Online Syllabus Covering Basic Course Requirements, Homework and Test Schedule, etc.

SECTION A: Announcements

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ANNOUNCEMENT 1 (Posted 8/25/26)

Dear All:

Welcome, welcome to this Fall 2026, AAS 199 course.

Below is (a) a summary of the basic course requirements from the syllabus; (b) homework assignments and test schedule; (c) a very important note about sending me emails; and so on.

Scroll through this entire page to the very end below to see all the different sections. The material on this class home page is a copy of the PDF format of the syllabus, which will be available shortly (via a link on this page below).

Please note that by registering in this course, it is understood that you have agreed to abide by all requirements indicated on this class home page (plus all university regulations applicable to all students).

Sincerely,
Instructor.
PS> Most communications about this course as it progresses will be via emails to you and/or via announcements on this page (or in class).

How this Course will be Taught

1. First, you must have access to a reliable internet and a computer--if you do not have one please use the student computers on campus. Important note about web browsers: If you have any difficulty accessing online materials in this course, especially if you are an Apple device user, then please use either Chrome, or better still, Firefox as your web browser.
   
2. There are no required textbooks for this course. Instead, homework materials will be available online 24/7 to give you flexibility in how you manage your time. NOTE: For copyright reasons they will be available only via this class home page and NOT via UBLearns (see homework schedule below). Homework assignments will consist of readings AND/OR films/documentaries. <-- Read this paragraph again.
3. Reminder: UB has designated this course as a seminar course, not a lecture course. What is the difference? Unlike in a lecture course, in a seminar course student participation is central.
   
4. This is a heavily test-based course, to ensure that you are doing your homework assignments.
   
5. The term "homework" refers to everything you are assigned to do in this class via announcements on this class home page, and/or via emails to you, and/or via UBLearns.
   

About Emails (and other ways of getting in touch)

1. To foster professionalism, when you send me e-mails, they must be in a professional format; otherwise, you may not get a response. Example of professional format: Begin with “Dear Instructor”;… and end with “Sincerely”, …. plus, your name as it appears in school records.
   
2. Emails must be sent only via UB mail and NOT via UBLearns.
   
3. The subject heading of your email must always include these two items: the course number, and what your email is about in a few words.
   
4. Emails will usually be read and answered on the days this course is scheduled. Again, all e-mails must be sent via regular UB e-mail (and not UBLearns).
   
5. Please do not send emails with questions that have already been answered. If you do, you will be asked to go back and read the relevant announcement / instruction that answers your question.
   
6. It is really important that when you write about some clarification you need regarding an announcement, an instruction, etc. that you quote the exact sentence or paragraph that you are writing about. (Quoting does NOT mean taking a picture.)
7. Other ways of getting in touch:
   (a) Talk to me before or after class.
   (b) In addition to office hours, contact via a zoom appointment is also available; however to discourage learned helplessness, AND to have a record of our discussion, I prefer to use email first to determine if your issue can be resolved quickly.
   (c) If you see me anywhere on campus, you are always, always welcome to talk to me. :)
   
   

Course Requirements/Grading Policy

1. Tests/quizzes altogether will be worth 60% of your final course grade.
2. There will be a final exam (worth 20%) during exam week.
   
3. There will be a two-part test-based term paper project, it will be worth 20% of your final course grade.
   
4. Letter grade equivalents of percentage points: A =97-100   A- =93-96    B+ =90-92  B =85-89   B- =80-84    C+ =73-79    C =66-72    C- =60-65    D+ =55-59   D =51-54   F =0-50
5. Most communications about the course as it progresses will be via course announcements on this page and/or via emails (or in class). You must read your emails from the instructor regularly AND save them in an email folder you must create in your email account. IMPORTANT: See also note above about emails format.
6. You are NOT permitted to use AI (artificial intelligence, such as ChatGPT) to fulfill any of the requirements for this course--including homework, tests, term paper, etc.
7. Electronic devices of any kind cannot be used in class without instructor's permission.
   
