Sociology 270: Global Social Problems
Dr. Heideman
MWF 10-10:50
DuSable 212
Office Hours: M 9:00-9:45 & 3:30-4:30 or by appointment
Office: Zulauf 812
Email:
Course Description:
In this class, we will use sociological perspectives to understand the nature of global social problems such as HIV/AIDs, gender-based violence, poverty, and civil war. We will examine topics such as global health, global production of goods and services, gender equality, peace and conflict, and inequality in a globalizing world. Students will learn about the ways global social problems can be analyzed and the different actors involved in trying to address these problems.
Student Learning Outcomes:
Upon completion of the course, students will:
1)Be able to analyze global social problems from a sociological perspective.
2)Be familiar with the types of international actors involved in addressing global social problems.
3)Be able to locate appropriate data and sources to be able to analyze a problem.
4)Be able to present convincing analyses of social problems in oral and written form.
5)Be able to find and analyze news coverage of global social problems.
Course Readings:
This course has one required book, which is available at the bookstore:
Eitzen, D. Stanley and Maxine Baca Zinn. 2012. Globalization: The Transformation of Social Worlds, 3rd Edition.
Additional readings will be available through the course website on Blackboard.
Course Policies:
Attendance: Attendance is required. You may miss three classes during the semester without penalty. IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO CONTRACT ME TO FIND OUT WHAT YOU MISSED IN CLASS. Unless you have made advance arrangements with me, you will miss any points from participation or classroom workshops from those days.
Students more than 5 minutes late will not receive credit for attendance.
Preparation: You are expected to come to class prepared. This means you will have completed the readings and any assignments.
Late Work: Late work WILL NOT be accepted without prior written approval from the instructor.
Etiquette: A good classroom atmosphere requires mutual respect. I expect you to listen to your classmates and respond thoughtfully in discussions. Use of electronic devices for non-class purposes is prohibited.
We have a lot of ground to cover this semester, so it is absolutely imperative that we maintain a positive and active learning environment in the classroom at all times. The classroom is a safe zone for all students regardless of sex, age, race, ethnic background, religion, sexual and political orientation, ability or disability. I expect you all to promote an active learning environment in the classroom by supporting each other intellectually, asking questions (of me and your fellow students), and by being an aggressive learner.
A few basic ground rules:
- Treat everyone in the class with patience and respect.
- Be curious and ask questions of your classmates; of our readings; and of your professor.
- When you speak, remember that you are in dialogue with the entire class. Speak with and listen to your classmates.
- You are responsible for your own learning and accountable for your own work—I am here to help, but you are ultimately in charge of your own educational experience.
Blackboard: The course website will have important information about this class, including course readings. You are expected to visit the website regularly to check for updates.
Getting in touch with me: Email is the best way to get in touch with me. Please put the class number in the subject line. I will respond to your requests and questions as soon as I can, but please allow at least 24 hours for response on weekdays and 48 hours on weekends. Emails should be limited to questions of clarification that can be answered in a sentence or two. For anything requiring a detailed response or a back-and-forth dialogue, please attend my office hours.
Assignments and Grading: Your final grade will be made up of the following assignments:
Attendance & Participation / 10% (100 pts) / ongoingQuizzes / 12% (120 pts) / ongoing
Homework / 7% (70 pts) / ongoing
News items / 10% (100 pts) / ongoing
Haiti Paper / 25% (250 pts) / 10/15
Comparison Paper / 30% (300 pts) / 12/3
Presentation / 6% (60 pts) / Last week of classes, finals
TOTAL / 100% (1000 pts)
The grading distribution for the class is as follows:
A: 93-100 (%)
A-: 90-92.99
B+: 87-89.99
B: 83-86.99
B-:80-82.99
C+: 77-79.99
C: 70-76.99
D: 60-69.99
F: < 60
If you are unhappy with your grade on a paper or exam, you can raise the issue with me. You must wait at least 48 hours before contesting a grade. Contestation should take the form of a 1 – 2 page memo explaining why you deserve a better grade, followed by a meeting with me during office hours. Your grade can go either up or down upon review.
Extra Credit:
I will announce talks throughout the semester that you can attend for extra credit. To receive credit, you must write a two paragraphreview of the talk. The first paragraph should be a summary of the talk: the speaker, the venue, the title of the talk, the topic of the talk, and the main ideas the author presented. The second paragraph is your analysis of the talk. In this paragraph, you should evaluate the ideas the speaker presented and discuss the relevance of the talk for global social problems. This should be posted to the extra credit discussion thread in Blackboard so that your classmates who could not attend the talk can see what was under discussion. These are worth 10 points each and you can do a maximum of four in the semester.
Accommodations:
If you have a disability that requires accommodation for course work, you should work with the Disabilities Resource Center to determine appropriate accommodations.
