Nathan
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derweise.bsky.social
Nathan
@derweise.bsky.social
92 followers 180 following 60 posts
VAP in German Studies | Narrative, Time, Environment, Ecomarxism | I like bikes, banjos, and mountains
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derweise.bsky.social
drafting syllabus blurbage
screenshot of syllabus blurb on AI: The use of generative AI or large language models (LLMs) is not permitted for any purpose in this course. There are two primary reasons for this prohibition. First, this is a course within the field of environmental humanities. Given that the goal of such a course is (in part) to understand contemporary environmental issues so that we might work towards a more ecologically just and sustainable future, it would be counterproductive to rely on technologies that are in fact exacerbating environmental crisis. Generative AI is an energy intensive technology, so much so that the AI boom is jeopardizing the move towards carbon neutrality. Moreover, the water demands of AI data centers potentially strain the ability to fight forest fires in drought prone regions. Second, this course is intended to develop your abilities to think critically about environmental issues by way of the texts and films assigned for this course. Critical thinking is a skill that can only be learned by repeated practice. Using generative AI robs you of that practice. I know that college can stressful, which can make generative AI seem like a helpful tool. You should understand that I do not expect perfection from you. Rather, I expect you to engage seriously with the material in this course. If you do that, I will do everything I can to help you succeed in this course without the use of this technology. (Know also that from my experience, generative AI does not tend to produce writing that I find very good.)
January 22, 2025 at 11:26 PM
derweise.bsky.social
pretty stoked to get to teach this
January 17, 2025 at 12:15 AM
derweise.bsky.social
A year without a Santa Claus
December 25, 2024 at 5:33 PM
derweise.bsky.social
give me a single image from a film that immediately makes you hear the song from the soundtrack in your head
Dustin Hoffmann in The Graduate floating in a swimming pool
December 12, 2024 at 5:04 AM
derweise.bsky.social
Sorry, Nathan can't come to the phone right now. He's having a goblincore banjo folk punk moment
December 4, 2024 at 10:52 PM
derweise.bsky.social
The pains of teaching das Perfekt to first year students as someone who has mostly spent time in the pink region
November 20, 2024 at 6:06 PM
derweise.bsky.social
November 20, 2024 at 1:43 AM
derweise.bsky.social
"The birds don't sing. They screech in pain."
Photo of Biden giving a press conference in the jungle
November 18, 2024 at 3:49 PM