ETHNIC STUDIES 050 – FALL, 2012 PROFS. REID DAVIS AND MARY MCCALL
CREATING COMMUNITY: INTRODUCTION TO SKILLS FOR BUILDING A SOCIALLY JUST SOCIETY
TUES/THURS 11:20-12:50 Dante 217
INSTRUCTORS: MARY MCCALL – FAH240-13 – x8017
REID DAVIS – LEFEVRE THEATER 5 – x8623
In a multicultural society, discussion about issues of conflict and community are needed to facilitate understanding between social/cultural groups. This course is designed to prepare students to engage in informed and meaningful dialogue – either through conversation and/or through interactive theater - in situations where such understanding and listening are needed. We will discuss relevant reading material about these issues in our social history and will explore our own and other’s identities and experiences in a variety of social and institutional contexts. We will examine personal narratives as well as historical, psychological, and sociological contributions to various groups’ experiences in the U.S. We will focus on issues of social justice and the common good, and how to address them in a variety of interactive formats, including dialogue, non-verbal modes of learning and expression, and interactive theater. We believe that the skills learned in this course will also enable us to engage in dialogues about a variety of issues in our families, among our friends, at our workplaces, and in our communities. One goal of this course is to create a setting in which students engage in open and constructive dialogue, learning, and exploration of intergroup relations, conflict and community building. The Learning Outcomes for this course will result in you, as a student in this course having the opportunity to:
1. Develop an increased awareness of yourself as an individual and as a member of various social groups;
2. Learn about your own and other’s cultures, histories, and experiences and the historical, social and personal factors that help explain these experiences;
3. Explore commonalities and differences across boundaries of social groups;
4. Analyze aspects of social diversity (e.g., ethnicity, race, socio-economic status, gender, sexual orientation, religion, age, ability, and political identity) and how they affect society in the United States of America;
5. Explain how social categories and structures of power may affect the human person;
6. Learn about skills for addressing issues of social injustice that include: verbal and non-verbal communication, conflict exploration and resolution, and dialogue and interactive and forum theater methods for engaging difference;
7. Learn the history of community-based theatre collectives;
8. Use theatre games to strategize, mediate and problem-solve;
9. Identify personal, social and institutional actions that contribute to the creation of socially-just communities and be able to articulate a critical account of a just social order;
10. Demonstrate a capacity for coherent, principled analysis of concrete social problems through the lens of social justice to various settings including the SMC campus and the larger community.
TEXTS: Readings for diversity and social justice: An anthology on racism, anti-Semitism, sexim, heterosexism, ableism, and classism. 2nd Edition (2011). Adams, M., Blumenfeld, W.J., Castaneda, R., Hackman, H.W., Peters, M.L., Zuniga, X. New York: Routledge.
Selections from Theatre of the Oppressed (1974). Boal, A.
Rainbow of Desire (1995). Boal, A.
Games for Actors and Non-Actors (2nd Ed.) (1992). Boal, A. New York: Routledge
Radical Street Performance (1998). Cohen-Cruz, J. Taylor and Francis Publishers.
Additional readings will be handed out in class.
SPECIAL NOTE: YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR KNOWING AND ABIDING BY THE ACADEMIC HONOR CODE OF SAINT MARY’S COLLEGE.
Student Disability Services: Student Disability Services extends reasonable and appropriate accommodations that take into account the context of the course and its essential elements for individuals with qualifying disabilities. Students with disabilities are encouraged to contact the Student Disability Services Office at (925) 631-4358 to set up a confidential appointment to discuss accommodation guidelines and available services. Additional information regarding the services available may be found at the following address on the Saint Mary’s website: http://www.stmarys-ca.edu/sds
COMPONENTS OF COURSE GRADE
Attendance and participation (20%).
Attendance and participation are critical behaviors for making a contribution to class learning. All students are expected to join in the educational mission of the class as both teachers and learners. More absences than the number of course meetings each week will impact your final grade. Should an emergency arise (illness, accident, etc.) that prevents you from attending a class session; it is your responsibility to contact one of us BEFORE the class. All missed classes must be made up by completing an assignment from us, appropriate to the learning objectives of the missed class. Make up work is due NO LATER than one week after a missed class.
