RACE AND ETHNIC RELATIONS (SOC 119) – Spring 2015 SECTION 601 T/R – 4:15 – 5:30 pm 100 THOMAS BUILDING INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Sam Richards FOR ALL CLASS QUESTIONS AND ISSUES YOU CAN OFFICE: See Sam after class or make an appt CONTACT: Lana Taylor – Coordinating TA E-­‐MAIL: staff@soc119.org Emily Bippus – Attendance COURSE WEB SITE: www.soc119.org Alison Charles – Exams ANGEL: www.cms.psu.edu E-­‐MAIL: staff@soc119.org OFFICE: By appointment only -­‐-­‐ but we are very For Discussion Group Questions Contact: flexible and very quick to respond Erik Morales: erik@worldinconversation.org 814.865.5692 “I found that the chief difficulty for most people was to realize that they had really heard ‘new things’: that is, things that they had never heard before. They kept translating what they heard into their habitual language. They had ceased to hope and believe there might be anything new.” -­‐-­‐ Ouspensky Required Items: All readings and videos are FREE and are available at: www.soc119.org PRIMARY OBJECTIVE OF THE COURSE: To inspire you to think critically and actively about issues related to race and ethnicity. Notice that the objective is not to get you to think in any particular way, and it is certainly not to “teach” you to think like Sam or Erik. Just think critically and try to get outside the box—the “box” being whatever it is that you imagine you are supposed to believe. The Pennsylvania State University encourages qualified persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation in this course or have questions about physical access, please tell the instructor as soon as possible. USING ANGEL There is only one assignment that you submit through Angel. This will be to submit your Twitter user name in the course drop box so your TAs can follow you. But you can also track some of your grades on ANGEL. Or don’t. Actually, you’ll be happier if you don’t obsess over grades. Take a risk. Live large. HOW TO SEE YOUR GRADES Flipgrid videos and #fresheyes tweets are due Fridays by MIDNIGHT. TAs will begin grading at that time. After grading your responses/videos, they will enter your grade into the Angel grade book. If you don’t have these completed on time, YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE CREDIT (nor partial credit). Pay attention to due dates. You have until the second Thursday after an assignment is due to inform us of any discrepancies for that particular assignment. For example, if there is a grading issue with your first set of #fresheyes tweets (due Friday Week Three), you have until the Thursday of Week 5 to inform us of an issue with that particular grade. AFTER THAT SECOND THURSDAY NO GRADE ALTERATIONS WILL BE MADE. ASSIGNMENTS Quizzes-­‐ 140 points There will be FOUR quizzes for the course. The quizzes are made up of True-­‐False and Multiple Choice questions and will cover the readings and videos on the web site, lectures (including any guest speakers), and videos shown in class. Each quiz will have 35 questions and each question is worth one point. The fourth quiz is not cumulative (i.e., it will only cover the material from the fourth section of the course). Quiz grades will show up in ANGEL within a week of the quiz date. th
QUIZ ONE: Thursday, February 5 CHECK THE WEB SITE FOR ALL QUIZ READINGS/VIDEOS rd
QUIZ TWO: Tuesday, March 3 nd
QUIZ THREE: Thursday, April 2 th
QUIZ FOUR: You can take the fourth quiz on EITHER Thursday, April 30 immediately following rd
the last day of class (100 Thomas also) or on Sunday, May 3 (1:00 pm in 100 Thomas Building). EXAM MAKE-­‐UP POLICY: If you miss an exam for any reason, you must contact Lana BEFORE the exam (staff@soc119.org) with the reason for your absence on the exam day. If we are not notified before the exam, then there is a very real possibility that you will not be able to take the exam and will receive an “F.” #fresheyes -­‐-­‐ Twitter Responses -­‐ 36 Points You are going to send out SIX Tweets per week starting on Week Three and each Tweet is worth one half of a point. These will be due on Friday nights at midnight of each week. Your Tweets should illuminate how you are putting “fresh eyes” to something that you see or experience in the world that is related to this class. For each Tweet you will use #fresheyes as the hash tag. Your Tweet can be short or long or a photo or a meme or a video or an Instagram/Vine video or a link or a screen shot or a response to someone else’s Tweet – BUT THERE MUST BE CONTEXT TO YOUR TWEET. Context = anybody in the world must be able to understand what your tweet is in reference to