St. Cloud State University
General Education Goal Area 8 Designation
Global Perspectives
Academic Affairs Use Only:
Response Date: ______________________
Effective Date: ______________________
1.
2.
Proposal Number: _________________
Prepared by: Jiping Zuo
Phone: 308-2136
Email: jzuo@stcloudstate.edu
Requesting Unit: Sociology and Anthropology
3.
Department, Course Number, Title: Sociology & Anthropology, SOC177: Intimate Relations and
Family
4.
New Course
Existing Course
5.
Will this course be flagged as a diversity course?
Already Designated as Diversity
No
Diversity Proposal Accompanying This Form
6.
Will this course also satisfy another General Education Goal Area?
No
Yes
If “Yes” specify which goal area.
Goal 5 Area (History and Social & Behavioral Sciences)
7.
Course bulletin description, including credits and semesters to be offered:
Sociological perspectives on diverse family patterns and intimate relationships; understand family lives
in larger historical, social, and global context, link micro processes with macro structures and policy implications,
3 Cr. F.
8.
Indicate the clientele for whom this course is designed. Is the course for general education only, or
does it fulfill general education and other program needs for this or another department? Obtain
signatures from any affected departments.
Undergraduates seeking a general education course in areas 5 and 8 who are interested in family studies
from the sociological perspective. The course also helps satisfy the requirements for a major/minor in sociology.
9.
Indicate any changes that must be made in offerings or resources in your department or other
departments by offering this course.
None
10.
For new courses or courses not yet approved for General Education, indicate any other SCSU departments
or units offering instruction that relates to the content of the proposed course.
N/A
11.
Courses designated as General Education are included in the assessment plan for the Goal Area(s)
10/15/2009
for which they are approved. Courses for which assessment is not included in the annual GE
assessment report for two years will be removed from the General Education Program.
The Requesting Unit understands and recognizes the above conditions.
12.
Provide a concise explanation of how the following goal is a “significant focus” of the proposed course.
Goal Area 8: Global Perspectives
Develop a comparative perspective and understanding of one’s place in a global context.
This course places a wide range of family dynamics in a global context to enable students to connect micro
family processes with global forces. One example is to link declining economic well-being of U.S. families
in the 21st century with global movement of capital. Similarly, a recent massive immigration of families
from poor countries to the U.S. could be a result of economic restructuring forced upon them by transnational
corporations.
13. In order for a course to be designated as fulfilling Goal Area 8, it must address at least 4 of the 5 student learning
outcomes (SLOs) below. Check the SLOs below that are focused on in the proposed general education course.
1. Explain how they are connected and related to people elsewhere in the world.
2. Describe similarities and differences among global places and populations.
3. Analyze how political, economic or cultural elements influence relations among the world’s states, peoples, or
societies.
4. Analyze specific international issues and propose and evaluate responses.
5. Articulate a vision of their individual roles and responsibilities in a common global future.
14.
Discuss how each Student Learning Outcome checked above is achieved in this course. (Note: Although
descriptions of typical assignments or types of assignments may be part of this discussion, it is not
appropriate to submit copies of actual assignments.)
Students achieve the SLOs through readings, attending lectures, class participation, writing assignments
and a variety of other activities outside the class (e.g. conducting mini interviews on a subject of family applying
sociological methods, or attending relevant campus-wide academic activities). The course emphasizes:
SLO 1 - Parallel patterns (e.g. social inequality, lives of working-class families) between U.S. families and
families elsewhere to demonstrate interconnectedness of people across cultures;
SLO 2 - Similarities of people and family patterns around the world in similar contexts (e.g. families tend to form
multigenerational households in times of economic hardships in both U.S. and elsewhere) and, at the same time,
differential impacts of economic, political, historical or global forces on family lives of varying social groups and
societies;
SLO 3 - global challenges facing all individuals and families (e.g. health care, jobs, the weakening of family
relations due to globalization (e.g. international migration, long work hours).
10/15/2009
SLO 4 - International issues that directly or indirectly affect family lives; policy and family responses to them in
both U.S. and other countries (e.g. recession, recent financial crises; how governments in different countries react
to them differently);
SLO 5 - Social responsibility as global citizens to the well-being of all humans and to future generations (e.g.
curbing consumerism, involving in rebuilding the community to strengthen the family, etc.).
15.
List or attach the Course Outline (adequately described and including percentage of time to be allocated
to each topic). Curriculum Committees may request additional information. Topics larger than 20% need
to be broken down further. Indicate in your course outline where the Student Learning Outcomes
checked above are being met.
Family Change and continuity 10% (SLOs #1, #2 & #4)
Cross-cultural Family patterns and relations 5% (SLOs #1, #2, #4 & #5)
Sociological theories and methodology in family studies 20% (SLOs #1, #3 & #5)
Historical perspectives on family change and continuity 10% (SLOs #2)
Racial/Ethnic minority family issues 10% (SLOs #1 & #3)
Family variations by class and gender 15% (SLOs #1 & #3)
Placing family processes in social, economic, ecological contexts 15% (SLOs #1, #2, #3, & #5)
Understanding U.S. families and families elsewhere as well as interconnectedness of families around the
world in a global context 15% (SLOs #2, #3, #4, #5)
10/15/2009