I. ASCRC General Education Form (revised 1/27/11)
Use to propose new general education courses (except writing courses), to change existing
gen ed courses and to remove designations for existing gen ed courses.
Note: One-time-only general education designation may be requested for experimental courses
(X91-previously X95), granted only for the semester taught. A NEW request must be
submitted for the course to receive subsequent general education status.
Group
III. Language
VII: Social Sciences
X
(submit
III Exception: Symbolic Systems * VIII: Ethics & Human Values
separate forms
IV: Expressive Arts
IX: American & European
if requesting
V: Literary & Artistic Studies
X: Indigenous & Global
more than one
VI: Historical & Cultural Studies
XI: Natural Sciences
general
w/ lab  w/out lab 
education
group
*Courses proposed for this designation must be standing requirements of
designation)
majors that qualify for exceptions to the modern and classical language
requirement
Dept/Program Sociology
Course #
SOCI 191
Course Title
Prerequisite
“Who Am I? Identity and Our Social World”
None
Credits
II. Endorsement/Approvals
Complete the form and obtain signatures before submitting to Faculty Senate Office
Please type / print name Signature
3
Date
Instructor
Kathy Kuipers
Phone / Email X4381
Program Chair Dan Doyle or James Burfeind
Dean
Chris Comer
III. Type of request
New
One-time Only X
Renew
Change
Remove
Reason for Gen Ed inclusion, change or deletion
New, experimental course
Description of change
IV. Description and purpose of new general education course: General Education courses
must be introductory and foundational within the offering department or within the General
Education Group. They must emphasize breadth, context, and connectedness; and relate course
content to students’ future lives: See Preamble:
http://umt.edu/facultysenate/archives/minutes/gened/GE_preamble.aspx
Identities are a part of how we see ourselves and influence both our immediate
interactions and our perceptions of our social world. What do we mean by identities? Where
do they come from? Are they biologically determined or are they socially constructed? Are
they static or are they continuously changing? How are they social? Does a person have one
identity or many identities? This introductory, interdisciplinary seminar focuses on the topic of
personal and social identity and begins by asking some of these questions. Then we take a
closer look at how our identities are linked to social groups—families, gender groups, cultural
groups, racial and ethnic groups, and occupational groups. Through literature and other
cultural artifacts such as art, film, and music, we explore how identities are learned and become
salient within social contexts. At the same time, we look at our own, unique conceptions of
identity and how we see ourselves. We pose and begin to answer the question for ourselves:
Who Am I?
In the second part of the course, we look at how we manage our identities. What
happens when our identities conflict with one another or are contested by others? Finally, we
explore the presentation of our identities: why we show different sides of ourselves in different
situations; how our identities influence our ability to engage in social problem solving; and how
we articulate and enact our identities globally. This interdisciplinary course will give freshman
an opportunity to explore not only what research has to say about identities and identification,
but also personal dimensions of who they are, and how their conceptions of themselves are
linked to their social world.
V. Criteria: Briefly explain how this course meets the criteria for the group. See:
http://umt.edu/facultysenate/documents/forms/GE_Criteria5-1-08.aspx
This course systematically studies the
1. Systematically study individuals,
individual self, how the self is defined within
groups, or social institutions.
the context of social groups and social
institutions and the linkages among them.
2. Analyze individuals, groups, or social We spend time analyzing individuals (the
formation of identities in ourselves and
problems and structures.
others), groups (as a sources for identities
and as a context for the presentation of
identities), and social problems (and their
relationship to the process of identification)
Course requirements include a research
3. Give considerable attention to ways
paper and a presentation based on primary
in which conclusions and
interview data, collected and analyzed by
generalizations are developed and
students. Guidance will be provided to aid
justified as well as the methods of data
students in drawing conclusions from
collection and analysis.
qualitative data and in making
generalizations about theory from such data.
VI. Student Learning Goals: Briefly explain how this course will meet the applicable learning
goals. See: http://umt.edu/facultysenate/documents/forms/GE_Criteria5-1-08.aspx
1. Describe the nature, structure, and
historical development of human
behavior, organizations, social
phenomena, and/or relationships.
2. Use theory in explaining these
individual, group, or social
phenomena.
3. Understand, assess, and evaluate how
conclusions and generalizations are
justified based on data.
Readings will draw on literature from
Sociology, Anthropology, Psychology,
American Literature, Women’s and Gender
Studies, and Native American Studies, explore
what research has to say about identities and
identification, both on a personal level and
within the context of larger social groups.
