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HS
202-A
Working with Culturally Diverse Populations
Spring 2010
(For
printable version, click here)
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Instructor:
Dr. Madeleine Cousineau
Office Hours: Monday, 1–2; Tuesday, 1–3 |
Office:
Academic Tech Center 232
Office Telephone: (617) 928-7304
Email: Please
click here |
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(other times by appointment) |
COURSE OBJECTIVES
This course focuses on the development of cultural
competence in order to prepare students to work with
people who are different from themselves in terms of
ethnicity, race, religion, class, sexual orientation,
and any other differences that affect people’s
behavior and values. Students will develop skills for
culturally competent human service work by means of
self-examination, critical reading of course material,
classroom activities, and discussions. By the end of
this course each student should be able to:
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Understand
the influence of cultural values on people’s
everyday behavior and choices
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Be
aware of his or her own values and biases
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Accept
people whose lifestyles are different from his or
her own
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Be
sensitive to the sources of conflict between
culturally different populations
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Understand
the relationship of cultural competence to social
justice
All of these
objectives meet the requirements of the All College
Curriculum for professional preparation, social
world, and appreciation of diversity.
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COURSE
REQUIREMENTS Readings
and Written Assignments
The textbook required for this course is:
Jerry V. Diller, Cultural Diversity: A Primer the Human
Services (Third Edition)
There will also be
ten readings on electronic
reserve on the Angel Learning Network.
Please
bring your book to class each day, along with any
additional reading that is due that week.
Due
dates for the reading assignments are on page 5 of this
syllabus. Study questions based on these readings are on
the Angel Learning Network. (If you have difficulty
accessing Angel, use the link at the top of this page
for written assignments.) To find the
questions
in Angel, click on the Lessons tab, and then click on
the link for Written Assignments. Typewritten answers to
the study questions must be handed in at the beginning
of class every Wednesday (except March 10) and on
Monday, May 10. The average for the written assignments
will be weighted as 50% of the final grade. You may skip
one assignment in February and one in April. However, if
you choose not to skip one or both of these assignments,
your lowest grade or your two lowest grades will be
dropped. If you do skip a writen assignment, you are
still expected to do the readings for that week.
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Exams
and Quizzes
There will be a
midterm exam on March 10 and a final during the exam
period (May 11–15), and quizzes on February 8, April
5, and April 26. Each of the exams will be weighted as
20% of the final grade, and the average of the quizzes
will be weighted as 10%. Exams and quizzes will be based
on material from lectures and from the reading
assignments.
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COURSE
POLICIES
Attendance
Your
contribution to the course is valuable, both
for yourself and for the other students. For this reason,
attendance is required. More than four absences will result in an automatic F
for the course, unless the absences have been excused
for medical or other reasons. Late arrival will count as
one-third of an absence. If there are special circumstances
affecting your attendance, please let me know.
To
be excused for a religious holiday, you must hand in,
one week in advance, a typewritten one-page explanation
of the meaning of the holiday and why it is important to
you.
PLEASE
NOTE: Class cancellations will be posted on Angel. There
is no ten minute rule in this class. If a class is not cancelled,
students who leave after ten minutes will be marked
absent.
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Barks
and Beeps
Seeing eye dogs are welcomed in the classroom, but all
other non-human companions will be asked to stay
outside.
Please
keep in mind that a class is a community of learners.
Conversations among students before and after class
strengthen that community. So please turn off your cell
phone, iPod, and any other electronic
devices before
you enter the classroom. There is to be no
text messaging during class.
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Grades
and Extra Credit
Distribution: |
Points
to Grade: |
Midterm
exam.
Final exam
First short test
Second short test
Written assignments
Total |
20 points
20 points
5 points
5 points
50 points
100 points |
|
93-100
90-92
87-89
83-86
80-82 |
A
A-
B+
B
B- |
77-79
73-76
70-72 |
C+
C
C- |
67-69
63-66
60-62
Below 60 |
D+
D
D-
F |
You may earn extra credit each
week by writing a typewritten reflection of at least one
full page on the content of a class, by finding a
mistake on the course website, or by meeting with the
instructor for extra help. The extra credit will be
added to the grade for that week’s written assignment.
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PLEASE
NOTE:
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All students are graded
according to the same standards and final grades
are non-negotiable.
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Academic
Honesty
Honesty is an absolute requirement in this course. It is
obvious that cheating is harmful to the student who does
it, since that student is not learning as much as he or
she could learn by studying. In addition, cheating is
also unfair and disrespectful toward other students, who
may study hard for a test and get lower grades than
students who cheat. In this course the policy with
regard to any form of cheating is ZERO TOLERANCE.
Students who are caught cheating or encouraging others
to cheat will be dismissed from the course with a grade
of F.
Plagiarism is using someone else's ideas
without giving credit to the author.
This includes:
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copying all or part of another
student's assignment
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copying word-for-word out of a book or
article without using quotation marks around the
words copied
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taking material
directly from a book, article, or the
Internet—even if not a direct quote—without
giving credit to the source
In the case of plagiarism in relation to the
weekly written assignments, students will be given a
warning on the first offense, to allow for the
possibility that the plagiarism was unintentional. A
second offense will result in dismissal from the course
with a grade of F. However, cheating on an exam will
result in immediate dismissal with a grade of F.
