Health & Social Justice 10-832-252
Spring 2014
Day and Time:
Location:
Instructor:
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
Class Assistant:
Courtney Kurtas
Cdk59@eden.rutgers.edu
Credits:
Contact Information:
3 credits
Health, Outreach, Promotion, and Education (H.O.P.E.)
(848) 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: 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.
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.
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.
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
Introductions,
syllabus & course
review,
expectations
SYLLABUS
Assignment
Week 1
January 23
Week 2
January 27
What exactly is
Week 2 Readings - see Sakai
social justice? Cycle
of Socialization
Discussion
January 30
Public Health as
Social Justice
Journal 1
Week 3
February 3
Racism
February 6
Minority Health:
what are the
disparities?
Week 3 Readings
Week 4
February 10
Racism
February 13
Classism
Week 4 Readings
Watch videos
on Sakai
Journal 2
Week 5
February 17
Classism
February 20
Classism
Week 5 Readings
Online Quiz
Week/Date
Topic
Reading
February 24
Gender
Week 6 Readings
February 27
Health & LGBTQ
Communities
Assignment
Week 6
Journal 3
Week 7
March 3
Women’s Health
March 6
Determinants of
Health & Health
Systems
Week 7 Readings
Week 8
March 10
MIDTERM EXAM
Review
March 13
NO CLASS
Week 9
HAVE A FUN & SAFE SPRING BREAK
Week 10
March 24
NO CLASS
March 27
MID-TERM EXAM
Week 11
March 31
Zoning, Equity, and Week 11 Readings
Public Health
April 3
Mental Health
Journal 4
Week 12
April 7
Ableism
April 10
HIV
Week 12 Readings
Zoning
Assignment
Week 13
April 14
The Right to Health Week 13 Readings
April 17
Health Care Access
Online Quiz
Journal 5
Week 14
April 21
Health Care Reform Week 14 Readings
April 24
Health Care Reform
Week 15
April 28
Health Care Reform Week 15 Readings
May 1
Exam Review
During Final
Exam Period
FINAL EXAM
For Final Exam Schedule:
finalexams.rutgers.edu
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 pre-conceived 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 545-547 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.