On Caring:
We are living in unprecedented, difficult times, and everyone is facing numerous struggles. Nobody signed up for life during a pandemic, and this mode of hybrid teaching and learning is unusual for all of us. As such, Professor Mittell commits to try to be as caring and compassionate as possible, foregrounding flexibility, transparency, and an acknowledgment of our shared personhood in challenging times. He asks that each of you do the same toward all of us (including him!). If things become particularly difficult for you, please reach out to your Dean for assistance, and let Professor Mittell know that something is going on—whatever you feel comfortable sharing is fine, but it’s always better to inform faculty immediately that you are facing challenges rather than waiting until things have gotten severe.

Academic Honesty:
All work you submit must be your own and you may not inappropriately assist other students in their work beyond the confines of a particular assignment, in keeping with the Middlebury College Honor Code. Although videos and online posts do not require the signed honor code, the expectation is that all work in the course adheres to the honor code. There is a no-tolerance policy for academic misconduct in this course! The minimum penalty for academic misconduct will be a failing grade (F) for the course – further academic and disciplinary penalties may be assessed by the Academic Judicial Board. The definitions of plagiarism and cheating used in this course are consistent with the material in the College Handbook, Chapter V.

Accommodations:
Any student with a disability or who otherwise needs accommodation or assistance should make arrangements with Professor Mittell as soon as possible. Students who have Letters of Accommodation in this class are encouraged to contact me as early in the semester as possible to ensure that such accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion. For those without Letters of Accommodation, assistance is available to eligible students through the Disability Resource Center. Please contact ADA Coordinators Jodi Litchfield and Peter Ploegman in the DRC at ada@middlebury.edu for more information. All discussions will remain confidential.

If you know that you will have conflicts due to college activities, you must notify Professor Mittell in advance and arrange to make up missed work – athletic absences are not excused and it is the student’s responsibility to make all arrangements. If students have situations that warrant a Dean’s Excuse, such confirmation is necessary to avoid receiving an absence. If a health situation interferes with your ability to participate and attend class, please let me know and we can make arrangements.

Attendance:
You are expected to attend all class meetings on time, having done the assignments, thought about the material, and prepared to engage in discussion and in-class activities. Students who miss a class should find out what they missed from their classmates and learn the necessary material. Most class meetings will be in-person in Axinn 105; however, the first few meetings will be on Zoom. Additionally, some meetings might be rescheduled for Zoom due to campus conditions or if a guest speaker will be visiting. Stay tuned!

Communication:
In this unusual semester, it is vital that all students check their Middlebury email accounts daily and monitor the WordPress site for information. Additionally, we will use a class Slack for conversations and announcements, so please configure Slack for notifications to your preferred devices. Professor Mittell will check email regularly during the work week – if you email him asking for a response and do not receive one within one working day (M-F), assume that your email may not have been received.  You can also reach him via Slack. Office voicemails will not typically be checked, and please do not call Professor Mittell at home.

Conversations and presentations within the space of this class—both in-person and online—are considered private, to be shared only among those of us in the course. Any recording, photographs, and screen-capture of voices, images, and text produced by students and faculty alike cannot be shared without permission of those authors. If you wish to share your own work and ideas beyond the confines of the class, you are encouraged to do so.