Request for Issues in Social Justice Course Approval Cover Sheet

Submit all materials to Natalie Robinson, Core Administrative Assistant, nrobinson@jcu.edu Date: __________________ Instructor: ____________________________________________ Department the course is to be offered in: ___________________________ Semester and Year the course will be offered: ________________________ Course number and title: ______________________________________________________ Bulletin description for the course, if already offered: Do you believe that this course is also appropriate for the outgoing Core until it ends? _______ If yes, please indicate the Division and/or letter designations ______________ * *If you indicated yes, your syllabus will be forwarded to the Director of the outgoing core. Approved: _________________________________ __________________

Department Chair: Date

_________________________________ __________________ Core Sub-committee and Director: Date

_________________________________ __________________ Core Committee and Director: Date

 

JESUIT HERITAGE: ISSUES IN SOCIAL JUSTICE Core Application Form

Rationale: This core requirement asks students to understand and interrogate concepts of inclusion and empowerment and to analyze systems and structures of oppression and marginalization. Courses may pose questions about equality, access, multiculturalism, economic and social barriers, or discrimination based on gender, sexuality, class, race, and/or ethnicity. Courses in this component of the curriculum challenge students to recognize institutional impediments or de facto assumptions that result in an individual or group having less than full voice and participation in societies. The course may focus on historical issues or contemporary problems or both. Mode of Delivery: An Issues in Social Justice course must be a three credit course offered by a single instructor. Please consult the course criteria outlined at the Core Curriculum website for a review of the requirements and expectations for an Issues in Social Justice course. The Core Committee may request additional materials in its evaluation of the course. Please attach relevant course materials, including course syllabi; reading list(s); examples of representative assignments or class activities, (particularly those used for assessment of student learning outcomes); a rationale for the proposed Issues in Social Justice core courses. The course rationale should include:

● the anticipated audience for the course (i.e. general student population, students of particular major(s), etc.);

● the theme(s), intellectual question(s), real-world problem(s), or issue(s) the course will explore, how the student’s understanding will be enhanced after completion of the course;

In the table below, please indicate how the learning objectives in this course (derived from the Academic Learning Goals) will be assessed.

Directions:

1. The first column lists each of the JCU Academic Learning Goals that Issues in Social Justice courses are expected to contribute to.

2. The second column lists the required learning objectives for each Issues in Social Justice course. Note that a clear majority of class time must be spent pursuing the stated JCU academic learning Goals in order for the course to be eligible for Core credit.

3. In the third column, state the means (i.e. formative and summative assignments, class activities, and/or signature assignments) for assessing each of the course student learning outcomes. If those assignments or class activities have not been outlined in the course rationale, then attach separate descriptions.

JCU Academic Learning Goals to Be Addressed in Issues in Social Justice Courses

Relevant Course Student Learning

Objectives

Means of Assessment for Each Course Student Learning Objective (How will students demonstrate having met the learning objectives?)

1. Demonstrate an integrative knowledge of the human and natural worlds.

Students acquire knowledge about the human experience. Included herein may be how the natural world has shaped the human experience, particularly as it applies to issues of social justice.

2. Develop habits of critical analysis and aesthetic appreciation.

Students demonstrate the ability to analyze multiple forms of expression such as oral, written, digital, or visual.

Students demonstrate the ability to think critically about a real-world problem or intellectual question (critical thinking includes identifying and describing the fundamental elements of a problem/question, and the ability to interpret relevant data.

5. Act competently in a global and diverse world.

Students understand and respect human and cultural differences.

6. Understand and promote social justice.

Students value the equality and dignity of all persons; understand the obligation to provide opportunity of voice and equitable access for all.

Students examine the conditions that have given rise to injustice.

Students understand the consequences of injustice.

Students recognize the obligation for individuals to contribute to the common good and the obligation for society to make that participation possible for all. Students recognize unjust situations and take action to rectify them.

If necessary, provide additional comments:                                 

 

Social Justice Course Approval Form – October 3, 2014

EN 299, American Immigrant Literature

Request for Issues in Social Justice course approval

Rationale

Anticipated audience for course:

This course has no pre-requisites, so I anticipate a general student population for this course. It also is

course that English majors and minors can take for elective credit.

