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SyllabusAre We Too Violent?UNST 421-541 Fall Term 2018Location: Epler 106 MW 10:15-12:05 Instructor: DeEtte Beghtol Waleed Email: dwaleed@pdx.eduOffice Hours: By appointment“During this class, I started being more attentive to the ways violence can subtly affect me.”Brief description: Increasing occurrences of police violence have brought violence into sharper focus for us. What makes us violent? Is violence increasing or are we just more aware of it? Can we change? Students will research causes of violence and learn strategies to overcome violence. Teams will interview individuals in the US and developing countries working to heal the effects of wars and violence. You will work to plan and create a short film or other public education event with our community partner. Topics include: Why are we violent? Factors leading to violence in cities in the US; Effects of violence on soldiers; Relationships between poverty and violence; Comparing strategies to overcome violence in the US and the developing world.Unique Qualities of this Capstone Course“The skype interview was a highlight of my time at PSU.”?Using Skype software teams of students will interview leaders of projects to overcome violence in various areas of the world, including locally.?Students will research the political and cultural background of conflicts in the country of the interviewee, refugees from Congo, returning veterans or groups in the US working to reduce police violence. You will prepare and set up interviews with selected people working with community based organizations to build peace in their regions. The basic focus of the interviews will be techniques and strategies the interviewees have found helpful in overcoming violence in their countries and situations. This course offers opportunities to build interviewing skills, produce a short film and expand students résumés. It widens our perspectives and deepens analytical skills. It invites global awareness, preparing students for involvement in national and international issues Community PartnerCommunities of Support and Accountability (CoSA) works with community groups to support prisoners and their families. They support and create local projects using a restorative justice model to make Oregon prisons more effective and humane. Projects include Victim Voices, the Welcome Home network, letter writing to prisoners and supporting families to visit their loved ones in prisons.Final productStudents will interview leaders from developing countries and in the US who have created projects to reduce violence. Teams of students will research political and cultural background of conflicts in the country of the interviewee. You will contact and set up interviews with peacebuilders identified through international groups and local leaders working to build peace in their regions or locally. The basic focus of the interviews will be techniques and strategies field workers have found helpful in overcoming violence in their situations.Students will work with CoSA to research and help to prepare projects or workshops for a winter symposium on community involvement in prison reform. Texts: These texts are available on reserve from the PSU Library: Canada, Geoffrey , Fist Stick Knife Gun, Beacon Press, 1995Eggers, Dave, What is the What? Vintage Books, 2006Grossman, Lt. Col. Dave, and DeGaetano, Gloria, Stop Teaching Our Kids to Kill, Crown Publishers, 2014 Roy, Jody M., Love to Hate: America’s Obsession with Hatred and Violence, Columbia University Press, 2002Ury, William, The Third Side, Penguin Books, 1999Waleed, DeEtte Beghtol, Messengers of Peace, Inspiring Stories of Africans Creating Peace, CreateSpace, 2011 orand also available as e-book at Additional recommended reading: Remaining sections not assigned of Eggers, Dave, What is the What?Gilligan, James, M.D., Violence, Our Deadly Epidemic and Its Causes, G.F. Putnam’s Sons, 1996Miller, Arthur G., The Social Psychology of Good and Evil, Guilford Press, 2004, especially Chapter 2 “Situationist Perspectives on the Psychology of Evil: Understanding How Good People are Transformed into PerpetratorsRoy, Jody M., Ph.D., Autobiography of a Recovering Skinhead, Hawthorne Books andLiterary Arts, Portland, 2009.Sippola, John, Blumenshine, Amy, Tubesing, Donald and Yancey, Valerie, WelcomeThem Home Help Them Heal, Pastoral care and ministry with service members returning from warTurnbull, Colin M., The Mountain People, Simon and Schuster, 1972Prof. Cornel West, noted black scholar, on “Gangsterism of America’s Black Community” watch?v=dDNvPLMnvCE&feature=fvsr Youth and Violence - gatheringforjustice., Youth & Violence: Malia Lazu onMobilization, UCLA re: youth incarcerationHuman Trafficking - Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) – Reading: The first few weeks of the course will be concentrated on readings to ground students in theories of violence and on research on the subject. Assigned readings are a basic introduction into the subject. They are intended to lead to more in-depth readings on the “additional recommended readings” list and to your own research into the topic. Background reading on the history of conflict and political conditions in particular countries will be necessary to prepare for interviews.It is expected that students spend about 1 to 2 hours per week in work outside of class, including 2 hours working on your presentation with your chosen community partner. The schedule for reading assignments is heavier in the