MEDIA & POLITICS HOW DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES SHAPE OUR PUBLIC SPHERE - MCGILL UNIVERSITY
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Media & Politics
How digital technologies shape our public sphere
Media and Politics (POLI 424) Department of Political Science
Special Topics in Communications Studies (COMS 491), Department of Communications
Studies
Prof. Taylor Owen
Office Hours: Thursday 3-4:30, Zoom
taylor.owen@mcgill.ca
Winter 2021: Jan 7 - April 16 2021
Tu/Th: 4:05pm – 5:25pm
Online
This course will explore the politics of our contemporary digital landscape. It will track the evolution of the
digital media landscape from the early internet to the social web, through to how today’s digital
infrastructures shape the public sphere and the social, economic and political interactions that it facilitates.
Digital media and online platforms, once celebrated as a democratic good for giving voice and
representation to those excluded from the public sphere and from political processes, have increasingly
come under scrutiny for how they can also intensify social and economic inequality, amplify political
divisions, lower the character of our civic discourse, and even undermine democracy. Like other
technologies before them, digital media are profoundly political -- they are developed, shaped, and used
according to specific social, political, geographic and economic conditions. At the same time, digital media
are powerful sociotechnical agents which reshape publics, politics and the governance of society. At the
end of this class, students should understand and critically engage with this reciprocal relationship between
media and politics, including the central debates, controversies and issues that shape the contemporary
digital landscape. Students will be trained to present, comment and write critically about the power, politics
and governance of digital media.
Learning Objectives
• To highlight critical perspectives in the current debates around the influence and power of digital
technologies.
• To understand the history of the Internet, and its evolution from a decentralised ecosystem to the
current platform economy.
• To demonstrate in discussion, writing, and presentation an informed understanding of how digital
media shapes politics.
• To engage critically with a broad interdisciplinary literature
These outcomes will be demonstrated through weekly discussions and assignments, a midterm take home
essay, and a final exam. Active participation is mandatory.GENERAL INFORMATION
Professor: Taylor Owen
Email: taylor.owen@mcgill.ca
Teaching Assistant: TBD
Office Hours: TBD
Required text: All course readings will be available on MyCourses.
Grading Breakdown
Weekly dialogue attendance: 10%
Response pieces (6): 30%
Midterm Essay: 20%
Final Exam: 40%
Note about course format:
This is obviously not a normal year. I know that online classes are hard for everyone. We are all learning
as we go. I wanted to give you a quick rationale into how I have restructured this course.
First, I have cut the number of mandatory readings substantially, and instead included a longer
recommended reading list. Because the reading is lighter, I expect it all to be done.
Second, I will be posting a weekly pre-recorded lecture. I know you are all spending a lot of time online,
so want you to be able to watch or listen to these when the timing is best. These will either be lectures
with slides, or audio only podcasts.
Third, I will be devoting our thursday “class” time to discussion groups. My rationale is that one of the
things missing from all this online life is group discussion, so I’ve decided to prioritize it. At these
sessions we will discuss 3-4 issues raised by the readings and the lectures. I understand if you are not able
to make these sessions. If you would prefer to not attend, you can instead submit short one paragraph
responses to the discussion questions. These questions will be circulated on Tuesday, and the written
response will be due end of day Thursday.
For assignments, you will be responsible for 6 weekly assignments on the weeks of your choosing, a
midterm take-home short essay question, and a final exam.
SCHEDULE OF COURSE READINGS AND LECTURES
COURSE OVERVIEW
Thursday, January 7th: Introduction to the course structure. The short first class will provide an
introduction to the syllabus, grading breakdown, and course format.
PART 1: The Evolution of Media & Digital TechnologiesWEEK 1: TOPIC INTRODUCTION
Lecture 1 posted online: Introduction and background on approach to course themes of media, politics,
and technology governance.
