date, and any unfamiliar names, terms, dates the student encounters in the text; referenced in a text information about the author.

I acknowledge that:

  • Because this is not an introductory course, the professor assumes that the following are true of students enrolled in this course:
    • Can craft a clear and cogent argument claim (i.e. thesis statements).
    • Can supply relevant evidence to support their argument claim(s).
    • Can provide clear, logically sound, and compelling explication of the evidence supplied in order to illustrate the grounds upon which their argument claim rests.
    • Possess working facility with the grammatical conventions of Standard English.
    • Possess basic knowledge about accessing the Boston College Library Resources (i.e. how to use the online catalog; check out books; locate and make use of the reference librarians, etc.).
    • Can–with reference to MLA style guide–generate accurate and thorough citations (e.g. Works Cited, Bibliographies, Footnotes, and in-text parenthetical citations) for any all sources referenced.
    • Are aware of the writing support services offered by the BC Writing Center.
    • Are aware that in addition to the curated list of handouts and websites, resources for proper citation, integrating quotation, and creating logically sound claims abound on the internet. The Writing Center websites at The University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and Purdue University are particularly strong sources.
    • Have an active BC username and BC email and can access Canvas and Sites.BC.edu.

I acknowledge that:

  • If a student has a particular questions and/or is confused about the course material, assignment instructions, due dates, writing mechanics, argument development, or any other relevant aspect, at any point in the semester, the student should contact the professor via email and potentially plan to meet with the professor during virtual office hours.

I acknowledge that:

  • The material in this course addresses histories and topics that are complicated and connected to politically and personally charged issues in our current U.S. society of which our class is a part. As such, I agree that:
    • In different ways and to varying degrees, the lives, events, concerns, and modes of expression that we encounter in the course material are foreign to everyone participating in the class (including the professor). As such all course participants must approach the materials and discussions in this class with an openness to histories, philosophies, and aesthetic forms, and ways of being that challenge, as they differ from, the material, ideas, and histories we typically engage.
    • In different ways and to varying degrees, the course material may trigger intense emotions and reactions. We do not all have the same relationship to these texts, to this course, the campus, and the country. We agree to treat each other as also dynamic, historied, and not immediately knowable texts.
    • The material in this course addresses the lives and creations of people living under violent duress. While violent abjection is not the center of this course, it is inescapable. The professor will try to provide some warning for particular types of sensitive material, but in general, students should expect to encounter in the texts and our discussions representations of and reflections on various types of physical, psychological, political, and economic, and sexual violence. If you’re struggling with your emotional response to a particular text, please contact the professor.