How your final grade is calculated

Attendance and class participation	10%
Moodle responses	10%
Three pairs of essays (total)	45%
Interview assignment	20%
Team entrepreneurial assignment	15%

 

Special note

Academic accommodations are available for students with disabilities who are registered with the Office of Disability and Support Services. Students in need of disability accommodations should schedule an appointment with me early in the semester to discuss any accommodations for this course which have been approved by the Office of Disability and Support Services, as indicated in your DSS accommodation letter.

Class attendance and participation

Attendance and participation are required for this course. Absence in more than two classes will harm your final grade, as will repeated failure to take part in class discussions and group exercises in class and on Moodle. (Note: we meet on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.) Bring the required readings (printed out or on laptop) to class, having read and annotated them by their assigned dates.

A note about using technology in this course: Students are not allowed to use ChatGPT or other artificial intelligence writing platforms on any assignments in this class unless I officially permit it for specific exercises or assignments. Otherwise, I'm happy to let you use laptops and iPads to do the electronic readings and to take notes in class. Be conscientious when using these devices. If you find your reading comprehension suffers because you don't have a hard copy to write notes on, then print the electronic readings out. (Ask me if you would like hard copies regularly.) And please limit your use of laptops and iPads in the classroom to note-taking and internet browsing of course materials only. If your use of these technologies distracts yourself, other students or me, you'll be asked to turn off your wi-fi or your device.

Moodle responses

This class will ask you to write on Moodle a lot — practically every week, but ungraded so that you can work out ideas and opinions prior to other assignments. These responses should be posted onto Moodle by Saturday at 11:59pm, so that the rest of the class can read them (required) and reply to them (optionally) before Monday's class. At the end of the semester, this writing will be given a final value based on total completion, i.e., did you write something for every Moodle response you were assigned?

Essays

On September 25, October 28, and December 15 (the last day of study period), you'll turn in two essays (approximately 4-6 pages total) that respond to prompts drawn from the readings and lectures.

Interview assignment

You'll interview two people outside of Vassar about their jobs. Quoting these interviews extensively, you'll write a 5-8 page paper that takes a position on debates about the "new world of work."

Team marketing presentation

You'll organize into teams that each produce and then present to the class a marketing pitch on an entrepreneurial business idea of your own collective design, dividing the labor and conducting research however your team agrees to. Following presentations, the rest of the class will assess and rank each team’s marketing pitch. Afterward, you'll write an individual brief reflecting upon and critiquing the models of flexible production and creative labor as a means for organizing work in college and business.