CURRICULUM OVERVIEW
Courses
1) Masculinity, Femininity, Gender & Sexuality
Topics in course include: masculinity, femininity, sexual assault, gender, sexuality, & activism
2) Race, Culture, & Ethnicity
Topics in course include: black students, Muslim students, Hispanic students, Asian students, white students, Native American, international, mixed and bi-racial students
3) Socio-Economic Status
Topics in course include: homelessness, welfare, low-class, middle-class, upper-class, & the 1%
Purpose
This is a curriculum consisting of the three classes listed above. Their implementation would hopefully reduce the number of sexual assaults, racial harassment, and misunderstanding between socio-economic classes on campus. These courses do not require a great deal of monetary funds, but they do require time, willingness and understanding. Students will gain knowledge about the subjects and how they relate to individuals on campus. Also, the purpose of the classes are for students to build support from other and inform one another on the best ways to resolving difficult situations and understanding one another’s differences, while forming a network with one another.
Facilitation
It is of utmost importance that students are the ones who lead and participate in these classes. Professors at Dartmouth are not current or recent students, so there is a large gap when it comes to understanding what many students go through every day. Professors cannot provide peer- to peer interaction and support. These courses should not be professor led, because of the high probability for a professor to dominate classroom discussion time. In many of my classes at Dartmouth, I found that professors would dictate and take over a majority of class discussions, limiting my interest and understanding. The courses are not about professors coming to terms with how students are affected at Dartmouth, but it is primarily for students to understand other students better. Often times, classrooms at Dartmouth drift to relying on the professor to give information and to ask questions of the students. Having courses that are student ran, is important because it reduces the possibility for students to try to appeal to professors or say things that will help them receive a “high grade” in a class. With student facilitators, there is less of a chance for students to appeal to a power at-be and increases the chance for them to have a real conversation with peers.
The classes would be led by upperclassman at Dartmouth to ensure that students provide themselves with support and answers to these difficult questions and upperclassmen would also have a better understanding of Dartmouth culture. There would be one facilitator per group. These students are not the teacher, but they are students who have studied the material and can fill students in on any questions that may arise during discussion. These facilitators would be trained at making sure everyone’s voice is heard and well versed in enabling constructive conversation while obtaining the trajectory of the syllabus. Students who have a passion in these areas, feel comfortable facilitating discussions, or have experienced the topics that are being taught in the classes are good candidates for student facilitators. It will be their job to facilitate understanding both in and outside of the course. This can be done by having the group share a meal together in addition to complete an activity that requires teamwork from the entire group. Creating a community like this is necessary when dealing with these sensitive subjects. There should be effort focused on creating an atmosphere where students are not mere individuals within a classroom, but need camaraderie in order to succeed.
Classroom layout
Each class will meet at least twice a week and each lesson period is 50 minutes long. All reading will be done outside of class, to devote class time to discussion. Each class is limited to 10-15 students and 1 student facilitator. Classes can take place in whatever setting the students involved feel most comfortable in (campus classroom, dormitory, section of the library, on the green, etc.). Circular seating arrangements are preferred so that all individuals can see the faces of whoever they are talking to in the class. The student moderator should also be a part of the circle. Students are encouraged to bring snacks for the class, which further encourage a community atmosphere.
Materials
Ideally, a course reader would be created for students that contained the documents that they would be required to read for class. The classes promote various texts and forms of media (books, newspaper articles, music videos, films, video blogs, interviews, commercials, and academic journals). Short videos can be accessed from YouTube, Hulu, or other free sites. All films should be streamed on blackboard for students to access before the course begins. If students are aware of better texts, etc. that will spark important and deep conversation and understanding, they are welcome to add them to the lessons.
Assignments
Prior to starting each course students must answer the following questions respectively:
What are your biases/things you know/things you want to know before you start the course? How does your gender/sex/or sexuality affect you?
What are your biases/things you know/things you want to know before you start the course? How does your race/culture/ethnicity affect you?
What are your biases/things you know/things you want to know before you start the course? How does your socio-economic status affect you?
Student’s assignments will be to complete the readings or view the videos that will be discussed in class. Discussion and re-enactments of topics and situations are the driving force in the classes. In addition to this, students should talk to others outside the class, who they are unfamiliar with, about the topics that they have learned about. Students will be required to write a reflection at the end of the course. Their responses can involve personal experiences, specific lessons or readings, things others have said, ways that their views have changed or remained the same, things that they’ve enjoyed, not enjoyed, and things that made them comfortable or uncomfortable or where they would like to see the course in the future. Lastly, all students must complete an open ended cumulative assignment of their choosing and present them to their class or other classes as well.
Assessment
It is vital that students will be assessed not by the quantity of their responses. At Dartmouth, often students are graded harsher for not participating as much on some days compared to others, and that grading system has no place in these courses. However, students will be assessed by the quality of their contribution to the larger group. Thus, the arbitrariness of the grading system as it currently exists will be eliminated. There is no right or wrong answers in these courses, only discussion. To differentiate for students who are very shy or hesitant to speak for whatever reason, even in intimate settings, on these issues, students will be given the chance at the end of every class period to write down where they would like the discussion to go or points that they did not get a chance to bring up in the larger group. It is then the facilitator’s job to make sure that these students get the space and opportunity to speak on these things.
Furthermore, these courses only carry weight if they are mandatory or graduation requirements. They will not be assessed via grades but will be assed as pass/fail. Students can only fail if they do not show up or participate in any form during the discussions and final project. The purpose is for students to listen to one another and contemplate the material they are given and how it relates to their lives and the lives of other, not receive a good grade. These courses would be offered to an entering freshman class (1 course per term) and they will be finished with the courses by the end of their freshman spring term. If a student should fail, they will have the following year to make it up.
Race and EthnicityIn Progress
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Gender and SexualityIn Progress
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Socio-economic classIn Progress
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