Themes, intellectual questions, real-world problems, issues:

This course focuses on literary texts that represent the settlement experiences of a range of immigrants to

the United States. As a literature course for the Department of English, it introduces students to the tools

and practices of literary analysis. With the particular subject matter, it also addresses many of the topics

Issues in Social Justice courses cover. Immigrant authors often wrote from a marginalized position,

narrating their experiences (and experiences of their national/ethnic group) with the social, political,

economic, and legal barriers that created inequality, discrimination, and even exclusion. More

specifically, the course examines the following broad themes (as outlined on the course syllabus):

uprooting and transplanting, urbanization (with a particular focus on labor issues); race and ethnicity;

border existence; and immigration law and legal exclusion. While the various issues within these themes

posed rea-world problems for the immigrants in their time (we look at several 19th-century, early and mid-

20th-century texts), we also consider how these same issues carry over to current times. At the end of the

semester the students will read a post-9/11 immigrant novel, and throughout the semester students will be

asked to keep track of immigration as a key point of debate in the ongoing presidential campaigns.

Students will find both differences and similarities in the ways immigration and immigrants were and

currently are perceived and represented in the media and political debate. They will come to understand

the importance of immigrants having their own voice to represent their own experiences.

1

John Carroll University

Department of English

Spring 2016

EN 299, American Immigrant Literature:

Social Justice and Political Debate

TR 12:30-1:45

Rm: TBA

Dr. Peter Kvidera

Department of English

236 O’Malley Center

pkvidera@jcu.edu, 216-397-1695

Office Hours: TBA

Course Description

America has been traditionally understood as a nation built upon immigrants. Some cultural critics (now

and in the past) have found such a foundation to be a fundamental asset, arguing that immigration has

infused a vital cultural diversity into the nation. Others have been more skeptical, believing immigration

to undermine stable notions of “America” as a people and a nation. As a way to address these divergent

views, it is fitting to take a glimpse at the debate from the inside, through the lens of immigrant narratives.

In this course we will read and analyze a wide array of literary and non-literary texts written by and about

immigrants to the United States. Specifically, we will examine the historical and cultural background of

different ethnic and racial groups and discuss how literary responses to the immigrant experience

contribute to, clarify and re-create concepts of American people and places.

In our discussion of the literary texts and supplemental readings, we will be focusing on issues of social

justice that have come to bear in debates on immigration. We will consider how economic, political, and

legal systems in the U.S. created barriers that marginalized entire groups of immigrants and excluded

them from full participation in U.S. society, or, more specifically, from Constitutional rights and legal

protections (such as Chinese immigrants), economic prosperity (such as Jewish and Italian immigrants)

and social acceptance (such as the Mexican immigrants and certainly many of these immigrant groups).

While this course glances backward, it also brings these social issues into contemporary debate by

including a post-9/11 immigrant narrative (about the marginalization of a Pakistani immigrant suddenly

seen as a threat after the 9/11 terrorist attacks). And we will enter into the political debate on immigration

that has become one of the lighting-rod issues of the current presidential campaign. We will take a look

at the positions and the rhetoric used to speak about immigration and immigrant peoples within and

surrounding these campaigns. With our focus on social justice and with the examples the literary texts

provide (which in many cases attempt to give voice to those silenced by their immigrant experience) we

will consider the situations of immigrants today.

Course Learning Goals

Consistent with the learning goals outlined by the Department of English at John Carroll University, EN

299 highlights the following objectives for students:

2

1. Reading: students will read texts with active, critical skill to form and articulate accomplished

interpretations.

2. Writing: students will produce written analyses of literary texts that demonstrate awareness of

audience, organizational sophistication, and clear argumentation.

3. Language, genre, and form: students will recognize the employment and contextual use of the

formal elements of language and genre.

4. Oral communication: students will build oral communication skills by listening to others’ ideas

and articulating their own responses and questions clearly to situate themselves in the

conversation.

5. Culture and history: students will gain knowledge of cultural and historical contexts of

Anglophone and translated literature that enhance their appreciation for the voices either within

or marginalized by the texts.

These department learning goals are aligned with the John Carroll University’s broader learning goals,

specifically the following which this course address and are central to the Issues in Social Justice (ISJ)

component of the Integrative Core Curriculum. According to the University learning goals, students in

ISJ courses will

Demonstrate an integrative knowledge of the human and natural worlds:

a. Students acquire knowledge about the human experience, particularly as it applies to issues of social

justice.

Demonstrate habits of critical analysis and aesthetic appreciation:

a. Students demonstrate the ability to analyze multiple forms of expression such as oral, written, digital or

visual.

b. Students demonstrate the ability to think critically about a real-world problem or intellectual question

(critical thinking includes identifying and describing the fundamental elements of a problem/question, and

the ability to interpret relevant data).

Act competently in a global and diverse world:

a. Students understand and respect human and cultural differences.