Tuesday (Jan 12): 4:30-5:15: Discussion of first lecture
NOTE: Please start Week 2 readings
WEEK 2: FROM THE EARLY INTERNET TO THE SOCIAL WEB
DISCUSSION GROUPS
Group 1 and 2: January 19th 4:30-5:15
Group 3 and 4: January 21th 4:30-5:15
LECTURE
The Internet was born out of a confluence of government research, military funding, entrepreneurialism,
and brazen ideological optimism. In this class we will discuss the history of the Internet, from the hackers
who imagined personal computing to the rise of some of the world's largest and most powerful
technology companies, whose products were said to take the power of publishing and broadcasting away
from established institutions, to provide individuals with the ability to speak to and report on the world
around them, to enable a new form of collective action that would radically reshape global politics.
READINGS
Mandatory:
Barlow, 1996. A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace.
Clay Shirky, 2011. “The Political Power of Social Media: Technology, the Public Sphere, and Political
Change.” Foreign Affairs.
Zuckerman, 2013. Cute Cats to the Rescue? Participatory Media and Political Expression.
Optional:
Turner, 2006. “How Digital Technology Found Utopian Ideology,” in Silver and Massenari, eds, Critical
Cyberculture Studies (New York: NYU Press).
Owen, 2014. Disruptive Power, Chapter 2
Boyd and Ellison, 2008. “Social Network Sites: Definition, History, and Scholarship.” Journal of
Computer-Mediated Communication.
Lessig, 2009. Code. Chap 1: Code is Law.Castells, 2007. “Communication, Power and Counterpower in the Network Society,” IJOC.
Kahn, Postel, Cerf et al., 2009. A Brief History of the Internet. ACM Computer Communication Review.
WEEK 3: THE PLATFORM ECOSYSTEM
DISCUSSION GROUPS
Group 1 and 2: January 26th 4:30-5:15
Group 3 and 4: January 28th 4:30-5:15
LECTURE
In the past decade, the services provided by so-called “platform companies” have become impactful
spaces where powerful social movements, activism, and protest can be organized, where electoral
campaigns can be contested and democratic participation can be mobilized. The perceived political
importance of platforms has grown to the extent that many disparate events — ranging from Brexit and
global upswings in populism and nationalism to the genocide in Myanmar — are increasingly being laid
on the doorstep of a handful of North American technology companies. In this class, we explore platforms
political companies both as political actors that engage in governance (with a focus on how they engage
in content moderation) and are governed (through policy, regulation, and law).
READINGS
Mandatory:
Klonick, 2018. “The New Governors: The People, Rules, and Processes Governing Online Speech.”
Harvard Law Review.
Gillespie, 2010. “The Politics of Platforms”. New Media and Society.
Optional:
Excerpts from: van Dijck, Jose, Poell, Thomas, & de Waal, Martijn. (2018). The Platform Society.
Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. Chapter 1.
Napoli, Philip M., & Caplan, Robyn. (2017). Why media companies insist they're not media companies,
why they're wrong, and why it matters. First Monday, 22(5).
Plantin, Jean-Christophe, & Punathambekar, Aswin. (2018). Digital media infrastructures: pipes,
platforms, and politics. Media, Culture & Society, doi:10.1177/0163443718818376
PART 2. How digital infrastructure shapes the public sphere
WEEK 4: MIS/DISINFORMATIONDISCUSSION GROUPS
Group 1 and 2: February 2nd 4:30-5:15
Group 3 and 4: February 4th 4:30-5:15
LECTURE
Only a few years ago, digital technologies were being portrayed as not only revolutionary, but perhaps
even inherently democratizing. Recently, however, the wave of optimism seems to have died out, and is
increasingly being replaced by concerns that various digital technologies are being increasingly used as a
form of social control. By manipulating voters, interfering in elections, and serving up misinformation
during important political events, only six years after “the revolution was tweeted,” people are now
seriously asking if “social media is killing democracy.” What happened? Are these concerns legitimate,
and where did they come from? In this class, we will discuss the latest research on media manipulation,
‘fake news,’ bots, and more.
