Health & Social Justice 10-832-252
Spring 2013
Day and Time:
Location:
Instructor:
Credits:
Contact Information:
Monday & Thursday, 9:15-10:35 a.m.
Art History Hall 100
Elizabeth Amaya-Fernandez, MPH
Health Education Specialist
Health Outreach, Promotion and Education (H.O.P.E.)
Rutgers Health Services
3 credits
Health, Outreach, Promotion, and Education (H.O.P.E.)
(732) 932 – 1965
E-mail: eamayafe@echo.rutgers.edu
Office hours by appointment Monday, Tuesday, Friday
1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
THERE IS NO REQUIRED TEXT ALL REQUIRED READINGS ARE ON SAKAI
COURSE OBJECTIVE
“The goal of social justice education is full and equal participation of all groups in a
society that is mutually shaped to meet their needs. Social justice includes a vision of
society in which the distribution of resources is equitable and all members are
physically and psychologically safe and secure.” (Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice, ed.
Adams, M., Bell, L., and Griffin, P. 1999.)
At the end of this course students will be able to:
 Analyze the degree to which forms of human difference shape a person’s experiences
of and perspectives on the world
 Analyze issues of social justice across local and global contexts
 Explain and be able to assess the relationship among assumptions, method, evidence,
arguments, and theory in social and historical analysis
 Understand different theories about human culture, social identity, economic entities,
political systems, and other forms of social organization
 Apply concepts about human and social behavior to particular questions or situations
 Define and discuss individual and community health determinants and the intersection
of race, sex, class, ability, sexual orientation, and religion
 Identify socio-cultural, institutional, environmental and political barriers, as well as
individual barriers, to health, health care, and healthy behaviors
 Demonstrate critical thinking skills related to health policy and social justice
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Student responsibilities include:
 Completion of assignments and readings
 Active participation in online discussions.
 Communication in timely manner regarding any concerns/difficulties related to the course
 Frequent and regular visits to the course Sakai site
Instructor responsibilities include:
 Respect for students as co-learners in course
 Adapting the course framework to needs, interests and concerns of students
 Availability by appointment for meetings with students; availability by phone and e-mail
 Maintaining the Sakai course website to accurately reflect the requirements of the course
SAKAI
Health and Social Justice utilizes SAKAI to manage the course, its assignments, requirements,
announcements, and readings. All students are REQUIRED to log into SAKAI in order to
access these functions from the beginning of the course until the end. Important updates,
announcements and other useful information will be posted to the SAKAI site on a regular
basis.
PARTICIPATION & ATTENDANCE
Students are expected to arrive promptly and attend every class. Classes missed without a
valid excuse (illness or family emergency) will result in points deducted from the Attendance &
Participation portion of your grade. Late arrivals will also affect the Attendance &
Participation portion of the grade.
NOTE: New University policy & procedure for absences
Students are expected to attend all classes; if you expect to miss one or two classes, please
use the University Absence Reporting Website https://sims.rutgers.edu/ssra/ to indicate the
date and reason for your absence. An email is automatically sent to the course
instructor. Students who miss class and do not utilize the Absence Reporting Website will
lose points in the attendance portion of their grade.
If you miss class, it is your responsibility to contact a classmate to obtain notes or handouts
and other updates. Assignments due on the date of a missed class are still due and should be
submitted through the SAKAI Assignment function.
ASSIGNMENTS
All assignments are to be submitted via SAKAI, hard copies WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.
ZONING RULES
Identify the town and state in which you currently live (permanent address). Provide an
overview of zoning for this location, i.e., is it all residential zoning or a mix of residential,
business and/or industrial? Provide a demographic breakdown of the town in relationship to
the zoning breakdown. Who lives where? Are there more desirable parts of your town in which
to live? If yes, why? If there is industrial zoning, who lives near this area? Is there public
transportation that is accessible to everyone? Discuss what services are available to people
such as grocery stores, shopping areas, restaurants, health care, schools, etc.
This paper is due Week 10. The paper should be typed, double-spaced, 12-point font, with
one-inch margins (including the first page) and a minimum of 4 pages. You must conduct
research for this paper. Do not just tell me how you think it is zoned, find a zoning map,
attach it to your paper, and answer the questions above. There is no maximum. All papers
must be spell-checked and proof-read for grammar and syntax. Late papers will be penalized
by 5 points for each day over due. Points will be deducted for poor spelling, grammar and
syntax. All papers must be submitted through the SAKAI Assignment function. Proper
citations are required.
Assignments
submitted late will lose points. Each day an assignment is late, 5 points will be
deducted from the total points awarded. All written work must be spell-checked and edited for
correct grammar and syntax. Points will be deducted for poor spelling, grammar and syntax.
JOURNAL - Each student will write a confidential journal five times during the semester to
record their reactions to the assigned readings, class discussion, and interactions with other
students that impact their thinking related to community, health, and social justice. The journal
provides an opportunity to discuss insights about your values and your own learning. You may
be asked to comment upon specific assigned readings or to respond to a specific question in
your journal. The focus of the journal is on depth of thought, ability to look at self, critical
discussion, and challenging one's own viewpoints. This is not meant to be a summary of the
reading or the class!
The journal, which will be read only by the instructor, is due every other week on Friday at 6:30
p.m. and submitted through Sakai. Late journals WILL NOT be accepted.
Please add dates to your schedule. There is a total of 5 journals - 10 points each.
Quizzes – There will be 2 online quizzes during the semester to ensure understanding of key
concepts and to prepare you for exams
MIDTERM & FINAL EXAM: The exams will cover key concepts from the textbook, other
readings, and class discussion.
GRADING PHILOSOPHY & OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
Your grades are assigned following the Grading Philosophy of the Edward J. Bloustein
School of Planning & Public Policy.
