GST 110: The Global Experience

GST 110: The Global Experience - Spring, 2000
Section D: MWF 9:20a.m. – 10:30a.m.
Location: Mooney 210

Anne Bolin
Office: Alamance 318D Office Hours : TTH 5-6p.m.
Telephone: Office - 584-2191
Home - 229-7600 (before 8:00 p.m.)

Kelly Wingate – Teaching Assistant
Location: Thinking CAP – West 105
Home: x3869(before 1 a.m.)

Catalog Description:

This first year seminar examines public responsibility in a global context. It explores some of the implications created by cultural and natural diversity and the possibilities for human communication and cooperation within this diversity. The course emphasizes student and faculty creativity through active and collaborative learning. This course is a women’s/gender studies course and emphasizes women and men in a cross-cultural context.

Overview of General Studies Objectives and Goals:

The objectives and goals of GST 110 are based in the objectives and goals of general studies at Elon College. General Studies seek to inculcate the following within students:

•Scholarship - critical, creative, connected thinking
•Leadership - informed values and actions
•Wholeness - development of the whole person (mind, body and spirit)
•Diversity - respect for diverse ideals, approaches and peoples
•Independence - self-directed learning and experiential learning
•Foundations - "the 3 R's," locating information, ease with technology

Intellectual Development Goals of General Studies:

The overall intellectual development goals of General Studies are to move students through the following stages: dualistic thinking to multiplistic thinking to relativistic thinking to committed thinking. These four types of thinking are illustrated as follows:

•Dualistic Thinking - "The truth is absolute and authority figures are the only source of knowledge."
•Multiplistic Thinking - "Any old opinion is as good as the next."
•Relativistic Thinking - "Knowledge is contextually based. Different systems of evaluation are possible."
•Committed Thinking - "Decisions are based on a deliberately chosen moral code and world view."

Objectives of this course:

In the light of the objectives and goals of General Studies, the overall objective of this course is to build a solid basis from which each of the aforementioned objectives and goals can be achieved during your four years at Elon. You will be introduced to a process of engaging in high quality scholarship through the use of a theoretical, conceptual, and empirical understanding of the culture concept. Our knowledge of the culture will be undertaken through four themes in which women and gender relations are emphasized: 1) the culture concept, 2) encountering and studying culture, 3) learning from other cultures and 4) the impact of globalization by looking at culture as dynamic and ever changing. These themes are interwoven throughout our understanding of a world full of women.

My personal goal is to facilitate an intellectual growth spurt in my students so by the end of my course you will be engaged in culturally relativistic thinking and some of you in committed thinking. In addition, I hope you will move beyond bio-centric models of gender to see the importance of culture in shaping gender. I know you can achieve this.

Culture Defined: All the beliefs, behaviors and products common to the members of a particular group.

Globalization: The processes by which the lives of all people around the planet become increasingly interconnected in economic, political, cultural and environmental terms, along with an awareness of such interconnections. R. Appelbaum & W. Chambliss.

Required Readings:

Writing Research Papers Course Pack
Ward, Martha C. A World Full of Women. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon, 1999.

Reserve articles. Filed on reserve by title.

Kottak, Conrad. "Culture." p. 35-47. Anthropology. New York, NY: McGraw Hill, 1997.
Bodley, John. "Anthropological Concepts." pp. 7-17. Cultural Anthropology. 1994.
"Anthropology in Cyberspace."
Anthropology Resources on the Internet.
Buzan, Tony. Use Both Sides of Your Brain. Chapters 6,7,8.

The Sunday New York Times.

Each student is required to have his/her own copy of the Sunday edition of The New York Times each week. You may not share copies since each of you will have assignments requiring your own copy. The Sunday New York Times can be picked up at the Elon College Campus Shop every Monday morning at 8:00 a.m. If you choose this option, you must pay for the entire semester in advance. However, if you wish to have your newspaper on Sunday, you may purchase it each Sunday morning at The Company Shops Newsstand in downtown Burlington. If you choose this option, you can call 226-3606 and reserve your copies.

Grades & Assignments

GST 110 courses are writing intensive and will include in class writing assignments as
well as homework assignments.

Two tests are given - one in the middle of the semester and one at the end. 100 points each.

Class participation. This may include attendance at off campus events and may include evenings or weekends.

A final project or research paper 7-10 pages in length. See my coursepack on Guide to Writing Research Papers. For sale at Campus Shop with other course materials. (See syllabus instructions below "Guidelines for final paper project").

New York Times journal reactions and reflection assignments.

20 minute oral presentation of final project.

GRADING

I grade on a system of points for a class. Each major assignment is worth 100 points with smaller assignments worth 50, 25, 20 or 10 points. Your grade is assessed on the percentage of points you have out of the total points in the course. This total number is determined as the semester progresses.

The Elon College Academic Catalog provides the following descriptions to letter grades. I have highlighted the operative words that will serve as the basis for determining your grades:

•A grade in the "A" range indicated distinguished performance in a course.

•A grade in the "B" range indicates an above-average performance in a course.

•A grade in the "C" range indicates an average performance in which a basic understanding of the subject has been demonstrated.