READINGS
Mandatory:
Benkler et al., 2017. “Breitbart-led right-wing media ecosystem altered broader media agenda.” Columbia
Journalism Review.
Marwick & Lewis, 2017. “Media Manipulation and Disinformation Online.” Data & Society. [Executive
summary, skim intro pg. 5-22, read “What Motivates Media Manipulators,” pg.27-32]
Wardle, Claire and Hossein Derakhshan, 2018. Information Disorder Toward an interdisciplinary
framework for research and policymaking. First Draft. [pp 19-41]
Optional:
Jack, 2017. “The Lexicon of Lies: Terms for Problematic Information.” Data & Society.
Tucker et al, 2017. “This explains how social media can both weaken — and strengthen — democracy.”
Washington Post. For the article version see: “From Liberation to Turmoil: Social Media and
Democracy,” Journal of Democracy.
Woolley, 2016. “Automating power: Social bot interference in global politics.” First Monday.
WEEK 5: JOURNALISM
DISCUSSION GROUPS
Group 1 and 2: February 9th 4:30-5:15
Group 3 and 4: February 11th 4:30-5:15
LECTUREThe practice and institutions of journalism are in the midst of a radical transformation. At the core of this
is a shift from a hierarchical industrial mode of production to a networked post-industrial model. We will
discuss how and why this shift is occurring and what its implications are for a political system that is
meant to be held accountable by a free press.
READINGS
Mandatory:
Bell & Owen, 2017. The Platform Press: How Silicon Valley reengineered journalism. Tow Center for
Digital Journalism. [Executive Summary and Introduction]
Boeder, Pieter, 2005. Habermas’ heritage: The future of the public sphere in the network society. First
Monday, Vol 10, No 9.
Pickard, Victor, 2019. Public Investments for Global News. CIGI.
Optional:
Foer, 2017. When Silicon Valley Took Over Journalism. The Atlantic.
2019 Digital News Report, Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. [Section 1 Executive Summary
and Key Findings.]
WEEK 6: MONEY
DISCUSSION GROUPS
Group 1 and 2: February 16th 4:30-5:15
Group 3 and 4: February 18th 4:30-5:15
LECTURE
In this week, we explore how the financial models underlying platforms economy, including the attention
economy, surveillance capitalism and gig labour. This will include discussion of how data profiles are
used to target ads at users, how attention and behaviour have become commodities, how data is used to
provide content that is most likely to result in engagement and increased time on the site, and how
technologies are having a profound global impact on labour, work, and trade. We discuss the effects of
21st century “platform capitalism” on the information ecosystem and on the global economy.
READINGS
Mandatory:
Zuboff, Shoshana 2018. The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New
Frontier of Power, Public Affairs. [Introduction]
Vaidhyanathan, 2018. Chapter 3: The Attention Machine in Antisocial Media: How Facebook
Disconnects Us and Undermines Democracy. Oxford University Press. [pp. 78 – 105]Ticona, Mateescu, and Rosenblat, 2018. “Beyond Disruption: How Tech Shapes Labour Across Domestic
Work and Ridehailing.” Data & Society. [pp 1-35.]
Optional:
Srnicek, 2016. Platform Capitalism. Cambridge, UK: Polity. Chapter 1: The Long Downturn.
Madrigal, 2019. The Servant Economy. The Atlantic.
WEEK 7: SURVEILLANCE
DISCUSSION GROUPS
Group 1 and 2: February 23rd 4:30-5:15
Group 3 and 4: February 25th 4:30-5:15
LECTURE
Just as the Internet has empowered individuals and networks, it has also proven remarkably susceptible to
the re-establishment of state control. In this class we will explore how states are both threatened by digital
technologies, and how both democracies and autocracies are using control over these networks to watch,
influence, and exert control over their citizens.
READINGS
Mandatory:
Glenn Greenwald, 2016. The Surveillance State, in Journalism After Snowden, Bell and Owen eds.
