GSI: Rosa Peralta
Office: 4520 LSA
Phone: 615 0487
Office Hours: Wed: 12 3pm (or by appointment)
Email: rosap {at} umich(.)edu

Seminar: Tuesdays, 4:00 5:30
Coordinators:
400: Caitlin Patterson/ Maria Maridino
401: Jason Otto/ Bryan Yaldou
402: Vahbiz Karanjia
403: Jamie Taylor/ Meredith Swartz
404: Desiree Hunter
405: Tiffany Williams/ Omari Jackson
407: Kelly Corcoran

I. About Project Community

Project Community is a partnership between the Ginsberg Center for Community Service Learning and the Department of Sociology. Rosa (me) will be your direct link to Professor Mark Chesler in Sociology. In addition, other important names and numbers to know are:

Joe Galura, Director of Project community
Sean de Four, Associate Director of Project community
Melanie Bunce, Program Assistant for Criminal Justice

II. Required Text

Each section will have three books. They are available at Shaman Drum.

A. All Sections 400-407: Marc Mauer. 1999. Race to incarcerate.

B. Sections: 400 and 401 (Juvenile):

1. Males, Mike A. 1996. The Scapegoat Generation: America's War on Adolescents.

2. Siegel, Larry and Joseph Senna. 1997. Juvenile Delinquency. Theory, Practice, and Law, 6th edition. St. Paul, MN: West Publishing Company.

C. Sections: 402, 404, 407 and 405 (Men):

1. Jeffrey H. Reiman (1998) The Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Prison: Ideology, Class, and Criminal Justice.

2. Katheryn K. Russell. 1998. The color of crime: racial hoaxes, white fear, black protectionism, police harassment, and other
macroaggressions.

D. Sections 403 and 405 (Women):

1. Joanne Belknap, 2001. The Invisible Woman: Gender, Crime, and Justice. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. (Second Edition).

2. Barbara Owen. 1998. in the Mix: Struggle and Survival in a Women's Prison (SUNY Series in Women, Crime and Criminology).

III. Course Requirements

In order to receive credit for the course, you must

1. Attend your service site every week
2. Attend and participate in seminar every Tuesday
3. Complete a weekly journal assignment
4. Complete weekly reading assignments
5. Complete a midterm project
6. Complete a final project

IV. Service

Students are expected to fulfill the service requirements of their section. You may miss site once without penalty. Since it is difficult to schedule make up hours, students need to act responsibly and with consideration for their classmates and for those that count on your service each week. If you miss more than one section, then you will not receive credit for the class. Of course, special circumstances will be taken into consideration.

V. Assignments

1. For Coordinators:

a. Students will complete weekly journal assignments designed to aid in considering questions related to both the readings and your experiences at service sites. These assignments may vary by section and will be designed, received and read by your coordinators. I (Rosa) will also read some of the journal assignments you turn in.

b. Students are expected to complete reading assignments and be prepared to discuss them in section each week. You will not be able to complete the written assignments without doing the readings.

2. Assignments for the GSI: Students will complete a midterm creative project and a final project/paper. All assignments will require the students to think critically about their service experiences and the sociological issues raised by the readings, the coordinators and the GSI (Rosa). Guidelines for the assignments will be passed out during the semester.

3. Assignment Timetable:

a. Midterm: February 18th

b. Final Project: Noon on April 14th

VI. SCHEDULE OF READINGS:

January 7:
Introduction to Project Community All sections will meet together and then we will break into our respective groups.
Topics: course logistics, site descriptions and administrative questions.

January 14: Introduction to Service Learning Reading: All SectionsKahn, "On Experiential Education and Service Learning" in http://www.umich.edu/ ocsl/Proj Community/coord/kahn.html
Howard, On Experiential Learning: Distinguishing Traditional and Experiential Learning," http://www.umich.edu/ ocsl/Proj Community/coord/howard.html

Journal Assignment: Why are you taking this class? What do you plan to contribute to it? What do you hope to get from it?

January 21: Intro. To Sociology
Peter Berger [1963] Invitation to Sociology. A Humanistic Perspective: Ch. 1: http://www.pscw.uva.nl/sociosite/TOPICS/texts/berger.od
C. Wright Mills (1959). The Sociological Imagination. Ch. 1: "The Promise": http://www.clark.edu/ goldman/socimagination.html

Journal Assignment: What do you perceive your role at site to be? Individually? As a group? How may this role differ from you other everyday roles in college and in your private life?

January 28: The Institution and its Experiment
Mauer. Race to Incarcerate. Ch. 1 and 2 (pgs.1 41).

Journal Assignment: Who are the people in prisons and jails in the United States? Why are they there?

February 4: Crime and the Justice System
Mauer. Race to Incarcerate. Ch. 3 5 (pgs.42 99).

