Instructor Name
Dr. James E. Van Arsdall
Office:
738-4523
Home:
558-6931
Email: jvanarsdall@mccneb.edu
http://faculty.mccneb.edu/jvanarsdall
http://resource.mccneb.edu/pos
Term Start Date:
July 14, 2010
Term End Date:
August 16, 2010
SYLLABUS HANDOUT
POLS 2070 Contemporary Social and Political Issues
4.5 Hours
Course Description
Topics in this course will vary depending on changing world events and may include areas
in politics and government that are of interest to students and faculty.
Prerequisites: None
Textbook: State of the World: 2010
THE CLASS AND THE INSTRUCTOR
CONTACT INFORMATION
Instructor:
Office: 289-1359
Home Address:
Internet:
Dr. James Van Arsdall
Home: 558-6931
5814 Western Avenue, Omaha, NE 68132
jvanarsdall@mccneb.edu
Academic year/quarter: Summer, 2010
METRO OFFICE LOCATION:
METRO OFFICE HOURS:
METRO OFFICE TELEPHONE NUMBER:
CLASSROOM:
SOC, Mahoney 110B
Monday and Wednesday 4:30 – 5:30 PM
402-738-4523
SOC, Connector Bldg 209
DIVISION IDENTIFICATION:
Program Identification
Dean
Dean Phone
Social Sciences
Jane Franklin
402-738-4545
CLASS IDENTIFICATION
IMPORTANT DATES:
Date course begins:
Date course ends:
Last date to drop course:
July 14, 2010
August 16, 2010
August 07, 2010
THE COURSE
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course will examine through readings, study circle discussions, media, and formal
presentations the social and political issues relevant to 21st Century.
COURSE PREREQUISITES
POLS 2070 requires no prerequisite. However, you should be capable of critical college-level
reading and thinking.
Any success this class has in terms of stimulating your thinking and participation depend, in no
small part, on the readings and preparation that each individual class member brings to our
meetings. It is to your advantage to allot the necessary time to complete the needed readings.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
As a result of this course the student should be able to discuss critically the following topics and
others:
THE RISE AND FALL OF CONSUMER CULTURES
Erik Assadourian
TRADITIONS OLD AND NEW
Engaging Religions to Shape Worldviews – Gardner
Gary Gardner
Ritual and Taboo as Ecological Guardians
Gary Gardner
Environmentally Sustainable Childbearing
Robert Engelman
Elders: A Cultural Resource for Promoting Sustainable Development
Judi Aubel
From Agriculture to Permaculture
Albert Bates and Toby Hemenway
EDUCATION’S NEW ASSIGNMENT: SUSTAINABILITY
Early Childhood Education to Transform Cultures for Sustainability
Ingrid Pramling Samuelsson and Yoshie Kaga
Commercialism in Children’s Lives
Susan Linn
Rethinking School Food: The Power of the Public Plate
Kevin Morgan and Roberta Sonnino
What Is Higher Education for Now?
David W. Orr
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY: MANAGEMENT PRIORITIES
Adapting Institutions for Life in a Full World
Robert Costanza, Joshua Farley, and Ida Kubiszewski
Sustainable Work Schedules for All
Juliet Schor
Changing Business Cultures from Within
Ray Anderson, Mona Amodeo, and Jim Hartzfeld
Social Entrepreneurs: Innovating Toward Sustainability
Johanna Mair and Kate Ganly
Relocalizing Business
Michael H. Shuman
GOVERNMENT’S ROLE IN DESIGN
Editing Out Unsustainable Behavior
Michael Maniates
Broadening the Understanding of Security
Michael Renner
Building the Cities of the Future
Peter Newman
Reinventing Health Care: From Panacea to Hygeia
Walter Bortz
Earth Jurisprudence: From Colonization to Participation
Cormac Cullinan
MEDIA: BROADCASTING SUSTAINABILITY
From Selling Soap to Selling Sustainability: Social Marketing
Jonah Sachs and Susan Finkelpearl
Media Literacy, Citizenship, and Sustainability
Robin Andersen and Pamela Miller
Music: Using Education and Entertainment to Motivate Change
Amy Han
THE POWER OF SOCIAL MOVEMENTS
Reducing Work Time as a Path to Sustainability
John de Graaf
Inspiring People to See That Less Is More
Cecile Andrews and Wanda Urbanska
Ecovillages and the Transformation of Values
Jonathan Dawson
State of the World: 2010
Click here to watch video of the 2010 State of the World symposium.
