Mind 3 (Section 9; Casillas)

Spring 2026

Thursdays 11:00am-12:20am

Office hours: Pre-book a meeting here. Meetings take place in Rosenwald 318A unless otherwise specified.

Instructor: Marisa Casillas (mcasillas@uchicago.edu)

Grading

  • 10% participation
  • 40% weekly assignments
  • 10% final paper outline
  • 10% final paper (complete draft)
  • 30% final paper (FINAL)
  • REQUIRED: 2hr of SONA credit

Participation

We use in-class time for clarification, discussion, and debate. I’ll start each section with a mini quiz on the readings for that week. This is all to say that you are strongly encouraged to attend lecture and read the week’s papers before coming to section.

For full participation credit, you must complete:

  • A critical reflection workshop with your writing advisor (completed outside of class; details TBA on Canvas)
  • A 1-on-1 meeting with your writing advisor (schedule on your own: Will Sweek, sweekw@uchicago.edu) due PRIOR to your final paper draft submission

NOTE: Each student is allowed one excused absence—the one absence will not affect your participation score. If you miss more than one section because you are experiencing a more significant interruption to your life, please get in touch.

Weekly assignments

The weekly assignments include: synopsis assignments for 5 lectures, 1 retrospective, 2 debate preparations, and 4 assignments to get your final paper started. ALL assignments are due BEFORE the start of section. Late assignments will be penalized (a half grade off every 12 hours).

An important note on readings: Please be sure to read all footnotes, tables, and information boxes. It is not necessary to read supplementary materials, appendices, or post-article commentaries, though of course if you’re feeling curious, go ahead and read them!

Assignment deadlines

You must submit a synopsis assignment for 5 of the 9 lectures of the quarter; it’s up to you which 5 lectures to choose. The other assignments are due on specific dates as follows:

Final paper deadline (Wednesday, 27 May 2026)

Policy on regrade requests

The policy on regrade requests is that I will look at and regrade any of your assignments again upon request, but if I don’t see a need to raise the score, I’ll take off a small amount of credit for each question/assignment you’ve asked me to review. This policy is just to balance the many requests I get for re-reviews against the time I need to spend on other commitments. It also ensures that students only pursue requests if they are quite certain that their grade is wrong.

Contact

Email: mcasillas@uchicago.edu

Office: Rosenwald 318A

Office hours: Pre-book a meeting here. Meetings take place in Rosenwald 318A unless otherwise specified.

If you require any accommodations for this course, as soon as possible please provide your instructor with a copy of your Accommodation Determination Letter (provided to you by the Student Disability Services office) so that you may discuss with him/her how your accommodations may be implemented in this course. The University of Chicago is committed to ensuring the full participation of all students in its programs. If you have a documented disability (or think you may have a disability) and, as a result, need a reasonable accommodation to participate in class, complete course requirements, or benefit from the University’s programs or services, you are encouraged to contact Student Disability Services as soon as possible. To receive reasonable accommodation, you must be appropriately registered with Student Disability Services. Please contact the office at 773-834-4469/TTY 773-795-1186 or gmoorehead@uchicago.edu, or visit the website at disabilities.uchicago.edu. Student Disability Services is located in Room 233 in the Administration Building located at 5801 S. Ellis Avenue.