Journal Assignment: What is the purpose of the criminal justice system? Does the system "work"? What does or doesn't it accomplish?

February 11: Race, Drugs and Limitations
Mauer. Race to Incarcerate. Ch. 6 8 (pgs.100 161).

Journal Assignment: Do the police serve communities or governments? All communities? How might policing operate in a more user friendly way? How would things be different if everybody were seen as a potential "criminal"? Would the police be "better" or "worse"?

February 18: (Midterm Project Due Today)
Mauer. Race to Incarcerate. Ch. 9 12 (pg. 162 194)

****And each section please read the following:"'
Sections: 400 and 401: Siegel. Juvenile Delinquency. Chapter 1 and 12
Sections: 402, 404 and 407: J. Reiman. And The Poor: Ch. 1.
Sections 403 and 405: Belknap. Invisible Woman: Chapter 1.

Journal Assignment: Is the prison system inherently violent? Why or why not? How might the prison be different for women, juveniles or people with HIV/AIDS? Is difference because of the systems or because of the individual?

February 25: Spring Break No Classes

March 4:
Sections: 400 and 401: Siegel. Juvenile Delinquency. Chapter 2 and 3.
Sections: 402, 404 and 407: J. Reiman. And The Poor: 2 and 3.
Sections 403 and 405: Belknap. Invisible Woman: Ch. 2 and 3.

Journal Assignment: What does affirmative action have to do with the people in prison/jail? Is access to education and jobs connected to ending up in prison/jail? In what ways is it or isn't it?

March 11:
Sections: 400 and 401: Siegel. Juvenile Delinquency: Ch. 4 and 6.
Sections: 402, 404 and 407: J. Reiman. And The Poor: 4 and conclusion.
Sections 403 and 405: Belknap. Invisible Woman: Ch. 4 and 5.

Journal Assignment: Are we locking up people for being poor? Why are so many people in prison for drug addiction and poverty related crimes? What could we be doing as alternatives to incarceration?

March 18:
Sections: 400 and 401: Siegel. Juvenile Delinquency. Ch. 10 and 11.
Sections: 402, 404 and 407: J. Reiman. And The Poor: appendix and paper insert.
Sections 403 and 405: Barbara Owen, In the Mix. Ch. 1 and 2.

Journal Assignment: Site specific

April 1:
Sections: 400 and 401: Mike Males. Scapegoat Generation. Ch. 1 and 4.
Sections: 402, 404 and 407: K. Russell. Color of Crime. Ch. 1 4 (pg. 1 68)
Sections 403 and 405: Barbara Owen, In the Mix. Ch. 3 and 4.

Journal Assignment: Site specific

April 8: site specific readings/movie and Journal Assignment

April 14: Final Project is Due by noon on April 14th in my locked mailbox in 3009 LS&A

April 15:
Wrap up. Presentation of Final Project. All sections will meet together.

LOS/SBS 430
University of Southern Maine
Lewiston Auburn College
Fall 2002

Instructor: Marvin Druker
Phone: 753 6582
Email: druker {at} usm.maine(.)edu
Office: 208A
Class Hours: Thursday 4 6:30 p.m.
Office Hours: Mon. 1 4, Wed. 3 5, Thurs. 4 7, & by appointment

COURSE DESCRIPTION

The catalogue description of this course is as follows: "A review of contemporary social policy alternatives and an examination of the macro and micro level social policymaking processes. Students complete an applied social policy project which might take the form of a policy paper, a grant proposal or written legislative testimony for a community agency." Prerequisite: junior standing or permission of the instructor.

COURSE CONTENT

Social institutions in the United States are discussed as if they were in crisis. Families, our schools, the health care system, cities, rural areas, and our communities are often described in some form of critical state. This course will go beyond a survey of the social problems that affect these institutions and will venture into the realm of social policy creation. Our consideration of social policy will consider the social realm, the political realm, the historical realm, and the economic realm. Social policies will be analyzed as being created through macrosocial processes such as our changing national ideology, social movements, and our governmental system. We will then turn our analysis to more micro social processes such as the decisions of the director or staff of a community human services agency as they interpret rules, implement new programs, and interact with clients.

This course examines the creation of social policy on both "macro" and "micro" levels. In the process, we will also examine a number of social issues and develop our own skills in analyzing and making policy.

An extensive service learning project will allow students to apply material covered in class and in the readings to real world settings.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

1. To examine the values and perspective underlying a variety of social policies and the changing characteristics of those policies over time.

2. To discuss the consequences of government action and inaction on social policies and the potential functions of social policy activity for the
   larger society.
3. To develop skills essential to the policy making process such as: research, analysis, writing, planning, and interaction skills.
4. To explore the role of power in social policy formation.
5. To examine the role of service providers as they relate to policy making and policy implementation.

