CRIMINALIZATION OF DISSENT WINTER 2014

M/W 4-5:15  Saint Mary's University

Professor:  Dr. E. Wilma van der Veen, B. Honours Math, Ph.D. Sociology

COURSE OBJECTIVES

This course will:

HOW TO SUCCEED IN THIS COURSE

The course objectives will be taught using active learning and collaborative (aka cooperative) learning pedagogy, incorporating elements of the socratic method, constructivism, popular education, and transformational learning.  Through a program of readings, class discussions and activities, group and individual work, and various types of assignments, the objectives and course material will be explored and examined. Students are expected to participate in the learning strategies which have been designed to exemplify the topics under consideration.  Participation means coming to class on time and staying the entire period, participating in activities, getting to know your fellow students and professor.  There is no room for negative criticism of others, there is no room for laughter at the expense of another in this class, there is no room for harassment or discrimination.  As your professor, I am responsible for facilitating and encouraging learning and serving as a resource for you in this class.  I am not here to entertain you, I am not here to provide you with customer service with you being a consumer/client, and I am not here to parent you. 

What is active learning?  This method of teaching and learning is where students take responsibility for their learning, instead of simply being passive receivers of information and regurgitating information.  Students who approach their education with a sense of enthusiasm and a willingness to learn are more productive students; the content will relate to your daily activities at home, work, and school. 

What is collaborative/cooperative learning?  This type of learning utilizes the strategy of group work.  Creating groups is one way to minimize the sense of isolation and anonymity that students often feel in large classes.  As well, group work can facilitate the development of important skills, which include: 

The research clearly indicates that successful collaborative learning encompasses: 

Why use cooperative learning?  Extensive research has compared cooperative learning with traditional classroom instruction. On the average

How do you learn? Our learning can be improved if we actually know how we learn best. Consider:  What are your earliest memories of learning to read and write?  How do you currently approach reading and writing tasks? How do you feel about yourself as a reader and writer? Consider the following types of intelligence and which applies to you in terms of your preferred type of learning: (See my website for a questionnaire you can complete)

Ø  Verbal-Linguistic Intelligence -- well-developed verbal skills and sensitivity to the sounds, meanings and rhythms of words

Ø  Mathematical-Logical Intelligence -- ability to think conceptually and abstractly, and capacity to discern logical or numerical patterns

Ø  Musical Intelligence -- ability to produce and appreciate rhythm, pitch and timber

Ø  Visual-Spatial Intelligence -- capacity to think in images and pictures, to visualize accurately and abstractly

Ø  Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence -- ability to control one's body movements and to handle objects skillfully

Ø  Interpersonal Intelligence -- capacity to detect and respond appropriately to the moods, motivations and desires of others.

Ø  Intrapersonal Intelligence -- capacity to be self-aware and in tune with inner feelings, values, beliefs and thinking processes

Ø  Naturalist Intelligence -- ability to recognize and categorize plants, animals and other objects in nature

Ø  Existential Intelligence -- sensitivity and capacity to tackle deep questions about human existence, such as the meaning of life, why do we die, and how did we get here.

Grading practices

Do not equate your self-worth with your grade in this class or on any assignment.  You may be an "A+ person" who happened to perform at a C+ level on a given assignment.  Remember that grades are an indication of your performance in mastering the material at one point in time.  They are not an indicator of my views of you as a person.  Reflect on your grade in an honest and realistic fashion.  My role is to offer constructive criticism of your efforts in this course.  Digest that criticism and then ask yourself questions like: Did I put in the preparation time that would've been necessary to receive a better grade?,  Did I understand the assignment as fully as I could have, if not did I seek help from the professor?, Did I turn in all the required paperwork?, Did I do an adequate job of proofreading?  If you find that you still have questions about how you can improve or about course content, come see me and we will talk about additional ways for you to work on your mastery of the subject matter.  On another note, simply because you have paid for this course does not mean you will automatically receive an “A” grade.  Also by simply completing the work does not mean you will receive an “A” grade.  The output (what you achieve), e.g. an assignment you complete, will be judged in the assessment, not simply the input (what you do), e.g. the effort one puts into the assignment; the latter will not guarantee you a high mark.  If you are having difficulty in the course, consider if this is an ability problem (I can’t do this) or a performance problem (it is hard to do but still doable). 

GUIDELINES FOR APPROPRIATE STUDENT BEHAVIOUR

Adapted from Department of Communication, University of Alaska Anchorage, 2001

If you have any questions or concerns about the following, then it is your responsibility to bring these to my attention during the first two weeks of classes.  Otherwise it is understood that you agree to abide by these guidelines, rights and responsibilities. 

