Aug 25, 2022
Finishing up my syllabi this week, and I’ve lightly adapted the terrific class credos from my likeminded colleague in disability + tech at McGill, Jonathan Sterne.
More than one thing can be true: Strong analysis only works if it’s possible to hold onto apparently contradictory ideas at once, and explain how they can both be true in specific circumstances.
No bullshit: We will avoid easy, prepackaged explanations of complex phenomena, and we will greet the claims of all our sources as open to interpretation, as tools to think with. We’ll start with critical assent. We will also not bullshit one another.
You have the right to be wrong: Part of learning is changing one’s own perspective. This is only possible where ideas can be expressed and challenged, and people are allowed to change their minds.
It’s everyone’s job to imagine a better world: Any critique of how something is raises the question of how it ought to be. You will be asked to think carefully and imaginatively about alternatives to the way things are.
Follow the golden rule: Treat others as you would want to be treated.