Syllabus - Annotated

HONRS 199 Inquiries in Contemporary American Civilization: Interdisciplinary exploration of one or more critical issues that confront the modern United States, such as race, poverty, education, or family.

Prerequisites: None

Instructor: Jason Powell

Email: jpowell@bsu.edu

Course Description:
There are a number of central institutions to help us determine the overall “social health” of a society. These include, but are not limited to, health care, education, penal system, welfare, and labor, as well as social institutions such as race, class and consumerism, and gender. In the United States these institutions take on special gravitas as we push our way into the twenty-first century with a struggling health care system, an educational system under attack, the highest incarceration rate in the world, and the least fortuitous labor market and welfare safety net among industrialized western nations. This course will examine these vital American institutions by focusing on the central problems while proposing workable solutions. 

UCC Objectives:

HONORS 199 fulfills the UCC Social Sciences Tier 2 requirement.  In the transformation from knowledge to judgment, the course enables students to

·       use multiple sources of information and knowledge regarding contemporary American society (including both literature and the arts) to evaluate competing hypotheses, form judgments, and provide their rationale

·       evaluate strengths and weaknesses of arguments and actions related to topics of American institutions/history

·       explain others’ values as well as their own, as historical personages within contemporary American society

·       form knowledge both independently and collaboratively within a student centered, student driven, exploratory learning environment

Honors 199 Course Objectives:
Upon competing Honors 199 you will be able to effectively:

·       Discern the importance of utilizing social sciences to study important social issues in the United States.

·       Describe “generational poverty” along with the role that race and gender play in America’s self-understanding of social responsibility.

·       Describe the historical and contemporary political discourse regarding the government’s domestic policy regarding key social institutions.

·       Articulate, through discussion and writing, critical thinking regarding the importance of studying social issues.

·       Assess the importance of empirical data for confronting your own and society’s entrenched norms and ideas.

Course Materials:

Corporations Are Not People, Jeffrey Clements

The Big Squeeze, Steven Greenhouse

American Dream, Jason DeParle

The New Jim Crow, Michelle Alexander

Riches for the Poor, Earl Shorris

Supplemental Readings

Assessment:

There are three forms of assessment:

·       Quizzes (40%)

·       Short Essays and Discussion Board Responses (50%)

·       Final Essay (10%)

[Although the quizzes are only 4-5 questions long and require just a couple sentences for each answer, they are used to ensure that students have read the course materials. These quizzes were not always a part of this course, but over time it became important to hold student accountable for the reading assignments. That, in turn, improved the quality of the discussions. The discussion board assignments are further defined in the next course document. The final essay is a chance for students to take the information that they have accumulated by reading and watching the assigned materials and apply it to another topic. Rather than having every assignment focus on recapping what was read, students were able to come up with some original ideas.

The quizzes were created in Canvas and each one had a time limit to keep students from being able to reference the texts when they were responding to questions. The discussion boards were also housed in Canvas and set up so that students would not be able to see the posts of any of their peers until they had posted their initial response. Supplemental materials were provided in the modules for the corresponding text for that week with accompanying discussion boards there as well. Because the course was 5 weeks long, and the course had 5 major books to read, there was one book associated with each week of the course.]

Grading Scale:

All your essays and discussion responses will be graded on a 10-point scale.

Final Essay Guidelines

A.    The purpose of this course is to address some of the major institutional problems that we are still battling in the United States. This final assignment is designed to get you to think about what you would do to fix just one of these problems. So, you are the President of the United States for one day. But in that day, everything you present as a policy decision congress will pass and you will sign into legislation.

B.    Addressing one of the social problems covered in the books or films, please address the following prompt: In a short essay of 500 – 600 words, decide on what you believe to be the most significant social problem in America today and write a policy to remedy that problem. In your presentation (paper) include:

1.     Why this is a problem that needs to be fixed.

2.     Your proposed policy change.

3.     How your proposed policy will be effective.

4.     How do you believe this legislation will change America’s understanding of this institutional problem? In other words, how will this legislation help to change American thinking regarding this problem?

 Other Items:

REQUIRED TECHNOLOGY RESOURCES:

Online Resources: A BSU network account for email and Blackboard.  (Any other subscription or online resources which must be obtained)

Software: (Any software which may be needed for the course, such as Microsoft Office) (This software may be obtained at a discount from the BSU Computer Store at: http://bsu.edu/computerstore.)

COURSE POLICIES:

Attendance

Attendance in Ball State University online classes is measured by your active participation in course activities at least once each week, although some units will require more than once a week participation. Be sure to complete your course work as assigned to ensure you are recorded as attending the course.

Participation and Timeliness

Your regular participation and timeliness are important to your academic success. In online courses this takes the form of participation in discussion via forums, chat, and other electronic means provided.
As this is an online course, it is up to every student to stay on track and not fall behind. You must be self-motivated and disciplined to meet all due dates. Developing a routine is essential.

All assignments are expected to be submitted by a specific time and date.  Assignments submitted late may be subject to a reduction in points, or no points at all.

Academic Dishonesty

You are expected to uphold the highest standards of academic honesty. Please refer to Section VII and other applicable sections of the Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities for information about what constitutes academic dishonesty. If you have questions about whether something is academic dishonesty, consult with me first for clarification.

Etiquette Statement

Please remember the following in all forms of communication in this course:

o   Be mindful to not use language that could be considered strong or offensive. 

o   Keep all writings and correspondence as professional as possible.

o   Keep writing to a point and stay on topic.

o   Double-check all writing to make sure that it clearly conveys the exact intended message.

Students with Disabilities
Some elements of this course may not be accessible to persons with some types of disabilities. If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability, please contact Ball State’s Disability Services (DS) office. Disability Services coordinates services for students with disabilities. Documentation of a disability needs to be on file in that office before any accommodations can be provided. Disability Services can be contacted at 765-285-5293 or dsd@bsu.edu. Further online information for students may be found at the BSU web page.

  

TECHNICAL INFORMATION:

Become familiar with the class interface before the semester begins and seek help if necessary. BSU provides resources to help you. A lack of Blackboard knowledge is not an acceptable excuse for late or incomplete work.

Technical Equipment

In order for you to be successful in this type of course (e.g. online delivery, distance education), you will need the technology listed in the Technology for Online and Distance Education Students.

Technical Assistance

If you have technical questions, you can contact Ball State's Help Desk. In addition, the Help Desk staff has put together many how-to video clips in its Tech Clips section that can guide you through many of the most common questions. The helpdesk can be contacted at: 1-765-285-1517 or email at helpdesk@bsu.edu.