In four written papers (an analysis of
theoretical perspectives on identity, a reflexive
narration of themselves, a presentation on
collective narratives of self-change, and an
empirical research paper) and a presentation,
students will integrate theoretical material,
using theory to examine their own identities,
the sources of their identities, how we manage
and present our identities, and how identities
influence one’s ability to engage in social
problem solving.
Students will present results from their own
data collection project in addition to stories from
class speakers and discussions on an online,
discussion board. Students will receive clear
instructions on how to compile and summarize
data, how data are assessed and evaluated, and
appropriate conclusions for the data.
VII. Justification: Normally, general education courses will not carry pre-requisites, will carry
at least 3 credits, and will be numbered at the 100-200 level. If the course has more than one
pre-requisite, carries fewer than three credits, or is upper division (numbered above the 200
level), provide rationale for exception(s).
VIII. Syllabus: Paste syllabus below or attach and send digital copy with form. ⇓ The syllabus
should clearly describe how the above criteria are satisfied. For assistance on syllabus
preparation see: http://teaching.berkeley.edu/bgd/syllabus.html
See attached.
Please note: Approved general education changes will take effect next fall.
General education instructors will be expected to provide sample assessment items and
corresponding responses to the Assessment Advisory Committee.
University of Montana
Fall 2012
Who Am I? Identity and Our Social World
Sociology 191S
Professor: Kathy Kuipers
Office: Social Science, room 311
Hours: Tues. (2:15-4), Wed. (1-3), and by appointment
Phone: 243-4381 (office); 327-9777 (home, emergencies only)
Email: kathy.kuipers@umontana.edu
Teaching Assistant: Brent Bluehouse
Office: Social Science, room 311
Hours: Thurs. (1:45-3:00), and by appointment
Email: brenton.bluehouse@umontana.edu
Course Objectives: This course focuses on two key social psychological concepts—
identity and identification—and their relationship to behavior. Identities are a part of
how we see ourselves and influence both our immediate interactions and our perceptions
of our social world. We ask: What do we mean by identities? Where do they come from?
Are they biologically determined or are they socially constructed? Are they static or are
they continuously changing? How are they social? Does a person have one identity or
many identities? This interdisciplinary seminar focuses on the topic of personal and
social identity and begins by asking some of these questions. Then we take a closer look
at how our identities are linked to social groups—families, gender groups, cultural
groups, and racial and ethnic groups. Through literature and other cultural artifacts
such as literature, film, and music, we explore the formation of identities within social
contexts. At the same time, we look at our own, unique conceptions of identity and how
we see ourselves. We pose and begin to answer the question for ourselves: Who Am I?
In the second part of the course, we look at the process of identification, how we
manage our identities, and how they influence social behavior. We explore the
presentation of our identities: how the presentation and perception of identities affect
the negotiation of social relationships—particularly inequalities in interaction. We ask
why we show different sides of ourselves in different situations; how our identities
influence our ability to engage in social problem solving; and how we articulate and enact
our identities, globally.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
• Describe the nature of identity, the process of its formation, and how it is related
to larger social structures and social interaction.
• Understand the social meaning of identity as a cultural construct and how it is
illustrated in the stories we tell.
• Use theories from a variety of social science disciplines and perspectives
(Sociology, Anthropology, Psychology, Women’s and Gender Studies, and Native
American Studies) to explain the concepts of identity and identification as
theoretical constructs and show how these concepts are embedded in the social
context.
• Identify and pursue questions for social science inquiry and conduct ethnographic
interviews to gain social scientific information.
• Understand, assess, and evaluate research and empirical data on identities and
identification by analyzing and presenting results from their own data collection
projects; understand the use of generalization in theoretically based research.
•
•
Explore and articulate their own identities as they emerge from and are linked to
the social world.
Develop analytical and writing abilities appropriate to freshmen.
Course Requirements: This is an active participation seminar. While some of the class
sessions will be designated for student-led presentations of research topics and research
findings, you also are expected to participate in discussions every class session. The
readings are designed to help your writing, to emphasize the social science point of view
in conducting and writing about research, and to provide a contextual background for an
understanding of these topics. You should complete the assigned readings before you
come to class to ensure active participation in class discussions and activities. Your
class participation will be worth 20% of your final grade. You are responsible for raising
questions that you have about the readings or about problems in preparing and writing
your assignments and in-class discussions is the best way of doing this. Since class
participation, especially in small-group settings, is such an important part of this class,
your attendance at all class meetings is mandatory.
