Agenda

• Intro/Syllabus (25)
  • Prof Intro, name/pronouns. PLEASE USE CORRECT PRONOUNS.
  • Note: we will do student intros on 9/18, after Add/Drop ends.
• Diversity Intro Material (5): Civil & Human Rights laws and policies of:
  • NYU
  • New York City
  • New York State
  • United States
• Tech Overview: the Cotton Gin (15)
  • Who Made America: Eli Whitney (overview reading)
  • King Cotton & the Cotton Gin (5:35)
    • The Cotton Gin & Slavery (overview reading)
  • The Cotton Economy & Slavery (3:03) 
  • Sugar & Cotton (7:45; related reading here)
• Timed practice exercise (25)
• Practice Reading/Listening (10): Beloved in audiobook & epub format
  • Note: For Beloved, I’m using the audiobook sections to divide up the reading. Each section is about 01:15:00. You can listen to the audiobook and/or reading the ePub. (And of course, you can purchase the book if you wish.)
  • While listening, please write down a question you’d like to ask the class. 
• Practice Discussions (20)

Assignment

1. Finish reading the syllabus to make sure its writing/reading-intensity is right for you.
2. Read/listen, take notes, and be ready for in-class timed exercises & discussionson: 
   • Skim/review the civil & human rights laws/policies of NYU, New York City, New York State, and the United States
   • New York Times: 1619 podcast, Episode 2
     (listen to Ep.2, “The Economy That Slavery Built,” until the end of Matthew Desmond’s interview at 25:40)
   • America’s First Big Business: Not the Railroads, but Slavery (Part 1) and How The West Got Rich and Modern Capitalism Was Born (Part 2)
     (reading, ~30 minutes)
   • Beloved:
     • Epigraph, Dedication, and Foreward of Beloved (only available in the ePub version)
     • Beloved Part I, Section 1, up to “How fine and loose and free” (~1hr 15 min) in the audiobook or ePub
3. What current technology issues come to mind from your reading? Please find a news item about a relevant technology issue, and add its URL to the 9/9 tab in “D&T Share-outs 2024.”