Owen, 2015. ‘The Violence of Algorithms’ Foreign Affairs
Amnesty International. 2019. “Surveillance Giants: How the business model of Google and Facebook
threatens human rights.” pp 1-37
Optional:
Stark, Luke and Karen Levy, “The Surveillant Consumer,” Media Culture and Society 40 (2018), 1-19.
Jon Penney, Chilling Effects, Internet Policy Review.
WEEK 8: MID TERM TAKE HOME ESSAY
You will be provided with a choice of short essay questions on Monday morning February 22nd, and the
assignment will be due on Friday, February 26th.
March 1-5 NO CLASS ** READING WEEK **WEEK 9: THE CHINESE MODEL
DISCUSSION GROUPS
Group 1 and 2: March 9th 4:30-5:15
Group 3 and 4: March 11th 4:30-5:15
LECTURE
The third geopolitical block emerging in the platform governance discussion (aside from the US and the
EU), is an autocratic state-centric model being developed and exported by Chinese companies. This week
we explore how Chinese state companies developed an alternative model for the internet, how the state
has used this model to control the political activity of its citizens, and how and why this tech-stack is now
being outsourced to other countries.
READINGS
Mandatory:
Mackinnon, 2011. China’s Networked Authoritarianism. Journal of Democracy
Wong, K. L. X., & Dobson, A. S. (2019). We’re just data: Exploring China’s social credit system in
relation to digital platform ratings cultures in Westernised democracies. Global Media and China, 4(2),
220–232.
Cheney, 2019. China’s Digital Silk Road: Strategic Technological Competition and Exporting Political
Illiberalism. Pacific Forum Working Paper.
Optional:
Triolo, Paul, 2020. The Digital Silk Road: Expanding China’s Digital Footprint, Eurasia Group
King, Pan, and Roberts, 2013. How Censorship in China Allows Government Criticism but Silences
Collective Expression. American Political Science Review.
WEEK 10: ALGORITHMS AND POWER
DISCUSSION GROUPS
Group 1 and 2: March 16th 4:30-5:15
Group 3 and 4: March 18th 4:30-5:15
LECTURE
As the largest tech giants (Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft, Apple) shift to algorithmic processing and
decision-making using AI and machine learning, their power and potential bias increases – while they are
global companies, they do not universally affect all users in the same way. Such systems can “bake in”
inequalities at several levels – who gets to build these systems and where they are built, who the imagined
users are, who profits from them, and what political goals they serve. This class will explore how powerrelations become embedded into the design of AI systems, the social implications of their use in both the
private and public sectors, and the contemporary debates around making fair, transparent and ethical AI.
READING
Crawford, 2017. “The Trouble With Bias.” NIPS Keynote. Watch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMym_BKWQzk
Discriminating Systems: Gender, Race, and Power in AI: AI Now.
Angwin, et al. 2016. Machine Bias. ProPublica.
Optional
Gillespie, Tarleton. (2014). The relevance of algorithms. In T. Gillespie, P. Boczkowski & K. A. Foot
(Eds.), Media technologies: Essays on communication, materiality, and society (pp. 167-194).
Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Meyers-West, 2019. In the Outcry over the Apple Card, Bias is a Feature, Not a Bug. AI Now. Medium.
Opinion: AI for Good is Often Bad. Wired.
Costanza-Chock, 2018. Design Justice, A.I., and Escape from the Matrix of Domination.
PART 3. Governing the Digital Public Sphere
WEEK 11: CONTENT MODERATION
DISCUSSION GROUPS
Group 1 and 2: March 23rd 4:30-5:15
Group 3 and 4: March 25th 4:30-5:15
LECTURE
There are over a billion pieces of content uploaded to Facebook every day, and over 500 hours of video to
YouTube every minute. This content is posted in hundreds of languages and must abide by the laws of
democratic and autocratic countries alike. The challenge of this task is magnified by the pace with which
problematic or illegal content can circulate, human costs of moderating violence and extreme content, as
well as the significant legal, ethical cultural and political complexity of determining what speech should
be removed. This week we will explore how content moderation shapes our civic and political discourse.
