Human Interactions: Societal and Global Challenges of the 21St Century

Syllabus, Explorations LEAP 1101 Fall 2017 1

Human Interactions: Societal and Global Challenges of the 21st Century

LEAP 1101, Section 3: T/Th 10:45-12:05 MLIB 1725 Social/Behavioral Science Exploration-3 credit hours (BF)

Meg Harper, Ph.D. Phone/Text: 801-557-8153 Email: [email protected] Office: 148 Sill Center Office Hours: T/Th 12:30-1:30, and by appointment

Peer Adviser Phone Email Abigail 801-657-7244 [email protected]

Barney

Library Instructor Phone Email Office Donna Ziegenfuss 801-585-0542 [email protected] 1726E Marriott Library

Course Description

Do humans act in their best interests? How can citizens in a developed or developing society evaluate and favor scientific evidence over beliefs, assumptions, and myths? How do individuals balance demands from various communities—families, schools, workplace, neighborhoods, cities, regions—to which they belong? As we create new solutions, we are often confounded by both expected and unpredictable problems that arise. This course aims to examine contemporary issues through complex, multifaceted approaches to problem solving and ethical dilemmas. Students will gain knowledge and understanding of challenges we face in the 21st century and, in teams, will develop a researched action plan in response to a societal problem. Topics for study and class discussion will focus on local, national, and global issues: poverty, homelessness, and social services; debt and education; jobs and wages; demographic trends; vaccines and public health; automation; global climate change; population growth and sustainability.

In our discussions we will consider the following questions:

 What is a society or community?  How can individuals shape society through ethical choices and behaviors?  How do individuals’ beliefs, opinions, assumptions, and habits conflict with societal change or progress?  How can individuals determine what is ethical while making decisions within different communities (as citizens, parents, consumers, leaders, employees, etc.)?  What role do social scientists play in influencing public debate and policy? Syllabus, Explorations LEAP 1101 Fall 2017 2

 How do social scientists study human behavior and gather data on demographic trends? How can institutions develop policies that align with analysis of scientific evidence?  How can individuals and societies analyze and respond to issues of globalization?

Learning Objectives for Explorations LEAP

1. Critical Thinking a. reading for main ideas b. assessing issues from different perspectives c. discussing topics in a thoughtful manner d. evaluating arguments and evidence

2. Teamwork a. collaboration b. negotiation and compromise c. building leadership skills

3. Information literacy a. social and ethical implications of problems and policies b. knowledge of specific issues and relevant evidence c. overview of local, national, and global challenges to human populations d. quantitative and qualitative information and analysis

4. Communication a. professional communication skills b. practice and improvement in writing and oral argumentation

5. Research a. search strategies and familiarity with databases in the social sciences b. evaluation of internet sources c. integration of library resources into a team research project e. use of APA citation style

6. Personal development a. exploration of campus activities, organizations, and opportunities in service and leadership b. integration and sense of belonging in the university community c. friendships and social networks d. engagement within the LEAP learning community—with classmates, peer adviser, faculty

There is no textbook for this course. Readings will be available on Canvas. Syllabus, Explorations LEAP 1101 Fall 2017 3

Grading and Assignments

100 Points

Homework (10 assignments) 20 Making it in Utah Assignment 5 Midterm 20 Library Classes 10 Attendance 10 Team Action Plan and Presentation 20 Final Critique of Project 15

Grades are assigned by percentage.

Grade Scale

A = 93 and above A- = 90-92 B+ = 87-89 B = 83-86 B- = 80-82 C+ = 77-79 C = 73-76 C- = 70-72 D+ = 67-69 D = 63-66 D- = 60-62 E = 59 or below

Attendance: Number of Absences = Points for attendance grade

0-2 = 10 3 = 9 4 = 8 5 = 7 6 = 6 7-8 = 5 9 = 4 10 = 3 11 = 2 12 = 1

Policies on Assignments and Coursework

 Late assignments will not be accepted without prior arrangement.  Team assignments require collective collaboration, effort, and organization for a team grade. Any team member may receive a different grade based on absence or lack of equal work on the project.  Library sessions are designed to assist you in successfully completing your team project in stages. Points for the library portion of the final grade are based on attendance and library exercises.  Readings and homework should be completed for class by the specified date. Your Peer Adviser will check homework completion at the beginning of class.  Directions, guidelines, and grading criteria for written assignments, including homework, will be explained in class and available on Canvas. Syllabus, Explorations LEAP 1101 Fall 2017 4

Extra Credit

You may earn up to 4 extra credit points (1 point per event) through the following opportunities:

 A LEAP activity or service event, including Convocation and Writing Workshops  Films and readings assigned as extra credit  Any pre-approved event, lecture, conference or activity that you can relate to course topics

To receive credit for any of these options, you must submit a typed, printed response (about 1 page) that describes the event, your participation, and what you gained from the experience. Please submit extra credit to me no later than Thursday, December 7.