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Individual
Needs
If you have a documented learning disability, please
let me know by February 1, so that appropriate testing
accommodations and other help may be made available to
you if needed..
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Communication
You are welcomed to drop in during my office hours, to
talk with me after class, or to make an appointment. At
other times the best way to reach me is by
email. If a message is important or urgent, please send
it to both of my email addresses:
mcousineau(at)mountida.edu and
mrcousineau(at)comcast.net. Announcements are posted on
Angel.
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Learning
Environment
We all have a right to be respected. In this class each
person is expected to treat others with courtesy and
respect, to listen when others speak, and to refrain
from distracting behavior. Debate is encouraged, but
disagreements need to be expressed in a respectful
manner. If a discussion strays too far from the course
material, I will exercise my responsibility as the
instructor to bring it to a close. Finally, in order to
ensure that everyone in this class feels accepted and
supported, negative comments related to race, ethnicity,
immigration status, religion, age, disability, sex,
gender, or sexual orientation
are not permitted. Students who disregard any of these
principles will be asked to leave the class until they
have a meting with me to discuss appropriate classsroom
behavior. The intent of this
policy is to create an environment in which all
students may maximize their learning potential. |
IMPORTANT REMINDERS
| Written assignments
required:
Every Wednesday
and Monday, May 10
You may skip one assignment in February and one in
April.
If not skipped, the lowest grade(s) will be dropped. |
Quizzes:
February 8
April 5
April 26
Missed quizzes may be made up, but
make-ups will be more difficult than the originals.
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Exams:
Midterm: March 10
Final Exam Period:
May 11–15
Please
do not schedule travel plans before the end of the final
exam period. |
On February 22 class will be held at 1 p.m. in the
Continuing Education Conference Room on the first floor
of the New England Institute Building, where I will be
giving a presentation on the School-to-Prison Pipeline.
Cultural competence is a key element of solutions to
this problem. Be sure to read the article by Ann Arnett
Ferguson, "Bad Boys: Public Schools in the Making
of Black Masculinity," (reserve reading #3) before
the presentation. (Attendance will be taken.)
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CALENDAR/OUTLINE
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| I. |
The
meaning of Culture and Cultural Cultural Competence (January
20–February
3)
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Read
by January 22: |
Crow Dog and Erdoes, "Civilize them with a
Stick" (reserve reading # 1);
Diller, pages 1–6
of Chapter 1;
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Read by February 1: |
Pages
9–18
and 24–29
of Chapter 2.
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FIRST
QUIZ FEBRUARY 8
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| II. |
Racial
and Ethnic Diversity and Discrimination (February 8–24) |
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Read
by February 8: |
Pages
32–42,
48–53,
and 57–59
of Chapter 8;
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| Read
by February 17: |
Ballou
and Mishra, "Alleged Bid to Abort" (reserve
reading # 2);
Diller, pages 61–62,
70–80
of Chapter 4 and pages 120–124
of Chapter 6;
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| Read
by February 22: |
Ferguson,
"Bad Boys" (reserve reading #3);
Diller, pages 83–94
and 106–110
of Chapter 5.
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| On
February 22 class will be at 1 p.m. in the Continuing
Education Conference Room |
| III. |
Mental
Health Issues (March 1–3) |
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Read
by March 1: |
Goldstein
and Noguera, "Designing for Diversity"
(reserve reading #4);
Diller, pages 112–115
and from the bottom of page 128 to page 134 of Chapter
6.
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| IV. |
Language,
Meaning, and Power (March 8) |
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(No
reading due this week) |
M I D T E R
M E X A
M M A R
C H 1 0
S P R I
N G B R
E A K M
A R C H 1 3 -
2 1
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| V. |
Cultural
Variations in Seeking Help (March 22–24) |
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Read by March 22: Diller, pages 136–149
and from bottom of 154 to page 157 of Chapter 7. |
| VI. |
Cross-Cultural
Problem Resolution (March 29–31) |
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Read
by March 29: Diller, pages 158–168
of Chapter 8.
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| VII. |
Latinos
in the United States (April 5–7) |
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Read
by April 5: Diller, Chapter 10.
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| VIII. |
Native
Cultural Diversity (April 12–14) |
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Read
by April 12: Diller, Chapter 11.
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| IX. |
African
Americans (April 19–21) |
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Read
by April 17: Diller, Chapter 12.
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| X. |
Asians
in the United States (April 26-28) |
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Read
by April 26: Diller, Chapter 13.
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| XI. |
Sexual
Diversity (April 26-May 1) |
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Read
by May 5: Walters, "Gay and Lesbian
Persons of Color (reserve reading #5)
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| XII. |
Social
Justice and Class Issues (May 10)
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Read
by May 10: Van Soest, "Social Justice"
(reserve reading #6); Diller, Chapter 15.
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F
I N A L
E X A M
P E R I O D
: M A
Y 8 -
1 2
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