READINGS
Mandatory:Chapter 1: Introduction in Gillespie, Tarleton. 2018. Custodians of the Internet: Platforms, Content
Moderation, and the Hidden Decisions That Shape Social Media. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Newton, 2019. The Secret lives of content moderators in the US. The Verge.
Kaye, 2018. “Report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of
opinion and expression.” UN Human Rights Council.
Optional:
Lewis, Rebecca. 2018. “Alternative Influence: Broadcasting the Reactionary Right on YouTube.” Data &
Society Research Institute. pp 1-25
Kreiss, Daniel and Matt Perault, 2019. Four Ways to Fix Social Media’s Political Ads Problem —
Without Banning Them. The New York Times.
Excerpts- Roberts, Sarah T. 2019. Behind the Screen: Content Moderation in the Shadows of Social
Media. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Keller, Daphne, 2018. Toward a Clearer Conversation About Platform Liability. Knight First Amendment
Institute.
WEEK 12: PLATFORM GOVERNANCE
DISCUSSION GROUPS
Group 1 and 2: March 30rd 4:30-5:15
Group 3 and 4: April 1st 4:30-5:15
LECTURE
As pressure mounts for platform companies and the social, political and economic activities that they
enable to be better governed, two competing democratic blocks are emerging (we will talk about a third,
the Chinese model, next week. The EU is moving swiftly in the direction of a rights based approach to
platform governance, with broad regulatory and legal restrictions on content policy, data right and
competition. Meanwhile, many in the US are advocating for a firm-centric approach which would
potential see anti-trust policy applied to the platforms, reversing prior acquisitions and breaking up core
services. This class will explore these two models for platform governance and the domestic and
geopolitical factors driving each.
READINGS
Mandatory
Gorwa, 2019. What is platform governance?, Information, Communication & Society, 22:6, 854-871.
Owen, Taylor 2019. The Case for Platform Governance. CIGI.
Balkin, Jack M. 2014. “Information Fiduciaries in the Digital Age.” For a longer piece on this, see:
“Information Fiduciaries and the First Amendment.” UC Davis Law Review 49: 1205-1209.Optional:
United Kingdom. 2019. Online Harms White Paper. Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport.
April 8. pp 1-11.
Lyall, 2018. Who Strikes Fear Into Silicon Valley? Margrethe Vestager, Europe’s Antitrust Enforcer, The
New York Times.
Herrle & Hirsh. 2019. The Peril and Potential of the GDPR. CIGI.
WEEK 13: THE FUTURE OF THE INTERNET
DISCUSSION GROUPS
Group 1 and 2: April 6th 4:30-5:15
Group 3 and 4: April 8th 4:30-5:15
LECTURE
What are the implications of an Internet that is increasingly influenced by a handful of large technology
companies? An Internet which is used by governments to spread propaganda, tamper with elections, and
mislead voters? An Internet which experiences critical security issues, especially as millions more devices
come online every year? In the final class, we will step back and reflect on the future of the Internet and
its impact on global affairs, domestic politics, and society.
READINGS
Mandatory:
Zuckerman, 2019. Building a More Honest Internet. Columbia Journalism Review.
Berners-Lee, 2019. I Invented the World Wide Web. Here’s How We Can Fix It. The New York Times.
Kolbert, 2017. “Who Owns the Internet?” The New Yorker.
Optional:
Vaidhyanathan, 2019. The Two Myths of the Internet. Wired.
Kieron O’Hara and Wendy Hall, 2018. Four Internets: The Geopolitics of Digital Governance Kieron
O’Hara and Wendy Hall, CIGI Papers No. 206.
Tufekci, 2018. “The (Democracy Poisoning) Golden Age of Free Speech.” Wired.