8. Attendance is absolutely mandatory in this course. Points will be assigned for attendance.
   
9. IMPORTANT: If you are still registered for this course beyond the final add/drop deadline for course registration, then it will be assumed that you have thoroughly read, understood, and agreed to abide by all course requirements for this class. In fact, you may be asked to submit a disclaimer that you read the syllabus diligently and will fully abide with all the course requirements, as well as all mandatory university requirements.
   

    
What this Course is About

The school requires instructors to make sure that their courses adhere, for the most part, to the official descriptions published in the Undergraduate Degree & Course Catalog (and which are reproduced on HUB in your course schedules). So, here is the official description of this course in generic terms:

“The three credit UB Seminar is focused on a big idea or challenging issue to engage students with questions of significance in a field of study and, ultimately, to connect their studies with issues of consequence in the wider world. Essential to the UB Curriculum, the Seminar helps students with common learning outcomes focused on fundamental expectations for [1] critical thinking, [2] ethical reasoning, and [3] oral communication, and [4] learning at a university, all within topic focused subject matter. The Seminars provide students with an early connection to UB faculty and the undergraduate experience at a comprehensive, research university. This course is equivalent to any 199 offered in any subject. This course is a controlled enrollment (impacted) course. Students who have previously attempted the course and received a grade of F or R may not be able to repeat the course during the fall or spring semester.” (Enumeration and emphasis added.)

Syllabus Course Description (What this specific course is about)
Our purpose in this course is to explore the societal significance, in terms of culture, identity, politics, etc., of select images and symbols that dominate the media (both traditional media and social media) from the perspectives of such social structural markers as ethnicity, race, gender, disability, class, and so on, against the background of, to quote the official course description above, “common learning outcomes focused on fundamental expectations for (a) critical thinking, (b) ethical reasoning, and (c) oral communication, and (d) learning at a university.” Ultimately (that is, in the final analysis), this course at the sub-textual level seeks to explore the meaning of democracy in terms of these two of several very consequential and revolutionary quotes that mark the long blood-soaked journey of this country--involving thousands upon thousands of deaths--toward peace and democracy, as we have come to understand it today:


"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all [persons] are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among [the people], deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed" (from the Preamble to the Declaration of Independence, signed August 2, 1776--emphasis in this quote is not in the original).

"[T]hat this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth" (from the Gettysburg Address by President Abraham Lincoln, delivered on November 19, 1863, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, at the height of the U.S. Civil War--emphasis in this quote is not in the original.)


Pedagogy
(a) This course will be taught from an inter-disciplinary perspective (combining primarily political science, history, sociology, and law). That is, it will introduce you to whatever insights, concepts, and theories relevant to the study of a given topic, regardless of their disciplinary location.
(b) From a structural point of view, the course has three parts to it: (a) class lectures, (b) course readings, and (c) audio-visual material. While each of these three parts will, of course, be related, they, however, will not have identical content. For example: class lectures will not always be a repetition of material in course readings. In fact, my primary concern during class lectures/discussions will be to highlight macro-societal processes and events (leaving the rest of the heavy lifting to assignments). Therefore, attendance in this course is absolutely mandatory. Missing the audio-visual material, for instance, will have severe repercussions on test-performance. (NOTE: Audio-visual material screened in class will not always be available outside class.)
(c) Because the course is also expected to meet Gen Ed requirements, you will also be introduced to material on succeeding in a research university, as well as ways to enhance your executive function skills and critical thinking skills that can help with meeting this objective.
(d) Homework, on average, will require about one "concentrated" hour per day of your time (which equals to about 7-8 concentrated hours per week--this is similar to doing 3 hours of class time, plus about 4 hours of homework for an in-person class). Note: A concentrated hour is an hour that requires full concentration from you--that means no distractions of any kind!

Generic Learning Outcomes
The following are the learning outcomes for this course, as mandated by the University's Gen Ed Curriculum:

1.     Think critically using multiple modes of inquiry. [E.g., confirmation inquiry, structured inquiry, open inquiry, guided inquiry.]
   