SMU has clear expectations of how students will conduct themselves on campus and in the classroom.  The rights and responsibilities accorded students in the University system are outlined in the Academic Integrity and Student Responsibility which includes the Student Code of Conduct published annually in Academic Calendar.  You are required to be aware of all of these policies.  With regard to this specific course, effective teaching and learning environments are best accomplished by positive teacher-student and student-student relationships characterized by common courtesy, respect for self and others, respect for differing points of view, and honest and responsible behaviour.  When violations of these expectations occur, action must be taken to address the problem before it becomes harmful to the teaching and learning environment. 

General Disruptive Behaviour

Disruptive behaviour may take many forms.  Disruptive behaviour includes but is not limited to: talking when someone else has the floor, being rude to others, offering destructive (rather than constructive) criticism, arriving late, sleeping during class, forming cliques, checking their cell phones or other electronic devices, being passive or disinterested, belligerent or aggressive behaviour and so on.  Such behaviours have no place in a university classroom.  You have a right to maintain your own opinions and to disagree with others, but you must do so in a fashion that is conducive to learning and does not take the form of a personal attack on others.  Minimally, you are expected to treat your classmates and your professor in a respectful fashion and they will return the favour.  Any behaviour that obstructs or disrupts the classroom teaching and learning environment will be addressed.  Serious or repeated breaches in inappropriate behaviour may result in a reduction of your final grade in the course and may be referred to additional University authorities.

The following guidelines outline appropriate behaviour expected of all students both during classes and outside of classes when work is undertaken for this course (this list is not comprehensive): 

Appropriate Classroom Behaviour

Ø  Students are expected to attend all regularly scheduled class sessions and be prepared for class;

Ø  Students are expected to conduct themselves in an honest and respectful manner when interacting with others in the classroom environment;

Ø  When engaged in discussions, students should seek to ask questions that are clear, relevant to the content at hand, and contribute to the individual and/or the class's mastery of the subject matter; and,

Ø  When the instructor is speaking, students should listen attentively and provide appropriate feedback when called upon by the instructor; and,

Ø  When anyone is speaking in class, others should be listening, not interjecting, responding when called upon to do so. 

Inappropriate Classroom Behaviour

It is inappropriate to:

Ø  read other texts or magazines during class;

Ø  talk to others while the instructor or another student has the floor;

Ø  ask questions that have already been answered several times or are answered in the syllabus;

Ø  take phone calls during class;

Ø  sleep;

Ø  make rude comments;

Ø  ridicule others for asking questions; and,

Ø  ask questions or engage in discussion that is irrelevant to the content at hand. 

Appropriate Behaviour in Groups

When working in groups, students are expected to

Ø  be supportive, cooperative, and courteous to other members of the group;

Ø  attend class and/or group meetings;

Ø  do their share of the work; 

Ø  complete work that said would undertake; and,

Ø  stay on task.

Inappropriate Behaviour in Groups

Engaging in inappropriate behaviour and rude behaviour are not conducive to effective group discussion.  This includes:

Ø  failure to show up in class or at group meetings;

Ø  failure to complete work or to do fair share of the work; and,

Ø  use group time to discuss non-group or non-class related matters. 

A Comment on Plagiarism and Academic Dishonesty

The concept of academic dishonesty covers a range of inappropriate and unethical behaviours including but not limited to cheating on exams, falsification of materials, plagiarism, and so on.  As in other courses at the University, students in sociology and criminology are expected to do their own work and conduct themselves in a fair, honest, and ethical manner.  Those who plagiarize or engage in academic dishonesty of any kind can expect to fail the assignment at hand and may fail the entire course.  In addition, instances of academic dishonesty and plagiarism will be referred to the proper University authorities for investigation and disciplinary action. Academic dishonesty is a very serious issue; it will be taken seriously. 

COURSE TEXTS

Ø  Gitlin, Todd, (2012), Occupy Nation: The Roots, the Spirit, and the Promise of Occupy Wall Street, itbbooks: New York

Ø  Online readings and handouts distributed in class

ASSESSMENT

Discussion questions (9 submissions, 6 points each)         54 points  -  approx. 21% of grade

Class participation                                                         36 - 14%

Sociobiography                                                              60 - 23%

Research project (presentation and paper)                     105 - 41%

                                                                                  -----

TOTAL                                                                       255  points - Final grade pro-rated to 100%

WRITTEN WORK

The written work for this class is composed of various submissions. The following applies to all written submissions:

·         Due dates: Due dates for assignments are given for good reason and acceptance of this syllabus indicates your agreement to meet said due dates. Late work will not be accepted.

