Globalization, Social Justice and Human Rights

Course Evaluation

24th June 18:00 - 2nd epoch examination

Students will be required to complete a blog, complete either one group project case study or service learning project on globalization, human rights and social justice, and design and implement a group service learning project in the course of the semester. Grading will be based on the following:

1. Completion of a Group Case study or Service project will count 600 points. Case Study and Service Learning projects foster critical thinking, understanding context and engaging other learners.

a) Service Learning Project and Paper (600 points) Students will collaboratively participate in a minimum of 10 hours of volunteer service and will write a group reflection paper connecting their service experience to course material. Specifically, the service learning projects aims to provide students with an opportunity to explore course material in real world experiences. Students will individually write reflective journal entries pertaining to the projects, their efforts, course readings and discussions. During the 2^nd week of classes students will elect to either work on service learning or a case study project. The first assignment will allow students to present ideas for projects in class and on face book (or other internet means for the global classroom). Students will then elect which of the presented projects they will participate. No more than 6 members will make up each group, and no more than 3 specific members will come from any given school. Therefore each group will be comprised of at least 2 partner institutions. In the next week student groups will explore various ideas for implementing their chosen service learning projects. These ideas can come from internet searches, brainstorming, or other means. Once identified, the students will begin exploring the feasibility of their implementation strategies. Students will be responsible for identifying organizations, institutions, etc. that will allow them access to their sites to perform the service learning projects. Target dates will be established to coordinate the specifics activities of each service learning project. In addition to students keeping reflective journals, students also participated in weekly group planning discussions. Each week, one class period was dedicated to group (facebook, blogs, live chats, etc for other group members) discussions of the progress each student was making.

b) Alternatively students may opt to work on a group case study. Specifically, student work groups may form to investigate globalization, human rights, and social justice from a particular country or region. Students will collaboratively participate to research and write a group reflection paper connecting their research to course material. Specifically, the case study projects aims to provide students with an opportunity to explore course material in real world experiences. Students will individually write reflective journal entries pertaining to the projects, their efforts, course readings and discussions. During the 2^nd week of classes students will elect to either work on service learning or a case study project. The first assignment will allow students to present ideas for projects in class and on face book (or other internet means for the global classroom). Students will then elect which of the presented projects they will participate. No more than 6 members will make up each group, and no more than 3 specific members will come from any given school. Therefore each group will be comprised of at least 2 partner institutions. In the next week student groups will explore various ideas for implementing their chosen case study projects. For example, let's say US and Russian students we ask them to study the situations not in their respective countries, but in their partner's country? Say US and Russia students will form the survey topic and plan jointly, will help each other with materials and analysis but the final conclusions will be made by Russian with regard the American part of studies and by US students with regard the situation in Russia. This could teach them how different the same situation might look for the person with different background, culture, etc. Students will be responsible for identifying specific nations, bibliographies, etc. that will comprise the bulk of their case study. Target dates will be established to coordinate the specifics activities of each case study project. In addition to students keeping reflective journals, students also participated in weekly group planning discussions. Each week, one class period was dedicated to group (face book, blogs, live chats, etc for other group members) discussions of the progress each student was making.

2. Another set of activities that students may be encouraged to participate in would be on facebook. All student partners, across all Partner Institutions, will be encouraged to engage in regular facebook activities. The facebook (fb) activities will be ungraded. This will be the social medium where by students will get to know each other in a non-graded situations. We as Faculty Partners will monitor these conversations as the administrators to the specific fb group. Such monitoring will be silent, allowing Faculty Partners to put out fires, delete misc. or inappropriate posts, etc. But it is essential that Faculty Partners will be as unobtrusive on fb as possible, thus allowing students to develop whatever community they choose in this space. (These FB activities engage other learners, fosters critical thinking and reflection.)

3. Blog will count 400 points of your grade and will constitute your final examination. Students will maintain weekly blogs. The first 3 blogs are specifically geared to understanding Globalization, Human Rights, and Social Justice from not only their own local perspective, but at least one from another Country. Student partners from different locations will be assigned to read and respond to at least 1 different blog entrees.

1) 1) These responses will be limited to peers from other country participants. In this way, each student will have written 3 blogs and responded to at least 3 blogs once this set of assignments are complete. The first blog (750-1,000 words)

a. Define Globalization based upon the readings.

i. What is the face of globalization from where you live?

ii. In what ways is it reflected in such things as the Markets, culture/music, clothing and news

b. Respond to at least 1 blog entrees from a student and country different from your own. In order to maximize your response, read one the background documents regarding this area from the country selected.

2) 2) The second blog (750-1,000 words)

a. Students asked to define social justice based upon the readings.

i. What kinds of social justice issues can you identify within your local community

ii. In what ways is social justice reflected in the news, contemporary issues and/or events.

