SSH Course Outline Template

Faculty of Social Science & Humanities

COMMUNICATIONS 3310: Communication, Communities and Social ChangeCourse outline for [Semester 1, 2016-2017]

1. Course Details & Important Dates*Term Section Course Type Day Time

F 001 COMM Tuesday 11:10-14:00

Location CRN # Classes Start Classes End Final Exam Period

September 6 December 23 * for other important dates go to: www.uoit.ca >Current Students >Important Dates

2. Instructor Contact Information

Instructor Name Office Phone EmailAshley MarshallOffice Hours: 2:30-3:30

Laboratory/Teaching Assistant Name Office Phone Email

3. Course Description

This course examines an array of ways that communication adds to the social fabric that holds communities together, as well as simultaneously creating meaningful fissures that lead to social change. By analyzing popular culture, poetry, and critical theory, this course is an interesting inquiry into the social dynamics that shape our lived experiences.

4. Learning Outcomes

SSH Course Outline Template

On the successful completion of the course, students will be able to:1) Notice and analyze social phenomena that are shaped by policy and have material effects on the every day life of citizens in communities2) Thoroughly research the causes and effects of communication on social progression, making meaningful connections to contemporary society3) Effectively dissect and communicate the work of notable scholars in the fields of urbanism, neoliberalism, consumerism, and more4) Exercise advanced time management and study habit skills

5. Course Design

Delivered through 3 hours of lecture per week, students are expected to bring laptops or tablets to class in order to ask and respond to questions in real time, complete assignments, and collaborate with colleagues. Discussions, essays, and a final exam comprise a majority of how marks will be allocated.

6. Outline of Topics in the Course

SSH Course Outline Template

Week 1: Technology, Society and Youth Culture Reading: Giroux, “Youth in a Suspect Society: Coming of Age in an Era of

Disposability”, “No Alternative,” Bauman, “Liquid Times: Living in an Age of Uncertainty”

Week 2: Urbanism, Rebellion, “Free Space,” and Street Culture Reading: Graham, “Cities Under Siege: The New Military Urbanism Intro + Chapter 1,”

Pitter and Lorinc, “Subdivided: City-Building in an Age of Hyper-Diversity,” and Howell, “The Poetics of Security: Skateboarding, Urban Design, and the New Public Space”

Week 3: Countercultures, Identity, and the Soundtrack to Social Change Reading: Spiegelman, “In the Shadow of No Towers,” Cusick, “You are in a place out of

this world…,” Harvey, “The Right to the City,”

Week 4: Race, Rap, Oration and Epistolary Form Reading: Coates, “Between the World and Me”

Week 5: Politics, Rhetoric and Acquiescence Short Essay 1 (15%) due

Week 6: IN-CLASS MIDTERM Reading: Ikas, Karin, and Gerhard Wagner, “Communicating in the Third Space”

Week 7: Subversive power, Communicating Across Cultures Reading: Friere, “Dialogics,” Derrida, “Of Hospitality”

Week 8: Persuasion and War (Nation-building) Reading: Foucault, “Truth and Power,” Frye, “The Educated Imagination” Case study (10%), due

Week 9: Humanism, Panopticism, and Art as Transformative Reading: Graham, “Cities Under Siege: The New Military Urbanism chapter 10”

Week 10: Education, Coming together, the Holocaust and the Commons Reading: De Angelis, “Commons,” Levi, “The Drowned and the Saved” Essay 2 (20%) due

Week 11: Posts, Globalization, and Dystopia Reading: Giroux, “Take Back Higher Education: Race, Youth and the Crisis of Democracy

in the Post Civil-Rights Era,” Slaughter and La Botz, “Troublemaking for the Long Haul”

Week 12: Exam Prep

Exam 30%

7. Required Texts/Readings

SSH Course Outline Template

Most readings will be made available as .PDF versions on Blackboard. The only text you will need to purchase is “Between the World and Me” by Ta-Nehisi Coates.

Additional readings may be assigned or recommended during the course.

8. Evaluation Method

Essay 1- 15%Case Study – 10%In-class Midterm – 25%Essay 2- 20%Exam – 30%

Final course grades may be adjusted to conform to program or Faculty grade distribution profiles. Further information on grading can be found in Section 5 of the UOIT Academic Calendar.

9. Assignments and Tests

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Essay 1, 4 pages (15%) – due in week 3Midterm (25%) – 3 hours, week 6Case Study (10%) – due week 7Essay 2, 10 pages (20%) – due in week 9Exam (30%)

Missed Course WorkIf, due to incapacitating illness, you are unable to complete any portion of the term work, you must submit a completed UOIT Medical Statement to the Academic Advising Office within 5 business days of the missed exam/deadline. Please note: All UOIT Medical Statement forms must be completed, signed and dated by the treating physician no later than 24 hrs. after the missed exam/deadline. If the missed work is due to extreme compassionate circumstances (e.g., death in the family, etc.), relevant documentation is required. Please contact the Academic Advising Office for details.