Understand and promote social justice:

a. Students value the equality and dignity of all persons; understand the obligation to provide opportunity

of voice and equitable access for all.

b. Students examine the conditions that have given rise to injustice.

c. Students understand the consequences of injustice.

d. Students recognize the obligation for individuals to contribute to the common good and the obligation

for society to make that participation possible for all. Students recognize unjust situations and take action

to rectify them.

Students will meet the department and university learning goals through active participation in class

discussion and successful completion of exams and assignments (three essays and a group presentation).

3

Required Texts (available at the university bookstore):

Abraham Cahan, Yekl and the Imported Bridegroom

Pietro di Donato, Christ in Concrete

Mohsin Hamid, The Reluctant Fundamentalist

Fae Myenne Ng, Bone

Americo Paredes, George Washington Gomez

Jacob Riis, How the Other Half Lives

Anzia Yezierska, Bread Givers

Additional reading material posted on Canvas:

Hector St. John Crevecouer, excerpts from Letters from an American Farmer

Francis Walker, “Immigration and Degradation”

Theodore Roosevelt, “True Americanism”

Horace Kallen, “Democracy Versus the Melting Pot”

Ronald Takaki, selections from A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America

Matthew Frye Jacobson, “The Fabrication of Race” and “Looking Jewish, Seeing Jews”

Susan Glenn, “Mothers and Daughters: Remaking the Jewish Family Economy in America”

Carrie Tirado Bramen, “The Urban Picturesque and the Spectacle of Americanization”

Edith Maude Eaton (Sui Sin Far), “Leaves from the Mental Portfolio of an Eurasian”

U.S. Federal Exclusion Laws (selections)

poetry from Island: Poetry and History of Chinese Immigrants on Angel Island

poetry from Songs of Gold Mountain: Cantonese Rhymes from San Francisco Chinatown

A note on reading materials: you are required to bring with you the reading materials we discuss in class;

we often will refer to specific passages—and you must have the texts with you to participate effectively in

class. Failure to bring the text with you to class will likely have a negative impact on your class

participation grade.

Practical Matters

Assignments

Two Exams: There will a midterm exam and final exam. The final will be cumulative. Both

exams will include essay questions (short and longer answer), as well as identification and

analysis of key terms, quotations, and concepts discussed in class.

In-class work: In addition to our regular class discussion, throughout the semester, we will have a

series of pop quizzes and in-class writing exercises—at least seven. Each will be worth 10 points,

and I will count the five highest scores for the final grade. These quizzes/writing exercises will

be unannounced; there will be no make-up quizzes/writing exercises—please do not ask to

make one up if you are absent from class. The quizzes/writing exercises will cover the reading

material due that particular day.

Two literary analysis essays: For each these essays (4-5 pages, double-spaced), you will do a

close reading of a key passage in one of the literary texts. The main focus of these essays will be

the aesthetic features of the narratives: the author’s use of symbol/image/motif, narrative point of

view, character/dialogue, etc. As you explore these features, you will also be asked to make an

argument about how these features (and the passage itself) introduce key themes in the literary

4

text, particularly themes that explore the unique situations of immigrant experience. Late essays

will lose 5 points each day they are late.

Group Presentation: At several points throughout the semester, students will work in groups of

four to give short presentations (10 minutes) that provide connections between the literary texts

(and the historical issues they represent) and contemporary debates on immigration. Students will

select a particular literary text (or, in some cases, groups of short texts), discern the chief social,

political, legal, or economic concerns in the text(s) and find 2-3 recent articles/editorials in

reputable new source (such as the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal,

etc.) that address the same or similar concerns of/about immigrants/immigration. In preparing the

presentations, the groups should consider these questions: What are the concerns (social, political,

legal, economic) that the literary text raises? What are the literary tools that the author uses to

raise these concerns (narrative perspective/point of view, character/characterization, author’s use

of figurative language, etc.)? What argument about these concerns does the author make? In

what ways do these concerns appear in contemporary discussion on immigration? What are the

similarities and differences in the concerns and in the presentation of these concerns via narrative

or rhetorical means? How does reading a literary text (which often gives voice to those who had

little voice in mainstream U.S. society) has an impact on how you read the contemporary

discussion/debates? Also, how does reading contemporary accounts of immigration issues have

an impact on how you interpret/think about literary narratives of immigrant experience? And

finally, what should be done about these concerns/issues as they arise now?

