Course Policies
Grading Policy
Coming soon.
Diversity Statement
Our goal in this course is not just to teach about diversity, equity, and inclusion; it is our highest priority to ensure that the material is delivered in a way that is inclusive to all students and ensures that students’ diverse perspectives can be shared. Given that some of the content discussed in this course may be emotionally and intellectually challenging to engage with, several measures have been taken to ensure that the experience of taking this course is as inclusive to everyone as possible. See the FAQs for a more detailed description of how the course implements established inclusive teaching practices and is structured to foster inclusive discussion.
Content Warnings and Handling of Sensitive Material. Especially intense content and specific topics will be flagged in the course materials according to the Eberly Center’s guide to content warnings (coming soon: a full list of which topics will be flagged, and how they will be flagged). In addition, discussions are regulated by community guidelines that students design together, group check-ins are built into activities to give students opportunities to assert that they are not comfortable discussing certain examples or parts of the activity, and students are provided materials for handling and debriefing after tense or difficult moments. For additional resources for students on inclusive discussion, see the discussion guide (coming soon).
We acknowledge that people may experience the material in ways we have not anticipated. If you feel that you are experiencing any form of discrimination or are in other ways being marginalized in this course due to your identity or experiences, there are several options at your disposal: (1) email or set up an appointment with a course instructor or course consultant (listed above), who you can speak with directly or, if you prefer, refer you to someone else to whom you can convey your feedback. (2) Utilize the anonymous feedback portal (coming soon), where students are encouraged to submit (a) an issue you’ve seen arising that you think we should be looking out for, (b) a specific issue and how you want us to help, (c) any concerns you have in general, and don’t know what to do about. We care immensely about creating a space where all students have an equal opportunity to engage with the material, and we will take care to address your concerns with humility and sensitivity.
More generally, we approach the practice of developing and teaching this course with the understanding that we can always improve. In accordance with this philosophy, we welcome and encourage students to provide feedback and suggestions about the course through the channels listed above.
Disability Accommodations
If you have a disability and have an accommodations letter from the Disability Resources office, we encourage you to discuss your accommodations and needs with the course instructors as early in the semester as possible. We will work with you to ensure that accommodations are provided as appropriate. If you suspect that you may have a disability and would benefit from accommodations but are not yet registered with the Office of Disability Resources, we encourage you to contact them at access@andrew.cmu.edu.
Academic Integrity
Cheating or plagiarism can result in a failing grade. Any work you turn in must be your own. In your short responses, if you wish to use text written or spoken by someone else, quote them if possible, and always cite your sources. When completing asynchronous work for which you are instructed not to use outside sources, please follow these instructions. This is not only important for your own integrity; this is also to uphold the integrity of the data we collect on the efficacy of the course.
Health and Well-Being
One of our goals in developing this course is that you will enjoy taking it. Therefore, to the extent we can with the teaching resources we have, we want to work with you to accommodate your needs. While we are assigning some amount of work, we hope that you find this work as well-motivated and intellectually stimulating as we do, and that you enjoy engaging with the important and useful topics it explores.
Being a graduate student can be difficult, and your mental health is important. We strongly encourage you to seek support throughout your PhD via Counseling and Psychological Services (CaPS) (to contact, call 412-268-2922 and/or visit the CaPS website). If you’re feeling stressed or overwhelmed, either in general or about a specific problem, if you are in CSD you can contact the CSD student ombudsperson, Alex Wang (alw1@andrew). Otherwise, you can talk with your advisor or another friend or faculty member you trust, or ask the course instructors or course consultants about further resources.