A Excellent, shows initiative, synthesizes and integrates assigned material with external
sources and own thinking; 92-100%
B+ Very good work, innovative thinking or excellent integration of work of others, 88-91%
B Exceeds minimum requirements, either shows own thinking or synthesizes and integrates
assigned material with external sources; 81 - 87%
C+ Good understanding of assigned material, but no effort to integrate own thinking or that of
others; 78 - 80%
C Average work that meets the minimum requirements but does not show consistent
understanding of material, poor quality; 70-77%
D Meets minimum requirements but does not show understanding of material, poor quality;
60-69%
F Unacceptable, does not meet minimum requirements; 0-59%
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS:
Students requiring accommodation due to a disability (learning, physical, emotional)
must present proper documentation at the beginning of the semester.
Electronic courtesy: there will be no use of laptops, cell phones, Blackberries, iTouch,
etc. in class. Texting, checking messages, etc. will not be tolerated and will impact your
grade negatively. Phones should be set to silent or vibrate out of consideration for your
classmates and your instructor.
Prompt Communication of Difficulties: If you are having a problem with the
assignments, grades or anything else related to the class it is your responsibility to
communicate with the instructor promptly. Class issues and grading issues are to be
discussed in person, NOT E-MAIL. It is the student’s responsibility to make an
appointment with the instructor to discuss the specific issue in person during the
instructor’s office hours.
GRADING
Everyone has the opportunity to build his/her grade. Each assignment has a designated
number of points. The number of points awarded for each assignment depends upon whether
or not the requirements of the assignment are met. Note that issues such as spelling,
grammar and syntax are important and points will be deducted for poor spelling, grammar and
syntax on all written work. Points will be deducted for late assignments.
POINT BREAKDOWN:
ITEM
POINTS
Attendance
50
Participation
75
Zoning
75
Journal
50
Quizzes
50
Midterm Exam
75
Final Exam
125
TOTAL POINTS
500
HEALTH AND SOCIAL JUSTICE
COURSE SYLLABUS
Required readings are to be completed for the class date listed. Readings in addition to those
listed may be assigned. Additional readings are on Sakai, each day's readings (besides
textbook) are in dated folder under Resources.
Week/Date
Topic
Reading
Assignment
Week 1
January 24
Introductions,
SYLLABUS
syllabus & course
review,
expectations
Week 2
January 28
What exactly is
social justice?
Cycle of
Socialization
Discussion
January 31
Public Health as
Social Justice
Week 2 Readings - see Sakai
Journal 1
Week 3
February 4
Racism
February 7
Minority Health:
what are the
disparities?
Week 3 Readings
Week 4
February 11
Classism
February 14
Classism
*class will not
meet today
Week 4 Readings
Watch videos
on Sakai
Journal 2
Week 5
February 18
Gender
February 21
Gender
Week 5 Readings
Online Quiz
Week/Date
Topic
Reading
February 25
Women’s Health
Week 6 Readings
February 28
Health & LGBTQ
Communities
Assignment
Week 6
Journal 3
Week 7
March 4
Determinants of
Health & Health
Systems
March 7
Zoning, Equity,
and Public Health
Week 7 Readings
Week 8
March 11
MIDTERM EXAM
Review
March 14
NO CLASS
Week 9
HAVE A FUN & SAFE SPRING BREAK
Week 10
March 25
NO CLASS
March 28
MID-TERM EXAM
Week 11
April 1
Ableism
April 4
Ableism
Week 10 Readings
Journal 4
Week 12
April 8
HIV
April 11
HIV
Week 12 Readings
Zoning
Assignment
Week 13 Readings
Online Quiz
Week 13
April 15
The Right to
Health
April 18
Health Care
Access
Journal 5
Week 14
April 22
Health Care
Reform
April 25
Allocating
Resources
Week 14 Readings
Week 15
April 29
Health Policy
Decision-Making
Week 15 Readings
May 2
Exam Review
May 6
FINAL EXAM
Academic Misconduct: A Bloustein School Perspective
Academic misconduct includes cheating, plagiarism, failure to cite sources, fabrication and
falsification, stealing ideas, and deliberate slanting of research designs to achieve a preconceived result. We talk about misconduct and ethical behavior in classes and expectations
are set forth in student handbooks and catalogues. For example, it is presented on pages 545547 in the New Brunswick Undergraduate Catalogue for the years 2003 through 2005 and on
pages 16-18 of the Edward J. Bloustein catalogue for the years 2003 through 2005. We are not
repeating that material here. Note, however, that penalties for misconduct can range from
failing an assignment/exam or dismissal from the university.
The Bloustein School is appending this memorandum to your course syllabus because we
recently have detected obvious cases of plagiarism. We have found far fewer cases of other
forms of academic misconduct, but we find several every year. It is imperative that you
understand that unethical academic conduct is intolerable, and it is completely preventable.
Academic misconduct almost always happens for two reasons. One is ignorance of academic
rules and practices. For example, in virtually every recent plagiarism case in the School,
material has been taken from an Internet site and placed in text without appropriate note or
attribution. You must learn the proper rules for attribution. If you are not sure, ask your
instructor! If you do not know the rules that govern the use of data sets, attribution, analysis
and reporting of these sets, the faculty will help you. There is no such thing as a stupid
question regarding this subject.
Pressure is the second common reason for academic misconduct. Students, faculty, every one
of us are subject to deadline, financial, self-worth, peer, and other pressures. If you are
potentially allowing pressure to drive you to misconduct, please step back and resist that urge.
You can cope with pressure in a positive way by reaching out to friends, counselors, and
faculty members. Within the Bloustein School community, you will find understanding people
and positive direction.
The Bloustein School plays an important role in the planning and public policy agenda. Our
work and our students must be above reproach.