Rage Against the Machine or what it will take to end white supremacy and build a care-centered world

“To see things as they really are…you must imagine them as they might be.”

-Derrick Bell-

Course description

HIS 419/550: Rage Against the Machine is a class that explores the history of white supremacy in and beyond the United States. No topic could be timelier and more important in light of the racist massacre in Buffalo New York just over a year ago, where an avowed white supremacist killed Black patrons at a Tops supermarket. Sadly, racially motivated, and especially anti-Black violence in the United States has been all too common for too long and is on the rise. White Supremacist violence against Latinx, Asian, Indigenous, Jewish, many immigrants and other minorities is also rising. We must do what we can to address this trend and work toward a better country and a better world.

Students in “Rage” will have the opportunity to work on a project with peers in a CSE 440/441/540 Machine Learning and Society course to address the problem of white supremacy from a historical and computing perspective. Impossible Project: End White Supremacy offers a unique opportunity for humanities students to work with computer scientists and engineers in a truly cross-disciplinary collaboration centered on social justice. Your work in this class will directly address a pressing problem in our world. Given the internal and external financial sponsorship that this class enjoys, your work will also garner a wider audience beyond the walls of the classroom and UB. This is an exciting opportunity.

Our class is composed of three units and a finale section. Each unit is three weeks long and has a theme that will be explored historically and in the present day through the lenses of history and technology: Unit 1: Healthcare, Unit 2: Criminal Justice, Unit 3: Misinformation. The first two weeks of each unit are taught within the discipline. Thus, students in Rage will explore each unit historically while learning to hone “tools” drawn from historical study that can help them tackle each problem area in the present. The third week of each unit is combined. During the third week of each unit, Rage students will have the opportunity to learn about the machine learning and work across disciplines in teams with students in CSE. By the end of the second unit, your teams will be asked to determine the focus of your final research project. Librarians and a student research mentor will be available for research consultation/support in each discipline. The last unit, our finale unit, will be composed of workshop/lab work preparing your final projects for presentation day, which is May 15 @ 9 am.

Due to generous sponsorship from the Mozilla Responsible Computing Challenge and the Center for Information Integrity, we can offer the most promising team and project $5,000 in research funds to pursue their idea beyond the class.

Click here to find out more about our companion class in Computer Science and Engineering.

Logistics

Team

See the staff page

Rage Grading

Here is the split of grades:

Course Component $\%$ of grade
Papers $5+10+15=30$ points
Class Participation $15$ points
Class Attendance $5$ points
Impossible Project $50\%$ ($3\times 10 = 30$ for unit submissions, 20 for the finale)

Rage Assignments

We next present details on each of the categories in the grade split above.

Deadlines

All assignment are due by 11:59PM on the date of deadline (see below or the course schedule.

Papers (30 points)

Deadlines

  • Paper 1- 5 points (Due 2/24)
  • Paper 2- 10 points (Due 3/16)
  • Paper 3- 15 points (Due 4/13)

Papers 1, 2 and 3 will all be responses to the same prompt (see below). The difference is that for each unit you will be expected to draw on your cumulative knowledge to answer the prompt. This ensures that each paper will be different as you will have different materials to work with, reflect on and combine. Each paper will be weighed more than the last giving you an opportunity and incentive to improve as you go.

Paper prompt

Define white supremacy as a problem and discuss historical resistance practices to white supremacy that can serve as inspiration for us today. As we reprise practices from the past, what are the pitfalls that we may encounter? Please be sure to include direct citations to our class readings. This paper will be graded on depth of engagement with the course materials and with class discussions.

Class participation (15 points)

Class participation will be graded via online posts before class- one per class for $13$ classes and the first reading/reflection assignment (for $2$ points)

Online reflection posts

Online posts must be posted on piazza on time and must constitute a thoughtful engagement with the reading materials assigned. [1 point each for 13 classes with assigned readings]

Opening reading reflection

You will read Aisha Azoulay, “Chapter 4, Potential History: Not with the Master’s Tools, Not With Tools at All” in Potential History: Unlearning Imperialism.

Your reflections should be 2 pages include citations and is worth $2$ points.

Reflection Prompt

What is Potential History and how does it differ from the way in which you have been taught to think about history? Feel free to quote the text in support of your answer.

Participation:

Class participation consists of being prepared for class. You will be given points for your online reflections on reading. You are required to post a reflection by 11:59pm the night before class. Your submissions will be time stamped. If you submit late, you will not be given a point. The other way to lose a point is if your submission does not constitute a thoughtful engagement with the readings. When two readings are assigned, you may response to one or both. If you respond by combining both readings, I will consider that submission for extra credit should you need to boost your grade at the end of the semester. However, those submissions cannot be added after the deadline.

Class attendance (5 points)

Absences

No unexcused absences are permitted. You must email me as soon as you know you will be absent and you must have a legitimate explanation.

Class attendance is for 5 points total or $\frac 14$ point for each or 20 classes between 1/31 and 4/15. The strictness of this policy is necessary for the success of this class.

