Fall 2023 - SA 887 G100
Special Topics in Sociology/Anthropology (5)
Class Number: 2828
Delivery Method: In Person
Overview
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Course Times + Location:
Sep 6 – Dec 5, 2023: Fri, 12:30–4:20 p.m.
Vancouver
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Instructor:
. Travers
atravers@sfu.ca
Description
CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:
An advanced seminar devoted to an in-depth examination of a topic not regularly offered by the department.
COURSE DETAILS:
The purpose of this course is to provide space for us to engage with social theorizing that troubles the carceral state (policing, prison industrial complex, other institutions and practices of discipline and surveillance), and the Eurocentric, white supremacist, colonial, hetero-patriarchal and capitalist constructions of the human that traditionally anchor the origin story of Sociology as a discipline. Our project involves reading against the grain of whiteness, drawing on resources beyond academic scholarship, and is necessarily multidisciplinary, drawing as it does on critical race, postcolonial, cultural studies, Black feminist, Indigenous, and biopolitics/assemblage theorizing and knowledge production.
*The course will combine cooperative group work, lectures, student presentations and class discussion.
Grading
- Lesson Facilitation 20%
- Thematic analysis paper 80%
NOTES:
Lesson Facilitation (20% of Final Grade): Grad students will be responsible for assigning a substantial reading, podcast, or video to the class, providing critical thinking questions and leading a cooperative activity and class discussion on the assigned material. After the activity, students will be required to submit a 750-word assessment of the lesson.
Thematic analysis paper (80% of final Grade):
1. Final paper (4000 words). Draw on a minimum of 8 substantial components of assigned material. No additional sources required. Due December 7 by 6pm – 50%
2. Poster presentation (10-minute overview) – 30% (November 23 or 30)
Materials
REQUIRED READING:
Billy-Ray Belcourt. A Minor Chorus: A Novel. Norton. ISBN: 9781324021421.
Mariame Kaba. We Do This 'Til We Free Us: Abolitionist Organizing and Transforming Justice. Haymarket Books. ISBN: 9781642595260.
REQUIRED READING NOTES:
Your personalized Course Material list, including digital and physical textbooks, are available through the SFU Bookstore website by simply entering your Computing ID at: shop.sfu.ca/course-materials/my-personalized-course-materials.
Graduate Studies Notes:
Important dates and deadlines for graduate students are found here: http://www.sfu.ca/dean-gradstudies/current/important_dates/guidelines.html. The deadline to drop a course with a 100% refund is the end of week 2. The deadline to drop with no notation on your transcript is the end of week 3.
Registrar Notes:
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS
SFU’s Academic Integrity website http://www.sfu.ca/students/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating. Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.
Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the university community. Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the university. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the university. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html
RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATION
Students with a faith background who may need accommodations during the semester are encouraged to assess their needs as soon as possible and review the Multifaith religious accommodations website. The page outlines ways they begin working toward an accommodation and ensure solutions can be reached in a timely fashion.