Naughton, 2016. “Has the Internet Become a Failed State?” The Guardian.
WEEK 14: EXAM PREPARATIONWe will review the exam structure, format, topic and expectations as a class. Group 1, 2, 3 and 4: April 13th 4:30-5:15 ASSIGNMENTS Weekly dialogue attendance or written responses to discussion questions: 10% You are expected to attend and participate in the once a week dialogue group, or to submit a written response to the weekly discussion questions. These will be marked pass/fail, and attendance will be kept. Response pieces (6): 30% For 6 out of the 13 weeks, you will write a short, approximately 500 words (2-3 paragraph) memo that engages with at least two of the week’s readings as well as the class discussion questions. You have considerable freedom to pose questions you had as you read; contrast readings; connect themes you saw emerging among texts and critique authors’ arguments. The goal is to reflect upon the readings and share your own reflections of the week’s theme. You may use the description/questions under each week’s heading on the syllabus as your guideposts. These memos should be posted through the “Discussion” section of MyCourses by 6pm on the Monday before Tuesday’s class. Responses cannot be done ahead of time for the term. Midterm Essay: 20% You will be provided with a choice of short essay questions on Monday morning February 22nd, and the assignment will be due on Friday, February 26th. You will have this entire period to work on it. It will be submitted via My Courses. Final Exam: 40% A final exam will be administered as a take home test during the exam period. Details to come. MCGILL COURSE POLICIES & STUDENT RESOURCES Grading policy: Grades will be assigned according to the scale set out in the Arts and Sciences calendar, reproduced below. Students should note the following “definitions” attached to letter grades, as these will be observed strictly: “good” work will receive a grade in the C range; “very good” work will receive a grade in the B range; “excellent” work will receive a grade in the A range; the grade of A will be reserved for work that is unambiguously “outstanding.” It is expected that the distribution of grades in this course will reflect normal standards for courses at this level in the arts and sciences at Canadian universities.
Grade Appeals:
1. Student Rights and General Information
1. 1.1 Students are entitled to a discussion explaining the rationale behind a grade if a
comprehensive explanation has not previously been provided. Students should not request a re-
read until they understand why they received the grade that they are contesting.
2. 1.2 If grades for assessments are provided in the form of letters (i.e. A, B, C), students may
request the numerical value earned.
3. 1.3 Professors are strongly encouraged to provide information regarding their re-grading policies
on their course syllabi.
2. Informal Requests for Review
1. 2.1 If an assessment was graded by a Teaching Assistant (TA), the student should discuss the
grade with the TA informally before approaching the professor.
2. 2.2 Students will be allowed two weeks following the return of a graded assessment to request a
re-read. Professors may accept requests for rereads after the two-week period.
3. 2.3 The reread should be completed within four weeks of the request.
4. 2.4 At their discretion, professors may require students to include a brief (1-page max) statement
explaining why the student feels the grade is inappropriate.
5. 2.5 If an assessment has not been returned prior to the end of classes during a given semester,
students will be allowed to request re-reads and grade changes in the following term.
6. 2.6 Students still unsatisfied with their grade following the re-read by the professor may request
a formal review (see section 3).
3. Formal Requests for Review1. 3.1 If a student requests a formal review of an assignment, the student must specify the reasons
for the request in writing and submit this written document to the Undergraduate Program
Director (UPD).
2. 3.2 Where the student was returned the original graded materials, the student will bring them to
an appointment with the UPD. The UPD will clarify the rereads policy to the student,
emphasizing that the assignment will be re-assessed with the corrections and mark intact, and that
the mark may become higher, lower or remain unchanged.
3. 3.3 The UPD will ask a second member of the Department competent in the assignment's area of
study to review the original assignment and to grade it.
4. 3.4 The second reader is given the original assignment, with the marginalia, corrections,
summary comments and mark intact. The second reader is also to be given the student's letter,
specifying the reasons for the review of the grade, and any note from the instructor pertinent to
the general nature of the course or the assignment.
