The list is intended to be suggestive not exhaustive, so yes. Please do add any topic you feel important.  One caveat, the primary purpose of these topics is to illicit group membership.  Therefore, please ask your students, as suggested by Emee, to pick their 1st, 2nd, and 3rd choice of topics.  As well as whether or not they will be doing a service learning or a case study.  Finally, the question is will the development of a syllabus satisfy either of the case study or the service learning goals of the group project.  This is a question that the Partners must answer.

Here are the goals from our syllabus of the service learning and case study group projects:



                Service learning option: Students will collaboratively participate in a minimum of 10 hours of volunteer service and will write a group reflection paper connecting their service experience to course material.  Specifically, the service learning projects aims to provide students with an opportunity to explore course material in real world experiences.  Students will individually write reflective journal entries pertaining to the projects, their efforts, course readings and discussions.

                Case study option: Alternatively, students may opt to work on a group case study. Student groups will investigate globalization, human rights, and social justice from a particular country or region.  Students will collaboratively participate to research and write a group reflection paper connecting their research to course material.  Specifically, the case study projects aims to provide students with an opportunity to explore course material through real world experiences and data.  Students will individually write reflective journal entries pertaining to the projects, their efforts, course readings and discussions. You may want to consider swapping country research to better understand how different countries view each other (ex: American students research Russia, while Russian students research the United States on a particular issue).
rdc

-----Original Message-----
From: The Partners Project [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of gsitara
Sent: Tuesday, September 25, 2012 12:39 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Topics and Group Formation

Hello all,

Rodney, can we add a topic please?

I have students who may be interested in creating a curriculim for this (or another) social justice course as a group project. This was my way of diffusing dissatisfaction with the readings as they stand, empowering students to find alternative materials, and to think through the pedagogical and other issues involved.

g
>
> Dear Partners:
>
> It is time that we begin to have discussions regarding group 
> formation, type of group projects (service learning or case study) and 
> topics coordination both among ourselves and with our students.  To 
> get this started, I have attached last year's list of topics as a way 
> of moving forward.  Please take a look and see if there are some that 
> you would like to add.  Once we finalize this, we can circulate it 
> among our students to see what interest there is for particular topics 
> that we can then try to pair up into teams.  We will also need to 
> designate specific Partners to be the lead coordinator for each group 
> topic so that we have some means of controlling the chaos.  Remember 
> that we have set the following target dates.
>
>
> Here are our Group Project Dates
>
> Oct 7 - Student select topics from list
>
> Oct 14- Groups are finalized by your Professor, if  groups are not 
> complete already
>
> Oct 21- Topics are finalized by discussion within the group -- what to 
> study and how the various schools / students will study it
>
>  Oct 28- Students outline, division of labor, students also identify 
> literature  informative for their research
>
>  Nov 4-  Project design complete by the group -- at this point, 
> everything should be prepared for realizing the project, i.e., the  overall
> structure will be drafted, literature (al least preliminary)   will be
> found, locations and concrete partners will be identified,   etc. This
> marks the start of the fieldwork or research by students, if not 
> already so.
>
>  Nov 18- Intermediate report on the project
>
>  Dec 2 - Final report on the project launched on the web and presented 
> in the university class.
> Thanks...rodneyc
>
>
>
> For more of my work please check me out at - 
> http://redroom.com/member/rodney-d-coates
>
>
>
>
>
> The song that lies silent in the heart of a mother sings upon the lips 
> of her child..
> Kahlil Gibran
>
>
> [cid:image001.jpg@01CD9B0A.BB8CFD90]
>
> Rodney D. Coates
> Professor and Interim Director of Black World Studies
>
>


Dr. Georgia Sitara
Sessional Lecturer
Departments of History,
Women's Studies,
and Social Justice Studies
University of Victoria

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