2.     Analyze disciplinary content to identify contexts, learn fresh perspectives, and debate and discuss problems in the field.
3.     Understand and apply methods of close reading, note taking, analysis, and synthesis.
4.     Recognize and debate ethical issues and academic integrity in a variety of settings.
5.     Demonstrate proficiency in oral discourse and written communication.
6.     Develop essential research and study skills, such as time management.
7.     Understand the academic expectations pertaining to being a student at the University at Buffalo and to higher learning at a research university.

Critical Thinking
So, what is "Critical Thinking"? 
It is the rigorous interdisciplinary intellectual practice of critically, skillfully, and consistently (a) investigating, (b) problematizing, (c) conceptualizing, (d) analyzing, (e) synthesizing, (f) theorizing, (g) evaluating, and (h) applying information against the backdrop of cognition-related behavior characterized by, among other things:

1. the scrupulous application of moral reasoning to ethical questions;
2. professionalism (defined here as a web of interlinked behavioral habits, that include dedication, dependability, diligence, compassion, dignity, competence, civility, impartiality, honesty, and so on);
3. a fiery passion for truth;
4. a relentless commitment to fairness and justice (in one’s own personal life, and in social terms);
5. a profound belief in the value of honest research;
6. intellectual humility;
7. patience and open-mindedness to take seriously the views of others;
8. a deep commitment to the acquisition of knowledge and information on a variety of issues, both, personal as well as public;
9. uncompromising honesty in confronting personal biases, prejudices, stereotypes, etc.;
10. possession of limitless curiosity regarding all kinds of intellectual subject matter; and
11. a refusal to make judgments that are not based on reasoned reflection.

About the Homework

1. Homework assignments will comprise readings AND/OR films/documentaries. Note: As noted above, each film/documentary assignment will usually consist of two sections--either together within one video and/or sometimes separately. Section one will comprise class lecture materials (comprising a combination of materials such as: notes, slides, film/video excerpts, still images, etc.), while section two will be the film itself. Yes, for test purposes both sections will be equally important.
2. The term "homework" refers to everything you are assigned to do in this class via announcements on this class home page and/or via emails to you, and/or via UBLearns, and/or announcements in class.
   
3. How to access the homework assignment for each week: follow the "click path" indicated for each assignment below. For example, to access a film titled "Great Debaters" click on the link "Copyright Page," then after reading the copyright notice proceed to PART A, and then after bringing up that page click on the Class Films List, and then locate the film. Clicking on the film may require you to enter your UB username and password.
4. Homework should be done without any distractions of any kind, that is no multitasking (e.g., web browsing, emails, computer games, gossiping, etc., etc.) Multitasking is a huge impediment to learning--please read this article on multitasking.
   
5. To what should you pay close attention, as you go through these assignments? Everything! (Repeat, everything!) Why everything? First, because completing the homework in its entirety with absolute diligence is in itself a learning objective in this course, given that most (if not all) of you have never in your entire lives ever encountered the subject matter these assignments cover during a course of study in school. Second, because the homework load in this course is not that heavy. 
   
6. To create your own subtitles, in case you need them, for material that does not have subtitles follow the instructions here.
   
7. You should take notes, but your notes should be very brief--repeat, very brief--just a few key words per scene / theme / concept / idea. You will need these notes for tests to help your remember material, since tests are open notebook.
   
   

About the Tests

1. Majority of test questions will be aimed at determining if you did do the homework at all AND that you did the homework diligently.
   
2. Tests will be open notebook (the key word here is notebook). However, your notes must be very, very brief aimed primarily at reminding you of key scenes and/or paragraphs.
   
3. Tests will take place in class. That is, all tests will be in-class tests, meaning they must be taken in class and not at home--even if they are on UB Learns--for reasons of academic integrity. Otherwise, your test will be deleted from the system (and additional actions may be taken for cheating, including the possibility of being assigned an F grade for the entire course).
   
4. Attempting to take a test without studying for it constitutes a form of cheating.
   
5. Please note: if you fail to take a test on the scheduled date and time without a documented excuse acceptable to me, you may not be allowed to do a make-up.
   