Like a tsunami, consumerism has engulfed human cultures and Earth’s ecosystems. Left
unaddressed, we risk global disaster. But if we channel this wave, intentionally transforming our
cultures to center on sustainability, we will not only prevent catastrophe, but may usher in an era
of sustainability—one that allows all people to thrive while protecting, even restoring, Earth.
In State of the World 2010, sixty renowned researchers and practitioners describe how we can
harness the world’s leading institutions—education, the media, business, governments,
traditions, and social movements—to reorient cultures toward sustainability.
About the State of the World Series
Worldwatch's flagship publication, State of the World, has educated a broad audience of students, journalists,
policymakers, and concerned citizens about trends in sustainable development for a quarter century. The book has
been published in 36 languages, and over the years it has authoritatively assessed issues ranging from population,
energy, and agriculture to materials use, health, and trade policy. Topics are covered from a global perspective, with
an emphasis on innovation and problem-solving. State of the World is recognized as a classic of environmental
literature, having attracted luminaries from Kofi Annan to Mikhail Gorbachev to write forewords for the book.
News media, policymakers, and NGOs worldwide cite the book for its cutting-edge analysis, reliability, and careful
documentation of its arguments, all marshaled to speed the global transition to a sustainable world.
COMMANDING HEIGHTS: The Battle for the World Economy
A three-part, six-hour PBS documentary based on the book
by Daniel Yergin and Joseph Stanislaw
Filmed over the course of two years on five continents, COMMANDING HEIGHTS: THE
BATTLE FOR THE WORLD ECONOMY is the first in-depth documentary that tells the inside
story of our new global economy and what it means for individuals around the world.
The series is built around dramatic stories, unique film footage, and extraordinary interviews
with world leaders and thinkers from twenty different countries--including former President Bill
Clinton, Vice President Dick Cheney, former USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev, Mexican
President Vicente Fox, Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, Singapore's Senior Minister Lee
Kuan Yew, former Secretary of the Treasury Robert Rubin, and President George W. Bush's
Economic Advisor Lawrence Lindsey
REQUIRED/SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS
STATE OF THE WORLD, World Watch Institute. Current Edition
Other readings provided by the instructor.
ASSESSMENT OF STUDENT WORK
STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES
METHODS OF LEARNING:
Your process of learning will be to:
1. Read and study the textbook and supplemental materials These materials are the main sources
of course content.
2. Participate in class discussions. You will learn the most from this class by class participation.
In addition 1/4 of the grade is based on attendance and participation.
3. Team Assignments including development of Module Submission Forms
4. Tests. Take team exams during scheduled time period.
STUDENT WITHDRAWAL:
If you cannot participate in and complete this course, you should officially withdraw by calling
Central Registration at 402-457-5231 or 1-800-228-9553. Failure to officially withdraw will
result in either an attendance-related failure (FX) or failing (F) grade. The last date to withdraw
is noted in the CLASS IDENTIFICATION section of this syllabus.
ACADEMIC HONESTY STATEMENT.
The College imposes specific disciplinary actions in response to incidents of academic
misconduct (cheating, plagiarism, etc.) These actions may include: admonition, failing grade,
failure of course, disciplinary probation, suspension and dismissal. A copy of the current
disciplinary procedure is available in Student Services.
USE OF STUDENT WORK
The ownership of student works submitted in fulfillment of classroom requirements shall remain with the
student(s): By enrolling in classes offered by Metropolitan Community College, the student gives the
College license to mark on, modify, and retain the work as may be required by the process of instruction,
as described in the course syllabus. The institution shall not have the right to use the work in any other
manner without the written consent of the student(s).
ACCOMMODATIONS FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
If you have a disability that may substantially limit your ability to participate in this class, please contact a
Disability Support Services Counselor, located in the Student Services Office on each campus. Metro
Community College will provide reasonable accommodations for persons with documented qualifying
disabilities. However, it is the student’s responsibility to request accommodations. For further
information, please contact the Student Services Office at your campus.