or how your Tweet is related to the class in some way. Each Tweet is your “fresh” perspective on course race relations and related issues. Keep in mind: • A simple re-­‐Tweet is not going to get you credit • One or two word Tweets won’t get you credit, even if it’s a REALLY clever response to something • A photo must be accompanied by some text as explanation THEREFORE: YOU NEED A TWITTER ACCOUNT AND YOU WILL BE SUBMITTING YOUR TWITTER NAME ON ANGEL SO THAT YOUR TEACHING ASSISTANT CAN FOLLOW YOU. Do I have to use Twitter? Yes, but we are not trying to sell you out to the corporate machine that is waiting to suck the money out of your pockets and the sensibility out of your soul. Feel free to make a separate Twitter account from the one you usually use for the assignments in this class. Of course, you can use Instagram or Vine if you want or any other platform that allows you to create cool videos – but you need to post the videos onto Twitter and use the #fresheyes hash tag so that your TAs can find your submissions. BY THE WAY, Instagram rocks because you can write longer text – which can be very useful for these assignments AND you can use the #fresheyes hash tag and have it post directly to Twitter. What if I’m a Luddite and despise technology? Well then, it looks like we’re in a bit of a bind and you have a couple of options: 1. Take another class. 2. Wade into the shallow end of technology for this assignment. Twitter is not that complicated. And you can always open a secondary Twitter account just for this class and link it to another email (if you feel a desire to keep this class totally separate from the rest of your life). Keep in mind that the Pope tweets. Just sayin’. What if I don’t have a smart phone? In this case, you’ll want to use any computer to log in to Twitter. Can we do the #fresheyes assignment with videos? Yes. In fact, we strongly encourage you to do this via Instagram or some other platform and then Tweet the link to the video that you’ve made. It’s not difficult at all. You could get a YouTube or Vimeo account and upload something and paste in the URL. It takes a few minutes. You can make videos in the Knowledge Commons at Pattee in the “One Button Studio.” Even your 87-­‐year old grandmother could figure out how to use that studio in Pattee to make a video. All you need is a jump/thumb drive. How will I receive credit for these #fresheyes submissions? Your TAs will follow you on Twitter and search for #fresheyes. For the Tweets that you want to count toward this class, use the #fresheyes hashtag. Flipgrid Videos -­‐ 39 Points Flipgrid is a web site where users post concise, ninety (90) second video responses to questions. You will be using Flipgrid to post TWO of these videos each week and each is worth 1.5 points. Each video must be at least 75 seconds – but the recorder will cut off at 90 seconds. Flipgrid is a very easy platform to use and it offers a simple way of viewing the videos that others have made. You can find basic Flipgrid information here ( http://flipgrid.com/info/ ) and support info here ( http://flipgrid.com/support/) Each Soc 119 section will have it’s own discussion board for these videos. You can find the link to your section in the Flipgrid folder in Angel. You click on that link and magic happens. Here is a brief "How To” video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpcKMv0kbJs We want you to do an Intro-­‐Test video right away. You can find that link in Angel also. The “test video” is due on the second Friday of the semester. (See the course schedule.) This is worth 3 Points. About the Content of the Flipgrid Assignment Video One: The first video should be about something that struck you from lectures, readings, discussion group conversations, random encounters on the street that relate to class, or some event out in the world. You can invite others to “participate” with you, but the core ideas need to be your own and not those of someone else. Video Two: The second video needs to be a response to something that was said by another member of your discussion group. This means that you need to watch some of the videos that others post and then respond to something. Consider it to be an extension of your weekly discussion group. If you don’t have your video responses in on time (Fridays at midnight), YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE CREDIT (nor will you receive partial credit). Don’t wait until the final hour. USE THE SAME NAME FOR ALL OF YOUR FLIPGRID VIDEOS HOW TO GET HELP WITH THIS TECHNOLOGY The easiest thing to do is turn to Penn State’s Tech Tutors. There is no cost to you and you don’t need an appointment. Locations and hours of operation are: Pollock Testing Center-­‐ Second Floor Computer Lab Pattee Library-­‐ Knowledge Commons (In the cubicles towards the back — very close to class) (Room 122 – First glass study room you see) Mondays – Thursdays — 11:00AM – 8:00PM Mondays – Thursdays — 11:00AM – 8:00PM Fridays — 11:00AM – 6:00PM (or by appt) Fridays — 11:00AM – 6:00PM (or by appt) You can contact them electronically: techtutors@psu.edu or facebook.com/psutechtutors or @PSUTechTutors or www.techtutors.psu.edu