•A grade in the "D" range indicates a passing performance despite some deficiencies.

•A grade of "F" indicates failure.

Grades:

Sociology uses the following grading system:

A 93-100      C+ 77-79
A- 90-92         C 73-76
B+ 87-89       C- 70-72
B 83-86         D+ 67-69
B- 80-82          D 63-66
D- 60-62           F 0-59

Course Requirements: Enjoyment and success in this class requires that you read assignments in advance, attend and participate in class discussions, and write carefully. Look up unfamiliar words and ask questions in class to clarify concepts you don't understand.

ATTENDANCE POLICY

Attendance at all classes. The course policy allows for two unexcused absences. Medical documentation is required if you miss a test, unannounced quiz or assignment to make it up. It is a bit of a gamble if you choose to cut class. You can’t predict when a class grade may be given such as a quiz. I reserve the right to deduct three points from your final grade (based on 100%) for every absence over two. You have one day to make up a quiz. If you have a quiz on Monday, you must make it up on Wednesday; if you miss it Friday you must make it up the next Monday. Certain days are designated double attendance days. These are: the first class meeting after a test has been given and the days on which an assignment is due. This policy encourages you to develop your time and task management skills.

CLASS ASSIGNMENTS

Be prepared to discuss a) all assigned reading material, b) films, and c) concepts from previous classes. You will be asked to comment on the material during the class period to facilitate our class discussions.

The syllabus readings are due on the day stated in the syllabus.

WRITING CENTER

You must visit the writing center for at least one of your writing assignments.

LATE WORK

Assignments are due the day stated in the syllabus or announced by your professor. Late assignments are not accepted. This policy encourages student responsibility for meeting deadlines and completing missed work.

DAILY CLASS FORMAT

Although the class format may vary from time to time, we will try to adhere to the following format:

Mondays & Wednesdays – discussion of course readings, movies, lectures, etc.

Fridays – continue with above, but reserve time for discussion of New York Times assignments.

GST POD LECTURES

There will be guest lectures given throughout the semester. These will be held at an alternative location, usually Whitley and followed with class discussion. See syllabus for dates.

MAJOR ASSIGNMENTS

This paper is based on the research for the Global Studies Women’s Issues Conference.

See handout: Global Experience – Project on Women’s Issues Around the World.

GROUP ORAL PRESENTATION:

If you want to use overheads, videos, or other visual aids, you are responsible for making the arrangements for equipment.

You will work with your country group to prepare and present on your research for the Women’s Issues Conference. The New York Times will be helpful to you in selecting a topic as will your text book (especially Chapter 10).

You will have the entire class for your presentation followed by questions.

You will be graded on:

Your preparedness as a group and individually.
Integration of concepts from your class discussion, textbook, and additional sources.
Whether presentation made within time frame
Depth of knowledge of subject matter.
Use of creative and imaginative material to convey information.

You must give me an outline and bibliography used for your presentation. This must have your group’s names and title of presentation. See syllabus for due date.

GUIDELINES FOR FINAL PROJECT:

These guidelines are directed to research papers but have relevance for any project you choose.

Research Paper

Read my coursepack Guidelines for Writing Research Papers. This document describes how to write a research paper including format, referencing and citation information. Please note an addition: no more than two of your references may be on the Web/Net and these must be examined carefully for their reliability. For some sites useful for Global Studies see my Reserve articles "Anthropology in Cyberspace" and "Anthropology on the Internet" for access to scholarly information on indigenous peoples. Purchase this document and bring it with you to class for discussion if you have questions.

Policy on Plagiarism:

The Department of Sociology and Anthropology will not accept or tolerate instances of academic fraud or plagiarism among its students or faculty. Plagiarism is an extremely serious offense. Using published or unpublished material without citing the source is plagiarism. You may use someone else's material if you enclose it in quotation marks and reference precisely its source. Such material, however, should be used sparingly, if at all. Simply paraphrasing someone else's material by minimal re-arrangement of the wording is also plagiarism. It is an equally serious offense if you write a paper for someone else, or copy someone else's work, or allow someone to copy your work. In all cases, this is cheating. Plagiarism and cheating result automatically in a grade of F for the course.

Guidelines for Paper

Typed, double-spaced throughout (no additional spacing between paragraphs), use the size of the font on my syllabus and a minimum of 7-10 pages.

The following criteria will be used to evaluate your research papers.

Thoroughness in gathering all relevant empirical material on the themes.

Analysis and interpretation: relating empirical material to explanatory frameworks (theories, concepts, and generalizations) and demonstration of the discovery of relationships among diverse aspects of culture. Does the report provide new insight into the chosen subject matter via carefully thought out consideration or does it come off as a simple "re-hash" of source materials?

Evidence of comparisons with materials from other cultures, either your own and/or other Southeast Asian cultures discussed in class and in the readings.

Correct spelling, punctuation and grammar.