ASSESSMENT OF STUDENT LEARNING PROGRAM
Metropolitan Community College is committed to continuous improvement of teaching and learning. You
may be asked to help us to accomplish this objective. For example, you may be asked to respond to
surveys or questionnaires. In other cases, tests or assignments you are required to do for this course may
be shared with faculty and used for assessment purposes
TECHNOLOGY RESOURCES AND USE OF COLLEGE COMPUTERS
By using the information technology systems at MCC(including the computer systems and phones) you
acknowledge and consent to the conditions of use as set forth in the Metropolitan Community College
Procedures Memorandum on Acceptable Use of Information Technology and Resources. It is your
responsibility as a student to be familiar with these procedures. The full text of the Procedures
Memorandum may be found at the following website: http://www.mccneb.edu/itprocedures.htm
When using College computers at the computer labs, Learning Centers, Libraries and classrooms, you need to login
with your username and password*. Your username and password are the same whenever you log into the network
(campus computers), SharePoint Services, student e-mail, WebAdvisor and WebCT (if enrolled in an online or
blended course). For other systems (not listed above), your instructor will provide you with the necessary username
and password information.
The Password Center (http://www.mccneb.edu/password) is a new web resource available to all students and staff.
This web site allows you to change (reset) your password even if you don’t know your username and password,
provided the personal information you enter to verify your identity, matches the information the College has in it’s
database. Verification information consists of student ID number (or the last 5 digits of your Social Security
number), last name, birth date, street address and ZIP Code.
*Note: If you have not logged in before, your initial password is the first initial of your first name (in
UPPERCASE), the first initial of your last name (in lowercase), followed by your student ID number with leading
zeros to make the password 9 characters long. For example, if your name is Chris Doe and your student ID number
is 1234, your initial password will be Cd0001234.
INFORMATION SOURCES:
Please see the college catalog and student handbook as sources of general College information
such as parking, children on campus, identification cards, etc.
INSTUCTOR’S EXPECTATIONS OF STUDENTS AND ATTENDANCE STATEMENT
Attendance is central to your grade and essential for group participation. You cannot contribute to the class, nor
benefit from others’ insights offered during class discussion, if you are absent. Leaving early and/or coming in late
may lead to point deductions or an absence for the day. Attendance affects your grade because it is essential for
group participation, which is a part of the grade. If you are not present, you will not receive participation
points and your absences will affect your overall final grade.
It is also the student's s responsibility to obtain all missed notes or materials.
If you are absent, make arrangements with a fellow student, and not the instructor, to obtain copies and handouts
from the class that you missed.
Names of Other Students in the Class
1.
Phone:
E-mail:
2.
Phone:
E-mail:
3.
Phone:
E-mail:
4.
Phone:
E-mail:
5.
Phone:
E-mail:
6.
Phone:
E-mail:
Furthermore, as is true in a business setting, it is the student’s responsibility to contact the faculty member prior to
or on the day of the absence. If you cannot reach the instructor, please leave a message by Email to
jvanarsdall@mccneb.edu.
INSTRUCTOR RESPONSIBILITIES
METHODS OF INSTRUCTION - Lecture -- Group discussion -- Student presentation -Question and answer sessions -- Textual materials -- Examinations
METHODS OF ASSESSING STUDENT PROGRESS
Individual participation at the class sessions is important. The content of this course will
stimulate a great deal of discussion. The lecture and discussion are intended primarily to put you
into a dialectical relationship with the text. You will have opportunities to ask questions and
frequently the instructors will direct questions to the class.
Class attendance is also essential for successful completion of this course. If you miss a meeting,
you should check with fellow team members for any handouts or assignments missed. Making
up missed assignments is your responsibility.
CRITERIA FOR DETERMINING FINAL COURSE GRADE: SELECTED
TESTING/ASSESSMENT METHODS
Successful completion of POLS 2070 will be based upon:
1.Team Midterm Essay Examination (25%)
2. Team Final Essay Examination (25%)
3. Team Presentations, .- Module Submission Forms (25%) All Teams Assignment:
Presentation on the Benefits and Costs of Globalization.
4. Class Attendance, Team Chapter Reporting (25%)
Student evaluation is based on the following aggregate scoring averaged on the four sections
above.
