Type of Credit: Partially Required
Credit(s)
Number of Students
This course aims to provide an introduction of social issues and social problems of the American society. We see a lot of news about US society almost every day: those issues, situations, behaviors, and ideas, which are perceived and labeled as problematic and for which a solution is seen as possible and necessary. In this class, we will be learning about some of these social issues of the American society. But we will also be learning about what constitutes a social problem. We will examine these questions drawing on case studies of contemporary issues, like inequality, racism, mass incarceration, healthcare, and of course, covid and the pandemic.
能力項目說明
1. Understand U.S. society and social problems.
2. Analyze U.S. social problems using several theoretical frameworks.
3. Demonstrate an awareness of the complexities of U.S. social problems and the difficulties in resolving them.
| 教學週次Course Week | 彈性補充教學週次Flexible Supplemental Instruction Week | 彈性補充教學類別Flexible Supplemental Instruction Type |
|---|---|---|
|
Week 1 (9/9): Introduction Week 2 (9/16): US Healthcare Week 3 (9/23): US Healthcare Week 4 (9/30): US Healthcare Week 5 (10/7): Race & Social Inequality Week 6 (10/14): Race & Social Inequality Week 7 (10/21): Race & Social Inequality Week 8 (10/28): Documentary Week 9 (11/4): US Family Week 10 (11/11): US Family Week 11 (11/18): US Family Week 12 (11/25): US Immigration Week 13 (12/2): US Immigration Week 14 (12/9): US Immigration Week 15 (12/16): Student presentation Week 16 (12/23): Student presentation Week 17: Self-learning activities Week 18: Self-learning activities Note. Readings for this course will be available on Moodle. There is no textbook for this course. |
1. Class Participation 30%
This class pays attention to class participation. Each student is expected to voice his/her opinions and ideas in order to get a good grade from class participation. Simply sitting in the classroom without participation in the classroom discussion will not result in a good grade in this part.
2 Quizzes 40%
There will be several in-class quizzes (i.e., multiple choice). The purpose of these quizzes is to test students’ understanding of principles and concepts of the readings. If you miss a short quiz, you will not be able to take a make-up quiz.
3 In-Class Presentation 30%
Each student is required to do an in-class presentation in any topic that is related to the U.S. society. The presentation should be approximately 15-20 minutes and will hold in the last two classes. The purpose of the presentation is to train students to present in international meetings. Please tell me the topic of your presentation by 10/24. I will give more instructions on the presentation in class.
Assign readings will be available on Moodle
N/A