Syllabus accessibility isn’t emphasized enough in academe. Too often, accessibility is limited to a single statement toward the end of the syllabus rather than something that is integrated into a course from the beginning stages of syllabus design. Dr. Jenn Polish asks, “What would happen if we structured our syllabus to foreground accessibility, rather than tuck it away?” Read Polish’s amazing handout on accessible syllabus design, which walks you through everything from selecting course content to thinking about professional life.
Dr. Jenn Polish is the author of two young adult fantasy novels, Lunav and Lost Boy, Found Boy. Queer found family, a lot of rebellious shenanigans, and teenage romance play strongly amidst magic and holomatrixes in their books. They’ve taught Theatre and English in the CUNY system and in 2019 they got their PhD in English from the CUNY Graduate Center, where they studied the racialization of mental health in young adult writing spaces (and a lot of lesbian fan fiction). They’re currently a Lifestyle News Writer for Bustle.com and a contributor to Barbend.com (which means they get to write about identity, mental health, and lifting heavy weights). They live with their wife and fantasies of having multiple puppies.
Click on the file below to read their handout.