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Seagrave, LEAP 1500

Diversity in American Urban Spaces

LEAP 1500 DVF, HF

Instructor: Jennifer Large Seagrave, “Dr. J”

Office: 9A Sill Center (across the parking lot East of the Union)

Office Hours: M, W 10:00AM-11:00PM and by appointment

Section 1: MW 8:35-9:40BUC 206

PA: Ian Wright

Section 5: MW 2:00-2:50WEB 1248

PA Nicole Mortensen

Section 6: MW 3:05-3:55 WEB 1248

PA Anna Rice

In this class we will study diversity in urban American spaces, focusing explicitly on Salt Lake City, but also veering into social media, film and television representations of Americans in general. The course seeks to ground its analysis of difference in critical theory and also to celebrate the variety of cultural influences in our own urban space.

The course will specifically focus on diversity as reflected in the Humanities. The content of the course is not about Engineering. It approaches diversity in part by familiarizing Engineering students with the fields, concerns, and theories of the Humanities. An introduction to the Humanities will be followed by a brief study of seventeenth-century linguistic philosophy, Saussurean structuralism, Derridean deconstruction, and critical race theory in order to contextualize a basis for understanding, researching, and celebrating the differences found in US urban, media, and virtual spaces. We will study the systematic biases built into a system derived from English colonial settlement and philosophy as well as the complex intersectionality that comprises each of us as individuals.

Through exercises in this course, students will identify many parts of their cultural intersectionality in order to develop an understanding of bias and marginality. Finally students will have the opportunity to experience a space of underrepresented religious affiliation with a team of their peers. Their team project will include a presentation describing their experience at the religious site and a plan to enhance community understanding of this underrepresented group.

Learning outcomes/objectives of this class include the following:

  1. To define social construction of communal identities, hegemony, intersectionality, microagressions, absolutism, structuralism, deconstruction, and facets of critical race theory.
  2. To identify and analyze points of tension concerning cultural Humanities in urban, media and virtual spaces in US communities.
  3. To identify complex points of intersectional identity and analyze their influences.
  4. To research and delineate the historical experience of cultural groups in the US, articulating them in writing and in an oral presentation.
  5. To identify, research and analyze the differences between inferred urban influence and traditional influence in cultural objects.
  6. To organize and deliver a team oral presentation.
  7. To apply teamwork skills in a team project.
  8. To demonstrate library research skills, including databases and Special Collections in a directed research project.
  9. To plan, compose and integrate written communication skills into a formal report on the inferred and traditional influences of a cultural artifact, as well as the history of its founding tradition in the US.
  10. To create a plan for positively influencing an understanding of underrepresented religious identities in Salt Lake City.

Provided Texts

  1. Aizley, H. (2006). Confessions of the Other Mother: Non-biological Lesbian Mothers Tell All. Boston, MA: Beacon Press. Print. Selections
  2. Columbia University. (n.d.).Columbia.edu. Saussure: an introduction. Accessed: to an external site.)(all 11 pages). Web.
  3. Groys, B. (2014). On art activism. E-Flux: Journal. New York, NY: E-Flux. Accessed Print and Web.
  4. Heart, D.W. (1997). Undocumented in LA: An Immigrant’s Story. Wilmington, DE: Scholarly Resources, Inc. Print. Selections
  5. Lopez, L.K. (2011). Fan activists and the politics of race in The Last Airbender. International Journal of Cultural Studies 15(5). DOI: 10.1177/1367877911422862. Print and Web.
  6. Okrent, A. (2010). John Wilkins and the language of truth.In the Land of Invented Languages.New York, NY: Spiegel & Grau. pp. 19-50. Print.
  7. Perkins, M. (2013). Open Mic: Riffs on Life Between Cultures in Ten Voices. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press. Print. Selections.
  8. Saussure, F. (1959).Course in General Linguistics. New York, NY: Philosophical Library. Chapters I & II, pp. 65-78. Accessed to an external site.). Web.
  9. Tyson, L. (2006). Deconstructive criticism.Critical Theory Today, Second Edition. New York, NY: Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group. pp. 250-258. Print.
  10. Tyson, L. (2006). Recent developments: critical race theory.Critical Theory Today, Second Edition. New York, NY: Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group. pp. 367-384 Print.
  11. Woermer, M. (2010). Shyamalan addresses Airbender's race controversy and answers your questions. io9.com. Accessed Web.