Second, you will earn points each week for active engagement in the dialogue and other activities in class. In awarding these points, we realize that modes of contribution may be different for different people, and that different cultures have different norms about how best to contribute in dialogue situations. This course will recognize the varieties of ways that individuals and groups contribute to dialogue. Quantity of talk is not in itself the basis for evaluating participation; the quality of input, the consistency and depth of reflection; and the demonstration of active listening and group participation are important components of dialogue. Good participants also support and help others to participate.
This is the daily point system that will be used for the attendance-participation portion of the course:
2 points: Arrives on time; participates in activities; contributes well to dialogue; makes effective use of dialogic skills (including listening skills); links comments to
readings where appropriate, and otherwise genuinely contributes to dialogue with others.
1 point: Present, participates in activities, but does not contribute very effectively to the larger dialogue.
0 points: Absent, or is unengaged.
Learning Journals and Readings (30%)
Throughout the course, you will be asked to complete readings and write journals in order to help clarify your thoughts in preparation for dialogue and experiential activities. Please complete and reflect on weekly assigned readings and handouts/activities prior to the relevant class meeting. Importantly, your journals should reflect serious and deep thought, and should help you engage more fully in dialogue. The Personal Learning Journal is a log of your own experiences and reactions to the readings, exercises, films, interactions, discussions, lecturettes, etc. as it relates to the goals and objectives of this course. You will be asked to respond to specific questions posed by us. It also provides a forum for you to reflect on your experience, to deepen the learning that comes from course activities, and to wrestle with the multiple thoughts and feelings that arise from social justice education. The journals are opportunities for you to share with us your questions, frustrations, hopes, fears, satisfactions, and ideas.
Think of the journal in terms of A-B-C: A is for Affect. How do you feel? What emotions are coming up for you in this work? (e.g.: When I heard that statement, I felt angry and frustrated by it). How do you make sense of these feelings and grow? B is for behavior. How do the exercises, class discussion and structured dialogues help you reflect on your own behaviors and attitudes? Do you recognize yourself, and your behaviors, in the readings and dialogues? (e.g.: Discussing “attitudes toward women” today, I recalled a time that I made a joke that really upset my friend, and I didn’t know why). C is for cognition. How do you connect your feelings and your behaviors specifically to the course material, key concepts, and readings? This reflective statement is an intellectual connection to the course material. (e.g.: My fellow student’s comment about sexism today contrasts something we read in last night’s article…)
Weekly reading assignments: Readings will be assigned that complement the weekly topics and activities for each class. Therefore, it is vital that you come prepared every week to comment on the readings and share some of your reactions in your journal. While we may not ask specifically for weekly comments on the reading during class, the reading is designed to serve as the foundation for the class activities and, therefore, crucial for effective class participation.
Points for daily journals-readings will be awarded according to the following system:
10 points: On time, exhibits depth of thought and genuine engagement with issues. Uses relevant readings and materials to explore ideas.
5 points: Satisfactory, but somewhat superficial in thought or applications of readings; or late.
0 points: Unsatisfactory, or more than one day late.
Your entries are opportunities for you to think critically and reflectively about the course materials and ideas and to engage them more deeply.
Some questions that may help to guide your journal entries: How does this topic relate to others we have covered? How does this topic relate to a current event? What did I learn from this film/reading/dialogue? How does this class exercise/guest speaker relate to my personal experiences? Show off your understanding and knowledge. Although the journal itself is fairly free-form in nature, be sure to anchor each entry to specific information covered in class.
Some requirements for your journal:
There are no specific page requirements for the journal. Some entries will be longer than others. In general, though, each day’s entry should be 1½ -2 pages in length, with the weekly journal being at least 8-10 pages.
Your journal must be typewritten and double-spaced with normal margins.
Your journal will be collected on the last class day EACH week or you can submit it by email BEFORE the last class meeting of the week .
Critical Reading Analysis – four during the term (25%)
During the term, you will be asked to “evaluate, analyze and critique” 4 sets of the different readings (you choose which readings you will write about) in short 3-4 page papers. For each reading analysis, you will use 2-3 readings.These papers are an opportunity for you to think critically about what each author is saying and to engage the readings more deeply. These critiques are not meant to be personal reflections (no “I” statements), but academic analyses of a specific reading. Some questions to guide your critical analysis: What are the main points that the author is trying to make? Is their argument compelling? What are the weaknesses of their argument? In what ways does this reading complement or challenge the other readings? What points in each reading are particularly strong/weak? The critical analyses are not intended to be a “book report” or summary of the readings, but an opportunity to engage with the readings more critically, deeply, and analytically. You have four papers to complete, by the end of the term and will turn in a critical analysis each Friday. The due dates for each reading analysis are below in the weekly schedule.
