Social Issues: Syllabus

Home Page, Schedule, Bulletin Board | TOC: Goals, Grading, Resources, Contact

MMET 101-01	Spring, 2002
Professor Wayne Hayes	Room E-215

Welcome to Social Issues, spring, 2002. The on-line Home Page for the course provides important background and links to resources. The course Schedule appears in a separate on-line document. A course Bulletin Board will be maintained on our web site for your convenience.

Social Issues probes issues of identity, power, inequality, and change with a focus on social class, race, and gender. Social Issues fulfills a requirement of Ramapo College's General Education program.

Goals ^

I expect you to fulfill three goals in Social Issues:

Eradicate --- pull up by the roots --- oppressive attitudes and behaviors from our language and lives.
Understand and explain how issues of race, gender, and class influence identity, power, and social change.
Contribute a research project that demonstrates a grasp of a specific social issue, graded on its depth, content, coherence, and style.

Grading and Attendance ^

The grading policy reinforces writing skills and the goals and mission of the course:

Three essays corresponding to the main sections of the course: identity, power, and change: The essays each count as 15% of your grade for a total of 45%.
A term project, preceded by a proposal and a rough draft: The proposal and draft each count 5% and the term project counts 25% of your grade, for a total of 35%.
Thorough preparation for each class and active participation in the classroom: 20%. You will be asked to prepare remarks on several readings and briefly explain your project to your peers.

Specific instructions for all assignments will be posted on our web site well in advance of the due dates. Adhere to the Ramapo College policy on academic integrity, pages 47-48 in the College Catalog. Workshops held in computer labs will provide training, assistance, and instructions to fulfill the term paper requirements. Late assignments will be graded down 5% per week tardy.

Attendance at all class functions is mandatory. Each weekly class session counts as a double session. Perfect attendance will be awarded a bonus of 2 points. Missing a single class is neutral, but every class after that reduces your grade by four points. Three full absences constitute grounds for failure and requires that the student initiate an appointment with the professor. Excused absences, which count as half an absence, may be granted for cause, as determined by the professor. Religious observation will be respected and special needs cheerfully accommodated.

Book and Resources ^

These resources will support our mission:

You should obtain Experiencing Race, Class, and Gender in the United States, 3rd Edition (Mountain View, California: Mayfield, 2000), by Virginia Cyrus, available at the campus store.
The Social Issues Web Site provides on-line material to support the course. The web site can be accessed at the following URL: http://www.oocities.org/~profwork/si/index.html. A Bulletin Board will be maintained and updated weekly.
An e-mail distribution list will be maintained to update you on class business as needed.
Readings will be displayed in the schedule and will be distributed from time to time.
Films enhancing the course topics are indicated in the Schedule.
Social issues unfold all around us. You should monitor a variety of media, such as national and regional newspapers, radio and TV news, and the Internet.

Schedule of Activities

Our course convenes from 6:00 P.M. to 9:20 P.M. on Monday evenings from February 4 through May 13. A detailed on-line Schedule has been provided. The dates below are approximate and may change, but will orient you to the flow of the course. Two computer workshops will be scheduled to assist your writing the term paper. The course is divided into three segments following the organization of the Cyrus book:

Introduction and identity: February 4 - March 4. The essay on identity scheduled is scheduled for March 11. Term project proposal will be due on March 4.
Power: March 11 - April 8. The essay on power is due on April 15.
Social change: April 15 - May 13. Your essay on social change is scheduled for May 20. The rough draft is scheduled for April 22. The final report is due on May 13.

Contacting Professor Hayes ^

The best way to contact me is through e-mail: profwork@yahoo.com or whayes@ramapo.edu. My office phone, (201) 684-7751, handles voice mail. I hold office hours in G-231 on Monday from 1:00 P.M. until 2:30 P.M. and from 5:00 P.M. until 6:00 P.M. I am available on Wednesday and often on other days by appointment.