CES 440: Social Justice
Spring 2008
Professor Kimberly Christen
COURSE INFORMATION:
This course examines social justice practices, theories and methodologies in a global context. This course will examine social justice movements in relation to global institutions, financial markets, racial paradigms, and political structures. We will examine, question, compare and generally be critical in our assessment of these discourses.
COURSE GOALS:
Provide students with the analytical tools necessary to analyze social movements within global, national and local situations. Demonstrate the connections between legal and economic structures and inequalities leading to the perpetuation of injustices globally. Facilitate dialogue between students concerning social justice campaign strategies, grassroots organizing efforts, and social justice issues transnationally.
COURSE ASSIGNMENTS:
Students will be evaluated in the following areas: homework, reading quizzes, reading questions, class participation, and the final project.
WEEKLY READINGS:
Readings are posted on the CES 440 blog under the “Schedule” tab. Check the reading schedule each week. Students are expected to have read the assigned day’s reading BEFORE coming to class. Even if you are experiencing difficulty, please finish the readings and bring your questions to class. I will set aside the first 15 minutes of class to go over any specific questions.
READING QUESTIONS:
Each student will prepare and answer FIVE reading questions throughout the semester. Three questions and responses must be turned in before spring break (March 11). The remaining two questions must be completed by the last week’s reading assignment (April 17). Students will prepare a question based on the reading and submit the question along with a one-page (single-spaced) response to the question at the beginning of class the class period after the reading assignment is due. All papers must be typed. Reading questions are worth 30 points each. Questions will be evaluated based on: grammar, engagement with the reading, direct use of quotes, critical focus, and link to overall themes and discussions of the class.
READING QUIZZES:
There will be FIVE reading quizzes throughout the semester. The quiz dates are on the class schedule. There will be no make up quizzes unless the student has a DOCUMENTED illness or emergency. Quizzes will consist of short answer questions. Each quiz will cover material in one book. There will be a short review each class session before the quiz. Quizzes are worth 50 points each.
HOMEWORK:
Students will receive homework assignments in class on Thursday (unless there is an exam or a posted university holiday). The assignments are due the following Tuesday in class unless the assignment is designated as a blog assignment in which case it can be posted. These assignments will be directly related to the class topics for that week and will often be used for class discussions. There will be TEN homework assignments over the semester.
CLASS PARTICIPATION:
Students will receive participation points for in-class assignments and completed in-class movie question sheets and small group participation. You will have a chance to earn points each class session. These assignments cannot be made up.
FINAL PROJECT: SOCIAL JUSTICE BLOG
Each student will produce an informative blog on a social justice topic of their choosing. Project topics must be chosen by JANUARY 22. Students must hand in a one-paragraph summary of their project topic in class on that date. The summary should include the topic, its relevance to the class, and the main points you will research and blog about over the semester.
Students are responsible for posting to their blog AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK beginning the week of January 22. You may post as much as you like. Some weeks your blog posts will be linked to your homework. In other cases, I will give you specific instructions about your post for the week. Other weeks you can post relevant information about your topic, current news stories linked to your topic, reflections about your topic based on class readings and discussions, or anything else relevant to your topic. In each case, your blog posts must be thoughtful, engaged, and meaningful. They should include links to other blogs relevant to your issue, photos, video and commentary. Linking to other blogs and formulating engaging blog posts will also help increase the visibility of your blog and the chance that others will comment.
Students are also expected to comment on their classmates’ blogs. Over the course of the semester you must comment on at least 8 different blogs. Comments should be engaged with the posts and substantive reactions to the materials posted.
By the end of the semester you should have a blog with multiple page tabs, a blogroll consisting of your classmates’ blogs and other blogs related to your issue, video and photo posts, in-depth information about your topic, links to news items about your topic, links to and commentary on the history and current state of your topic, and ideas for those who want to help or raise awareness about your topic.
STUDENT EVALUATIONS:
A total of 1000 points are possible.
1. READING QUIZZES 250 POINTS
2. READING QUESTIONS 150 POINTS
3. CLASS PARTICIPATION 100 POINTS
4. HOMEWORK 200 POINTS
5. FINAL PROJECT 250 POINTS
NO LATE ASSIGNMENTS are accepted except in the case of a documented emergency, a documented university sponsored event or a documented observance of a religious holiday. If you are granted an extension than you will have one week from the assignment date to turn it in otherwise you will receive a zero.
Grading Scale:
A 96-100%
A- 90-95%
B+ 87-89%
B 83-86%
B- 80-82%
C+ 77-79%
C 73-76%
C- 70-72%
D+ 67-69%
D 60-66%
PLAGIARISM AND ACADEMIC DISHONESTY:
Students who violate the University’s policies on plagiarism and academic dishonesty will be subject to disciplinary action including: failure of the specific assignment and/or failure of the class. Plagiarism includes not providing proper citation for ANY work including information found on any website, blog, book, pamphlet, etc, or copying in full or part someone else’s work (including fellow students). You may work together BUT your individual assignments must be your own work.