Classroom Policies

Attendance: Attendance in this course is mandatory, not optional, and will count in your final grade. I expect regular, punctual attendance and active discussion from each student. Irregular attendance and lack of both preparation and participation will adversely affect your grades.

Participation: Class will consist largely of discussion, not lecture, and therefore, you must come prepared by completing the readings and assignments for that day and by approaching the material in a thoughtful, critical manner.

Absences: You are allowed 2 absences—illness, personal reasons—throughout the semester. Under University policy, absences for religious holidays and for required participation in a University-sponsored (not affiliated) organization are excused.

Homework: Your Peer Adviser will routinely check completion of your work for credit at the beginning of class. You cannot receive late credit on homework.

Conduct: Your participation and engagement are important! Please raise your hand to speak in class and listen to others’ contributions. Do not text during class. Do not talk to other students while class lectures or discussions are in progress. Be courteous, pay attention, and take notes!

PLAGIARISM: The University defines plagiarism as “the appropriation of any other person’s work [published or unpublished] and the unacknowledged incorporation of that work in one’s own work offered for credit.” The punishment for plagiarism is “0” on the plagiarized assignment, and possibly an automatic NC (no credit) in the course. Further disciplinary action may be taken. Syllabus, Explorations LEAP 1101 Fall 2017 5

Peer Adviser: Abigail Barney

Abigail’s Mission Statement:

My primary goal is to assist students in identifying and clarifying their academic major through the exploratory LEAP Program. I hope to do this by helping students locate resources on campus, by making the transition to the university easier, and by assisting in tutoring and advising when possible.

Writing Center (tutoring): 2nd Floor, Marriott Library; 801-587-9122

Accommodations Policy—Course Content

The values held most strongly by the University of Utah community are those of academic freedom and integrity as they are expressed collectively by the colleges and departments as well as individually through research and teaching and as they exist within the wider context of advanced study as commonly understood by all universities. The community also values diversity and respect, without which there can be no collegiality among faculty and students. In addition, the University community values individual rights and freedoms, including the right of each community member to adhere to individual systems of conscience, religion, and ethics. Finally, the University recognizes that with all rights come responsibilities. The University works to uphold its collective values by fostering free speech, broadening fields of inquiry, and encouraging generation of new knowledge that challenges, shapes, and enriches our collective and individual understandings.

Students must understand and be able to articulate the ideas and theories that are important to the discourse within and among academic disciplines. Personal disagreement with these ideas and theories or their implications is not sufficient grounds for requesting an accommodation. Accommodations requested on such grounds will not be granted. The University recognizes that students’ sincerely-held core beliefs may make it difficult for students to fulfill some requirements of courses or majors. It is the student’s obligation to determine, before the last day to drop courses without penalty, when course requirements conflict with the student’s sincerely- held core beliefs. If there is such a conflict, the student should consider dropping the class. Syllabus, Explorations LEAP 1101 Fall 2017 6

Addressing Sexual Misconduct

Title IX makes it clear that violence and harassment based on sex and gender (which includes sexual orientation and gender identity/expression) is a Civil Rights offense subject to the same kinds of accountability and the same kinds of support applied to offenses against other protected categories such as race, national origin, color, religion, age, status as a person with a disability, veteran’s status, or genetic information. If you or someone you know has been harassed or assaulted, you are encouraged to report it to the Title IX Coordinator in the Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action, 135 Park Building, 801-581-8365, or the Office of the Dean of Students, 270 Union Building, 801-581-7066. For support and confidential consultation, contact the Center for Student Wellness, 426 SSB, 801-581-7776. To report to the police, contact the Department of Public Safety, 801-585- 2677 (COPS).

Reasonable Accommodation for Disabilities

The University of Utah seeks to provide access to its programs, services, and activities for people with disabilities. If you will need accommodations in this class, reasonable prior notice needs to be given to the instructor and to the Center for Disability Services, 162 Olpin Union, 581-5020 (V/TDD).

How to succeed in this course:

1. Attend regularly. Be on time. Repeated tardiness is bad etiquette in a university class. 2. Come to class ready to participate. This class emphasizes discussion and sharing of perspectives. You cannot contribute to discussion unless you have completed the reading on time. Complete homework with assigned readings. 3. Manage your time effectively. 4. Take notes in class. 5. Cultivate friendships with your peers. Ask for help and support from your peer adviser and/or from me.

