Reading Time: 3 minutes
This course will help you work towards the following Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs):
- Identify the defining characteristics of cyberpunk, globalization, and posthumanism & analyze real & imagery contexts against those definitions:
• Analyze examples of the cyberpunk genre from a variety of modalities.
• Identify the ways in which globalization is challenging current political structure.
• Describe contemporary positions about humanism, posthumanism, and transhumanism. - Communicate effectively through writing & speaking (X-Core PLO #1):
• Articulate thoughts & ideas clearly & effectively in written & oral forms to persons in & out of an organization.
• Articulate using oral and written communication multiple, competing perspectives on one or more “big ideas” pertaining to social, cultural, economic, or political issues of global significance. - Use quantitative, empirical, and critical reasoning skills to solve problems (X-Core PLO #2):
Exercise sound reasoning to analyze issues, make decisions, & overcome problems.
• Analyze & comprehensively describe the underlying assumptions of each view.
• Evaluate these assumptions & using oral & written communication clearly state their conclusions. - Students will be able to incorporate diverse cultural perspectives in their analysis of issues, from local to global, and to recognize the interconnectivity of human experience (X-Core PLO #3):
• Demonstrate how a rational, coherent, responsible, and well-informed personal worldview can contribute to the promotion of a more just and humane society.
• Build collaborative relationships with colleagues & customers representing diverse cultures, races, ages, genders, religions, lifestyles, & viewpoints.
• Demonstrate personal accountability & effective work habits.
• Leverage existing digital technologies ethically & efficiently to solve problems, complete tasks, & accomplish goals. - Develop proficiency as a self-regulated learner:
• Engage in meaningful reflective dialogue.
• Respond to useful corrective feedback.
• Identify connections between abstract concepts.
• Link new experiences to prior learning.
Learning Assessment
- Digital Research Project: Working on your own, you will research, write, and assemble a podcast episode or a video lecture. The final version of this work will be made publicly available through the course web site. Please see the research project assignment sheet for details.
Connected course outcomes: slo1, slo2, slo3, slo4, slo5 - Formal Essays: Over the course of the semester, you will write three short, formal essays. One will serve as our course midterm, and one as our course final. The other will be a reflection about your research project.
Connected course outcomes: slo1, slo2, slo3, slo4, slo5 - Bi-weekly Blog Posts: You will contribute to our course blog posting critiques of our readings that will be publicly available. Please see the course blog assignment sheet for the complete details.
Connected course outcomes: slo1, slo2, slo3, slo4, slo5 - Learning Journal: Each week, you will encounter new course material by watching video lectures, reading various texts, and watching other forms of media. You will engage with that course material through class discussions, group activities, and individual activities. Please see the learning journal assignment sheet for more details.
Connected course outcomes: slo2, slo4, slo5 - Readings, Discussions, Lectures, & Other Activities: Every week, you will be asked to participate in different learning activities and engagements.
Connected course outcomes: slo1, slo2, slo3, slo4, slo5
There will be no final exam for this class.
I will not be grading any of the work discussed in the previous section. Instead, I will provide you with written or recorded comments about the work you’ve done. For each assignment, you will receive one of the following notations in the Grades section of Brightspace:
- Completed, Exceeds Expectations = Activity demonstrated effort well above expectations
- Completed, Meets Expectations = Activity was successfully submitted and met all expectations
- Partially Completed = Activity was submitted but did not meet all expectations
- Not Completed = Activity was not submitted
At mid-term and at the end of the semester, I will provide you with feedback on how well you have kept up with the work for this class. Because I am required by the university to give you a letter grade for this class, at both mid-term and the end of the semester, you will propose for yourself a letter grade and a justification for that letter grade. I will use your suggestion and my own assessment of your efforts to specify the required grade. While I reserve the right to alter the grade you assign yourself, I will only do so if I feel you have significantly under- or over-valued your work this semester.
Some Guidelines for Self-Grading
- In order to propose an B for yourself, you must have submitted all of the assigned work for this class, with the vast majority of that work meeting expectations.
- For an A, in addition to the above, you should be able to demonstrate a pattern of submitting some work that exceeds expectations.
- I hope everyone will set a goal for an A or a B for this class. The quickest path to a C or lower is repeatedly submitting work that does not meet all expectations or simply not submitting work.
It is my hope that you will find this labor-based grading more equitable and transparent. At any time this semester, if you are confused by or concerned about these methods, please come speak with me.