FAQ

students' questions on homeworks, grading, logistics, etc

1. When are homeworks, etc assigned and due?

• Week 1: Lab 1
• Week 2: Lab 2
• Week 3: Lab 3
• Week 4: Lab 4,
  • HW 1 assigned (T)
• Week 5: Lab 5,
  • HW 2 assigned (T)
  • HW 1 due (R)
• Week 6: Lab 6,
  • HW 1 graded,
  • HW 3 assigned (T)
  • HW 2 due (R)
  • Op-Ed assigned (R)
• Week 7: Lab 7,
  • HW 2 graded, TBA
  • HW 3 due, (R)
• Week 8: Lab 8,
  • Op-Ed Due (R)
  • HW 3 graded, TBA
• Week 9: Lab 9,
  • HW 4 assigned (T), TBA
• Week 10: Lab 10,
  • HW 5 assigned (T)
  • HW 4 due (R)
• Week 11: Lab 11,
  • HW 4 graded,
  • Op-Ed graded,
  • HW 5 due (R)
  • Final Paper assigned
• Week 12: Lab 12,
  • HW 5 graded
• Week 13: Lab 13,
  • Google Form Feedback
• Week 14 or 15 (TBD):
  • Final paper due

2. How do I decide which type of homework to do?

A logistical point:

• if you have a "technical background" (e.g., CS), you should do the "nontechnical track" (e.g., 15 page final paper and 3 problem sets)

• if you have a "humanistic background" (e.g., English), you should do the "technical track" (e.g., 10 page final paper and 5 problem sets)

from the syllabus:

Students will be assigned, typically based on their major, into one of two tracks. Students with less technical majors will do more technical work, including problem sets; students with more technical background will do more humanistic work, including longer writing assignments. Students for which there is ambiguity are encouraged to clarify with instructors and TAs before the 1st assignment is due.

a) more technical background track (60%)

pursue a semester long project culminating in a 15pp paper and any associated code

complete 3 problem sets

b) more humanistic background track (60%)

write a 10 pp paper on a topic of their choice

complete 5 problem sets, these problem sets will involve both computational work and writing work

3. Where are the reading materials posted?

• On Slack, under #readings

4. When are observations from the reading due?

• 11:59 pm NYC time Sunday before their lecture, via #discussion on Slack

5. What is the "final paper" (formerly known as "final project") like?

Write either a:

(1) 15 page double-spaced paper (if you’re on the less technical track, for people from more technical backgrounds) or a

(2) 10 page double-spaced paper (if you’re on the more technical track, for people from less technical backgrounds)

Discuss any question related to the themes of the course (broadly construed) and informed by

• our class discussions and
• materials from prior weeks as is appropriate.

The paper could be

• a development of your op-ed in a more academic direction, or
• a development of one of your reading responses into a more formal research paper, or
• a new idea or intervention you wish to examine based on
  • your own expertise,
  • interests, and
  • course concerns.

Every paper should blend the more technical and the more humanistic sides of the course so it should not take the form of a technical report.

The paper should have a clearly developed argument of your own, and not only summarize other people’s arguments.

Feel free to draw on

• the readings we assigned,
• those listed as optional, and
• other similar readings you find via your own research.

Write assuming a more sophisticated audience than for your op-ed, but don’t assume readers will be familiar with technical jargon -- explain it.