Signature Assignment: This assignment will be an essay that extends the type of inquiry in the

group presentations. You may use your presentation as a starting point, or you can embark on an

entirely new topic. The main focus of this essay is to explore in more depth the dimensions of

immigration related to issues of social justice and how these dimensions are represented in

immigrant literature. Throughout the semester we will examine how immigrant writers confront

in their writing the social, political, legal and economic barriers (including racial discrimination

and outright exclusion) that limited them in their efforts to establish a viable American

personhood in the U.S. We will also consider how the literature provides a voice (often silenced)

and a narrative space that enables the immigrant writers to imagine a way to overcome these

barriers. Your task in this paper is to select a single literary text, or a group of related texts, and

explore how the writer or writers describe, engage with, and provide a narrative or lyric means to

overcome (or at least try to overcome) a particular social, political, or economic barrier. In order

to provide context for the issue you discuss, you will need to refer to at least two of the

supplemental readings assigned during the semester. Optional (but recommended) is to consider

how this particular issue is part of contemporary political debate on immigration. The group

presentations will provide good resources for this portion of your paper and argument.

The essay will be due at the end of the semester. We will devote the last week of classes to

presentations/discussions of your work so that you will receive feedback from the class to

incorporate into your final revisions. The essay must be 6-8 pages long, double-spaced, and

follow MLA format. It should also include a Works Cited page. Late essays will lose 5 points

each day they are late.

Class Participation: While I will be lecturing occasionally, I see EN 299 primarily as a forum for

discussion. The class therefore relies on all of you to participate: to listen to the ideas of others,

reply and respond to these ideas, carefully consider questions and share your own answers to

them. To do this you must come to class prepared to participate. When speaking and responding

to others, be respectful of one another. It is my belief that only by engaging actively with the

material through the sharing and testing out of your own thoughts on the literature can you hone

5

your critical thinking skills and mature as a literary scholar.

In order to get full credit for participation, do the following:

o Be prepared: do the reading when it is due.

o Be engaged: speak, respond to others, and ask questions in class.

o Be here: absenteeism will inevitably affect your participation grade (see policies on

absences and lateness below).

Our class discussions will consist of both large and small groups.

Grading

The final grade for this class will be determined according to the following:

Midterm Exam 100 points

Final exam 150 points

Quizzes/In-class writing 50 points

Literary analysis #1 50 points

Literary analysis #2 50 points

Group Presentation 50 points

Signature Assignment 150 points

Total for the semester 600 points

Grading Scale

564-600 = A 504-521 = B 444-461 = C 360-401 = D

540-563 = A- 480-503 = B- 420-443 = C- 359 and below = F

522-539 = B+ 462-479 = C+ 402-419 = D+

Class Absences and Lateness

You will be allowed two absences during the course of the semester. After two absences you will lose 5

points from your participation grade for each subsequent absence. Also, after two late arrivals, each

additional late arrival will count as an absence. If you are absent, remember that it is your responsibility

to find out what we covered in the class and what assignments (or changes to the reading schedule) may

have been announced during class. Check with your classmates or with me.

Academic Honesty

To knowingly present someone else’s work as your own is to plagiarize. When you draw on, quote, or

respond to the work of others in your writing, you need to acknowledge that you are doing so. This is the

case whether your sources are published authors (found in the library or on the internet), fellow students,

teachers, or friends. University policy states that plagiarism will not be tolerated and will result in a

failing grade for the assignment and likely for the course. See the JCU student handbook and

Undergraduate Bulletin for more information. It is vital that you understand the distinctions between

6

documented use of others’ texts, and incorrect, unethical appropriations and borrowings. If you have any

questions about how to document a certain phrase or idea, play it safe and ask me.

The Writing Center

I encourage you to take advantage of the free services offered by the Writing Center, located in 207

O’Malley. The tutors at the writing center are trained to help you in all stages of the writing process,

from gathering thoughts on assignments before any writing has begun, to working on the final product.

This is not a place simply to fix grammar problems, but a setting to have conversations on the content and

the form of your writing. Either drop by or, better yet, call and set up an appointment: ext. 4529.

Students with Disabilities

John Carroll University recognizes its responsibility for creating an institutional climate in which students

with disabilities can succeed. In accordance with federal law, if you have a documented disability

(Learning, Psychological, Sensory, Physical, or Medical) you may be eligible to request accommodations

from the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD). Please contact the Director, Allison

West at (216) 397-4263 or come to the office located in room 7A, in the Garden Level of the

Administration Building. Please keep in mind that accommodations are not retroactive so it is best to

register at the beginning of each semester. Only accommodations approved by SSD will be recognized in

the classroom. Please contact SSD if you have further questions.

An Inclusive Campus

John Carroll University is committed to fostering a learning and working environment based upon open

communication, mutual respect, and ethical and moral values consistent with Jesuit and Catholic

traditions. The University seeks to provide an environment that is free of bias, discrimination, and

harassment, including sexual harassment. If you have experienced, sexual harassment/assault/misconduct

and you share this with a faculty member, the faculty member must notify the Title IX Coordinator,

Kendra Svilar, J.D., who will discuss options with you. She can be reached by

email at ksvilar@jcu.edu or (216) 397-1559. For more information about your options and resources,

please go to http://sites.jcu.edu/hr/pages/resourcespolicies/title-ix/.