·         Submissions: Do not submit your papers in folders; simply staple the pages together at the upper left-hand corner. Be sure to keep a copy of your paper in case it goes missing. No electronic copies of written work will  be accepted. When submitting papers not directly to myself, papers can be left with the secretaries of the sociology and criminology department, MS 420, however, make sure the person receiving the paper signs it and notes the date of receipt. Unless otherwise specified, all written work must be typed and in complete sentence form;

·         Questions: If you have any questions about the written work, consult with me well in advance of the due date;

·         Sources/Citations: When required, several sources should be used to explore the topic/question outside of the textbooks (the minimum number of sources required will be supplied when specific work is assigned). Sources for ALL ideas presented and quotations used are to be properly referenced using a recognized bibliographic format. Penalties in the assessment will result if this referencing is not undertaken. If you wish to include an anecdotal personal story, it is still to be written in third person.  If you wish to include personal ideas, you must seek at least two academic sources for this idea in order to prove its validity, or demonstrate how your idea is derived from two other academic sources. Remember: Don’t confuse your own subjective interpretation with sociological ones and don’t make value statements in substitution for critical thinking;

·         Writing style: all written work is to be written using 3^rd person and formal academic writing style unless specified otherwise; and,

·         Returned written work: In a class where you have received returned graded written work, you are NOT to consult with me immediately after class with queries pertaining to this assessment. You must take the time to review your work and then if still necessary discuss the matter after one week has passed.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS (DQs)

Usually, each week one (1) discussion question (DQ) is to be developed and submitted which would help to further yours and the class’ exploration and comprehension of the ideas of the readings.  The DQ is drawn from the material in the assigned weekly reading, and must be handed in at the beginning of the class in hardcopy and typed; no electronic submissions will be accepted.  You are to have a second copy of your DQ on hand for use during class.  If you do not provide a DQ, you are not permitted to remain in that day’s class.  You are not to submit questions which are asked or answered in the readings.  Your questions should not simply be closed-ended questions, e.g. the answer is simply yes/no, nor should they be one which simply seek someone`s opinion about an issue.  DQs should allow for probing discussion which arrives at a comprehensive answer (there could be more than one correct answer to a question; but again answers are not to be an opinion). A good, substantive question involves critical thinking, and focuses on the substance or content of the material.  DQs should demonstrate your increasing knowledge of the subject matter and application of your learning as the course progresses.  DQs should also incorporate real world events.  Each question should include a rationale for the question which includes:  i) why are you asking the question, why it is relevant, useful, important to ask the question, considering not just yourself but looking at society, and ii) a context - from where in the reading is your question drawn providing a corresponding citation (if you are unfamiliar with doing citations then you need to visit the SMU Writing Centre).  Make sure to bring an extra copy of your question to class as you will need it to be able to share the question with fellow students and to discuss it during class.  See my website for more detailed information about DQs, including sample questions and the rubric. 

SOCIOBIOGRAPHY

“The purpose of the socioautobiography is to use the insights from sociology to better understand your own story; it is a way of using sociology to explore our personal riddle. But the socioautobiography is not a diary or a point-by-point account of your life since infancy. It is rather a reflective exercise in which you step outside of yourself and employ sociological concepts to interpret your experiences. . . .  it uses the concepts of the discipline to interpret our life in its social context. (Excerpt from Kanagy, C. L., & Kraybill, D. B., (1999). The Riddles of Human Society, Thousand Oaks: Pine Forge Press, (pg. 287-89)).  For this assignment you are to reflect on the topics and concepts used throughout the class and consider how they are applicable in your own life, either directly or indirectly.  Specific questions will be provided every two weeks on average for you to explore  There is in effect no one right or wrong answer however your discussion must demonstrate the accurate usage and understanding of the material, applying the course contents and associated concepts correctly, and incorporating discussion about the additional material pertaining to the subject matter presented in class.  Depth is also key, not a superficial coverage of the material.  You must draw from your personal direct or indirect actual experience, not hypothetical or imagined.  As you will be discussing personal details, confidentially will be exercised.  You are to use first person, single spacing, times new roman font, 12 point, 1 inch or 2 centimeters margin, at least 700 words per set of questions.  Due Wednesday April 2^nd in class; earlier submissions will be accepted.