Grade Breakdown

Assignment / Description / Points/ Percent of Grade
Attendance and Participation / You will be awarded points for coming to class and participating in all in-class activities on each day. This participation and attendance will be recorded by the Peer Advisor. / 10% (100)
Library Participation / You will be awarded points for attending Library classes and completing the learning activities involved: 4 classes at 12.5 points each. / 5% (50)
Quizzes / These will be quizzes given in class on 8 days during the semester. If you miss these, you may not make them up unless you have been given an excused absence (you might be excused if you are at Jury Duty, are admitted to the hospital or emergency room, are part of a band or sporting event). / 10% (100=8x12.5)
MIDTERM / IN CLASS There will be one class period devoted to the midterm, which wtill be a multiple choice and fill in test. / 15% (150)
Intersectionality Map and Explanation / Each student will create a pie chart or another form of a part-to-whole chart which identifies different portions of their identity. This chart will be accompanied by an explanation of the culturally preferred and non-preferred status of the different portions of the chart. / 10% (100)
Diverse City Project / This is a paper in which you will describe your experience with an object as well as its cultural and traditional history. (total: 4 pages)
In the first portion of your report, you will provide detailed facts about the object and the tradition from which it arises. You will informally present the object to the class or a group within the class. You will describe the tradition from which your chosen object arises. You will use researched information to explain the significance of the object you have chosen from the perspective of the tradition from which it comes. (2 pages, double spaced)
In the second section of your formal report, you will provide a history of the people of this cultural tradition in the US, focusing on the people of the culture as a whole. Finally, you will explain the current state of this cultural tradition in the US and the place of the object in it. (2 pages, double spaced) / 20%
(100)
(100)
Extra Credit / In order to earn extra credit, a student must attend a cultural event and explain in a typed paragraph what aspects of the event make it culturally distinct. There should be clear critical evaluation of how the event represents aspects of the culture. Each student may complete 2 of these assignments for 25 points each during the class. If the student fails to explain what aspects of the event make it culturally distinct, only partial or no credit will be given. / 5% (50)
Team Presentation: Religious Buildings & Centers for Diverse Cultures in SLC / Your team will be assigned to one religious establishment, which you are to visit as a group. You are to attend a worship or practice ceremony at this building if possible, otherwise you may make an appointment to be given a guided tour or meeting with a representative of the establishment. Options will include the Islamic Center of Salt Lake City (or other mosque in the area), the South Jordan Sri Ganesha Hindu Temple and India Cultural Center, the Spanish Fork Krishna Temple (or its Salt Lake subsidiary), the Kol Ami Synagogue (or other synagogue), and the Salt Lake Buddhist Temple.
Teams will be required to read a packet of materials on their religion and religious institution in order to pass a basic test on the facts of the religion. This multiple-choice test will be given in class.
You will give an informal presentation on your trip to the class. Teams should take photographs to use in the report and presentation and/or find them online so that what is seen is represented. This will include major beliefs and practices, architecture, art, music, philosophy/dogma, clothing, and ceremonial food. Some of these categories will be more important for some groups than others. An analysis of the social significance of this building in its urban community will be included in the presentation. / 5% (50)
5% (50)
Team Proposal & Presentation:
Art installation for the improved societal perception of underrepresented religions / Each team in the class will write a proposal and give a presentation that describes their design for an art installation created to provide the larger Salt Lake community with a better understanding/experience of the religion each team studied. The presentation should be 10-15 minutes long and include graphic support in images collected from sources and created by the teams. The presentation will parallel a written proposal that describes the objective of the exhibit, an overview of the design, a description of each element of the design, and a final review of how the parts achieve the objective. / Presentation
April 19/21
Proposal
April 28 / 15%
(75)
(75)
Teamwork Evaluation / These 50 points will be awarded based on a peer evaluation performed at the end of the semester. Essentially, your team will give you a grade for teamwork. You will receive the number of points associated with the percentage score your team awards you on your teamwork evaluation. / April 24 / 5% (50)
TOTAL / 105%

Course Grading Scale: Please note the decimal points. While I occasionally will round a grade up due to extra effort in the class, I am in no way obligated to round your grade to the next letter if your decimal points are more than .5. In other words, unless I see some kind of extra effort, I will not give a 93.9 an A.

A / 94.0-105%
A- / 92.0-93.9%
B+ / 88.0-91.9%
B / 84.0-87.9%
B- / 80.0-83.9%
C+ / 78.0-79.9%
C / 74.0-77.9%
C- / 70.0-73.9%
D+ / 68.0-69.9%
D / 64.0-67.9%
D- / 60.0-63.9%
E / ≤59.9%

Assignments and Late Policies: Assignments in this class are due in Canvas at midnight on the day they are due, or they are due in class by the time indicated on TOP HAT IN CLASS. If assignments are not submitted by midnight, they are late, unless you have obtained some kind of exceptionbeforethe due date. Late assignments will receive a deduction of at least 10%.