If you have experienced bias or discrimination based on race, age, sex*, sexual orientation*, religion,

ethnic or national origin, disability, military or veteran status, genetic information or any factor protected

by law, you are encouraged to report this to the Bias Reporting System at http://sites.jcu.edu/bias or to Dr.

Terry Mills, Assistant Provost for Diversity and Inclusion, at tmills@jcu.edu, or (216) 397-4455. For

more information about the University commitment to diversity and inclusion, please

see http://sites.jcu.edu/diversity.

*You can report concerns anonymously through the Bias Reporting System.

Miscellaneous

Cell phones must be turned off and may not be used in class.

Getting up and leaving the room during class time is not only distracting but annoying (and

disrespectful to whomever is talking)—please don’t do it unless in an emergency.

Please do not begin packing up your belongings until class is over.

7

Individual Conferences and Office Hours

I welcome and encourage you to meet with me outside of class. I’m always happy to discuss your

questions about the reading material and the work you are doing in the course. You can just drop by

during office hours or contact me for another time to meet.

Good luck! I look forward to working with you this semester.

Course Calendar

I don’t anticipate this schedule to change significantly, but we may alter it as we go, depending on the

needs of the class. If changes occur, I will let you know and will provide a revised schedule.

Introductions: Foundations to “Immigrant” Debate

Week One

1.19 Introduction to EN 299

1.21 Hector St. John de Crevecouer, excerpts from Letters from an American Farmer (Letter III:

“What is an American?”); Francis Walker, “Immigrant and Degradation”

Week Two

1.26 Theodore Roosevelt, “True Americanism” and Horace Kallen, “Democracy Versus the Melting

Pot.”

1.28 [contemporary short story and recent article/editorial about immigration issue and the presidential

race--TBD]

Uprooting and Transplanting: The Jewish Immigrant Experience

Week Three

2.2 Abraham Cahan, Yekl; Ronald Takaki, from A Different Mirror, “Between To Endless Days”

2.4 Yekl, continued

Week Four

2.9 Yekl continued; Matthew Frye Jacobson, “The Fabrication of Race” and “Looking Jewish, Seeing

Jews”

2.11 Discuss film, The Jazz Singer [students will watch on their own prior to class], literary analysis

#1 due

Week Five

2.16 Anzia Yezierska, Bread Givers

2.18 Bread Givers, continued; Susan Glenn, “Mothers and Daughters: Remaking the Jewish Family

Economy in America”

Urbanization and the Italian Immigrant Experience

Week Six

2.23 Jacob Riis, How the Other Half Lives, chapters 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 9, 10

2.25 How the Other Half Lives continued, chapters 11, 12, 13, 14, 20, 24, 25

8

Week Seven

3.1 No class—Spring Break

3.3 No class—Spring Break

Week Eight

3.8 Pietro di Donato, Christ in Concrete; Carrie Bramen, “The Urban Picturesque and the Spectacle

of Americanization”

3.10 Christ in Concrete continued

Week Nine

3.15 Christ in Concrete continued

3.17 Midterm Exam

Race, Ethnicity, and the Mexican Immigrant Experience

Week Ten

3.22 Americo Paredes, George Washington Gomez; Takaki, “El Norte: The Borderland of Chicano

America”

3.24 No class—Easter Break

Week Eleven

3.29 No class—Monday classes meet

3.31 George Washington Gomez continued

Week Twelve

4.5 George Washington Gomez continued

4.7 Gloria Anzaldua, excerpts from La frontera/Borderlands; literary analysis #2 due

Law and the Chinese Immigrant Experience

Week Thirteen

4.12 Edith Maude Eaton (Sui Sin Far), “Leaves from the Mental Portfolio of an Eurasian”

4.14 poetry from Island and Songs of Gold Mountain; Takaki, “Searching for Gold Mountain”;

selections from U.S. Exclusion Laws

Week Fourteen

4.19 Fae Myenne Ng, Bone

4.21 Bone continued

Other Immigrant Voices, Post 9/11

Week Fifteen

4.26 Mohsin Hamid, The Reluctant Fundamentalist

4.28 The Reluctant Fundamentalist continued

Week Sixteen

5.3 Student presentations: signature assignment

9

5.5 Student presentations: signature assignment

5.6 Final version of signature assignment due by 5:00 p.m.

Finals Week

Final exam: TBA