After introductions and some discussion of the themes of the course, I opened up Canvas (a web-based learning-management system) from a computer in the classroom that projected its desktop onto a screen at the front of the room. From there I showed the students where they could find every single reading we would study throughout the semester, each of them freely available as a PDF. I explained that students were expected to bring laptops or tablets to class, so they could refer to these readings (and any notes they had taken on them) during our discussions. I also explained how they would turn in two short (750-1,000-word) essay assignments that required them to engage critically with the course readings. I only opened up Canvas in the last ten minutes of class, to show the students where they could find an electronic version of syllabus, and where their grades would be posted later in the semester. Before that, I had walked the class through a hard copy of the syllabus, which...
learn more
