Under certain circumstances failing, losing, forgetting, unmaking, undoing, unbecoming, not knowing may in fact offer more creative, more cooperative, more surprising ways of being in the world. [. . .] What kinds of reward can failure offer us? Perhaps most obviously, failure allows us to escape the punishing norms that discipline behavior . . . Failure preserves some of the wondrous anarchy of childhood and disturbs the supposedly clean boundaries between adults and children, winners and losers. “

(Halberstam 2-3)

You may have taken an online class before and had a good experience. A well-designed online course is quite effective. Don’t expect that here. This won’t be as effective as a thoughtfully-devised online course and it won’t be as effective as our in-person classes. So let’s jettison the goals of “effectiveness” and “efficiency” for goals that were perhaps more worthy anyway, such as “sharing” and “curiosity.” As noted theorist Jack Halberstam suggests in the epigraph above, if a “successful” course is one that meets a very narrow set of standards, by acknowledging we’ll be a failure, we’re embracing all those other forms our community and learning can take. Let’s fail spectacularly! 

Let’s also try not to lose our minds. There will be glitches and miscommunications. Don’t sweat them. If you’re not sure about an assignment, or you miss a notification and realize a week later, don’t worry. Send me an email or visit my online office hours (details below). One benefit of being a failure is that we have flexibility. I’ll be doing all I can to help you get the grades you’re aiming for.  

I know that your situation at home is likely chaotic (or excruciatingly monotonous). We’ll be setting up a weekly routine with similar assignments so you know what to expect.

Tools

We’ll be using this course website, email, and Slack for the remainder of the course. If you’re seeing this, you’re already on the course website. You’ve also probably emailed me and received a response. I’ve sent a Slack invitation to you via the email address CUNYFirst has, usually it’s your QC email. If you don’t see my invitation, send me an email and I’ll reinvite you.

Schedule

The schedule page has been updated to reflect our move online. You’ll see that right now, only assignments through 3/26 are posted. That will change in the coming days. Generally, though, I’ll post assignment on the Thursday before they’re due.

Questions

Most of the question that will arise we’ll hash out on Slack, so head there first. If you can’t get on to Slack, though, email me.