early weeks of the class and less in later weeks when more time will be required in preparing for interviews and our final presentation.Writing: There will be weekly assignments to respond to questions on D2L regarding your personal reflections on our reading assignments and topics discussed in class. D2L posts must make it obvious you have read the materials and must demonstrate original thinking, not just parroting back readings. Class Participation: You are required to participate in class discussions. Some ways to participate include asking questions, speaking up in class discussions, demonstrating you have done reading assignments and preparing for interviews. I will be posting online discussion questions on D2L which can be substituted for or supplement in-class discussions During the term we will be discussing some controversial subjects about which people may have strong opinions. Our goal is to learn from each other, not to debate. It is expected that everyone will show respect for the opinions of other students, guests and instructors at all times. We learn more through being curious, instead of adversarial, about what is different.At the beginning of the term, students will sign up to be discussion leaders for each day’s reading assignments. As discussion leader your job is to read thoroughly the reading assignments and to develop questions to guide class discussions. Questions should be open-ended; e.g. “How do you see X idea fitting in with Y?”, rather than “What did the author say about X?” This will be your opportunity to facilitate lively discussion through thoughtful questions which encourage analysis and “thinking outside the box.”The class will divide into teams to conduct online interviews. Each team will have the responsibility of researching the history and politics surrounding the person being interviewed and preparing questions for the interview. The teams will present their research to the class and will conduct the interviews in the class.Expectations and Grading StandardsI am more interested in thoughtfulness and creativity in written assignments than in proper format or footnotes. Weekly journal assignments will call for your personal reflections, not just feeding back what you have read. I hope we can work together to deeply explore difficult issues and question our personal involvement in cultural violence in the US. We will disagree on some issues; you may disagree with me; that’s a lively part of the learning process which I welcome.Participation and Attendance34 pointsLeading class discussion12 pointsJournal reflections (6 pts. each assignment)54 pointsPresentation of Research on interviewee25 pointsFinal presentation25 pointsTotal possible points = 150Participation Points: Class discussions where everyone participates are an integral part of this course. If you let me know ahead of time that you are going to miss class, or email me the day that you miss class due to illness or other urgent matter, it will be considered an excused absence and credited with the full two points for that day. You may do this twice. After that, no points will be received for participation unless you are actually in class and contributing to the discussion. It is also important that you arrive on time and stay the entire class period. Grading ScaleA92% or aboveB-80% to 81%A-90% to 91%C+78% to 79%B+88% to 89%C72% to 77%B82% to 87%C-70% to 71%Class CourtesiesOut of respect for me, our guest speakers and your classmates, I ask that you please abide by the following courtesies:Arrive on time and ready to participate;Turn off cell phone and other electronic device noises;Keep laptops off and closed;If you must text or otherwise use your electronic devices for other than class-related work, please step outside the classroom;Student Conduct and ResourcesIt is strongly encouraged that you read the Student Conduct Code (see ). It details your rights and responsibilities as a student and as a member of Portland State Community.The link to the Child Abuse Reporting is:? harassment, sexual assault, dating/domestic violence and stalkingYou may make a report to PSU’s Title IX Coordinator, Julie Caron by contacting her at jucaron@pdx.edu or 503-725-4410. PSU’s Deputy Coordinator is Lisa Miller. Lisa can be contacted at lkm4@pdx.edu.Additionally, PSU has a webpage devoted to the Safe Campus Module with frequently asked questions and answers. Please review this webpage at: email address for students to request exemptions or ask any other questions regarding the student, Safe Campus module is: Saveact@pdx.eduThere are disagreements regarding a recent decision of PSU that campus police will carry weapons. This policy was recently questioned more vigorously when a black man was killed by campus police. Since this decision impacts the level of violence on our campus, we may include discussion of this issue in class. The PSU Food Pantry offers services to currently enrolled Portland State University students, by providing a free, welcoming, and inclusive environment to acquire supplemental food items on a regular basis. The pantry is located in SMSU 325. For more information e-mail foodhelp@pdx.edu For information on food assistance and other resources please visit: and Inclusion for Students with DisabilitiesPSU values diversity and inclusion; we are committed to fostering mutual respect and full participation for all students. My goal is to create a learning environment that is equitable, useable, inclusive, and welcoming. If any aspects of instruction or course design