Course Guidelines

Learning objectives:

  • Deepen and broaden your understanding of the context and purview of design, particularly from the perspective in 2020
  • Develop your critical skills in reasoning, framing, and argument
  • Attune your sensitivity to values and ethical issues in design
  • Become confident and fluent in discussing design and issues in multiple contexts
  • Develop a critical stance about contemporary technology
  • Practice strategies for reading strategically
  • Write analytically and creatively
  • Participate in synchronous discussions with the class
  • Present and share your perspectives

For each class, you will do some or all of these activities across different platforms.

  1. Read (strategically).
  2. Use Perusall (on Canvas) to highlight and discuss text. (This is something we will try out as a class and use if it is feasible.)
  3. Answer discussion questions on Canvas related to the reading.
  4. Watch a lecture asynchronously, typically weekly.
  5. Participate in class synchronously on Monday and Wednesday.
  6. Co-lead class discussion twice with a peer during semester.
  7. Twice in the semester, write 2 drafts and do peer review of short papers.

Office hours and questions

You can email Molly or Nandini or message us on Slack. Molly’s mobile number is in her email’s signature file for emergencies.

Molly’s office hours are Monday & Wednesday after class, 9:30–10:30 am Pittsburgh time. I can meet at other times too if that doesn’t suit. Please email.

Grading

  • Reading and discussion posts: 40%
  • Short paper: 20%
  • Paper in conjunction with Communication Design Studio: 20%
  • Final 3-minute presentation: 5%
  • Discussion leadership: 10%
  • Synchronous participation in class: 5%

Reading and discussion posts: 40% (~2.5 points per post): due by 7 pm the day before class

You will read something for every class, with a few exceptions, and discuss the texts in a discussion forum. Your posts will be specific: you’ll answer a specific question, reflect on parts of the text itself, and be asked to include a “signal” that relates in some way to the topic. Often this will come from news and contemporary events, but might include design work, pop culture, something from history. Each signal should contain a pointer to the document (a URL link, or APA-style citation) and tell us why it’s significant. This is a way to tie the class discussion back to your own interests and creativity.

Your posts will be graded on a +/-/0 basis:

  • + receives full credit for a sufficient, thorough, thoughtful reading and response
  • – receives half credit for a superficial reading and response
  • 0 receives no credit.

Your posts are due Sundays and Tuesdays at 7 pm. Late posts will receive half credit. Missing posts will add up (2 missing posts is half a letter grade)

Leading discussion & conversation: 10%

Class sessions will be co-led by trios (or sometimes pairs) of discussion leaders. You will situate the texts by stating who the author is and some information about their body of work, and then you will provide a critical backdrop for the conversation, coming up with provocative questions for our discussion, and adding your own examples, applications, and artifacts to the conversation. If we have an external guest, you will host their visit to the class.

Discussion leaders will meet with Molly in advance of class (a good time to do this is Molly’s office hours on Monday or Wednesday). As you put together your approach for the session, start with an end in mind. Where would you like to end up and what kind of questions will get you there? Good questions tend to bring in the how and the why, and are more effective than making a statement and asking the class what you think. You might consider activities or debates you might like to do. You may want to turn a discussion on its head, or play devil’s advocate, or choose a contrary position. At the end of the class, you’ll conclude and summarize the discussion to see us out.

Short paper assignments: 20% each = 40%

You will write two short papers for this class. The assignment in total consists of a best-work first draft, a peer review with a small group (usually 3) of classmates, and your revised, final draft. You will receive a brief for the paper assignment. You must provide timely feedback for peer review and participate in the discussion. All parts of this assignment are required.

Final presentation: 5%

In our final class, you will give a 3-minute presentation on your definition of interaction design. The time requirement is strict, and you’ll want to practice the talk. You may give it in your native language and you do not need to provide a translation.

Synchronous participation in class: 5%

Please be present for our Zoom meetings—we will take attendance. I encourage you to use your camera if you can. Speak in our bigger discussions and in small groups, and leave room for others to speak.