   

General Course Administrative Policies
 
(a) Student Responsibility

The University’s “Student Responsibility Statement” specifies as follows: “By accepting responsibility for their education, students enhance the development of their academic, social and career goals. As a condition of enrollment, students are responsible for reviewing, understanding, and abiding by the university’s regulations, procedures, requirements and deadlines as described in official publications, including the university’s undergraduate catalog, UB websites, and official university email communications. In addition, all students are required to positively affirm their knowledge of UB’s Student Conduct Rules, University Standards and Administrative Regulations (available here) prior to their inaugural semester at UB. Asserting a lack of knowledge of university regulations will not be accepted as a basis for an exception to these regulations.” <-- Folks, read this last sentence again. Here are links for the UB Student Code of Conduct and the Undergraduate Catalog. In other words, this course strictly abides by university policies on:

(a) academic honesty;
(b) discrimination;
(c) sexual harassment;
(d) academic freedom (see below); and
(e) classroom etiquette (available via the Undergraduate Catalog).

(b) Disability

If you have a disability, reasonable accommodations for equal access to this course should be requested through Accessibility Resources in Capen Hall.

(c) Other Essential Matters

1. You must know how to navigate the internet, including accessing Brightspace (UBLearns). You must take notes on the homework material, but your notes must be very, very brief (about two or three words per page or scene, as you go through the material--taking detailed notes means you are not digesting the material). You will need these notes for tests, since tests will be open notebook.
2. You are NOT permitted to use AI (artificial intelligence, such as ChatGPT) to fulfill any of the requirements for this course--including homework, tests, term paper, etc.
3. If you have any difficulty accessing online materials in this course, especially of you are an Apple device user, then please use either Chrome, or better still, Firefox as your web browser.
4. Incompletes will be assigned only in the rarest of cases. <-- Read this sentence again. Note that university policy is that incompletes are assigned at the discretion of the instructor. Moreover, incompletes can only be assigned if the student has maintained a passing grade in the course, and there is a well-defined pathway to meeting the incomplete course assignment(s).
   
5. If you claim that you cannot see a link for an item (or some other essential information), send me a clear picture of your ENTIRE computer screen, edge to edge (meaning EVERYTHING visible to you on your screen must be included in the picture), as an email attachment. Reminder: IF, in the extremely rare instance, there is a missing link (or some other information) it will affect the entire class, not just you. (The internet does not discriminate against specific individuals, whoever they may be.)
6. University regulations stipulate that any modification of course requirements for one student must be made available to other students too (unless it is a disability-related modification).
   
7. IMPORTANT: If you are still registered for this course beyond the final add/drop deadline for course registration, then it will be assumed that you have thoroughly read, understood, and agreed to abide by all course requirements for this class. In fact, you may be asked to submit a disclaimer that you read the syllabus diligently and will fully abide with all the course requirements, as well as all mandatory university requirements.

Academic Freedom

People, because of the kinds of topics we will be covering in this course (relating to race, gender, class, democracy, the rule of law, etc., etc.) which may sometimes provoke controversy among some of you, it is really important that you understand the university’s policy on academic freedom as it relates to faculty. This policy reads in part: The University supports the principle of academic freedom as a concept intrinsic to the achievement of its institutional goals. This principle implies a trust in the integrity and responsibility of the members of the academic community. Samuel P. Capen, former Chancellor of the University of Buffalo, who is remembered for the tradition of academic freedom he implemented during his leadership of the University, said in 1935:

“Acceptance by an institution of the principles of academic freedom implies that teachers in that institution are free to investigate any subject, no matter how much it may be hedged about by taboos; that they are free to make known the results of their investigation and their reflection by word of mouth or in writing, before their classes or elsewhere; that they are free as citizens to take part in any public controversy outside the institution; that no repressive measures, direct or indirect, will be applied to them no matter how unpopular they may become through opposing powerful interests or jostling established prejudices, and no matter how mistaken they may appear to be in the eyes of members and friends of the institution; that their continuance in office will be in all instances governed by the prevailing rules of tenure and that their academic advancement will be dependent on their scientific competence and will be in no way affected by the popularity or unpopularity of their opinions or utterances….”

The rest of the homework / test schedule will be available later.

Please study all the Slide Images available via a PDF document here.