Impossible project (50 points)

Deadlines

  • Unit 1 -10 [5 group submission, 5 survey based] Due 2/14
  • Unit 2 -10 [5 group submission, 5 survey based] Due 3/16
  • Unit 3 - 10 [5 group submission, 5 survey based] Due 4/13
  • Final presentation 20 [10 group submission, 10 survey based]
  • 5/11 submission of final slides
  • 5/15 final presentation

Grading of group assignments

Group submissions will be graded by each professor and grades will be averaged. Survey-based grade will be based on peer survey results. You are each accountable to each other in your groups. See IP page for details.

Students in Rage Against the Machine and Machine learning and Society will tackle the Impossible Project: End White Supremacy during the spring semester of 2024. Working together across disciplines to study and propose new approaches to solving this pressing problem in our society here in Buffalo and globally, our young researchers will present their findings for a public live and virtual audience on May 15th, 2024 9:00-11:00 am (NSC 228, UB North Campus, Buffalo NY). 

Course Learning outcomes

This course aims to advance student learning in four distinct yet interrelated categories: historical knowledge, historical thinking, historical skills, and collaboration. Historical knowledge pertains to the content of the course; that is, the information about who, what, when, and where. Historical thinking encompasses the kinds of questions historians ask, and how we go about answering them. The third category, historical skills, includes reading, writing, and oral communication skills that will help you succeed at UB and beyond. Finally, our class project will test your ability to work collaboratively with others, a skill that will have multiple uses throughout your future career. Each assignment is geared toward helping you grow in these four areas as follows:

Learning Outcomes In-class presentations Analytical Essays/ Research papers Class discussion Class Project
Describe the Past X X X X
Explain the Past X X X X
Connect Cause and Effect X X X X
Identify Problems of Evidence X X X X
Read Critically X X X  
Write Analytically X X    
Develop Oral Communication Skills X   X X
Work Collaboratively       X

Course Policies

This class will be conducted under the assumption that all students are welcome to voice their views. Respectful expressions of disagreement and alternative perspectives are encouraged. Disrespectful, obstructive, or disruptive conduct will not be permitted in accordance with university policy:https://catalog.buffalo.edu/policies/obstruction.html.

Academic Integrity

All students are expected to be familiar with and abide by the university’s academic integrity policies, available in the Undergraduate Catalog: https://catalog.buffalo.edu/policies/integrity.html. These policies prohibit cheating, plagiarizing, falsifying academic material, and handing in previously submitted work, among other transgressions. Honesty and integrity are the foundation of our common mission as members of the university community. To promote fair treatment for all students, I am committed to enforcing academic integrity standards. Violations may result in failing the entire course and other penalties. Plagiarism detection software will be used to aid in determining the originality of student work. Before submitting written work, students should consult the short videos on plagiarism and citing sources available here: https://research.lib.buffalo.edu/onestopguide.

Accessibility Resources

If you have a diagnosed disability (physical, learning, or psychological) that will make it difficult for you to carry out the course work as outlined, or that requires accommodations such as recruiting note-takers, readers, or extended time on exams or assignments, you must consult with Accessibility Resources (: 60 Capen Hall, </a>: 645-2608, TTY: 645-2616, : 645-3116).

You must advise your instructor during the first two weeks of the course so that we may review possible arrangements for reasonable accommodations.

Critical Campus Resources

Sexual Violence

UB is committed to providing a safe learning environment free of all forms of discrimination and sexual harassment, including sexual assault, domestic and dating violence and stalking. If you have experienced gender-based violence (intimate partner violence, attempted or completed sexual assault, harassment, coercion, stalking, etc.), UB has resources to help. This includes academic accommodations, health and counseling services, housing accommodations, helping with legal protective orders, and assistance with reporting the incident to police or other UB officials if you so choose. Please contact UB’s Title IX Coordinator at 716-645-2266 for more information. For confidential assistance, you may also contact a Crisis Services Campus Advocate at 716-796-4399.

Mental Health

As a student you may experience a range of issues that can cause barriers to learning or reduce your ability to participate in daily activities. These might include strained relationships, anxiety, high levels of stress, alcohol/drug problems, feeling down, health concerns, or unwanted sexual experiences. Counseling, Health Services, and Health Promotion are here to help with these or other issues you may experience. You can learn more about these programs and services by contacting:

Counseling Services

120 Richmond Quad (North Campus), 716-645-2720

Health Services

4350 Maple Road (at Sweet Home Rd.) , 716-829-3316

Health Promotion

114 Student Union (North Campus), 716-645-2837

PUBLIC HEALTH Compliance in Classroom setting

See the UB COVID FAQs for more details on the current SUNY/UB COVID-19 policy.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Course materials that I, Prof. Dalia Antonia Caraballo Muller, have prepared, together with the content of all lectures and materials presented and prepared by me in this course are my intellectual property. Video, audio, and photographic recording of lectures is prohibited without my explicit permission. The selling or dissemination of exams, study guides, homework assignments and handouts is prohibited without my explicit permission. The selling or dissemination for commercial purposes of notes derived from my lectures is also prohibited without my explicit permission.

ChatGPT Policy

We will follow the policy from ML and Society syllabus.