All assignments that involve writing should be saved as PDF Document, in a regular 12pt. font with 1-inch margins, double-spaced, with indented first paragraph lines. Do not leave extra spaces or space after paragraphs. (You will need to check your paragraph menu to make sure you are not leaving an extra 10 pts. after each paragraph.) This rule holds true for all papers due in this class. If you like to use Google Docs, please save your final document as .pdf before submitting it. NOTE: Canvas will not accept any kind of document except a PDF!

Extra Credit:During the course, if you can explain to the class how something you did is cultural, you may give a very brief description of your experience to the class and earn 25 points/2.5% extra credit for the class. Students will have the opportunity to ask you questions about the event. You may do this twice, for a possible total of 5% of your grade. You may explain any event at all as long as you can describe HOW it is CULTURAL (what makes it a cultural event?)

LEAP 1060: To receive credit for LEAP 1060, “Methods and Technologies for Library Research,” a 1-unit course, you need to attend at least eight library instruction sessions during the 2015-2016 academic year [5 during Fall 2015 and 5 during Spring 2016 semesters] and get a passing grade for all eight exercises. You will be eligible for this credit if you continue with E-LEAP in the Fall 2016 semester, but you will need to register for it in spring 2017. I will provide you with more information as we approach the end of fall semester registration.

Canvas: We will be using Canvas to promote discussion and learning. I will post this syllabus on Canvas, along with your grades, assignments and announcements. Specific assignments must be posted to Canvas by a certain date. You will maintain contact with your team for the final project by posting to your team's canvas page, and you can access your grades and get copies of the major assignments after they have been distributed in class.

Note that participation and use of Canvas is required for this course. Log in on a regular basis to check for postings from the Peer Advisor and me. Please note: Canvas is a public space and is owned by the University of Utah. When you are posting responses there, please follow commonly accepted rules of decorum and courtesy as you would in the classroom while responding to questions and interacting with other students, the peer advisor and the instructor.

Classroom Policies:Reading assignments will average 5-20 pages for many class periods. Because we have so much material to discuss in any given class period, and class will consist largely of discussion rather than lecture, you must come prepared by having done the reading in a thoughtful, responsive manner. Read the texts with critical skepticism, i.e., to identify the main ideas presented, to weigh and evaluate these ideas with an open mind, and to be prepared to share your responses about what you've read. There will be frequent in-class quizzes on the readings.

Attendance: I expect regular, on-time class attendance. Note that attendance is especially important on days you have library instruction and work in teams in class. However, you should always come to class. Absences will affect your participation score, which is worth a combined 25% of your score. When there are points earned during class time, you cannot make them up outside of class unless you have been granted an excused absence. Excused absences will be granted for deaths, births, stays in the hospital, approved UofU events, and ADA accommodations.

Plagiarism: Claiming or suggesting that words or ideas of others are your own is a form of cheating. The University's policy on cheating is clear: plagiarism is appropriation of any other person's work and the unacknowledged incorporation of that work in one's own work offered for credit." It is theft. Punishment for plagiarism is an automatic 0 on the assignment and can lead to a NC [no credit for the course] if it continues. Further disciplinary action may be taken.

Office Hours:My office hours and location are Monday and Wednesday 3-5 PM in my office in the Sill Center Basement, 009a. The Sill Center is across the parking lot east of the Olpin Student Union. I am happy to meet you at other times. Just ask me to schedule another time!

Reasonable Accommodation: Read the following statement and, if it applies to you, please visit the University's Center for Disability Services, 162 Student Union, or contact them at 581-5020 for information on how they can help you. If you are eligible for any accommodation, please tell me. You may not think you’ll need it, but you might. I can’t give you an accommodation I don’t know you are eligible for.

The University of Utah seeks to provide equal access to its programs, services and activities for people with disabilities. If you will need accommodations in this class, reasonable prior notice needs to be given to the instructor and to the Center for Disability Services, 162 Olpin Union Building, 581-5020 (V/TDD) to make arrangements for accommodations.

*All printed information for this course can be made available in alternative format with prior notification to the Center for Disability Services.

Addressing Sexual Misconduct: Title IX makes it clear that violence and harassment based on sex and gender (which includes sexual orientation and gender identity/expression) is a Civil Rights offense subject to the same kinds of accountability and the same kinds of support applied to offenses against other protected categories such as race, national origin, color, religion, age, status as a person with a disability, veteran’s status, or genetic information. If you or someone you know has been harassed or assaulted, you are encouraged to report it to the Title IX Coordinator in the Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action, 135 Park Building,801-581-8365, or the Office of the Dean of Students, 270 Union Building,801-581-7066. For support and confidential consultation, contact the Center for Student Wellness, 426 SSB,801-581-7776. To report to the police, contact the Department of Public Safety,801-585- 2677(COPS).