Think of how video games work. This course works along the same logic.

1. 1.There are some things everyone will have to do to make progress. In this course, the readings, reading-related quizzes, lectures and discussion sections are those things.
   

2. 2.But game play also allows you to choose some activities -- quests, tasks,

   

   challenges -- and skip others. You can partly forge your own path through a game. So also in this course: the are some assignment types you may choose (because you are good at them, or because you like challenges) and others you can avoid (because your interests are elsewhere).
   

3. 3.In games, you can’t try everything at once: you need to advance to “unlock” new challenges, which can earn you a higher score or lead to “leveling up.” Same here: you need to do some basic things before you become eligible to try advanced challenges.
   

4. 4.When you mess up in a game, you don’t get kicked out. You can often try again, after trying to figure out what went wrong. And success in some activity can earn you “saves” or “power-ups” you can use to cover up messes elsewhere.
   

5. 5.And sometimes you earn mystery bonuses. Those are rewards that come after you’ve done something interesting, or something particularly well, without having tried to focus on it. Same here. The idea is people who do things simply because they care, and not because they want rewards, should be rewarded.
   

Now let’s consider this course’s specific set of assignments.

1. •Everyone will have to read the texts regularly.
   

2. •Everyone will have to attend discussion section regularly. Some of the most important work in the course happens in the discussion. To that end, all sections will have the opportunity to present key discussion points and conclusions to the lecture at several points throughout the semester.
   

3. •It is also in everyone’s interest to attend lecture, either physically or virtually, and participate.
   

4. •But then choices kick in. There are three optional components in the course:
   

1. ◦“Conventional” academic papers. These are the kinds of papers you may be familiar with from your other college courses. There will be two papers. Everyone is encouraged to try writing the first one (assuming you become eligible to write it), but it’s not a requirement. (Follow the link for more details.)
   

2. ◦A blog. There’s a course blog you may contribute to. There are many ways of contributing to it; a separate set of instructions spells out how you can do it.
   

3. ◦A group project. The group project is both the riskiest and potentially the most rewarding aspect of the course. It’s risky because you only do one, due toward the end of the semester. It can be rewarding if you take it seriously and work well with your group. There will be earlier deadlines to make sure you’re not jumping into the deep end without knowing about it. More details are also available separately.
   

5. •Around midterm time you’ll need to commit to which two of the three optional paths you will follow. After that, you can’t make changes.
   

6. •If, however, something bad happens in your life and you completely mess up, we will offer an alternate path to finish the course. It will come with a cost: you will have given up the possibility of getting a high grade. But you can still pass. The details are available separately.
   

7. •Everyone is also required to do a couple of self-evaluations through the term. They will not be graded, but they will be required.
   

This may seem complicated, but that’s only because it’s different from your usual courses. We explain all of these in a different way in a different presentation. The principle is pretty straightforward: do the basic stuff, think about what you want to do, commit to it and practice it, and you’ll be fine.

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