SOC 3200-001 DIVERSITY SERVICE LEARNING SPRING SEMESTER 2012 – T/H 10:45-12:05pm Prof. Theresa Martinez Office: 304 BEH S Office Phone: 581-5712 Office Hours: after class or by appointment Dept. Phone: 581-6153 E-mail: [email protected] Course Description: True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost. ~ Arthur Ashe One thing I know; the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who will have sought and found how to serve. ~ Albert Schweitzer You really can change the world if you care enough. ~ Marion Wright Edelman One of things I keep learning is that the secret of being happy is doing things for other people. ~ Dick Gregory You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson It seems fitting to introduce the task of the course with quotes from Americans whose words focus on the act of giving and whose context in the class will become apparent as the course progresses. This course is primarily an opportunity for U students to engage in community service work in the Salt Lake Valley working with diverse populations in various venues. The course will be focused on hands-on service work in the community. In addition, the course will explore issues of race/ethnicity, class, and gender through scholarly/empirical work, as well as provide the opportunity for students to develop leadership and presentation skills. Specifically, students will choose a service site location such as a detention center, a school, or an agency so that they can engage in service activities on-site or field work. The first weeks of the class will focus on preparing students for their field work; while during the final weeks we will spend time reflecting on the field work. In the interim, for the majority of the semester, the class will meet regularly only once a week for discussion of course readings, visits from community guest speakers, and discussions of field work experiences. The other weekly class period will be a time for students to be engage in field work at their service site or they can arrange to be on-site at a different time that is convenient in terms of resources and transportation. I would like you to leave this course with: 1) hands-on experience with field work at a service site in the Salt Lake valley; 2) an expanded knowledge of concrete issues facing diverse populations in the community based on the site experience; 3) an expanded knowledge of some empirical literature and material on issues of race, class, and gender in the U.S. related to the concept of service; and 4) a basis for critical thinking about issues facing diverse populations in the community. Required Reading: There are no required textbooks or required books of any kind for the class. Instead, you are required to read scholarly articles and web articles during the course of the semester. All required web articles can be accessed through the internet; while the Patricia Hill Collins and the Peggy McIntosh articles will be sent to all students as pdf files. Web articles are generally brief. You are expected to read assigned articles by the dates noted in the course outline. For example, the Nancy Solomon, Michel Martin, and Kevin Whitelawarticles are due to be read by January 13th. The Patricia Hill Collins and Peggy McIntosh articles are due to be read by January 18th. Grading: Your grade will be based on a sociobiography, field work (which will entail feedback from site supervisors/personnel), a weekly reflection e-journal, and a final paper. Due dates are pretty much "written in stone" unless you have been informed otherwise by me. Late assignments are either not accepted or severely docked unless there has been some prior arrangement made, which is rare. Sociobiography (3-5 pages, TYPED Double-spaced) Writing a sociobiography entails writing about your life from a specific perspective. In this assignment you will write a brief biography focused on how your race/ethnicity, class, and gender have affected your life. Remember that each of us has a race/ethnicity, class, and gender even though we might not consciously realize their effects. For example, African Americans may be more conscious of their racial status than a white person. A white woman may be more conscious of her gender than a white man. A working class white man may be more conscious of his class status than a middle class Latino. If you focus, you will be able to see their effects whether positive or negative. Writing a sociobiography is a way for individuals to start thinking about themselves as a part of a large and complex society that both influences and is influenced by their actions. It is also a way to start thinking about how we are situated within a matrix of race/ethnicity, class, and gender in U.S. society and what that really means in concrete terms. More importantly, writing a sociobiography is a way to start thinking about how we are or are not privileged in this society with regard to race/ethnicity, class, and gender. Field Work (1-2 hrs/week) Beginning in about the third week of class, students are required to engage in field work at one of several potential service sites in the Salt Lake valley including schools, detention centers, or other agencies (examples include schools, the YWCA, the Children’s Center, the Road Home Homeless Shelter, Salt Lake Head Start, the Salt Lake Police Department, the Ronald McDonald House, Decker Lake Youth Facility, Adult Probation & Parole, etc…). Students will contact the service site and arrange field work hours with a supervisor at the site prior to the third week of class. If the service site requires training for volunteers, the student may count some training hours toward their field work hours (the YWCA, for example requires training hours). Students will be required to spend 1-2 hours each week at the service site, engaging in field work appropriate to the site. For example, students at detention centers may engage in in-takes, group therapy sessions, etc.; while students in schools may tutor or mentor elementary or middle school students. Thursday Class Meetings With the exception of the first two and last weeks of the course when the class will meet on both Tuesdays and Thursdays, for