Syllabus

Core Seminar: Ethics and Introduction to Global Studies

Fall 2007

Holly Graff and Richard Stacewicz

Course (Catalogue) Description

Introduction to Global Studies:

The course focuses on concepts of global interdependence.  The content covers the history of political-economic relations among selected developed and developing nations as well as current problems affecting the global community, including issues of war and peace, environmental sustainability, and human rights.  The multidisciplinary approach acquaints students with perspectives from two or more of the following disciplines: history, economics, sociology, anthropology, psychology and/or political science.

Ethics:

Course studies meaning, value, and moral responsibility in human life. Topics include examination of at least four conflicting theories about what constitutes moral conduct and social justice; application of these theories to individual moral dilemmas and to contemporary social issues such as world hunger or the environmental crisis.

Learning Objectives

            Introduction to Global Studies:

After completing this course, students will:

A.     Be able to identify the 3 main phases of Imperial expansion over the course of the last 500 years and their impacts on global society, economics, and culture.

B.     Be able to compare and contrast 3 of the dominant social scientific theories that seek to explain global economic development.

C.     Be able to assess the validity of the various theories on economic development by applying the concepts to historical developments in specified regions of the globe.

D.     Be able to describe the social, cultural, economic, and political characteristics of contemporary “globalization”

E.      Be able to distinguish between the dominant theories regarding the impacts of contemporary globalization on the global economy and culture

F.      Be able to identify the dominant schools of thought on United States foreign policy

G.  Be able to identify and evaluate the efficacy of 2 dominant perspectives on

            Environmentalism and globalization.

H.  Be able to adopt and/or construct and defend their own perspectives on

            Economic development and environmental preservation.

            Ethics:

A.      Students will develop and understanding of at least four fundamentally different ethical theories and the problems that these theories address.

B.    Students will develop their critical thinking skills.  They will examine criticisms of all the ethical theories they study and will debate the alternative solutions offered by these theories to enduring moral questions.

C.    Students will learn to apply ethical theories to concrete situations on the personal level, on the national level, and on the global level.

 

D.    Students will adopt positions on contemporary social issues and use the ethical theory with which they agree to defend their positions.
 

Academic Integrity 

Students and employees at Oakton Community College are required to demonstrate academic integrity and follow Oakton’s Code of Academic Conduct. This code prohibits:

·        cheating,

·        plagiarism (turning in work not written by you, or lacking proper citation),

·        falsification and fabrication (lying or distorting the truth),

·        helping others to cheat,

·        unauthorized changes on official documents,

·        pretending to be someone else or having someone else pretend to be you,

·        making or accepting bribes, special favors, or threats, and

·        any other behavior that violates academic integrity.

There are serious consequences to violations of the academic integrity policy. Oakton’s policies and procedures provide students a fair hearing if a complaint is made against you.  If you are found to have violated the policy, the minimum penalty is failure on the assignment and, a disciplinary record will be established and kept on file in the office of the Vice President for Student Affairs for a period of 3 years.

Details of the Code of Academic Conduct can be found in the Student Handbook.
 

Outline of Topics

See the Schedule
 

Methods of Instruction

            Discussion, small group work, group presentations, lectures, and videos.
 

Course Practices Required

Since this course relies on student participation and dialogue for its success, each student should come to class prepared to discuss the readings as listed in the schedule.  25% of your grade will be based on class participation, attendance and presence at 3 outside events associated with Globalization and/or Ethics. At this point, each student has an A for this segment of the grade.  You are allowed 3 absences without penalty.  Your participation grade will drop by 10 points for each successive absence.  If you miss more than 8 class sessions, you will not be able to pass the course.  Since it is important to be in class, students will also be deducted 3 points for arriving late to class.  Each student is also required to attend 3 events (lectures, films, performances, etc.) at Oakton or in the Chicago area that in some way connect to the topic of globalization and/or Ethics. Students are required to hand in a one-page description of the event that they attended.  We will inform you of upcoming events in the area and students should feel free to announce any events as well.  Attendance at each event is worth 3 points. Students can also attend additional approved outside events as a way to make up absences. (100 points total: 91 for attendance and 9 for outside events)

Students will be responsible for keeping a journal in which you will discuss the readings and your reactions to them.  We will be asking you to address specific issues in the journals from time to time, but you should also feel free to comment on any of the readings or discussions we have in class. By the end of the semester, you should have at least thirty double-spaced type-written pages (this covers both courses) in your journals.  We will collect them several times during the course of the semester.  If a student’s journal assignments are no completed by the time we collect them, he or she will be required to consult with one of us about how to resolve any problems that may impinge upon successful completion of journals, The journals are worth 100 points or 25% of your grade.

In addition to the weekly assignments and journals, you will be required to complete four in-class short answer/essay exams.  If you will be absent for an exam, please inform us  before the exam is given.  Students who miss an exam will have one week from the date of the exam to complete it.  We will arrange to have them in the testing center. Each of the exams is worth 25 points for each course.  The exams comprise 25% of your final grade (100 points).

Finally, each student is responsible for carrying out research projects with several of your peers during the course of the semester.  The Middle East and Central Asia and the Environmental state of the Earth will be the focus of study. We will cover different aspects of Iranian history, Islamic fundamentalism, the wars in Iraq, Israeli-Palestinian relations as well as current realities in addition to Ethical theories related to these topics, such as Just War theories. We will also look at the Environment and Green Theory, Deep Ecology, etc. Each group will be required to present their conclusions in some kind of public forum that is organized by the students. We will cover the specific of this assignment in much more detail during the first few weeks of the semester. This activity will account for 25% (100 points) of your final grade for each course.
 

Instructional Materials 

Ethics:

Cahn, Steven, Classics of Political and Moral Philosophy

Fanon, Franz, The Wretched of the Earth

Schweckart, David, After Capitalism

Social Science:

            Anderson and Cavanagh, Field Guide to the Global Economy

Foster, John Bellamy, The Vulnerable Planet

Isbister, John, Promises Not Kept (6th edition)

Khalidi, Rashid, Resurrecting Empire

            Lechner, Fraqnk and John Boli, eds., The Globalization Reader

Students will also read several handouts.
 

Methods of Evaluating Student Progress and Grade Distribution for Each Course

            Class Attendance, Engagement:  25 percent (100points)

            Research Projects: 25 percent (100 points)

            Exams:  25 percent (100 points)

            Journals: 25 percent (100 points)

Total: 100 percent = 400 points

            A=  360 - 400 points, B= 320 - 359, C = 280 - 319, D = 240 -279, F = 239 or below. 
 

Other Course Information

            The Oakton Community College Catalog States:

                        Oakton Community College does not discriminate on the basis of race,

                        color, creed, national origin, disability, age, sex, sexual orientation,

                        or marital status in admission to and participation in its educational

                        programs, activities and services, or employment practices.  The College

                        does not tolerate sexual harassment or sexual assault by or of its students

                        or employees. 

In keeping with this policy of tolerance and nondiscrimination, all of us should listen to each other and carefully consider each others' ideas, especially those that may be different from our own.  We should avoid demeaning others and using offensive terms when talking to each other.

Our goal is to provide you with any assistance you may need.  Please feel free to contact

Us during office hours or we can meet at another time if you make an appointment.  We

can also introduce you to the various support services available on campus if necessary. 


Author: Holly Graff,
Oakton Community College
Updated: September 3, 2007