Analyzing Social Oppression and Inequality in the United States

Course Description

This course analyzes multiple forms of social oppression and inequality based on race (and color), sex (and gender), sexual orientation (and identity), and class in the United States. It will examine systemic aspects of social oppression in different periods and contexts and the ways that systems of social oppression manifest themselves on individual, cultural, institutional and/or global levels thus becoming self-perpetuating but not wholly unaltered structures.

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Individual and group agency, strategies of resistance, and visions for change will also be studied.

Required Text
1. Race, Class, and Gender in the United States 9th Edition by Paula Rothenberg

2. The Men with the Pink Triangle: The True Life-and-Death Story of Homosexuals in the Nazi Death Camps by Heger (available on Amazon.com OR at Barnes & Noble).

Course Objectives
This course analyzes multiple forms of social oppression and inequality based on race (and color), sex (and gender), sexual orientation (and identity), and class in the United States. It will examine systemic aspects of social oppression in different periods and contexts and the ways that systems of social oppression manifest themselves on individual, cultural, institutional and/or global levels thus becoming self-perpetuating but not wholly unaltered structures. Individual and group agency, strategies of resistance, and visions for change will also be studied.

Student Learning Outcomes
University Core Curriculum Diversity and Justice (Area 4) SLOs: After completing this course students will be able to:

* Distinguish issues of diversity (recognition of diversity) from those of equality as elements of a fair, just, and healthy society.

* Identify historical and/or contemporary dynamics of group inclusion/exclusion as they relate to inequality and discrimination across diverse cultures and regions * Employ concepts such as justice, oppression, tolerance, inequality, and difference. * Identify systems of oppression at local, national, regional and global levels * Identify problem-solving strategies in the areas of diversity and justice.

Course Requirements and Grading Policy
This course will be run as a seminar. Our learning will be active and centered on reading, writing, and discussions. You are required to keep up with the readings, assist in facilitating class discussions and give class presentations. Your final grade will be based on the following assignments and percentages:

ALL ASSIGNMENTS (textbook, exam, paper, presentation) ARE REQUIRED TO PASS THE COURSE!

Textbook Assignments (20% of overall grade)
Assignments from the textbook must be turned in according to the format provided below. This will be discussed in class.

The Summary Essay

The key features of this type of writing are that (1) it is shorter than the source; and that (2) it repeats the ideas of the source in different phrases and sentences.

Obviously, you cannot write a good summary essay of a source that you do not understand. One such technique is the reader's summary, which you write for yourself, as a way of understanding the text you are reading. But there is another type of summary, the summary essay, which is written for an audience other than you. The purpose of the summary essay is to convey to others an understanding of a text you have read, without their having to read it themselves.

Thus for your readers, your summary essay functions as a substitute for the source that you are summarizing. You do not want to misrepresent your source or mislead your audience. Certainly an important feature of the summary essay, then, is its fidelity to the source; you must represent your source accurately and comprehensively, with as little of your own interpretation as possible. (Anytime you read and repeat a source, of course, you are engaging in interpretation; but the summary essay asks you to minimize your interpretation as much as possible. You should not add your own examples and explanations, for instance.)

An alternative purpose of the summary essay, one that is very commonplace in college, is a demonstration of comprehension: teachers sometimes assign summary essays when they want to make sure that students fully understand an assigned source. In this case, your essay does not substitute for the source, for the teacher has read the source, too. Yet your essay will be written in the same way, with fidelity to the source. The following format works well for a summary essay:

a. The introduction (usually one paragraph) ~
1. Contains a one-sentence thesis statement that sums up the main point of the source. This thesis statement is not your main point; it is the main point of your source. Usually, though, you have to write this statement rather than quote it from the source text. It is a one-sentence summary of the entire text that your essay summarizes.

2. Also introduces the text to be summarized:
(a) Gives the title of the source (using MLA or APA guidelines--p. 000); (b) Provides the name of the author of the source;
(c) Sometimes also provides pertinent background information about the author of the source or about the text to be summarized.

The introduction should not offer your own opinions or evaluation of the text you are summarizing.

b. The Body of a summary essay (one or more paragraphs) paraphrases and condenses the original piece. In your summary, be sure that you ~ (1) Include important data but omit minor points;
(2) Include one or more of the author's examples or illustrations (these will bring your summary to life); (3) Do not include your own ideas, illustrations, metaphors, or interpretations. Look upon yourself as a summarizing machine; you are simply repeating what the source text says, in fewer words and in your own words. But the fact that you are using your own words does not mean that you are including your own ideas.

c. There is customarily no conclusion to a summary essay ~
When you have summarized the source text, your summary essay is finished. Do not add your own concluding paragraph unless your teacher specifically tells you to.