Email:
Phone: 753-1303.
Feel free to discuss with me any issues that may affect how well you do in the course. While I cannot guarantee any special accommodations for issues that are not technically disabilities, I will try my best to come up with a way in which you can get the most out of this course.
Academic Integrity:
NIU (and I) take academic integrity very seriously. Copying the work of others, turning in writing that is not your own, and not properly citing others are all examples of violations. If I find violations in class, the student will receive an automatic fail on the assignment, with the possibility of additional penalties, depending on the severity of the offense.
For more information, see:
IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO BE AWARE OF WHAT CONSTITUTES ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT.
Other Resources:
NIU Writing Center
SCHEDULE (Subject to change):
Date / Topic / Readings / AssignmentWeek 1: Intro to Globalization
8/25 / Intro / No reading
8/27 / Globalization I / Course syllabus; E&Z Ch 1 / Syllabus scavenger hunt due
8/29 / Globalization II / Kelleher and Klein, Ch 1
Week 2: Intro to Social Problems
9/1 / LABOR DAY: no class!
9/3 / Social Problems I / Carl Ch 1 (Blackboard)
9/5 / Social Problems II / No reading
Week 3:Haiti
9/8 / Globalization III / E&Z Ch 2
9/10 / Haiti I / Katz Ch 2 (Blackboard) / Quiz 1
9/12 / Haiti II / Katz Ch 10 (Blackboard)
Week 4: Global Actors
9/15 / Library Session
9/17 / UN I / Smallman and Brown, Ch 5 (Blackboard)
9/19 / UN II
Week 5: Global Actors
9/22 / Bretton Woods I / Smallman and Brown, Ch 4 (Blackboard) / News 1 due by 8 pm 9/21
9/24 / Bretton Woods II
9/26 / Transnational Activist Networks / Keck and Sikkink, Ch 1 / Quiz 2
Week 6:Global Economic Issues
9/29 / Global Inequality I / E&Z pp79-91 / News 2 due by 8 pm 9/28
10/1 / Global Inequality II / Collier Ch 1 (Blackboard)
10/3 / Changes in Production / Engardio—The Future of Outsourcing (Blackboard)
Week 7: Global Economic Issues
10/6 / Changes in Production II / News 3 due by 8 pm 10/5
10/8 / Labor / E&Z Pp 92-96; Ranis—Factories without Bosses (Blackboard)
10/10 / Free Trade v. Fair Trade / Valkila et al; “Question” (Blackboard) / Quiz 3
Week 8: Global Health
10/13 / Global Disease I / Lakoff (Blackboard) / News 4 due by 8 pm 10/12
10/15 / Global Disease II / Haiti paper due
10/17 / HIV/AIDS I / Nolen—28 Stories of AIDS (Blackboard)
Week 9: Global Health
10/20 / HIV/AIDS II / Brysk Ch 5 (Blackboard) / News 5 due by 8 pm 10/19
10/22 / Cholera / NYT 1, 2 (Blackboard)
10/24 / Treatment / E&Z pp258-261 / Quiz 4
Week 10: Gender
10/27 / Global Women’s Rights I / Hill (Blackboard) / News 6 due by 8 pm 10/26
10/29 / Global Women’s Rights II / Bunch; Busia (Blackboard)
10/31 / Women’s Work I / E&Z pp185-197
Week 11: Gender
11/3 / Women’s Work II / E&Z pp 198-219 / News 7 due by 8 pm 11/2
11/5 / Human Trafficking / E&Z pp 262-268
11/7 / Global Feminism / E&Z pp 291-302 / Quiz 5
Week 12: Peace, Conflict, and Human Rights
11/10 / UN Peacekeeping / Howard (Blackboard) / News 8 due by 8 pm 11/9
11/12 / Peacebuilding / Paris Ch 1 (Blackboard)
11/14 / Peacebuilding Critiques / Autesserre Ch 1 (Blackboard)
Week 13: Peace, Conflict, and Human Rights
11/17 / R2P / Evans (Blackboard) / News 9 due by 8 pm 11/16
11/19 / Transitional Justice I / Sikkink Justice Cascade Ch 1 (Blackboard)
11/21 / Transitional Justice II / Quiz 6
Week 14: Wrap-up, Thanksgiving
11/24 / Wrap-up / News 10 due by 8 pm 11/23
11/26 / THX—no class!
11/28 / THX—no class!
Week 15: Wrap-up
12/1 / Wrap-up
12/3 / Presentations / Comparison Paper due
12/5 / Presentations
FINAL: Presentations, Monday, December 8th 10-11:50
News / Quizzes / HW / Att/Part / Haiti / Compar. / Pres. / Total (1000 pts total)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
TOTAL
1