YOU MUST ALSO ATTEND AT LEAST ONE DIALOGUE EVENT DURING THE TERM AND ONE INTERACTIVE THEATER EVENT DURING THE TERM AND WRITE ABOUT THOSE IN YOUR JOURNAL.
FINAL PROJECT (25%): This final project will be a project that you choose to do that demonstrates what you have learned in this course. It will be individually (or collectively if you work with another person or persons) negotiated with the instructor – it might be a final paper, or a play that you’ve written for interactive theater presentation – or any kind of creative expression that conveys your learning.
TOTAL FINAL GRADE:
1. Prepared Class participation 20%
2. Integrative Learning Journals 30%
3. Analytical Critical Reading Analysis 25%
- Synthetic Final Project 25%
WEEK ONE - Introduction and Community Building
Tuesday, August 28
a) Course Introductions and Syllabus: Mary and b) Course Organization/Expectations/Assignments: Reid and Mary
c) Creating Community Agreements and Community Building through Person Expression Games - Reid
d) Comfort Zones, Learning Edges, Triggers – Mary
Readings for Thursday August 30: Introduction to Section 1; Chapters 1-3; Chapter 135-136 (Adams, et al)
Thursday, August 30
a) Identifying Social Groups, Identities and Status (p56-57)
b) Identity Molecule – Dominant and Subordinate identities -
b) A Model of Privilege and Oppression –
c) Introduction to Image Theater –
d) closing notecard – take-away – remaining question.
Readings for Tuesday, Sept 4: Chapters 4-7 (Adams, et al.); Boal: Intro to book Games for Actors and Non-Actors (will be emailed to you by Reid)
WEEK TWO - Privilege and Oppression
Tuesday, Sept 4
a) Privilege and Oppression – the Socialization Cycle
Readings for Thursday, Sept 6: Introduction to Section 10; Chapters 131; 132; 133; 135; 136; 137 (Adams, et al.); chapter from Reid on talking about social justice (Michael Rohd – “Facilitation” from Theater, Community and Dialogue
Readings for Tuesday, Sept 11: Introduction to Section 5; Chapters 61-67
Watch film over weekend – Straightlaced – on reserve in library – be ready to discuss on Tuesday and write up response in journal
WEEK THREE – Gender and Sexism
Tuesday, Sept 11
a) Gender and Sexism - Gillian
Readings for Thursday, Sept 13: Chapters 68-77 (Adams)
b) Gender and Sexism: Image Theater enactment (bus)
CRITICAL READING ANALYSIS #1 DUE – THURSDAY, SEPT 13
WEEK FOUR – HETEROSEXISM AND TRANSGENDER OPPRESSION
Readings for Tuesday, Sept 18: Introduction to Section 6; Chapters 78-413 (Adams, et al)
Readings for Thursday, Sept 20: Introduction to Section 7: Chapters 87-95 (Adams, et al.)
Readings for Tuesday, Sept 25: Introduction to Section 2: Chapters 8-15 (Adams, et al).
WEEK FIVE – RACE AND ETHNICITY
a) Race and Ethnicity
Readings for Thursday, Sept 27: Chapters 16-25 (Adams, et al.); Peggy McIntosh, “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” (handout)
a) Whiteness and Privilege
b) Interracial relations
Forum Theater and Community Building – Boal
WEEK SIX - October 2-4
CONTINUATION OF RACE/ETHNICITY ISSUES
CRITICAL READING ANALYSIS #2 DUE – THURSDAY, OCTOBER 4
WEEK SEVEN
TUESDAY - Immigration and Intergroup Relations – story circle activity (Reid) (Discussion on access to college at IC on October 25)
THURSDAY – ABLEISM – PART I - Introduction to Section 8; Chapter 96-104
WEEK EIGHT – DESIGNING WORKSHOP CURRICULUM FOR PRESENTATION ON TUESDAY - Reid