A. 90 percent or better
B. 80 to 89 percent
C. 70 to 79 percent
MAKE-UP TEST PROCEDURES:
Since all exams are team exams, no make ups are allowed.
LATE ASSIGNMENTS:
Late assignments will reduced in grade by 25% per class
MAINTENANCE OF STUDENT RECORDS:
All student work will be returned no later than one week after the assignment
PROJECTED SCHEDULE OF ASSIGNMENTS - STUDENT CALENDAR
Each class will begin with the first hour devoted to that day's edition of an appropriate public
radio or public television news program and commensurate discussions.
July 14
Class Needs Assessment, Course Introduction,Commanding Heights Introduction, CNN:
20th Century: Century of the World, SOW 2010, The Rise and Fall of Consumer Cultures
July 19
SOW 2010, Traditions Old and New, Commanding Heights Hour 2
July 21
SOW 2010, Education’s New Assignment: Sustanability, Commanding Heights Hour 3
July 26
SOW 2010, Business and Economy: Management Priorities
July 28
Team Midterm Exam
Aug 2
SOW 2010, Government’s Role in Design, Commanding Heights Hour 4
Aug 4
SOW 2010 Media: Broadcast Sustainability Commanding Heights Hour 5
Aug 9
SOW 2010 The Power of Social Movements, Commanding Heights Hour 6
Aug 11
Final Exam
Aug 16
Evaluation, Course Discussion, Return of Grades.
Commanding Heights Topics
Episode One:
The Battle of Ideas
A global economy, energized by technological change and unprecedented flows of people
and money, collapses in the wake of a terrorist attack. The year is 1914.
Worldwide war results, exhausting the resources of the great powers and convincing many
that the economic system itself is to blame. From the ashes of the catastrophe, an
intellectual and political struggle ignites between the powers of government and the forces
of the marketplace, each determined to reinvent the world's economic order.
Two individuals emerge whose ideas, shaped by very different experiences, will inform this
debate and carry it forward. One is a brilliant, unconventional Englishman named John
Maynard Keynes. The other is an outspoken emigre from ravaged Austria, Friedrich von
Hayek.
But a worldwide depression holds the capitalist nations in its grip. In opposition to both
Keynes and Hayek stand not only Hitler's Third Reich but Stalin's Soviet Union, schooled
in the communist ideologies of Marx and Lenin and bent on obliterating the capitalist
system altogether.
For more than half a century the battle of ideas will rage. From the totalitarian systems to
the fascist states, from the independent nations of the developing world to the mixed
economies of Europe, and the regulated capitalism of the United States, government
planning will gradually take over the commanding heights.
But in the 1970s, with Keynesian theory at its height and communism fully entrenched,
economic stagnation sets in on all sides. When a British grocer's daughter and a former
Hollywood actor become heads of state, they join forces around the ideas of Hayek, and
new political and economic policies begin to transform the world.
Episode Two:
The Agony of Reform
As the 1980s begin and the Cold War grinds on, the existing world order appears firmly in
place. Yet beneath the surface powerful currents are carving away at the economic
foundations.
Western democracies still struggle with deficits and inflation, while communism hides the
failure of its command economy behind a facade of military might. In Latin America
populist dictators strive to thwart foreign economic exploitation, piling up debt and igniting
hyperinflation in the process. In India and Africa bureaucracies established to end poverty
through scientific planning spawn black markets and corruption and stifle enterprise.
Worldwide, the strategies of government planning are failing to produce their intended
results. From Bolivia and Peru to Poland and Russia, the free-market policies of Thatcher
and Reagan are looked to as a possible blueprint for escape. One by one, economies in crisis
adopt "shock therapy" -- a rapid conversion to free-market capitalism.
As the command economies totter and collapse, privatization transfers economic power
back into entrepreneurial hands, and whole societies go through wrenching change. For
some the demands and opportunities of the market provide a longed for liberation. Others,
lacking the means to adapt, see their security and livelihood swept away. In this new
capitalist revolution enlightened enterprise and cynical exploitation thrive alike. The sum
total of global wealth expands, but its unequal distribution increases, too, and economic
regeneration exacts a high human price.
