# Syllabus ## expand\_more The syllabus does more than list course requirements; it also communicates the culture of the class to students. If engaging constructively with a wide range of viewpoints deepens student learning in your course, or if your course includes controversial topics, your syllabus can help set and codify expectations. Starting in AY2026-27, incoming Harvard College students are required to take a dialogue course (“Intellectual Life and Constructive Disagreement”) rooted in intellectual virtues, including curiosity, epistemic humility, intellectual autonomy, and courage. Syllabus language might therefore include references to these intellectual virtues. There are three areas to embed dialogue in your syllabus: course objectives, grading, and class norms. ### **Course Objectives** If engaging with a range of viewpoints is central to your course goals, it’s helpful to include language in your syllabus (that can be tailored to your discipline) that explains what outcome students might achieve. - **Humanities / Social Science / Gen Ed:** “By the end of this course, students will be able to engage across disagreement - listening to understand rather than rebut, articulating their own view clearly, and staying curious about perspectives different from their own.” - **STEM / quantitative:** “Students will be able to evaluate contested claims or interpretations using evidence and reasoning rather than appeals to authority or personal certainty.” - **Any discipline (Intellectual Virtues):** “In this course, students will exercise intellectual virtues including curiosity, epistemic humility, intellectual autonomy, and courage. They will be encouraged to explore new ideas, to identify the limits of their knowledge, and to listen receptively to others while articulating their own ideas.” ### **Grading** Grades incentivize students, especially with the impending grading reform. Attaching credit, e.g. as part of a participation grade and/or as part of an existing assignment, affirms to students that learning to engage with a wide range of viewpoints is a skill being developed in the course. Be explicit with students that you are grading them on *how* they disagree, not *whether* they agree, so this isn’t misinterpreted as a form of compliance or viewpoint policing. #### **Sample language:** - Responds to disagreement constructively rather than avoiding or escalating it. - Keeps disagreement focused on ideas rather than people. - Demonstrates curiosity by asking questions and listening actively when presented with unfamiliar views. - Shows epistemic humility by seeking to understand what might be learned from a different perspective. - Restates another person’s view accurately and fairly before responding. You can show students what putting these skills into practice looks like through grading guidelines or rubrics. For example, the following is a sample rubric for “responds to disagreement constructively.” 1. Dismisses or shuts down opposing views. 2. Tolerates opposing views but doesn’t engage them. 3. Engages opposing views with some follow-up questions. 4. Engages opposing views directly, e.g. by actively listening, making a good-faith effort to understand them, or by accurately restating them before responding ### **Classroom norms / intentions** Use a Classroom Norms section on your syllabus to articulate your intentions about how your class will handle disagreement and encourage engagement with a wide range of viewpoints. Sample classroom norms / intentions include: - Assume the good intentions of others. - Stay curious, especially when you disagree. - Listen respectfully and actively - and listen to understand, not to win. - Criticize ideas, not people. - View a new or different perspective as an opportunity to learn. - Disagreement and discomfort is normal and welcome; contempt isn’t. Classroom norms work best when there is student buy-in. Rather than presenting students with a list in the syllabus, you can: - Co-create norms with them by presenting your classroom norms as a starting point for discussion, rather than a finished product. - Ask students to reflect on how they might enact these norms. Inviting them to discuss challenges related to these norms that they’ve encountered in previous classes can be an effective way to encourage this sort of meta-cognitive work. - Add an accountability line. Ask students to make a commitment of how they will help foster these norms in class. This should be as concrete as possible, e.g. “I’ll say when I don’t know something” (epistemic humility), “I’ll redirect if a comment targets a classmate rather than an idea.” For a wide range of options that you can readily adapt to your syllabus, visit our [Classroom Norms page](https://bokcenter.harvard.edu/classroom-norms). ## **Throughout the Semester** Make your syllabus come alive by interweaving references to open dialogue and engaging with a wide range of viewpoints throughout the semester. Ideally these should be in reference to tangible parts of the course, e.g. assignments, activities, and course content. ### **Course objectives** - **Reference objectives by name in the descriptions of relevant classes, section meetings, and unit transitions.** “This discussion is where we practice engaging across disagreement.” - **Build in a midpoint self-check.** “Where have you seen yourself practice this objective, and where haven’t you?” “What has been especially challenging and how have you addressed challenges?” ### **Grading** - **Give low-stakes feedback early.** Comment on how a student is practicing the skill in early low-stakes moments (a discussion post, a small-group debrief) so students know what it looks like to learn and master the skill. This can be done in lecture, section, and other forms, e.g. by calling out when someone does this really well. - **Show strong, anonymized examples (with permission)****.** Share an anonymized response from your class, or from a previous class, to concretely illustrate more abstract rubric language. - **Revisit grading guidelines / rubrics mid-semester** to ensure students understand expectations. Make adjustments as needed. ### **Classroom norms / intentions** - **Co-write them live in week one****.** It can be helpful to get input from students. If students oppose specific norms, try to understand why so you can address these concerns. - **Put them into practice by discussing what they look and sound like****.** “What does ‘stay curious’ actually sound like in this room?” “How does epistemic humility show up in a classroom discussion in a way that is genuine, not performative?” - **Keep them alive throughout the semester****.