Grades are in September 20, 2020

ALL STUDENTS...GRADES  September 20, 2020

Hi everyone. Grades are in the book, and we're on our way to a great year, online or in person. It doesn't really matter from the academic standpoint. Aside from our conversations in class, there are online readings that you must carefully examine. Some of the readings are tough, a struggle for you and sometimes for everyone. You need to consider these difficult readings as a challenge, not something to be avoided. I read two complex articles this weekend, one a law review article related to the sudden focus on a new justice being appointed to the Supreme Court, one from a book on Middle East politics as new states are deciding how to view the legitimacy of Israel. Both required me to think in new ways about ideas which I already understand deeply. So, you should not think of our work as a way to get a grade without problems. You should think about all of our work in the context of new ideas that you need to understand and that you can understand with some real effort. I know it would be simpler if I were just asking you to remember information, but that's not what we're doing. We're trying to develop more complex understandings of politics and history. I know you want good grades, but please focus on your learning and your development of thinking.