Class participation, preparation, facilitation, in-class work, and the
Moodle discussion board
Defining Identity paper
Genogram
Narrating the Self paper
Research Presentation on data collection
Group Identities Paper
Identities in the Global World final paper
TOTAL
20%
10%
15%
10%
15%
15%
15%
100%
You are responsible for four 3Written work is worth 65% of your final grade.
6 page papers. You will receive clear guidelines for the structure of the papers several
weeks before they are due. You also will create a genogram of your family and
summarize what you have done. NO LATE ASSIGNMENTS WILL BE ACCEPTED. A
presentation summarizing the results of the data collection research will be worth 15% of
your final grade.
Grades for this course will include +/- grading. Additionally, if this course is
taken to fulfill a Gen Ed requirement, it must be taken for a traditional letter grade
Readings: Four books are required as primary texts for the class and available from the
bookstore.
1. After Pomp and Circumstance: High School Reunion as an Autobiographical
Occasion, by Vered Vinitzky-Seroussi. 1998. Chicago: University of Chicago
Press (referred to as APC in course schedule).
2. Winter Wheat, by Mildred Walker. 4th edition. 1992. Nebraska: Bison Books
(referred to as WW in course schedule).
3. Winter in the Blood, by James Welch. 1974. New York: Penguin Books (referred
to as WIB in course schedule).
4. The Buddha in the Attic, by Julie Otsuka. 2012. New York: Anchor Books
(referred to as BA in course schedule).
Additional readings (book selections, articles, etc.) also are required and will be available
on Moodle. Books also will be put on reserve when/if available.
WRITING CENTER
We strongly encourage all students to consult with the Writing Center as you work
through your assignments. Note that the Writing Center does not edit or correct papers,
but helps students plan and execute papers in one or more tutoring sessions.
Appointments can be scheduled online at http://www.umt.edu/writingcenter/. Note
that for your "Identities in a Global World" paper, you will be required to complete at least
one consultation with writing center staff and have the writing center staff complete a
certificate indicating that you have consulted with him or her.
A few words about plagiarism and academic dishonesty: “Plagiarism is
the representing of another’s work as one’s own. It is a particularly intolerable offense in
the academic community and is strictly forbidden. Students who plagiarize may fail the
course and may be remanded to Academic Court for possible suspension or expulsion.”
(taken from the Student Conduct Code, available for review on-line
at http://life.umt.edu/VPSA/name/StudentConductCode.) Plagiarism includes:
• Copying from another’s paper or allowing another to copy from one’s own paper
• Unpermitted collaboration
• Giving or receiving unpermitted aid on a take-home examination or paper.
Make sure that your work is your own. In this class, discussion of ideas among students
is not only permitted, but encouraged among classmates. Giving and accepting
comments on each other’s writing is also allowed. Neither using another student’s paper
as a template for your own nor coping from any written documents (without giving proper
credit) are acceptable. Be careful.
Course Schedule: Each of the following sections is arranged according to specific topics
to be covered in the course. Topics and required readings for each section are listed for
each week. Our progress through the list may change as we spend more or less time on
any particular topic. It is your responsibility to keep up with the readings as we move
through the course.
Tentative Class Outline (subject to change)
WEEK AND TOPIC
Week 1
Introduction and
Orientation
READINGS AND FILMS DUE
Weekly assignments and groups
Citation workshop; using
the discussion board
and Moodle
Citation Handout
Read: Lovaglia, Michael J. 2000.
Knowing People: The Personal
Use of Social Psychology.
Boston, McGraw-Hill, Chpts.
2 and 3 (on Moodle).
Week 2
Defining Identity: What is
the self-concept and
how is it related to
identities?
Read: APC, “Introduction” and
Chpts. 1-3. Chicago:
University of Chicago Press.
Read: Garroutte, Eva Marie.
2003. Real Indians: Identity
and the Survival of Native
America. Berkeley: University
of California Press. Chpts. 4
and 5 (on Moodle).
ASSIGNMENTS
Do:
Personal
Empowerment
Through SelfAwareness: PETSA
(http://www.umt.ed
u/petsa/)
Moodle 101
(http://umonline.um
t.edu/)
Week 3
Self-Categorization: types
of identities (race,
gender, occupation,
education, birthplace,
roles, etc.)