REQUIRED TEXTS

1. Frances Fox Piven and Richard Cloward, Regulating the Poor: The Functions of Public Welfare, updated edition, (New York, NY: Vintage Books).

2. Michael Lipsky, Street Level Bureaucracy: Dilemmas of the Individual in Public Services, (New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation).
3. Diana Hacker, The Bedford Handbook, a recent edition, (Boston, Massachusetts: Bedford/ St. Martin's).

GRADING

Grades for this course will be based on the following distribution:

1. Class Attendance and Participation 15%
2. Short Papers (2-4 pp. each) 25%
3. Midterm Paper: Research Policy Paper and Class Presentation 25%
   
4. Final Project: Service Learning Applied Social Policy 35%
   
5. Policy Project and Class Presentation (25% group work and 10% individual's work)
   

Class Attendance and Participation
Class attendance is important. It is expected that you will also participate during class by asking questions, answering questions, leading discussions, relating class materials to current events, assisting others in developing their ideas, and paying attention to what is happening in class. We will, on occasion, discuss readings or assignments through student led discussion. If you must miss class, please contact me by phone or email ahead of time.

Midterm Paper: Research Policy Paper
This project will allow students to select a social policy area such as medicaid, legal aid, head start, etc. Students will research and write a brief history of the policy and its development. We will try to analyze these policies as they stand currently in the fall of 2002.

Final Project: Service Learning Applied Social Policy Project
This will involve an extensive applied social policy project in the form of a policy paper, a grant proposal, or written legislative testimony for a community agency. This project can be done in groups. It will also involve a 1 to 2 page individual paper describing and reflecting on your experiences in this service learning process. We will discuss possible projects in class. Students will then develop a work plan for completing this project.

Short Papers
There will be several assignments asking students to analyze case studies, essays, or reading assignments in 2 to 4 page papers given periodically through the semester.

SCHEDULE OF TOPICS AND COURSE REQUIREMENTS

September 5
Introduction to the Course. Discussion of Projects.

September 12
Policy Analysis: Macro Analysis
The Establishment of Relief & Its Relation to Labor and Civil Disorder
Piven & Cloward, Intros & Ch. 1.

September 19
The Great Depression and the New Deal
P & C Chs. 2 & 3

September 26
Stabilization of Relief: The 40's & 50's
P & C, Chs. 4 & 5

October 3
The Expansion of Welfare in the 1960's: The Great Society
P & C, Chs. 6 & 7

October 10
Reacting to Disorder & the Increased Role of the Federal
Government
P & C, Chs. 8 & 9

October 17
Consequences of the Great Society
P & C, Ch. 10

The Role of the Street Level Bureaucrat
Lipsky, preface & Chs. I & 2

October 24
Midterm Policy Papers Due with Class Presentations

October 31
Deindustrialization and Welfare to Work
P & C. Ch. 11s

Conditions of Work for the SL Bureaucrat
Lipsky, Chs. 3 6

November 7 Poor Relief and Theories of the Welfare State
P & C. Ch. 12

November 14 Patterns of Practice for the SL Bureaucrat
Lipsky, Chs. 7 10

November 21 The Future of Street Level Bureaucrats
Lipsky, Chs. 11 13

November 28
Thanksgiving Vacation

December 5
The Future of the Welfare State in the United States

Service Learning Paper Presentations

December 12

Service Learning Papers Due

December 19
Paper Presentations

Please answer the following questions about your reactions to working on this semester's service learning project:

A. Did you find any personal value in doing the project, e.g., personal satisfaction, personal achievement, etc.?

B. Did the project provide you with any interpersonal or social benefits, e.g., an increased concern for others or a greater appreciation for people of diverse backgrounds or a sense of community connectedness?

C. How did the project enhance your learning? Did it help increase your knowledge, did it help develop critical thinking, did it help you to connect academic subject matter to the "real world" etc.?

D. Will your work on the project enhance your occupational skills? For example did it re realistic view of a particular area of work, did it show you new possibilities for employment, etc.?

E. How did work on the project influence your civic awareness or skills? e.g., an awareness of community problems, commitment to making a difference,
intention to work for social justice, etc.?

For those of you working in a group please also answer these two questions:
1. What was your role in the project?
2. Comment on how well the group interacted in completing the task?

Robert N. Hansen, Ph.D.
#5 Westminster Hall

Home Phone: 573-491-3344
Cell: 573-645-3344
Office: x5362 or 5361
Email: hansenr {at} oaynet.wcmo(.)edu
Fax: 573 592 5180
Office Hours: Monday/Wednesday 11:00 12:00 Noon

Course Description & Objectives:

This course provides an introduction into the concepts, theory and practice of community building, peacemaking, and conflict resolution. Topics will include: a) community development theory; b) conflict theory; c) peacemaking; d) principles of five types of ADR strategies (negotiation, arbitration, adjudication, conciliation, and mediation); d) the application of these concepts, theories and strategies to historical and current situations; and e) the development of mediation skills and a personal style of conflict resolution.

