Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Spring 2021 - SA 340 D100

Social Issues and Social Policy Analysis (SA) (4)

Class Number: 3229

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Jan 11 – Apr 16, 2021: Tue, 2:30–5:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Prerequisites:

    SA 101 or 150 or 201W.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

How do environmental challenges, the contradictions of capitalism, and histories of violence shape contemporary life? How do social issues affect our identities, communities, and sense of belonging? Students learn how to wield sociological and anthropological concepts and theories through clear and analytical communication and writing.

COURSE DETAILS:

In this course we will grapple with social issues by thinking at the intersections of place/space, belonging/exclusion, and visibility/invisibility. We will consider the contradictions of capitalism; the history of violence done to individuals and groups who live on the “margins”; environmental catastrophe and risks; the challenges of remembering difficult pasts and the way societies forget, among other social problems. In addition, we will interrogate the hierarchies of power and the variances of sexism, racism, and classism they produce. The aim of the course is for students to sharpen their understanding, imagination, and critical thinking with respect to social issues and analysis. With this focus, students should be able to wield sociological and anthropological concepts and theories, and to communicate and write clearly and analytically about social issues.

Approach:

As we meet each Monday, this will be my approach, poached from Roland Barthes:

“What I hope to be able to renew, each of the years it is given me to teach here, is the manner of presentation of the course or seminar, in short, of 'presenting' a discourse without imposing it: that would be the methodological stake, the quaestio, the point to be debated. For what can be oppressive in our teaching is not finally the knowledge or the culture it conveys, but the discursive forms through which we propose them. Since, as I have tried to suggest, this teaching has as its objective discourse taken in the inevitability of power, method can really bear only on the means of loosening, baffling, or at the very least, of lightening this power. And I am increasingly convinced, both in writing and in teaching, that the fundamental operation of this loosening method is, if one writes, fragmentation, and if one teaches, digression, or, to put it in a preciously ambiguous word, excursion.” (p.15)

From “Lecture in Inauguration of the Chair of Literary Semiology,” College of France, January 7, 1977, October 8, 1979 (p. 3-16) 

A Covid-19 note: 

Students, we will meet virtually in a very strange and unsettling time. Many of you have likely faced added challenges due to the global pandemic and may continue to face them. I promise to offer compassion and flexibility in our time together because I am invested in you, not only as students in my class, but as people in the world. This is a moment that requires thinking, generosity, and community building. This fall, we will think together about the ways in which theory can help us to understand our lives and societies in order to imagine something better. We will engage with theory, using both our minds and our hearts through close reading, regular writing practice, and radical listening.

Grading

  • Participation 10%
  • Discussion responses 40%
  • Term paper 50%

NOTES:

Grading: Where a final exam is scheduled and the student does not write the exam or withdraw from the course before the deadline date, an N grade will be assigned. Unless otherwise specified on the course syllabus, all graded assignments for this course must be completed for a final grade other than N to be assigned. An N is considered as an F for the purposes of scholastic standing.

Grading System: The Undergraduate Course Grading System is as follows:

A+ (95-100) | A (90-94) | A- (85-89) | B+ (80-84) | B (75-79) | B- (70-74) | C+ (65-69) | C (60-64) | C- (55-59) | D (50-54) | F (0-49) | N*
*N standing to indicate the student did not complete course requirements

Academic Dishonesty and Misconduct Policy: The Department of Sociology & Anthropology follows SFU policy in relation to grading practices, grade appeals (Policy T 20.01) and academic dishonesty and misconduct procedures (S10.01‐S10.04). Unless otherwise informed by your instructor in writing, in graded written assignments you must cite the sources you rely on and include a bibliography/list of references, following an instructor-approved citation style.  It is the responsibility of students to inform themselves of the content of SFU policies available on the SFU website.

Centre for Accessible Learning: Students with hidden or visible disabilities who believe they may need classroom or exam accommodations are encouraged to register with the SFU Centre for Accessible Learning (1250 Maggie Benston Centre) as soon as possible to ensure that they are eligible and that approved accommodations and services are implemented in a timely fashion.

REQUIREMENTS:

  • All texts and films/videos/podcasts assigned for the week should be read, watched, and listened to before our Zoom meeting.
  • Students should attend all Zoom meetings whenever possible.
  • Canvas responses: Exactly 500 words responding to assigned texts or films (adding an image or a song is okay, too).
    • Responses should be well-crafted and polished pieces of writing that demonstrate your understanding of texts, concepts and theories, and your ability to apply them to the world around you. Responses should not simply be summaries of the text.
  • Students must post 10 responses to the readings out of 11 possible: 7 should be written; 3 can be images or sounds/songs. Only one response per week in advance of our Zoom meetings.
  • For an “A” all 7 written responses must be well executed by demonstrating clear writing and understanding of the text, theories, and concepts with very little grammatical, punctuation, or stylistic errors. For a “B” a student must write at least 6 well executed responses. For a “C,” at least 4 good responses. Students will receive feedback on their responses to improve their writing and theoretical knowledge. They will also be informed in writing if their responses are not satisfactory.
    • Please note that no ‘make-up’ or ‘extra’ responses are possible in light of doing poorly on any given response.
  • Responses must be posted 24 hours in advance of class and correspond to the theories and concepts we are studying for each week.
  • Students must read at least one response out loud during our Zoom meeting for full participation points.
  • Students must be active participants of the Canvas discussion board by interacting with fellow students' posts for full participation points.

Course Policies:

  • Plagiarism or cheating of any kind in the course of academic work is taken very seriously. Academic honesty includes accurate use of quotations, as well as appropriate and explicit citation of sources in instances of paraphrasing and describing ideas, or of reporting on research findings or any aspect of the work of others—including that of instructors and other students. These standards of academic honesty and citation of sources apply to all forms of academic work: examinations, essays, theses, art and design work, oral presentations, and other projects. It is the responsibility of students to follow the rules of proper citation.
  • No recording, photographing or videotaping of the course is permitted without written permission from the professor.

Materials

MATERIALS + SUPPLIES:

Wifi, access to a laptop or tablet with sound, a camera that would enable you to appear in a video classroom, and streaming capabilities.

REQUIRED READING:

All readings will be available through Canvas, the SFU Library, or otherwise online as noted.

Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

SFU’s Academic Integrity web site 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

TEACHING AT SFU IN SPRING 2021

Teaching at SFU in spring 2021 will be conducted primarily through remote methods. There will be in-person course components in a few exceptional cases where this is fundamental to the educational goals of the course. Such course components will be clearly identified at registration, as will course components that will be “live” (synchronous) vs. at your own pace (asynchronous). Enrollment acknowledges that remote study may entail different modes of learning, interaction with your instructor, and ways of getting feedback on your work than may be the case for in-person classes. To ensure you can access all course materials, we recommend you have access to a computer with a microphone and camera, and the internet. In some cases your instructor may use Zoom or other means requiring a camera and microphone to invigilate exams. If proctoring software will be used, this will be confirmed in the first week of class.

Students with hidden or visible disabilities who believe they may need class or exam accommodations, including in the current context of remote learning, are encouraged to register with the SFU Centre for Accessible Learning (caladmin@sfu.ca or 778-782-3112).