Information literacy: A
Visit with our librarian
and with the director of
the Writing Center.
Academic Writing: A Visit
from the Writing
Center Staff
Week 4
Where do Identities
Come From? Identity
and Place
Socialization and learning
of identities
Week 5
Where do Identities Come
From? Family and
Peers
Week 6
What are Your Identities?
Constructing a
Genogram
Where do Identities Come
From? Ancestors and
Family
Week 7
How do we decide which
identities are most
important? Identities
within context
Presentation of Identities
Read: Poetry Selections: Greene,
Kuipers, Turner, Laux,
Forche, Corso, Addonizio
(reflexive identity, military
identity, Western identity,
family identity, Native
American identity)
Read: WW, pp. 1-48.
Twenty Statements
Test
Write a poem exercise
Read: WW, pp. 49-88.
Read: WW, pp. 89-142.
Read: WIB, Part 1
Read: WIB, Part 2
Genogram Handouts
Read:
WIB, Parts 3-4 and
"Epilogue"
Read O'Brien, Tim. The Things
They Carried, selections (on
Moodle)
Read: APC, Chpts. 4-6.
(optional)
Assignment #1—
Definitions of Identity
and How We
Recognize Them
Paper Due
(Thursday,
September 20, in
class)
Listen:
music on
Moodle (Girltalk, etc.)
What does it tell you
about who you are?
Find music exercise
Assignment #2—
Genogram
Assignment Due
(Tuesday, October 9,
in class)
Week 8
Week 9
Multiple and Conflicting
Identities/ Identities
that Come with and
from a Historical
Legacy/ Imposed
Identities
Negotiating Identity and
Identity Management:
What do we reveal
about ourselves?
Week 10
Begin data collection:
ethnographic
interviews
Discussion of Final
Proposal presentation
Week 11
NO CLASS ON TUESDAY,
ELECTION DAY:
VOTE!
Discussion of Final
Proposal presentation
Read: Turkle, S. 1995. Life on
the screen: Identity in the Age
of the Internet. New York:
Touchstone (selections on
Moodle)
Read: APC, Chpts. 7, 8, and
Conclusion.
Read: Root, Maria. "Resolving
'Other' Status: Identity
Development of Biracial
Individuals (on Moodle)
View at least one of the following
films: Left by the Ship; Hell
and Back Again; Up
Heartbreak Hill, Daughter from
Danang:
http://www.pbs.org/independe
ntlens/hell-and-back-again/
http://www.pbs.org/independe
ntlens/left-by-the-ship/
http://www.pbs.org/pov/uphea
rtbreakhill/full.php?ref=povhp
c2
http://www.youtube.com/watch
?v=2ueTwnMb8dI
Read: Spradley, James. The
Ethnographic Interview,
selections on informants (on
Moodle)
Read: Spradley, James. The
Ethnographic Interview,
selections on interviewing
and questions (on Moodle)
Read: Snow, David and Leon
Anderson. 1993. “Salvaging
the Self” (on Moodle)
Read: “Japanese American
Families” by Dana Takagi
(on Moodle);
Read: BA, "Come, Japanese!"
and "First Night"
Assignment #3-Narrating the Self
Paper Due (Tuesday,
October 23, in class)
Discuss Your Proposed
Data Collection
ASA Code of
Ethics: http://www.a
sanet.org/page.ww?se
ction=Ethics&name=E
thics
Begin data
collection/ethnograp
hic interviews
Week 12
View film, "A Family Gathering"
(link on Moodle)
Read: BA, "Whites," "Babies,"
and "The Children"
Week 13
Read: BA, "Traitors," and "Last
Day"
NO CLASS THURSDAY:
HAPPY THANKSGIVING
Week 14
Week 15
Final
Assignment #4-Presentations Due
(Tuesday and
Thursday, November
13 and 15, in class)
Read: BA, "A Disappearance"
Assignment #5—
View website: "Define American"
Group Identity Paper
http://www.defineamerican.com
Due (Tuesday,
/
November 27, in
http://www.huffingtonpost.com
class)
/jose-antonio-vargas/joseantonio-vargas-meaning-ofamerican_b_1647894.html
Read: human rights poetry
selections
View film: Citizen USA: a 50 state
road trip
http://www.hbo.com/documentar
s/citizen-usa-a-50-state-roadtrip/synopsis.html
Global Identity Paper
Due, (December 11,
by 10:10, am at the
scheduled time of our
final exam.)