result in barriers to your inclusion or learning, please notify me. The Disability ?Resource Center (DRC) provides reasonable accommodations for students who encounter barriers in the learning environment.If you have, or think you may have, a disability that may affect your work in this class and feel you need accommodations, contact the Disability Resource Center to schedule an appointment and initiate a conversation about reasonable accommodations. The DRC is located in 116 Smith Memorial Student Union, 503-725-4150, drc@pdx.edu, you already have accommodations, please contact me to make sure that I have received a faculty notification letter and discuss your accommodations.Please be aware that the accessible tables or chairs in the room should remain available for students who find that standard classroom seating is not useable.?For information about emergency preparedness, please go to the Fire and Life Safety webpage () for information.Veterans’ ServicesWe welcome veterans into this class. Vets have unique experiences with violence that non-vets can learn from. We encourage vets to share your views as part of our class dialogue. We thank veterans for your service and welcome you as a valued member of our campus community. It is our goal to provide you with the highest quality education and a college experience which will serve you a lifetime. Portland State University has a long and proud tradition of providing quality educational services to Oregon’s returning veterans. In fact, PSU was founded specifically to provide veterans returning from World War II with a state-supported university in the Portland metro area. For more information about services to veterans, please contact PSU Veterans Services, 425 Smith Union, 503-725-3876, veteransservices@pdx.municationsI enjoy communicating with students during the term and appreciate being updated on things outside of class that might impact your participation or the quality of your work. I think you will find that I am quite flexible if you communicate well.Desire2Learn: I have set up a Desire2Learn (D2L) page for this class and will use it regularly for communication purposes. I will post assignments and your points there, as well as general announcements for the class. You are responsible for knowing the information posted so, please check it daily! You may also communicate with each other via D2L.Email: My email address is dwaleed@pdx.edu. I will check my email at least once a day and more often during the week. Phone: I prefer communicating by email. However, if you have an emergency or an urgent question, you can use my phone number: 503-659-0085. Appointments: I would be happy to schedule an appointment with you. Please contact me via email to set up an appointment. Week-by-Week OutlineChanges in reading, writing and due dates will be announced in class and posted on D2L. It is your responsibility to be aware of any changes in due dates, whether or not these are announced in your absence.Week 19/24Introductions; Syllabus Review; Brief Overview of Community Partners9/26Meet with Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSA)Readings:Video produced by 2017 class on D2LHYPERLINK "" "": Reflection: How have I been affected by violence in my life? 250 words minimumWeek 210/1Examples of Violence Readings:Canada, Geoffrey, Fist Stick Knife Gun, Parts 1 and 2, pp. 1-1032 Chapters on Research Interviewing on D2LDue: Week 1 journal entries10/3Violence globally and locallyReadings:Fist Stick Knife Gun, Part3, pp. 107-179Eggers, Dave, What is the What?, Preface, Ch. 1-6, pp. 3-71Week 310/8Understanding prisonsHYPERLINK "" "" "" "" "": Week 2 journal entries10/10Planning session with CoSA Biology, Gender of ViolenceReadings:What is the What? Ch. 7-11, pp. 72-142 of Peace, Ch. 8Week 410/15Violence Against Sexual MinoritiesReadings:Roy, Jody, Love to Hate, Foreword and Part 1, pp. 1-67: Week 3 journal entries 10/17Gun ViolenceReadings:Love to Hate, pp. 71-144HYPERLINK "" "" "" "": Team 1 presents research on interviewee #1Week 510/22Genocide in Africa and Central AmericaReadings: Messengers of Peace, Ch. 7HYPERLINK "" "" "" "" : Week 4 journal entries Team 1 conducts interview – Issa Ebombolo10/24Are there alternatives?Readings:Grossman, Dave, Stop Teaching our Kids to Kill, Intro. + Ch. 1-3,+ pp. 121-122Love to Hate, pp. 145-179 "" "": Team 2 presents research on interviewee #2Week 610/29Effects of warsReadings:Messengers of Peace, Chs. 1, 3-5 "" "" "": Week 5 journal entries Team 2 conducts interview – Penny Dex 10/31The Business of ViolenceReadings:Stop Teaching our Kids to Kill, Ch.. 4-5 HYPERLINK "" portland/article-17808-the_gun.html: Team 3 presents research on interviewee #3 Week 711/5Police ViolenceReadings:HYPERLINK "" "" "" "" "" "" "": Week 6 journal entries Team 3 conducts interview – JoAnn Hardesty 11/7Genocide of Native AmericansReadings:Chapter 4, “Red Eyes,” Lies My Teacher Told Me, on e-reserve at libraryHYPERLINK "" "" 811/12Structural Violence - RacismReadings:HYPERLINK "" - Take at least one IAT on race "" "" "" "" "": Week 7 journal entries11/14How can we stop being violent?Article: “Black Mississippi Judge Sentences Defendants” – see D2L syllabusArticle: “When Einstein Met Gandhi – See D2L syllabus 911/19 CoSA Final planning Due: Week 8 journal entries11/21Alternatives to ViolenceReadings:Ury, William, The Third Side, Intro + Ch. 1-4HYPERLINK "" 1011/26Final Presentations on CoSA11/28Wrap-Up, Course Evaluations ................
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