Lecture Attendance -­‐ 36 Points LECTURE: You receive 36 points for attending lectures. You can miss TWO classes without penalty. However, after those two we’ll subtract FOUR (4) POINTS for each missed class. THERE ARE NO EXCUSED ABSENCES (THAT MEANS NONE WHATSOEVER!) SO USE YOUR “TWO FREE MISSES” PRUDENTLY. Early and Late Issues in Soc 119: If you arrive more than 10 minutes late, you will not receive full attendance credit. If you leave more than 5 minutes early, you will not receive full attendance credit. You’ll need to sign in or out in the back of the room if you arrive late or early. NOTE: If you have an ongoing medical or personal issue that requires that you miss class on a regular basis or for an extended period of time, contact Lana. ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: Academic integrity is the pursuit of scholarly activity free from fraud and deception, and is an educational objective of this institution. Academic dishonesty includes cheating, plagiarizing, or facilitating acts of dishonesty of others, having unauthorized possession of examinations, submitting work of another person. Haiti Service (Group) Initiative -­‐ 20 points This semester you will learn about international racism and socioeconomic development—and how the two are uncomfortably linked. We will focus on Haiti as a case study for this purpose. And you will probably feel both pulled to act and cautioned not to act in response to the material. But this is real life—your life and the lives of the people in Haiti with whom you are already interconnected, even if you don’t realize it. And in real life there are no easy answers! What is the Soc 119 Haiti Initiative? In past semesters, Soc 119 students lobbied for some concrete project that would allow their discussion groups to work on something as a team; they wanted to DO SOMETHING positive in the world and not sit in a circle and talk. And after the earthquake in Haiti in January 2010, we came up with the idea to work with Haitian entrepreneurs and volunteers. In the past we helped fund a school and we assisted small business entrepreneurs. However, we have finally settled on this hospital project by helping a group of Haitian volunteers provide food and clothing to hospital patients in Haiti. We’ll explain in class but the overall goal is not “handouts” but, rather, helping support and create jobs. We’ll also explain how we do that. We partner with a micro-­‐financing team called “Poverty Resolutions” and all funds flow through this NGO. MOST OF THIS GROUP WORK WILL OCCUR IN YOUR DISCUSSION GROUPS! What are the goals? MAIN GOAL: To partner with a team of students and volunteers in Haiti who do outreach work at hospitals in and around Port Au Prince. Essentially, our job is to help support their outreach work. * We’re not going to tell you how much because the amount is totally irrelevant. If your group raises twenty-­‐
five cents, then rock on. If you raise a hundred bucks, then rock on. Remember: This is a “group project” and simply a way to raise money. * We prefer that you focus on the spirit of the project as discussed on the Soc 119 web site. SECONDARY GOAL: Build group bonds among your fellow Soc 119 students. How will you be evaluated? As a group you will determine the number of points you should receive for your project during the final group meeting. This is a collective group grade so during your final group meeting you will decide with your group how many of those twenty points each member of your group should receive. Everyone in the group will receive the same grade. NOTE: Every member of your group will receive 0/20 for your Haiti group grade if you do NOT do some sort of a group project and don’t complete the final aspect of the Haiti project – which is turning in your contribution by the last day of the semester. Remember, that “contribution” can be ANY AMOUNT of money because your grade not connected to how much your group raises or your “contribution” could be some sort of an alternative assignment.