3) The third blog (750-1,000 words)

a. Students asked to define human rights based upon the initial set of readings. 3-5 sentences

i. What kinds of human rights issues can you identify within your local community

b. In what ways are human rights reflected in the news, contemporary issues and/or nation.

4) Globalization, Social Justice, and Human Rights Blogs (4-12)

a) A Globalization, Social Justice, and Human Rights Blog is a way for you to keep an informal online journal recording your thoughts on the readings. This is a way for you to reflect on the readings. As such, it is expected that you will write your insights, thoughts, opinions, and questions regarding the readings. You can explain what you find the most important, significant or troubling about the particular readings. You can discuss how this relates to your particular community, region or nation. You can explore how alternative ways of approaching these issues, questions, problems, or solutions may be obtained. Finally, you may identify other material which helps further explain, interpret, or solve the particular set of readings. These blogs foster critical thinking, understanding context and engaging other learners. The Finished Blog will constitute your final examination.

a. Respond to at least 1 blog entrees from a student and country different from your own. In order to maximize your response, read one the background documents regarding this area from the country selected.

b. What should I write?

Here are some suggestions for weblog posts (though you're not required to use any of them):

1. Main or key sections. Choose a section that you found to be most interesting, or most troubling, or most challenging for you. Write a brief discussion of why you found this to be a main or key section. Why did you identify it? Explain what about this section that caught your attention. Write a post which discusses your reaction, its meaning to you, how it resonated with you.

Key phrases. Choose any three phrases that you feel are especially important in the readings, and explain why they are significant. Alternatively, you can challenge or "tag" another class member to write on three words of your choosing.
Thoughts about the readings. Post your thoughts about some aspect of the assigned readings.
Thoughts about your essay. Try out some ideas for your final essay. What important theme, symbol, or feature of the text particularly interests you?
Editorializing the readings. Take a position regarding the selected readings that you feel to be especially significant and write an editorial either supporting or rejecting the value premises, intellectual orientation, or position taken by the selected readings.
It’s just wrong! Do you feel that the perspective taken or the issue itself is just wrong? Do you feel particularly incensed, or is the problem just the opposite –you feel nothing after reading this section? Reflect on why you feel this way, explain why feel ‘it’s just wrong”? Or, explain why you feel that this is no big deal. Write an alternative perspective, which will either suggest alternative ways of approaching this issue, or alternative issues that might be more important.
A letter to the President. Write your blog post for the week as if you were are writing a letter to the President of the United States, Governor, Chief Executive Officer of a Corporation, or other decision maker. Comment on the social justice issues you've observed or been engaged in, using the material from the selected readings.
Blog potpourri. A blog "potpourri” is a collection of annotated links on a particular topic. Try to find blogs that address a topic relevant to the selected readings we're and host your own “potpourri “on your blog. Write brief explanations (300 -500 words) why these links are significant.
Critical assessment of readings. Demonstrate your critical thinking and reflective abilities. Evaluate the selected readings. Explain any biases, lapses in logic, faulty assumptions, lack of data, or analytical problems that you may observe. Alternatively, explain how effectively the author (s) utilized, organized, and analyzed their subject matter. If you were to rewrite this selection, what types of analysis, data, information, etc. might you use to improve the work?
Better solutions. Identify the solutions either implied or provided by the author(s). Write an alternate set of solutions for the particular social justice issues, and explain the reasons why your solutions are better than those provided by the author(s).
A current event. If something we're reading is relevant to the cultural, social, or political scene today, write a post in which you connect the reading with the current phenomenon.

4. Requirements for the Blog

1. Write 12 entries of approximately 750-1,000 words each. Write at least one blog entry each week (excluding midterm and last week of classes). These posts can be long or a series of shorter entries. To allow for exams, holidays, and papers, some weeks have no weblog post due.

2. Post your entry to your weblog by the Monday due date at 9 p.m. You do not need to wait for Monday. You can post at any time during the week, but 9 p.m. on Monday is the due date each week; after that, your post will count for the next week. You can miss a few posts and still receive credit, but your grade would be reduced.

3. Respond to at least one of your classmates’ from a partner institution posts each week. You don’t have to respond to the same blog each time, and you can write a brief response or an extensive one. You may need to get a username (free) on a different blogging site in order to leave a comment. Comments for one week’s posts are due the next week on Monday by 9 p.m. Posting all the entries or all the comments in the last week of class won't be acceptable. Although your blog posts aren't due until Mondays at 9, don't wait until the last minute to post your messages. The sites sometimes go down or are offline for maintenance, and you may miss a deadline if you wait until the last minute.