Episode Three:
The New Rules of the Game
With communism discredited, more and more nations harness their fortunes to the global
free-market. China, Southeast Asia, India, Eastern Europe and Latin America all compete
to attract the developed world's investment capital, and tariff barriers fall. In the United
States Republican and Democratic administrations both embrace unfettered globalization
over the objections of organized labor.
But as new technology and ideas drive profound economic change, unforeseen events
unfold. A Mexican economic meltdown sends the Clinton administration scrambling.
Internet-linked financial markets, unrestricted capital flows, and floating currencies drive
levels of speculative investment that dwarf trade in actual goods and services. Fueled by
electronic capital and a global workforce ready to adapt, entrepreneurs create
multinational corporations with valuations greater than entire national economies.
When huge pension funds go hunting higher returns in emerging markets, enterprise
flourishes where poverty once ruled, but risk grows, too. In Thailand the huge reservoir of
available capital proves first a blessing, then a curse. Soon all Asia is engulfed in an
economic crisis, and financial contagion spreads throughout the world, until Wall Street
itself is threatened. A single global market is now the central economic reality. As the force
of its effects is felt, popular unease grows. Is the system just too complex to be controlled, or
is it an insiders' game played at outsiders' expense? New centers of opposition to
globalization form and the debate turns violent over who will rewrite the rules.
Yet prosperity continues to spread with the expansion of trade, even as the gulf widens
further between rich and poor. Imbalances too dangerous for the system to ignore now
drive its stakeholders to devise new means to include the dispossessed lest, once again,
terrorism and war destroy the stability of a deeply interconnected world.
IMPORTANT DATES:
SUMMER QUARTER 2010 (10/SS)
Classes begin for second 5-week sessions
Classes end for second 5-week session
Thursday, July 13
Monday, August
Team Exams -- Midterm and Final
These essay exams will assess your skill in the following areas:
(1). Developing a central idea; (2). Synthesizing concepts and ideas; (3).Presenting ideas
cohesively and logically; (4). Writing clearly, following accepted practices of grammar, syntax,
and punctuation consistent with a timed, first-draft composition.
Paper levels
A+ All issues are addressed demonstrating thorough explanation of the topic, complexity of
thought, focus and organization, control of vocabulary and sentence structure.
A
All issues are addressed, although not as effectively as the A+ papers.
B+ All issues are addressed but only moderately. Essays lack complexity.
B This essay neglects or distorts one of the writing tasks.
C These essays distort more than one of the writing tasks and demonstrate vocabulary and
sentence.
D This essay fails to address the writing tasks and demonstrates marked problems in
organization and
mechanics that make the language very difficult to follow.
MIDTERM TEAM ESSAY
A.
Discuss what you feel was the most important contemporary social/political issue addressed
since the beginning of the quarter.
B. Discuss various positions presented on this issue either in your textbook, reading log, or on
public television.
C.
What is your personal position on the issue discussed above and why.
D.
Please cite sources for the items listed above.
SUGGESTED PAPER LENGTH - FIVE PAGES OR LESS.
FINAL TEAM ESSAY EXAM
A. Our course has concentrated on the central theme "Contemporary Social and Political
Issues. " Based upon either your readings or discussions, outline one major issue affecting the
"state of the world" as of the offering of this course.
B.
State various positions taken on the issue listed above.
C. What local, state, national or international organization might help address this issue?.
How?.
D. What are some of the rights and responsibilities you feel the average citizen has relative to
this issue.
E State clearly your position on the issue outlined above and how this issue personally effects
your life.
F.
Please cite sources for the items listed above.
SUGGESTED PAPER LENGTH - FIVE PAGES OR LESS
Contemporary Political and Social Issues Module
Submission Form
Assignment 1. Select two of the module topics and write a one page or less summary in your
own words.
Assignment 2. Go to the World Watch Institute Web Site at http://www.worldwatch.org or the
Environmental Protection Agency site at http://www.epa.gov and select two items from those
sites (or another site which you may substitute) which relate to the issues you selected from the
chapter. Summarize what you found.
Assignment 3. Check the present estimated population of the world by using the population
clock at http://www.ibiblio.org/lunarbin/worldpop/. Record the population for use at later dates
and E-mail me the count you found. Each week after your first submission, please report the
new population estimate and the increase from previous weeks.
Assignment 4. Discussion - Discussion Question " What problems, if any, did you have with
this module.?"