Reading strategies

There’s a lot of reading in this class, and you’ll be reading differently than you do for pleasure. You should be reading to capture the main arguments and summarizing them in your own terms. Please take a look at Paul Edwards, “How to Read a Book.” Try this method for the readings you’ll do in this class– page 5 is the key. Start by deciding how much time you have to read. Then use your time as follows:

  • Overview: 5-10% of total time
  • Detail/understanding: 70-80% of total time
  • Notes: recall & note-taking: 10-20% of time

If you discover that you want to return to the text later, whether for a paper or because you want to spend more time with it, this method and your notes will give you a quick way to connect to the text.

Your health

It is a stressful time and we hope that you stay healthy. If you think you might have symptoms of COVID, follow CMU’s guidelines. If you need to miss class because of illness, please email me or Nandini as soon as you can.

Attendance

This class meets from 8-9:20 am, which is quite early in the morning for those of you in Pittsburgh, but still, our Monday and Wednesday sessions are mandatory. Make every effort to be there. We will start at 8 am, please join us a few minutes early (coffee and tea encouraged) and be ready to start at 8. I will make announcements in class and on Zoom if our next class will start later.

Come to class prepared. That being said, if you’ve been up all night and you’re stressed and you didn’t complete the readings, please don’t cut the class: it’s better for you to be here then not.

The School of Design’s attendance policy is as follows: If you are five minutes late or leave class early you will be marked as absent. Three absences may cause your final grade to drop a letter. Six absences may earn you a failing grade for the course. There may be flexibility in this policy on a case-by-case basis. If you need to relocate to a different time zone, please let me and Nandini know.

Academic integrity

The point of this class is to develop and situate your own ideas in a broader discourse — and in order to do that properly, you need to cite your work. No form of academic dishonesty will be tolerated. When you use words, images, videos, or even ideas and thoughts that are not yours and that you do not credit or properly cite, you are guilty of plagiarism. It is better to ask for more time on a deadline than to plagiarize. If you have any questions, ask. Do not cut and paste from other sources, even into your own notes, without keeping some system that tells you exactly where your work came from. Get in the habit now of taking good notes. We will discuss plagiarism and steps to avoid it, and we will be using Turnitin, a web-based plagiarism detection program, for the papers that you hand in.

If you are caught plagiarizing, you will receive a zero on the full assignment (which includes draft and final versions of your paper), which means a zero on 20% of your grade. Note that a B- is the passing grade for master’s courses (82%), and it is likely that you will not pass Seminar One as a result. This grade does not rule out further ramifications depending on the infraction. Ask Molly or Nandini if you have any questions, or visit the GCC. Again, it is better to ask for help or more time than to plagiarize.

Diversity Statement

In this class, we will be talking about race, gender, sexuality, and many other vital aspects of who we all are. We all, together, need to commit to building an equitable environment. If you experience bias, discrimination or microaggression, you can let me or Nandini know; you can contact Melissa Cicozi (Assistant Head of School) or Bruce Hanington (Head of School), or use the contacts below.

We must treat every individual with respect. We are diverse in many ways, and this diversity is fundamental to building and maintaining an equitable and inclusive campus community. Diversity can refer to multiple ways that we identify ourselves, including but not limited to race, color, national origin, language, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, creed, ancestry, belief, veteran status, or genetic information. Each of these diverse identities, along with many others not mentioned here, shape the perspectives our students, faculty, and staff bring to our campus. We, at CMU, will work to promote diversity, equity and inclusion not only because diversity fuels excellence and innovation, but because we want to pursue justice. We acknowledge our imperfections while we also fully commit to the work, inside and outside of our classrooms, of building and sustaining a campus community that increasingly embraces these core values.

Each of us is responsible for creating a safer, more inclusive environment.

Unfortunately, incidents of bias or discrimination do occur, whether intentional or unintentional. They contribute to creating an unwelcoming environment for individuals and groups at the university. Therefore, the university encourages anyone who experiences or observes unfair or hostile treatment on the basis of identity to speak out for justice and support, within the moment of the incident or after the incident has passed. Anyone can share these experiences using the following resources:

Regardless of incident type, the university will use all shared experiences to transform our campus climate to be more equitable and just.