Your responsibilities:

1. Treat the professor, peer adviser, and other students with dignity and respect. 2. Be prepared for class: arrive on time with course readings and/or assignments. 3. Remain alert and focused in class: do not text; do not make phone calls; do not disrupt class; do not do other homework or read the paper; do not pack up early; do not sleep. 4. Multitask in a constructive way: listen to others, take notes, participate, read the board. Syllabus, Explorations LEAP 1101 Fall 2017 7

Syllabus of Readings and Assignments

Please note that the reading and homework for any particular day should be done BEFORE you come to class. Assignments are subject to change with prior notice. Please read the entire syllabus and refer to it constantly. You are responsible for completing work assigned by the dates indicated below.

READINGS may be found as PDFs (by author’s last name and abridged title) in Canvas Modules (READINGS folder) and are listed in chronological order according to the syllabus.

HOMEWORK assignments will be available in advance of the due date in Canvas Modules (HOMEWORK folder).

Access all FRONTLINE episodes in the syllabus by searching its title at this hyperlink: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/

Week I Welcome to Explorations LEAP

T, Aug 22 Welcome! Introduction to the course, syllabus, Peer Adviser

Th, Aug 24 Opinions, Beliefs, Assumptions, Myths: The Dangers of Not Sticking to Facts, Evidence, and Analysis of Data

Read: Dewey, C. (2017, June 15) The surprising number of American adults who think chocolate milk comes from brown cows. Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/06/15/seven-percent-of- americans-think-chocolate-milk-comes-from-brown-cows-and-thats-not-even- the-scary-part/?tid=sm_fb&utm_term=.8b53fa686853

Class Activity: Scavenger Hunt: Get to Know Your LEAP Classmates!

Week II Research and Understanding: Opinions vs. Evidence

T, Aug 29 Social science inquiry and research

Read: BabbieCh1.pdf Babbie, E. (2016) Human inquiry and science. In The Practice of Social Research (14th ed.), Boston: Cengage Learning.

HOMEWORK 1 Syllabus, Explorations LEAP 1101 Fall 2017 8

Week II (Continued)

Th, Aug 31 Myths, Assumptions, and Facts about Social Welfare Programs

Read: Amadeo, K. (2017, July 6). What are welfare programs? list, myths vs facts: The six major welfare programs. The Balance. Retrieved from https://www.thebalance.com/welfare-programs-definition- and-list-3305759

Sherman, A., Greenstein, R., & Ruffing, K. (2012, February 11). Contrary to “entitlement society” rhetoric, over nine-tenths of entitlement benefits go to elderly, disabled, or working households. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Retrieved from https://www.cbpp.org/research/contrary-to-entitlement-society-rhetoric- over-nine-tenths-of-entitlement-benefits-go-to

HOMEWORK 2

Week III Making it in Utah

T, Sept 5 Learning from the streets

Read: Tanner, C. (2017, August 6). Mayor Ben McAdams posed as a homeless person for 3 days and 2 nights. Here’s what he saw. Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved from http://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2017/08/06/sl-co-mayor-ben- mcadams-posed-as-a-homeless-person-for-3-days-and-2-nights-heres- what-he-saw/

Konczal, M. (2014, March 4). The Conservative myth of a social safety net built on charity. The Atlantic. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/03/the-conservative- myth-of-a-social-safety-net-built-on-charity/284552/

HOMEWORK 3

W, Sept 6 LEAP CONVOCATION, 4-5pm, Union Ballroom

Th, Sept 7 Speaker: Glenn Bailey (Crossroads Urban Center), Making it in Utah CLASS MEETS IN SW 134 (Social Work Building)

Sun, Sept 10 DUE: Making it in Utah assignment, by 11:59pm on Canvas Syllabus, Explorations LEAP 1101 Fall 2017 9

Week IV Life isn’t fair: Inequality, Race, and Society

T, Sept 12 Major Exploration in class

Read: Anderson, M. (2017, July 27). Why the myth of meritocracy hurts kids of color. The Atlantic. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2017/07/internalizing-the- myth-of-meritocracy/535035/?utm_source=atlfb

Th, Sept 14 First Library Class, Meet in 1120 MLIB

Read: On views of race and inequality, blacks and whites are worlds apart (2016, June 27). Social and Demographic Trends. Pew Research Center. Retrieved from http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2016/06/27/on-views-of-race-and- inequality-blacks-and-whites-are-worlds-apart/