If your documentation is approved, the student and the professor will be notified by email. All communication will be sent to the official UOIT.net email. It is the student’s responsibility to follow up with the professor within 48 hrs. of receiving the approval from Academic Advising. It will be at the Professor’s discretion to determine how the missed work will be addressed (e.g., re-writes, re-weight, extension, alternate assignment, etc.) and any late penalties (if applicable).

Missed Final ExamIf, due to exceptional circumstances, a student has missed a final examination he or she may apply for a deferral using the Application for Deferred Final Examination. Supporting documentation (Medical Statement, etc., as listed above) is also required, and must be submitted to the Academic Advising Office within 5 business days of the missed exam. Further information can be found in section 5.25 in the Academic Calendar.

Academic Advising Office55 Bond St East Rm 403E: sshadvising@uoit.caT: 905-721-8668 x 3838F: 905-721-3372

10.Accessibility

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Students with disabilities may request to be considered for formal academic accommodation in accordance with the Ontario Human Rights Code. Students seeking accommodation must make their requests through Student Accessibility Services in a timely manner, and provide relevant and recent documentation to verify the effect of their disability and to allow the University to determine appropriate accommodations.

Accommodation decisions will be made in accordance with the Ontario Human Rights Code. Accommodations will be consistent with and supportive of the essential requirements of courses and programs, and provided in a way that respects the dignity of students with disabilities and encourages integration and equality of opportunity. [NOTE: Reasonable academic accommodation may require instructors to exercise creativity and flexibility in responding to the needs of students with disabilities while maintaining academic integrity.]

11.Professional Conduct (if applicable)

The classroom is a safe space to discuss and dissect complex issues regarding identity politics, social issues, current events, and movements. There is to be mutual respect and idea-sharing, keeping the integrity of others in mind at all times.

12.Academic Integrity

For information regarding expectations for Academic Integrity, please visit the following: http://academicintegrity.uoit.ca/index.php

13.Turnitin

UOIT and faculty members reserve the right to use electronic means to detect and help prevent plagiarism. Students agree that by taking this course all assignments are subject to submission for textual similarity review by Turnitin.com. Assignments submitted to Turnitin.com will be included as source documents in Turnitin.com's restricted access database solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism in such documents for five academic years. The instructor may require students to submit their assignments electronically to Turnitin.com or the instructor may submit questionable text on behalf of a student. The terms that apply to UOIT's use of the Turnitin.com service are described on the Turnitin.com website.

Students who do not wish to have their work submitted to Turnitin.com must inform their instructor at the time the work is assigned and provide, with their assignment, a signed Turnitin.com Assignment Cover sheet.

Further information about Turnitin can be found on the Academic Integrity link on your laptop.

SSH Course Outline Template

14.Final Examinations (if applicable)

Final examinations are held during the final examination period at the end of the semester and may take place in a different room and on a different day from the regularly scheduled class. Check the published Examination Schedule for a complete list of days and times.

Students are advised to obtain their Student ID Card well in advance of the examination period as they will not be able to write their examinations without it. Student ID cards can be obtained at the Campus ID Services, in G1004 in the Campus Recreation and Wellness Centre.

Students who are unable to write a final examination when scheduled due to religious obligations may make arrangements to write a deferred examination. These students are required to submit a Request for Accommodation for Religious Obligations to the Faculty concerned as soon as possible and no later than three weeks prior to the first day of the final examination period.

Further information on final examinations can be found in Section 5.25 of the Academic Calendar.

SSH Course Outline Template

15. Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act

The following is an important notice regarding the process for submitting course assignments, quizzes and other evaluative material in your courses in the Faculty of Social Science & Humanities.

UOIT is governed by the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (“FIPPA”).  In addition to providing a mechanism for requesting records held by the university, this legislation also requires that UOIT not disclose the personal information of its students without their consent.

FIPPA’s definition of “personal information” includes, among other things, documents that contain both your name and your Banner ID. For example, this could include graded test papers or assignments. To ensure that your rights to privacy are protected, the Faculty of Social Science & Humanities encourages you to use only your Banner ID on assignments or test papers being submitted for grading. This policy is intended to prevent the inadvertent disclosure of your information where graded papers are returned to groups of students at the same time. If you still wish to write both your name and your Banner ID on your tests and assignments, please be advised that UOIT will interpret this as an implied consent to the disclosure of your personal information in the normal course of returning graded materials to students.

If you have any questions or concerns relating to the new policy or the issue of implied consent addressed above, please contact the UOIT Chief Privacy Officer at accessandprivacy@uoit.ca.

16. Course Evaluations

Student evaluation of teaching is a highly valued and helpful mechanism for monitoring the quality of UOIT’s programs and instructional effectiveness. To that end, course evaluations are administered by an external company in an online, anonymous process during the last few weeks of classes. Students are encouraged to participate actively in this process and will be notified of the dates. Notifications about course evaluations will be sent via e-mail, and posted on Blackboard, Weekly News and signage around the campus.