It is my goal that all students in this course feel they are working in an environment in which they can comfortably and productively learn. To that end, I want to be explicit that diversity of background (including, but not limited to: race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, socioeconomic status, religion, ability) is an asset to all of us. Diversity of voices, of minds, makes our ability to do humanistic work and answer questions about the world we all inhabit stronger. In fact, research has shown that papers authored by more diverse teams of scholars generate papers that are more highly cited than work from more homogenous groups (see this example). Accordingly, I will seek to provide primary literature from diverse voices of scholars presently working in our field. I welcome any feedback or suggestions on how to improve the quality of the course materials. Finally, you should all feel comfortable to let me know (in person, over email, or anonymously) if you feel that your learning is being adversely affected by experiences in or outside of class.