PARTICIPATION

Informed and constructive participation in class discussion is expected, and this can only occur if you attend class and come prepared.  The course outline lists readings for each week.  You are expected to read and prepare all materials prior to the class period for which they are assigned.  Your attendance and participation is very important to your learning and that of other students in this class.  It will become easily apparent if you have not conducted the readings and thus are unable to contribute constructive discussion in the class.  If you are unable to attend at least 90% of the classes, then it is advisable that you withdraw from the course or else risk the application of penalties in the assessment.  Two missed class periods are allowed, with each subsequent class missed amounting to a 5 point deduction in the final assessment point total.  If you are late, YOU are responsible for checking with me after class on the day you were late to correct the record.  It is simply not feasible to alter attendance records days or even weeks after the fact.  Excessive tardiness may result in a further loss of points from the final grade.  If you are late for a general class session, simply slip in as quietly as possible.

RESEARCH PROJECT

A project will be undertaken resulting in a research paper and a presentation.  This project can be undertaken individually or in groups of two. Your will be responsible for investigating a particular contemporary social issue where individual citizens and community organizations have organized in order to seek some form of progressive social change.  The type of societal change must be controversial in some way, challenging the status quo (maybe not controversial to you, but controversial to significant portions of the population).  The societal change sought could be either governmental or other organizational policy changes or regulatory changes, e.g. tax laws or environmental regulations; individual changes or society wide changes, either in attitude and/or behaviour.  The issue will have to have activist based organizations associated with it, groups seeking significant social change in the local/municipal, regional, national or international level.  It is advisable although not necessary to choose an issue & social movement that has a local component.  

A central focus of this project will be to undertake research of the issue in terms of how the issue, associated organizations and actions of the organizations have been/are perceived by society or groups therein and by the justice system as being non-conforming (thus deviant) and having perceived unlawful impacts (criminal).  Thus part of the research is to explore how the individuals, group(s), action(s) are criminalized.  The following are the steps to complete the project:

-          Part 1:  Choice and description of social issue and associated social movement: provide a rational for choice of issue and movement, i.e. why did you choose this (must still use 3^rd person), and provide a brief synopsis of the issue and movement;  DUE JANUARY 15^th; 5 points

-          Part 2:  Initial research of topic: submit an annotated bibliography (a list of the academic sources that have been found, with each item having the full citation information and a brief description of the contents of the source, e.g. the abstract of an academic article), DUE JANUARY 22^nd, 5 points;

-          Part 3:  History of social issue:  submit a description of the historical context of the issue, why & how did a social movement develop, draft DUE FEBRUARY 5^th, 5 points

-          Part 4:  Detail of societal changes being sought: explain why and how these are and are not controversial, identifying what values and/or norms and/or regulations and/or policies are being challenged and/or threatened, what groups in society are/would be affected by the sought changes, from where would the resistance to the changes stem, draft DUE FEBRUARY 12^th , 5 points;

-          Part 5:  Description of the social movement: Describe the strategy and actions undertaken by individuals and organizations, describe the demographics of the social movement members, in essence you are discussing  how the individuals within social movement organizations are seeking these changes, what is the background of these individuals – what lead them to want to seek social change and become involved in the social movement, make sure to include a discussion of nonviolence and civil disobedience (if applicable);

-          Part 6:  Analysis of the criminalization of the movement: Discuss how the social movement and its associated individuals and groups have been in the past and/or are currently being criminalized by the state, by media and/or other sectors of society (corporate sector, religious organizations, etc…), what actions has the state taken against persons and groups, e.g. what are the charges being brought against the group or individuals, how is the criminalization framed by media and elected and other leaders in society, what has been the reaction of sectors of society to this criminalization to these actions;

-          Part 7:  Personal reflection: An individual reflection piece will be required, to be submitted separately by each individual member of the group if working in pairs, in this you are to comment upon what you have learned about i) yourself & ii) about the topic you researched;

-          Part 8:  Individual assessment if working in pairs:  Individually, you are to provide a log of the work you undertook for this project (how many hours on which day did you spend doing X task), similarly what the other person was responsible for, in essence you are describing the division of labour, commenting on the fairness of the distribution of the work involved in completing this project. 

When the final research paper is submitted, any draft submissions are to be included in the final submission.  There are NO EXTENSIONS for the final report submission due on APRIL 2^nd and only hardcopy will be accepted, no electronic version. 

Information for the above will be found in books and academic articles on the movement, the latter being available on the library journal databases, internet sources of the issues and groups, publications including monthly newsletters, press releases, brochures of the group, newspapers and other media sources, attendance of meetings of the group, interviews with group members, etc…  At least 50% of the sources of information must be from academic sources. A presentation will be required and will account for 25 points.  You will have 30 -40 minutes in which to present your project.  See my website for further information and a draft assessment for the project.