5. 3.5 It is the second reader's task to assess the appropriateness of the mark. The second reader
should support his or her opinion of the original mark with a brief memorandum to the UPD.
6. 3.6 The student may choose to have his or her identity remain anonymous to the second reader.
The student should discuss this decision with the UPD.
Late submissions and missed exams:
Late assignments will be penalized 1/3 of a letter grade per day that they are late, including
weekends (ex. A two-day late B+ paper counts as a B-). Late papers will be excused only in
exceptional and unavoidable circumstances that are supported by appropriate documentation. If
you know you won’t be able to meet a deadline set up a meeting well before the due date to
make alternative arrangements. Make up exams will only be arranged if the professor is provided
with appropriate documentation (i.e. a doctor’s note) no later than one week after the missed
exam.
McGill University statement on academic integrity: McGill University values academic
integrity. Therefore all students must understand the meaning and consequences of cheating,
plagiarism and other academic offences under the code of student conduct and disciplinary
procedures (see www.mcgill.ca/integrity for more information). Students should note that the
professor also values academic integrity very highly, and will be vigilant in its enforcement. In
accord with McGill University’s Charter of Students’ Rights, students in this course have the
right to submit in English or in French any written work that is to be graded.
Further Resources:
Accommodations: If you require accommodations due to special circumstances, challenges or
disabilities, please notify both the professor and Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD) as
soon as possible. The OSD provides a broad range of support and services to assist students,
faculty, and staff with disabilities. (3100 Brown Student Services Bldg., 398-6009 (voice), 398-
8198 (TDD), http://www.mcgill.ca/osd/).
Illness: Students are responsible for material covered in all classes, including those missed due
to illness. Examinations will not be re-scheduled, and assignment due date extensions will not be
considered, for any reason other than documented illness. Anyone unable to attend examinationsor complete assignments due to illness is expected to make every effort to contact the professor prior to the examination or due date, and to co-operate in arranging a make-up examination or revised due date. If unable to reach the instructor, students should contact the Department of Art History & Communication Studies at 514.398.1828. Appropriate documentation will be required to support requests for special consideration due to illness (see http://www .mcgill.ca/oasis/general/advising/illness). Academic resources: Students looking for additional assistance with academic reading, study, research and writing skills should consult the McGill academic resources website at www.mcgill.ca/students/academicresources/. Counseling: The Counseling Service provides personal, academic, and career counseling to undergraduate and graduate students. They also offer workshops on study skills, multiple choice exams, and text anxiety/stress management. The service is located at suite 4200 Brown Student Services Bldg, 398-3601 www.mcgill.ca/counselling/. A list of workshops can be found at: http://www.mcgill.ca/counselling/workshops . Additional Student Resources Social Equity and Diversity Education (SEDE) McGill for issues surrounding diversity and inclusion on campus: https://www.mcgill.ca/equity_diversity/ Sexual Assault Center of the McGill Students Society for confidential support and resources for community members experiencing or witnessing sexual violence: http://www.sacomss.org/wp/ Office for Sexual Violence Response, Support and Education (OSVRSE) for individuals impacted by sexual violence: https://www.mcgill.ca/osvrse/ McGill Writing Centre for students needing free assistance with academic or professional writing skills: https://www.mcgill.ca/mwc/ First Nations and McGill McGill University is on land which has long served as a site of meeting and exchange amongst Indigenous peoples, including the Haudenosaunee and Anishinabeg nations. We acknowledge and thank the diverse Indigenous people whose footsteps have marked this territory on which peoples of the world now gather. L’Université McGill est sur un emplacement qui a longtemps servi de lieu de rencontre et d'échange entre les peuples autochtones, y compris les nations Haudenosaunee et Anishinabeg. Nous reconnaissons et remercions les divers peuples autochtones dont les pas ont marqué ce territoire sur lequel les peuples du monde entier se réunissent maintenant.
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