HOMEWORK 4

Week V Making it Elsewhere

T, Sept 19 Recession, Unemployment, Housing, and Debt

Watch: Poverty, Politics, and Profit, PBS FRONTLINE (55 min)

Read: Semuels, A. (2015, January 2). What’s wrong with Georgia? The Atlantic. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/01/whats-wrong-with- georgia/384101/

HOMEWORK 5

Th, Sept 21 The Struggle to Avoid Poverty: Hard Work and Perseverance

Watch: Two American Families, PBS FRONTLINE (1hr 24min)

HOMEWORK 6

DUE: Library Exercise 1 Syllabus, Explorations LEAP 1101 Fall 2017 10

Week VI Trends: Living with Parents and the Shrinking Middle Class

T, Sept 26 Midterm review

Read: Cilluffo, A. and Cohn, D’V. (2017, April 27). 10 demographic trends shaping the U.S. and the world in 2017. Fact Tank: News in the Numbers. Pew Research Center. Retrieved from http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/04/27/10-demographic-trends- shaping-the-u-s-and-the-world-in-2017/

Th, Sept 28 Second Library Class, Meet in 1120 MLIB

Week VII Higher Education for Profit

T, Oct 3 MIDTERM IN CLASS

W, Oct 4 Makeup Midterm, 12:00pm, 148 Sill Center

Th, Oct 5 The Value of a Degree

Watch: College, Inc., PBS FRONTLINE (56 min)

DUE: Library Exercise 2

WEEK VIII FALL BREAK October 9-13

Week IX The Debate Over Vaccines: Parents vs. Science

T, Oct 17 Falsified Research, Fears, and Public Safety

Watch: The Vaccine War, PBS FRONTLINE (54 min)

HOMEWORK 7

Th, Oct 19 Third Library Class, Meet in MLIB 1120 Syllabus, Explorations LEAP 1101 Fall 2017 11

Week X The Global Supply Chain: Pressures on Manufacturers

T, Oct 24 Bottom Line: Low Costs, Low Prices

Watch: Is Wal-Mart Good for America? PBS FRONTLINE (55 min)

HOMEWORK 8

Th, Oct 26 The Human Cost of Automation

Read: Miller, C. C. (2016, December 21). Long-term jobs killer is not China. It’s automation. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/21/upshot/the-long-term-jobs- killer-is-not-china-its-automation.html

Week XI Problem Solving: Team Action Plans

T, Oct 31 Work on team action plans

Th, Nov 2 Fourth Library Class, Meet in 1120 MLIB

Week XII Population, Consumption, Nutrition, and Food Supply

T, Nov 7 Population Growth and Food Supply: Meeting Future Global Demands

Read: Engleman, R. (2009, June 1). Population and sustainability: Can we avoid limiting the number of people? Scientific American. Retrieved from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/population-and- sustainability/#

Funk, C. and Kennedy, B. (2016, December 1). The New food fights: U.S. public divides over food science. Pew Research Center. Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/2016/12/01/the-new-food-fights/

HOMEWORK 9 Syllabus, Explorations LEAP 1101 Fall 2017 12

WEEK XII (Continued)

Th, Nov 9 GMOs: The Good and the Bad

Read: Todhunter, C. (2015, April 7). U.S. agribusiness, GMOs and the plundering of the planet. Real Independent News and Film. Retrieved from http://rinf.com/alt-news/editorials/us-agribusiness-ukraine-and-the- plundering-of-the-planet/

Miller, M. (2017, January 3). Farm babe: The truth about GMOs and herbicides. AgDaily. Retrieved from https://www.agdaily.com/insights/truth-gmos-herbicides/

HOMEWORK 10

Week XIII The Human Effect: Climate Change

T, Nov 14 Solving a global problem: Obstacles and Consequences

Read: Climate Change: Evidence, Causes, Effects

(Also at climate.nasa.gov; scroll down to What is Climate Change?)

Assignment of Final Critique of Action Project

Th, Nov 16 Fifth Library Class, Meet in 1120 MLIB

Week XIV Polish Your Power Presentation

T, Nov 21 Teams work on Action Plans/Presentations

Th, Nov 23 Thanksgiving Holiday Syllabus, Explorations LEAP 1101 Fall 2017 13

Week XV Act Now!

T, Nov 28 2 Team Presentations

Th, Nov 30 2 Team Presentations

Week XVI Take Action!

T, Dec 5 2 Team Presentations

Th, Dec 7 2 Team Presentations

Classes End

Wed, Dec 13 DUE: Final Critique of Action Project, by 11:59pm on Canvas

Th, Dec 28 Course Grades Available on CIS