1. It is your responsibility for knowing if your #fresheyes submission was posted correctly. To find out, just go to your Twitter profile. (You’ll easily be able to see your Flipgrid video.) 2. Keep track of your grades and make certain that you are on the same page as your TAs. It is your responsibility to address ALL discrepancies with your TAs. To see if a grade is posted, while in ANGEL go to: Report ! Grades (under Category) ! Run. If you see the grade, then it was received. Your TA’s have a week to post #fresheyes grades after the day in which they’re due. 3. All attendance and Haiti grades will be posted on the last weekend of the term. The other grades will be put up as soon as they are compiled. If grades are not up-­‐to-­‐date, contact Lana (staff@soc119.org) and she’ll speak with your TAs. Weekly Discussion – 21 points One component of this section of Soc 119 is the bi-­‐weekly discussion group. You meet seven times throughout the semester and receive THREE POINTS per meeting. We will break up the class into two sections and you will meet every other week in the Life Sciences classroom on Wednesday mornings with your “team.” (There are four teams: Team R, Team T, Team F, Team O). You have no free absences. If you miss one of these weeks/groups, you can’t go to a group the following week because you have to attend your group. Here are some details: Again, you receive 3 points per group meeting. If you’re more than 5 minutes late (but less than 10 minutes), you will receive two points for that day. If you’re more than 10 minutes late, you will receive 1 point for that day. But if you’re more than 25 minutes late, then you won’t receive any credit. THAT seems to be common sense, by the way. Do we need to put in the syllabus every last detail? Yes, actually, we do because someone will have unique circumstances and want to leave early but say, “Well, it doesn’t say anything about leaving early.” So here goes: You’ll lose one point if you leave before the group lets out and two points if you leave 15 minutes before the group let’s out. Anything greater than a 15 minute exit means you get no credit at all. Don’t bother challenging any of this because it will only mean that you’re wasting your life worrying about grades instead of contemplating the mystery of being alive and what happens when we die. International Dialogues -­‐ 10 points This semester you will have the opportunity to engage in dialogues with people around the world via video conferencing at the World in Conversation Center. Mostly the dialogues will be with China, Iran, Afghanistan, & Pakistan. This is worth 10 points – which is five (5) points per dialogue and you need to do TWO dialogues. You will register for these at the World in Conversation scheduling page. Erik will explain what to do. It will be your responsibility to get into two of these groups. You can only schedule two. So don’t be scheduling a group and not showing up. You’ll be out 5 points because you can’t make those up. Seats are precious and tight. And be on time. These groups last between 75-­‐90 minutes each. If for some reason a group is cancelled, then you need to sign up for another one. Many logistics go into making these groups happen and some of the countries with which we’re working have unreliable technology. So be patient. WEEKLY SCHEDULE WEEK ONE: Assignments: No assignments this week Announcements: Wednesday discussion groups meet this week! T Jan 13 – Intro to the Course R Jan 15 – Lecture WEEK TWO: rd
Assignments: Flipgrid Intro video is due on Friday, January 23 at midnight Announcements: Discussion groups meet every other week from here on out. T Jan 20 – Lecture R Jan 22 – Lecture WEEK THREE: th
Assignments: First six #fresheyes Tweets are due on Friday, January 30 at midnight th
Register your Twitter username in ANGEL by Friday, January 30 at midnight th
First Flipgrid video set is due on Friday, January 30 at midnight th
Announcements: Guest speakers on the 27 T Jan 27 – Lecture R Jan 29 – Lecture WEEK FOUR: Assignments: Quiz one on Tuesday of this week – in class th
Second set of six #fresheyes due Friday, February 6 at midnight th