As a result of taking this course, students will: a) be knowledgeable about the concepts and theories of community building and conflict resolution; b) have a greater understanding and appreciation for the ways conflicts have been managed or mis managed in history; c) experience a greater awareness of current international, national, state, local and campus conflicts; and d) be more competent leaders as a result of developing greater skills in conflict resolution.

Instructional Materials:

Fisher, R., Ury, W. & Patton, B. (199 1). Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In. Penguin: New York.

This has become the classic book on negotiation. Fisher, Ury and Patton have taught negotiation theory and skills at Harvard Law School and throughout the world via the Harvard Negotiation Project. This popular press book is used in most undergraduate, graduate and law school courses that focus on the art and science of negotiation.

Beer, J.E. & Stief, E. (1997). The Mediator's Handbook. New Society: Gabriola Island, British Columbia: Canada.

Developed by the Friends Conflict Resolution Program, this handbook comes from one of the oldest mediation programs in the United States. It was originally developed to promote creative and peaceful processes for resolving conflicts in Quaker and other communities. Today, it is used in community and academic settings to teach basic mediation skills.

Classroom Activities:

This class will function as an "active seminar". Although there will be some formal presentations by the instructor, much of our time will be devoted to discussion and application of the material. Special "lab sessions" will be scheduled which focus on the development of basic mediation skills. Guest speakers, videos, outside readings, field trips, and small group activities will be additional means of working with this material.

Learning Through Service & "Mediation Skills Lab":

We will work collaboratively with the young women of the Rosa Parks Center, a Division of Youth Services' residential facility for "troubled" teenagers. These young women will give us a tour of their facility, explain their treatment program and assist in the making of communication skills and mediation videotapes. They will also teach us the conflict resolution techniques that they are learning in their treatment program. To reciprocate, we will teach them some formal mediation skills and give them an "introductory college experience" by giving them a tour of campus and letting them sit in on some classes. Both in class and through reaction papers, we will individually and collectively reflect on our experience with these young women. Our challenge is to better understand conflict through their eyes and to look at the bigger picture of why these young women, and thousands like them, are in treatment programs. What is it about them, adolescence, public policy, or our culture in general that produces so many "troubled" teens? Each student, with the help of these young women, will make at least two video segments one demonstrating active listening skills and one demonstrating mediation skills. These videos will only be seen by you, the instructor and one other student in the course who will critique your tape. You will need one VHS videotape for use in these "lab" activities. If you can't afford a videotape, I have some previously used tapes that you can use.

Learning Styles:

Each of us has a personalized learning style. Please let me know if you have a particular style or challenge (e.g., severe test anxiety, slow reading speed or comprehension, vision or hearing impairment, or another learning disability) that could benefit from special accommodations. Anyone who feels s/he may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact me to arrange an appointment as soon as possible. At this time we can discuss the course format, anticipate your needs and explore potential accommodations.

Grading: 1,000 points possible

Reaction Papers (4 total) 75 pts each = 300
Lab Projects

Active Listening Critique (self) 50 pts = 250
Critique of Partner

Final Mediation Video Project
Skill = 50 pts
Self Critique = 50 pts
Critique Other = 50 pts

Quizzes (3): (50pts each) = 150
Attendance At 4 Campus Events With Discussion Group Comments = 80
Hosting Visiting Presenter (includes reaction comment) = 20
Participation/Engagement = 200

Class Schedule:

Phase 1: Introductions & Making Our Class A "Community"
Key Concepts of Community Building & Development
The Paradox of Conflict: Change Theory & Systems Theory
Current Global Conflicts & Negotiations: Iraq and North Korea

Phase 2: Principled Negotiating: Theory & Practice
Mega Listening: The First Step of Successful Negotiators
Building Consensus
Quiz over Phases 1 & 2

Phase 3: What is "Peace"? What is "War"?
International, national, regional, local and campus conflicts
Northern Ireland Catholics, Protestants & British "Occupation"
Israel Palestine
Civil Rights Struggles
Marriage and Family
Campus Conflicts: Past & Present
Is it possible to create "intentional" peaceful communities?
Quiz over Phase 3

Phase 4: Alternative Dispute Resolution Strategies
The Continuum of ADR Options
Theory and Practice of Mediation
Learning Mediation Skills
Quiz over Phase 4

Phase 5: Community Building & Development (Revisited)
Other Possible Topics: Hostage Negotiation
Marriage/Couples Therapy
Labor Unions vs. Management
Animal Rights Movement
Cloning & Other Medical Ethics Issues
Criminals & Restorative Justice