REFERENCES – We do not use footnotes but include references in the text and list them in a bibliography at the end of the report. See my course pack "Guidelines: First Aid for Writing Research Papers." An alphabetical list of ALL references utilized MUST be included in the bibliography. If you get a fact from a book, you must list the author, date, and page in the text of your paper. For example, if you are describing specific features of the status of females in Minangkabau society in your paper as discussed by Tanner then you must credit Tanner. For example: The Minangkabau image of womanhood, as found in Minangkabau drama and literature, is of a woman simultaneously strong, nurturant and wise (Tanner 1971: 40).

Direct quotes that are less than two to three lines may be incorporated in the text and indicated as such by quotation marks at the beginning and end of the quote. Quotes more than four lines in length should be separated from the body of the text, single spaced, and indented five spaces on either side; such longer quotes do NOT need quotations marks. Don’t over use quotations – it is better to paraphrase.

At the end of your paper you then must list the references in a bibliography. FOLLOW THIS FORMAT, NOTE THE POSITIONING OF THE AUTHOR, DATE, CITY OF PUBLICATION AND PUBLISHER:

Banks, David. Malay Kinship. Philadelphia, PA: Ishi Publications.

A JOURNAL ARTICLE WOULD LOOK LIKE THIS:

Muzaffar, Chandra. 1986 Malaysia: Islamic Resurgence and the Question of Development.

Soujourn 1 (1): 57-75.

*ALL FINAL PROJECTS MUST INCLUDE A SCHOLARLY BIBLIOGRAPHY.

NEW YORK TIMES REFLECTIONS, RESPONSES & CRITIQUES

Discussion weekly of NYT articles.

Various NYT assignments will be given to you for the Thursday class following your most recent NYT.

The NYT assignments given to you will be in the form of handouts, oral assignments, e-mail assignments (so check your e-mail Monday morning), or I may ask you to create a NYT assignment. NYT assignments also appear in your syllabus.

You will be asked to write responses to these assignments, and you must include a clipping of the article(s) you have read. The best way to do the clipping is to cut it out and tape it on notebook size paper – make sure you include complete citation: author(if one), full date and pages, section along with any other identifying information, including title.

CALENDAR

Feb. 2 (W) Introduction to course content.

Review syllabus.

Feb. 4 (F) Reserve Articles The Culture Concept. "Anthropological Concepts" by James

Bodley, pp. 7-17. Reflect on study questions on p. 17: Questions 1,2,4,5.

"Culture" by C. Kottak, pp. 35-47. Reflect on the study questions 5,6,7,12,13,14 on p. 47. Make sure you can discuss these. You are not required to write your answers to the study questions for either reading. Of course, notes would be of value since we will discuss them in class.

Feb. 7 (M) Introduction to Culture Concept: Elements of Culture and Institutions/Structures.

Reserve article Buzan. Use Both Sides of Your Brain. Ch. 6,7,8.

Feb 9 (W) Faces of Culture: Film Ward; Introduction pp. viii-xii

For Friday – A typed reflection on NYT article. 1 page.

Feb. 11(F) NYT: Select an article related to women’s issues, clip and bring to class for discussion.

Feb. 14 (M) Work and Gender Ward – Ch. 1

Feb. 16 (W) continued

Pod Lecture: McCrary- Fine Arts Bldg.- Jeff Pugh

Feb. 18 (F) New York Times assignment - Library

Feb. 21 (M) Love and Culture: Ward - Ch. 2.

Feb. 23 (W) Guest Presenters: Gospel Music, Focus on Gender and Culture.

Step 1 Article research due

Feb. 24 (TH) Cultural Event: Gospel – 7:30pm McCrary

Feb. 25 (F) Ward – Ch. 2 continued

Feb. 28 (M) One page typed research paper proposal due

Bio-cultural Issues in Women’s Life Cycle: Ward – Ch. 3.

Mar. 1 (W) continued

Mar. 3 (F) New York Times discussion

Mar. 6 (M) Romance and Resistance: Ward – Ch. 5.

Mar. 8 (W) continued

Mar. 10(F) Midterm

Mar. 13(M) Separating the Genders: Ward – Ch. 6.

Mar. 15(W) continued

Step II Country Report Due

Mar. 17(F) New York Times discussion.

Begin Step 3 – Organize for Position paper

Mar. 20(M) – 26(Sunday) – Spring Break

Mar. 27(M) Supernumerary Genders: Ward – Ch. 7

Mar. 29(W) continued

Mar. 31(F) New York Times assignment – Step 3 Due Position Paper

Apr. 3(M) Health and the Spiritual: Ward – Ch. 8.

Apr. 5(W) No class - SURF Conference

Apr. 7(F) Step 4 Resolutions Paper

Apr. 10(M) Women’s Bodies: Ward – Ch. 9.

Apr. 12(W) continued

Apr. 14(F) New York Times assignment.

Apr. 16(S) Women’s Issues

Apr. 17(M) Conference – 6:30 – 9:30

Apr. 18(T) Conference – 6:30 – 9:30

Apr. 19(W) Women and Globalization: Ch. 10.

Apr. 21(F) continued

Apr. 24(M) Review

Apr. 26(W) Group Presentations

Apr. 28(F) Group Presentations

May 1(M) Group Presentations

May 3(W) Group Presentations

May 5(F) Group Presentations

May 8(M) Group Presentations

May 11(TH) Final scheduled – 3:00-6:00pm