** Before a big discussion, ask students “which norms matter most today?” or “will there be any challenges following our norms this week?” It’s better to surface, and address, student misgivings *before* they occur in class. - **Offer positive feedback****.** Don’t just tell students where things have fallen short; praise them for rising to the challenge of upholding norms. - **Have a repair plan****.** Say once, early: “When something goes wrong, we pause, name it, and return to it - we don’t sweep it under the rug.” *Note:* some of the above material is adapted from Constructive Dialogue Institute, “Your Syllabus is Your First Move” ## **Additional syllabus language and policies worth considering** Here are some further examples of syllabus language that are especially useful for courses with controversial topics. ### Challenging subject matter expand\_more Our subject matter can at times be divisive / challenging, and some of our course readings and discussion topics may even offend and provoke. We will approach the material as an important, if often difficult and uncomfortable, part of \_\_\_**define subject area / discipline here \_\_**, and to engage with these materials actively, thoughtfully, and in the context of generous, open-minded discussion. Our course includes multiple troubling topics, including **\_\_insert topics here\_\_**. Please speak with us if the material under discussion or our in-class discussions cause concern, or if you find certain materials particularly troubling. Remember that we are more than our ideas. We can disagree with an idea while still respecting the people who articulated the idea. To foster the sort of open exchange of ideas that is at the heart of academic debate, we must assume that we all approach the learning space with good intentions. Let’s start by giving each other the benefit of the doubt, while questioning the validity of ideas, rather than the people voicing them. ### Intellectual vitality expand\_more This course’s approach to classroom discussions and course subject matter embraces the College’s stance on “[intellectual vitality](https://intellectualvitality.college.harvard.edu/about/),” which is defined by “a spirit of open and rigorous inquiry.” The learning process means that our ideas will change over time. In order to learn, it is essential for us to cultivate openness towards ideas that are different from our own – and to remain curious about how our own ideas might shift and change in response to discussions with other members of the course community. \[**Optional addition for divisive course material, if applicable to your course:** *Our subject matter can be divisive, and some of our course readings and discussion topics may even offend and provoke. We ask you to approach all course material as an important, if sometimes difficult and uncomfortable, part of \_\_\_**define subject area / discipline here \_\_**, and to engage in reading and class discussion with curiosity, humility, and open-mindedness*.\] Respect is essential, but ultimately we want to do more than just respect others’ ideas; we want to engage with them and learn from them, even and especially when they are different from our own. The only way we can do so is by assuming we all approach the learning space with good intentions. Let’s start by giving each other the benefit of the doubt, while questioning the validity of ideas, rather than the people voicing them. ### Establishing classroom neutrality expand\_more We view the classroom as a neutral forum, open to diverse viewpoints, within the constraints of disciplinary norms and within the context of academic freedom. However, no space – including a traditional classroom – is inherently neutral. Instead, it is incumbent upon all members of the classroom community to work actively and collaboratively towards the creation of a classroom that embraces and accommodates all ideas and viewpoints within the bounds of academic norms. ### Establishing non-attribution rules in your course (including no recording policy) expand\_more In order to foster the conditions necessary for open dialogue in the classroom, it is essential that all members of the course feel secure in the knowledge that their words will not be taken out of context and broadcast to a wider audience. Any statement made in class that is subsequently reported to the world outside of class risks being taken out of context, since anyone hearing that statement who is not enrolled in the class will not have full knowledge of course materials and discussions. In order to explore uncomfortable ideas and in order to participate in difficult discussions, we need to ensure that our classroom is safe from the threat of shaming, doxxing, or any other form of individual reprisal outside of class. If you disagree with a classmate, it is best to say so respectfully and charitably to their face, not behind their back. To this end, we all agree that, while are free to discuss the *content* of course discussions outside of class, we agree to *refrain* from identifying the speaker. The objective of this rule is to support the robust discussion of ideas inside the classroom without holding individuals responsible to the world outside of our classroom community for their statements in class. Furthermore, unauthorized recording of any portion of class is prohibited by the College (*Student Handbook*, p. 57), with violations punishable by the Ad Board. Recording without prior consent is also illegal in Massachusetts. ### No recording policy expand\_more In order to foster the conditions for open dialogue in the classroom, it is essential that all members of the course feel secure in the knowledge that their words will not be taken out of context and broadcast to a wider audience. Any statement made in class that is subsequently reported to the world outside of class risks being taken out of context, since anyone hearing that statement who is not enrolled in the class will not have full knowledge of course materials and discussions. In order to explore uncomfortable ideas and in order to participate in difficult discussions, we need to ensure our classroom is safe from the threat of shaming, doxxing, or any other form of individual reprisal outside of class. If you disagree with a classmate, it is best to say so respectfully and charitably to their face, not behind their back. To this end, please remember that unauthorized recording of any portion of class is prohibited by the College (*Student Handbook*, p. 57), with violations punishable by the Ad Board. Recording without prior consent is also illegal in Massachusetts.