Second Flipgrid video set is due on Friday, February 6 at midnight Announcements: Quiz occurs in-­‐class. Bring a pencil. T Feb 3 – Lecture R Feb 5 – First Quiz WEEK FIVE: th
Assignments: Third set of six #fresheyes due Friday, February 13 at midnight th
Third Flipgrid video set is due on Friday, February 13 at midnight T Feb 10 – Lecture R Feb 12 – Lecture WEEK SIX: Assignments: T Feb 17 – Lecture R Feb 19 – Lecture WEEK SEVEN: Assignments: T Feb 24 – Lecture R Feb 26 – Lecture WEEK EIGHT: Assignments: Announcements: T Mar 3 – Second Quiz R Mar 5 – Lecture WEEK NINE: Assignments: T Mar 17– Lecture R Mar 19 – Lecture WEEK TEN: Assignments: T Mar 24 – Lecture R Mar 26 – Lecture WEEK ELEVEN: Assignments: Announcements: T Mar 31 – Lecture R Apr 2– Third Quiz WEEK TWELVE: Assignments: th
Fourth set of six #fresheyes due Friday, February 20 at midnight th
Fourth Flipgrid video set is due on Friday, February 20 at midnight th
Fifth set of six #fresheyes due Friday, February 27 at midnight th
Fifth Flipgrid video set is due on Friday, February 27 at midnight Quiz two on Tuesday of this week – in class th
Sixth set of six #fresheyes due Friday, March 6 at midnight th
Sixth Flipgrid video set is due on Friday, March 6 at midnight Don’t forget to bring a pencil to class SPRING BREAK th
Seventh set of six #fresheyes due Friday, March 20 at midnight th
Seventh Flipgrid video set is due on Friday, March 20 at midnight th
Eighth set of six #fresheyes due Friday, March 27 at midnight th
Eighth Flipgrid video set is due on Friday, March 27 at midnight Quiz three on Thursday of this week – in class rd
Ninth set of six #fresheyes due Friday, April 3 at midnight rd
Ninth Flipgrid video set is due on Friday, April 3 at midnight Don’t forget a pencil for the quiz th
Tenth set of six #fresheyes due Friday, April 10 at midnight th
Tenth Flipgrid video set is due on Friday, April 10 at midnight T Apr 7 – Lecture R Apr 9 – Lecture WEEK THIRTEEN: Assignments: Announcements: T Apr 14 – Lecture R Apr 16– Lecture th
Eleventh set of six #fresheyes due Friday, April 17 at midnight th
Eleventh Flipgrid video set is due on Friday, April 17 at midnight Guest speaker on either Tuesday or Thursday WEEK FOURTEEN: th
Assignments: Final set of six #fresheyes due Friday, April 24 at midnight th
Final Flipgrid video set is due on Friday, April 24 at midnight T Apr 21 – Lecture R Apr 23 – Lecture WEEK FIFTEEN: st
Assignments: Haiti Group Project completed, Friday, May 1 at 5:00 pm th
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Quiz Four – after class on Thursday, April 30 or on Sunday May 3 at 1:00pm in 100 Thomas Announcements: Discussion groups will be meeting during this final week of the semester T Apr 28 – Lecture R Apr 30 – Final Class & Quiz rd
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FOURTH QUIZ will be on Sunday, May 3 at 1:00 pm in 100 Thomas. Or you can take it after class on April 30 . You can take the quiz on either day and you don’t have to decide which day until the last minute. THE [GRADING] MATRIX QUIZZES Quiz #1 Quiz #2 Quiz #3 Quiz #4 ATTENDANCE Discussion Group Lecture PROJECTS 35 points 35 points 35 points 35 points 21 points 36 points Haiti Group Project (Group Grade) 20 points ASSIGNMENTS #fresheyes Twitter Responses 36 points Flip Grid Videos 36 points Flip Grid Introductory Video 3 points Global Video Dialogues 10 points TOTAL: 302 POINTS 302-­‐292 = A 291 -­‐ 285 = A-­‐ 284-­‐282 = B+ 281-­‐270= B 269-­‐267 = B-­‐ 266-­‐264 = C+ 263-­‐249 = C 248-­‐231 = D 230 and below = " NOTES ON GRADING: By and large we’re working on a “Contract Grading” system in this class – which is to say that can decide what grade you want and then do the work to reach it. It’s not 100 percent “contract” because your quiz grade is not assured. But everything else is. So if you want a high grade, then come to class and submit the work on time. The above scale is correct and IS NOT BASED ON PERCENTAGES. The grading is based on points so don’t even bother to calculate percentages. It is your responsibility to keep track of your grades. So throughout the semester review your scores on ANGEL and discuss any discrepancies with your TAs. If you cannot resolve a discrepancy with your TAs, please send an email to us: staff@soc119.org. If we make a mistake with your grade, we’ll fix it.