Assignment #
Title of essay
Introduction/thesis statement
Body

Class Attendance and Participation (20% of overall grade)
Class attendance and participation includes regular attendance, thoughtful contribution to class discussions, and active listening during discussion. Reading before class is essential to participating in a discussion. Text messaging during class will adversely affect your grade. The attendance grade is determined by attending class. Six points per absence is deducted from the attendance grade, e.g. miss 4 classes the attendance grade will be 76. If you miss a class, you are still responsible for the material covered in class that day. Please contact one of your classmates for notes. NOTE: Evening classes are double the time of daytime classes, thus the time students should wait should be doubled as well, that is, a minimum of 20 minutes. I will be leaving work and be en route to WPU. As you know there are weather and traffic issues that are often unpredictable.

Exam (20% of overall grade)
There will be an exam. The format for exams will be a combination of true-false, multiple choice and short answer questions. The exams will cover material from the reading assignments and class discussions. To get a good grade you must study. You must take the exams at the regularly scheduled dates and times. I do not give make-up exams unless you were seriously ill and have written verification.

Written paper (20% of overall grade)
The final paper will be based on one of the topics discussed in class. It will include a three-step process: 1) short proposal (one paragraph), 2) outline (one page), and 3) the final paper (five-seven pages). Instructions for the final paper will be discussed after the midterm exam. At the end of the semester you will discuss your paper in class for about 5-10 minutes.

Presentation (20% of overall grade)
The presentation can be chosen from a list of topics or you may discuss with me a separate topic that is of interest to you

Grading Scale and Criteria:
A = 94 – 100 A- = 90 – 93B+ = 87 – 89
B = 84 – 86B- = 80 – 83C+ = 77 – 79
C = 74 – 76C- = 70 – 73D+ = 65 – 69
D = 60 – 64F = below 60
A: Unusually outstanding performance in all areas of the class B: Exceeds description of assignments
C: Satisfactorily meets assignments and overall class performance D: Work submitted and class performance fall below class description and expectations F: Incomplete or unacceptable work and class performance.

Student responsibilities
Assignments
Late assignments will be accepted up to 2 weeks late with a 10-point deduction per week. If you have extenuating circumstances please see me immediately.

Electronic Devices
No cell phones, Blackberries, iPhones, or Smartphones are permitted during class. These devices should also be turned off or set to vibrate in order to avoid a negative impact on the class session. Laptops, iPads and tablets are permitted for note taking purposes only. If you are using any of these devices in class inappropriately it may or may not be addressed at the time, but it will impact your final grade negatively.

Plagiarism
Plagiarism is copying from a article, book, notebook, Website, video or other source, whether published or unpublished, without proper credit through the use of quotation marks, footnotes and other means of identifying sources. Plagiarism is also the passing off as one’s own ideas the words, writings, hypothesis and/or arguments of another, whether or not such actions are intentional or unintentional. Plagiarism also includes submitting, without the consent of the professor, an assignment already submitted for academic credit in another course.

Schedule of Class Meetings and Assignments
Week 1:
9/04Introduction to the Course

Week 2:
9/11Film: True Colors Class discussion: select presentation topic

Week 3:
9/18 Assignment #1: Part I: Essays 1 – 11 using the Summary Essay format. Film: Eyes on the Prize Vol 2

Week 4:
9/25Assignment #2: Part II: Essays 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8 & 9. Class exercise: dichotomizing & language

Week 5:
10/02 Assignment #3: Part III: Essays 1, 3, 5 & 7.
Film: to be determined Discussion: Exam content.

Week 6:
10/09Assignment #4: Part IV: Essays 1 thru 7, 12, 14, 16 & 19. Class exercise: the Kinsey scale; language & difference Week 7:
10/16Assignment #5: Part V: Essays 3 thru 7, 15, 16 & 17. Film: Racism & TV News; The Fairer Sex

Week 8:
10/23Paper Due: The Pink Triangle

Week 9:
10/30Presentations

Week 10:
11/06Assignment #6: Part VI: Essays 1, 3, 5, 8 thru 14.
Film: The Harvey Milk Story

Week 11:
11/13Assignment #7: Part VII: Essays 1 thru 6, 15 thru 22. Film: The Laramie Project

Week 12:
11/20Assignment #8: Part VIII: Essays 1, 2, 3, 7, 8 & 9. Presentations

Week 13:
11/27 Film: Tim Wise, On White Privilege, Racism, White Denial and the Cost of Inequality (optional)

Week 14:
12/04Assignment #9: Essays 1 thru 4, & 8.