Instructor: Tammy Lynn Kirichenko
tkirichenko@accesscomm.ca
Meeting Times: 7:00-9:45
Meeting Location: CK 187
Date Range: September 8 th - December 1 st
Course Materials & Readings:
Readings will be provided to you online.
Attendance:
If you know in advance that you are going to miss a class, please let me know as soon as possible. Attendance will be recorded each week.
Participation:
This course will include a combination of lectures, activities, and group discussion. Student participation is easier to promote in a small, upper-level course such as this one, and I hope that you will ask questions and actively discuss the issues and topics that are presented.
Grading:
Selected Discussion Topics
Readings & Discussion Questions
Overall Participation
(attendance; general discussions)
Midterm Project: Media Assignment
Final Project: Journal/Portfolio
10%
10%
10%
30%
40%
The midterm project is due on October 27 th , 2010. These must be submitted either via email (before class) or by bringing them to class on that date. Late marks deducted for midterm projects are -1 mark per day.
The final project is due on December 8 th . Your final projects must be submitted to me via email or by dropping them off at the Psychology Department (AdHum Building, 3 rd floor). Final projects cannot be late without an official deferral.
Tentative Lecture Topics (subject to change):
Friendship
Portrayals in the Media
Cross Cultural Differences
Violence Against Women
Women & Power
Other:
Female Aggression
Women in Mythology
Language
Communication
Women & Mental Illness
Plagiarism, cheating, and other academic misconduct will be taken very seriously and reported immediately. If you have questions or concerns about what constitutes plagiarism, cheating, or other academic misconduct, please let me know via email or in class. You are also encouraged to review the university’s policies on the Faculty of Arts webpages. http://www.arts.uregina.ca/current-students/academic-misconduct/penalty-guidelines
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Deferrals:
Please note the procedures for deferral of final exams and/or term work on in the Academic Calendar http://www.uregina.ca/gencal/index.shtml
Special Needs:
If there is any student in this course who, because of a disability, may have a need for special accommodations, please let me know as soon as possible. In addition, please contact the Coordinator of Special Needs Services at 585-4631.
Harassment & Discrimination:
The University of Regina promotes a learning environment that is free of all forms of harassment and discrimination. You are encouraged to review the U of R policy and definitions at: www.uregina.ca/studserv/harassment_prevention
Please contact the Harassment and Discrimination Prevention Office (585-5400) if you are subject or witness to harassment or discriminatory practices at the U of R.
Counselling Services:
If you are having difficulty (e.g., academics, your personal life) and would like support, you are encouraged to contact
Counselling Services at the University of Regina. Counselling sessions are confidential and are offered free of charge to students.
Telephone: 585-4491
Email: Counselling.Services@uregina.ca
In person: Riddell Centre Room 251
Website: www.uregina.ca/counselling/index_shtml
If you have questions or concerns about any other program, service, or policy at the University of Regina, please feel free to ask. The U of R website is located at: www.uregina.ca
Twice during the semester we will have an in-depth discussion of an issue related to the psychology of women. You will be split into groups and given some class time to discuss the issue. The topic will be announced one week in advance, so that you and your group have time to research/discuss the topic and prepare a set of notes. Any reference materials used while preparing must be attached to the back of the notes and be submitted to me following the debate. These notes do not have to be submitted as a paper in APA format—they can simply be (typed) notes in point-form. In other words, it is quite informal but I expect to see that you have done some preparation.
On the day of the discussion, each person will be expected to contribute a question or a point for discussion. Keep these statements brief. Team members are encouraged to present information based on research or other evidence (e.g., examples in the news or other media) rather than simply expressing personal opinions. Your personal opinions, however, are also important but we will get to that as well.
You will only be on a “discussion team” for one of these discussion sessions. During the other, you will be a member of the
"audience" and you should actively participate by asking questions and making comments. In other words, we will have 4 small groups for these discussions (2 discussion teams and two audience member groups).
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Grades will be assigned based on the quality of the prepared notes and how effectively each team member uses the information. It is also based on participation (of course)! We will do a “mini-discussion” practice session before this assignment so that everyone has an idea of how it will work.
Most weeks, I will assign “homework”. This will either involve:
1. Providing you with an article, asking you to read it, and having you each come up with 2 discussion questions that we could potentially discuss in class. This does not necessarily mean that we will get a chance to discuss everyone’s questions, but it gives you the opportunity to read these articles more critically and thoughtfully. You will hand in your two questions (typed, with your name on the page) before we begin our discussion the following week. I will not identify the persons whose questions we use; I will simply select some of the questions that I think will generate good discussion. You will, however, receive the same marks as your classmates whether I use your questions or not.
OR
2. I will assign some small task to you complete over the week. For example, this might involve asking you to watch a particular show on television, find lyrics to a song related to women’s issues, or to discuss a certain topic
(that I will provide) with another female (e.g., one of your friends, a sister, aunt, mother, grandmother, or other female in your life). In cases such as the latter, I may ask you to make note of a few things but, again, it will not be a formal essay—just a few observations/answers that you need to record. For any homework assignment, be sure to include your name on whatever you will be handing in.
This refers to participation that is not directly related to the above (e.g., the homework assignments). As mentioned, there will be a lot of discussions in this course and I hope that you will participate by offering examples, applying the material, and asking questions.
However, the above components of your grade will still largely depend on attendance. You are obviously unable to participate if you are not in class. It is important that you try to attend but I DO understand that sometimes it is impossible. Your mark will be slightly effected if you, for example, hand in a homework assignment late (e.g., the discussion questions) because if you are not present to engage in the discussion portion you will lose half of that mark.
However, I will not deduct “late marks” if you do not attend class but still hand in the homework—it will simply be the discussion marks that you lose. If you miss a discussion topic, those marks cannot be made up.
The purpose of this research project is to survey the current depiction and representation of girls and women in the media. You will be looking for evidence of gender stereotyping, gender equality, gender role socialization, and other related concepts. You will survey both print and television media.
Your task is to create a journal/portfolio that illustrates some of the topics relevant to the psychology of women. Details of this assignment will be provided in class and on the notes page. I will also post an example for you on our notes page.
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