Poverty in America 1 POVERTY IN AMERICA IN (NON)FICTION AND FILM Course Number: UGS 303 Instructor: Miguel Ferguson E-mail Address: [email protected] Unique Number: 65860/65870/65880 Office Number: SSW 3.122b Semester: Fall 2009 Office Phone: 232-5914 Meeting Time/Place: Thursday 1:00-4:00 Utopia Theater in School of Social Work TAs: Dana Duncan ([email protected]) Cristina Benavides ([email protected]) Office Hours: By appt. Office Hours: Thursday 11:00-1:00 or by appt. I. Course Description This course introduces students to the critical issue of poverty in the United States, past and present. Using literature, novels, investigative journalism, and film (not textbooks!), the course explores an array of issues associated with poverty in America. From turn of the century muckraking journalism that exposed the horrors of tenements and stockyards to contemporary depictions of poverty in the era of welfare reform, mass home foreclosures, multi-billion dollar bank bailouts and “cash for clunkers,” this course examines works of film and writing that have both shamed and stoked our national conscience. In the process, we will also learn about the causes of poverty, trends in poverty over time and with regard to specific vulnerable groups, and what we can do to end poverty as we know it. II. Books 1. King of the Hill, by A.E. Hotchner 2. Change Me Into Zeus’s Daughter by Barbara Robinette Moss 3. The Working Poor by David Shipler 4. Caught in the Storm by M. Ferguson, H. Neuroth-Gatlin & S. Borasky III. Films 1. Matewan 2. King of the Hill 3. New Harvest, Old Shame 4. Roger & Me 5. Legacy 6. When the Levees Broke: Acts I & II 7. Sin NombrePoverty in America 2 IV. Course Requirements The entire class will meet once a week on Thursdays to discuss a book, watch a film, or listen to a lecture. Students will also attend one of three discussion section on Fridays (led by course TAs) to take quizzes or further discuss material covered in class. Over the course of the semester we will read four books and watch seven films. Though this is a large-format course, contributions from each student are still needed to advance the learning process. Students will be expected to come to class on Thursdays and individual discussion sections on Fridays prepared to participate in class learning. ► Film/Book Quizzes Students will be given five (5) quizzes on a random basis throughout the semester. The quizzes will be given during the respective discussion sections on Friday and will cover information covered the previous day in class. This will include information about the book or film as well as any pertinent lecture material, so it will be important for students to be thoroughly familiar with the films/books and lecture material discussed in class the previous day. Each quiz will be worth 10% of the overall grade. ► Short Film or Poverty Script Working in groups of three, the “final exam” will consist of a short film (5-10 minute) or “poverty script” students will create related to the subject of poverty. Students must meet with the instructor prior to selecting their film or script topic, but may pursue a variety of alternatives as a means to meet the requirements of the assignment. More information on the short film/poverty script project will be given during the third week of class. ► Class Participation Students will be graded on the quality of their contribution to the collective learning pursuits of the class, including participation in class, e-mail discussions, and office visits with the instructor or TAs. Since attendance is a key condition of participation, more than two absences will result in a letter grade at least one grade below an “A”. Each subsequent absence will reduce the overall participation grade by one letter grade. Students will provide a written assessment of their participation on the last discussion section meeting of the semester (Dec. 4).  Service Assessment In order to gain firsthand experience with the issue of poverty, students will be expected to complete 10 hours of service with an organization that works with and/or provides services to, low-income populations. Students will be required to submit written verification from an agency employee that the ten hours of service has been completed. At the end of the semester students will provide a written assessment of their 10-hour service and overall class participation to the instructor. The assessment should be 2-3 pages in length (12 point font, 1.5 spaced) and answer the following: -- Provide a brief history of the organization and the services it offers. Why did you choose this organization and type of volunteer work? What sort of work did you do? What specific low-income population(s) did you serve? What are the main poverty-related problems being experienced by this population? What other type of assistance does this population need? Summarize your overall experience.Poverty in America 3 Grade Formula Class Participation (15%) Service Assessment (10%) Book/Film Quizzes (5) (50%) Short film or Poverty script (25%) Grades will be determined as follows: 100 - 94 = A 93 - 90 = A- 89 - 87 = B+ 86 - 84 = B 83 - 80 =B- 79 - 77 = C+ 76 - 74 = C 73 - 70 =C- V. Course Schedule (Books in bold, films underlined) Topic of Study, Readings, and Assignment Due Dates Aug 27 Overview of the Course Rules for Conscious Living Sept 3 MATEWAN Well-intentioned labor leader Joe Kenehan (Chris Cooper) arrives in Matewan, W. Va., to unionize the coal mine workers. But his efforts to organize the coal company workers spark one of the most violent incidents in the history of the 1920-21 Coal Wars. Tensions grow between the minors and the company men, igniting a powder keg of racial hostility, corruption and betrayal. Sept 10 Talkin’ ‘bout poverty: Trends, size, scope, causes & demographics Sept 17 KING OF THE HILL A young boy struggles on his own in a run-down motel after his parents and younger brother are separated from him in Depression-era St. Louis. Sept 24 King of the Hill Library Workshop Oct 1 NEW HARVEST, OLD SHAME A CPB Frontline update of Edward R. Murrow`s classic 1960 documentary Harvest of Shame that revisits the migrant farm workers who annually travel from Florida to the mid-West and back. From their decrepit housing and