SOCIAL PROBLEMS IN CONTEMPORARY AMERICA (FALL 00 SECTION 2)

Steve McGuire (just call me Steve), CH 122

O: 826-8288; H (not after 8): 826-4300

Office Hours: M, W:1-2; T, TH: 12:30-2

GOALS OF COURSE:

1. We learn about how others experience selected social problems.

2. We become familiar with examples of people working to change social problems.

3. We become familiar with the basic findings and theories regarding selected problems.

4. We become familiar with value issues regarding selected problems.

5. We think about social problems in terms of their personal applications to us.

COURSE RULE:

Please treat other people and other opinions courteously.

READINGS and MATERIALS:

A reader compiled by me and purchased in class

GRADING:

All grading is on a 90/80/70/60 basis, with 90% being the lowest A-, etc. Add or subtract two percentage points for plus and minus grades. For example, 88% is a B+.

The course is based on a 400 point package. Various aspects will be explained below. Four tests at a maximum of 30 points each make up 120 of the 400 points. Two home assignments of about 2 full pages single-spaced and 30 points maximum each contribute another 60 of the 400. For each of these, a prospectus (2-3 sentences) ahead of time (5 points each max). A bunch of quick, minimally graded assignments, most of them done in class and each worth up to 5 points will be averaged and converted in point value to make up another 80 max of the 400. 90 points will also be given for talking in class, "improv points" for participation in improvisational exercises, participation in review exercises before the tests, etc. A max of 10 points for either volunteering to share with the class about a current news event, or bringing in a reading or guest speaker by Thanksgiving. One group presentation (max 30).

HOW AM I DOING?

Please write in scores as they come in:

____ T1 ___; t2 ___; t3 ___; t4 ___.

____ First 30 Pointer

____ Prospectus

____ Second Thirty Pointer

____ Prospectus

____ Quickies (80, after being converted) ___________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________

____ Participation (90)

____ Group Presentation (30)

____ Optional Extra Credit (0-15) __________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

____ Total for purposes of grade cutoffs: (400)

EXTRA CREDIT:

There are possibilities, some of which will be announced in class. These other possibilities are limited to 15 points total per person.

TESTS:

If you are more than 15 minutes LATE, you lose four or five points.

QUICK MINIMALLY-GRADED ASSIGNMENTS:

These assignments are intended to facilitate personal application of course material, as well as writing and reflection, without taking up a huge amount of my time with grading. Many will be done in class (but some will be take-home), and they are intended to reward classroom attendance. Those that are done satisfactorily will receive four of the five points; some will receive higher or lower grades. Again, those points will be totaled and converted to a scale of 0-80.

TALKING, IMPROV, REVIEW POINTS:

These reward active class participation - mere attendance does not get you very many points. Please contribute to the whole class (volunteering for improv simulations and exercises, comments, questions, involvement in review exercises, involvement on chat room etc.)

GROUP PROJECTS:

Individually graded. Ahead of time I need a sheet with the topic, estimated amount of time that will be used in class, and the names of the group members. When the project is done I will take notes about the project overall and about individual contributions, and will collect your comments about grades for each member of the group. Criteria: how interesting, how informative, whether it uses approximately the amount of time estimated, and how well it translates into a test question.

GRADED HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS:

These can be redone for a higher grade.

These two projects ask you to become engaged with (rather than just viewing) some aspect of the subject matter. Unless indicated otherwise, if they are papers they should be typed; handwritten papers will be accepted but will be subtracted about a (full) grade level. All can be rewritten for higher grades. In each case, criteria include diligence or effort, thoughtfulness (for a top grade one should do more than just complete the assignment), and writing mechanics (and too many typos, grammatical flaws etc. can get you a zero), and punctuality. But it is always better to hand in a paper late -- even way late -- rather than never. Assignments other than those using work sheets should be about two pages single-spaced (or the equivalent) in length.

No penalty for papers longer than the suggested length. Feel free to ask me to look at an early draft.

First Thirty Pointer --

(A)Personal Project. We'll talk about in class.

(B) Write about one of the topics from the first four or five weeks of the course using humor. Length? The way you might do this assignment is wide open. You might do some top ten lists and/or a commercial. Or a letter, or any of a number of other things.

Second Thirty Pointer--

(A) Spend a day or two as a member of the opposite sex. Don't do anything wrong, but do as much as you can to behave as they do, from the moment you get up until you go to sleep. Write a narrative story telling of the unfolding of the day's events, with what you tried and how it went, and what your reactions are. In the past students have done things like eat like the opposite sex, dress like them, carry books like them, talk like them, act like they do in class, etc. Feel free to explain what you are doing to others.

(B) Make yourself a pink triangle somehow and then wear it for at least two days. If people ask, indicate that you are wearing it to commemorate the way gays and lesbians have been treated by the Nazis and others. Then write a narrative telling about your experience and your reactions to it.

(C) Pick an aspect of the last half of the course materials and treat it with humor.

(D) Do a personal project.

SCHEDULE (SUBJECT TO REVISION):

9/25 t1 over class activities and

how not to commit suicide

should we legalize drugs? (yes and no readings)

article on American lifestyle

grassroots movement seeks...

lawn pesticides

going places

corporate environmentalists

capitalizing on illness

biotech

why we can't trust ...

why we have failed

conservation is good work

politicizing health care

9/29 I intend to give you feedback about class participation around this time.

10/11 First 30-pointer

10/18 t2

daddy tucked the blanket

big welfare mommas

doing poorly

we're not bums

the fall

downsizing

imagine a country

U.S. social problems in comparative perspective

day of reckoning

invisible man

School of the Americas

crimes against humanity

Farrakhan

tba

11/10 t3

bad sports

buddies or slutties

from insults to ...

is there a date rape crisis?

fraternities and fear

negotiating passion on campus

four letter words can hurt you

erotica and pornography

how I changed the governor's mind

the guerilla girls

acting up

friends of justice: take heart

tba

11/13 I intend to give you feedback about class participation at about this time.

11/17 group projects

Finals week: t4

getting away with murder

state-organized crime

corporate crooks...

what happens to corporate criminals?

the secret of Japan's safe streets

cultural divide over crime and punishment

loving the sinner

Mike's Penal Systems

the citizen's role in justice ...

community based ...

tba