HDE 160: Social Aspects of Aging Syllabus- Summer Session 2, 2015

Transcription

1 HDE 160: Social Aspects of Aging Syllabus- Summer Session 2, 2015 Instructor: Barbara Shebloski, Ph.D. Office: 1355 Hart Hall Office hours: days, 4:00-5:00 p.m. and by appointment Class meets: days, sdays and nesdays, 5:10-7:25 p.m. in Wellman 129 Required text: Moody, H. R. & Sasser, J. R., M. (2015). Aging: Concepts and Controversies (8 nd Edition). Sage. Catalog description: How the social context affects adult development and aging. Emphasis on demography, social policy, culture, and adaptation. Oral histories as class projects. Course objectives: The course examines the impact of aging on individual lives, families, communities, society, and major social policies. The purpose of this course is to provide a sociological and psychological foundation for understanding the position of the elderly in our society, from which interested students can pursue further academic or applied work in the field of social gerontology, legislature, social policy, or any field that involves working with the elderly population. Emphasis of the course is on the social and psychological aspects of aging and on the issues in society that affect the current and the future generations of the elderly. Presence in class: In this class, I ask you to use electronic devices such as cell phones or computers SOLELY for the purpose of taking class-related notes. Recording lectures is not allowed unless requested by SDC, and must also be permitted by the instructor. Engaging in competing activities, e.g., reading books or newspapers, texting, chatting with your classmates, using electronic devices for class-unrelated purposes, etc., is disruptive to your fellow students and the instructor; please try to refrain from these behaviors. Policy of academic dishonesty: I appreciate your honesty and integrity. Both students and the instructor are expected to comply with typical standards for academic honesty for course assignments and examinations. Any documented instance of academic dishonesty (cheating, conspiring, or plagiarizing) will result in an automatic failing grade on the relevant assignment. A second instance of academic dishonesty will result in a failing grade in the course. Please ask me if you have any questions about the nature of dishonest academic behavior or go to the following websites: For information regarding plagiarism, go to For information regarding the Academic Integrity Project, go to 1

2 COURSE REQUIREMENTS Exams (110 points). Three exams (two midterms and one final) will be administered on the dates indicated in the course schedule. All exams will constitute of multiple-choice or truefalse questions, which will relate to lectures and textbook content, as well as the content of the readings presented to you by your peers. You must be in class and complete the exams to receive credit. You will need UC Davis (blue or green) scantron for each quiz. I will let you re-make a test only of you provide a certified proof of medical or family emergency, and at my discretion. Also, if you have such emergency, you have to inform me about it PRIOR to the date for which the exam is assigned; failure to do so will prevent you from making up the test. Selected reading presentation (): Each student is to select a textbook reading and present it to class. The options for the readings will be provided during the first class. Please note that on the list, two very short readings are combined into one you are responsible for presenting both. Students task is to read carefully the selected text, critically analyze its content, and present it to class as follows: (1) in two or three sentences tell the class what is the topic of the reading, (2) describe the arguments presented by the author, (3), provide author s conclusion of the arguments, (4) take your own stance on the issues. In the latter part, you are encouraged to bring in additional information from the textbook or other professional literature, or you can draw from your own experiences. The presentation should be no shorter than five minutes and no longer than ten minutes. Please keep in mind that you are to analyze the information and thus the content of the reading should be summarized as briefly as possible; your thoughts about the issue presented should constitute the bulk of the presentation, and graded accordingly. Class attendance/discussions (). Students are expected to attend all class sessions. Attendance will frequently be taken. Excessive and/or repetitive tardiness and/or early departures from class may be penalized by point deduction. You may earn points for regular attendance and attention to the class activities. Class discussions qualify as class activities, so if you rarely voice your opinion in class you will not earn the points. If you are a very shy person, and voicing your opinion in class in difficult for you, you can write two reflections (below) and earn the points this way. Personal reflection (; 2 pages; formatted according to the guidelines at the end of the syllabus). Select one controversy, lecture, or class discussion related to a specific reading that you find particularly interesting or applicable to your own experiences and take a stance with regard to the topic. Present arguments, and support them with specific examples. Did the information in the textbook accurately reflect your experiences? Did it help you understand your experiences? Do you agree or disagree with the author? No reference needed. You can turn in your reflection at any point of the session, but no later than nesday, September 9, 5:10 p.m. Oral history project: PART 1: Interview (; Due on day, 8/24). This part of the project is required from each student in class, and evaluated based on interview notes, preferably the original, hand- 2

3 written notes (they will be returned to you in time to write the paper).you are required to conduct an interview with an elderly person (65 years or older). You may interview a friend or family member, or may use this as a chance to get to know someone new. Information collected during the interview will serve as the basis for your paper or presentation. See Interview Guidelines posted on Smart Site for additional information. PART 2: Paper OR Presentation (30 points) Paper (Due in class on nesday, 9/02). If you choose this option, you will be required to write a 7-page paper (anywhere between 6 to 8 pages in length, excluding reference page), in which you will utilize the information collected during the interview and critically compare it to the information learned from reading and lectures. The detailed description of the paper will be posted on Smart Site. Presentation (individually scheduled). If you choose this option, you will prepare minute (depending on the number of presentations scheduled) Power Point presentation of the main themes emerged in the interviews with the elderly persons. You will need to relate this information to the material discussed in class as well as to describe what you have learned from the elderly person that you interviewed. Detailed grading rubric is posted on the Smart Site. Late work Because of the expected class size and the grading timelines, late papers will be accepted only at the discretion of the instructor, and only if excused by a certified medical or family emergency. Your presentations must be given on the day for which you have signed up; no make-up dates will be allowed. PLEASE remember that all assignments are due at the start of class on the day they are due. This means that assignments that are turned in 10 minutes after the beginning of class (i.e., after 5:20 p.m.) will be marked down 10% of a grade for this assignment. Please note that it is your responsibility to make sure that you submit the work directly to the instructor. If I do not have the paper I assume that you have not submitted one. The instructor is not responsible for lost or misplaced work. Note about writing the paper for this class: You are expected to maintain the following formatting and style requirements: Use 12-point Times New Roman, 12 points size font. The margins should be 1 inch on both sides, top, and bottom (this syllabus has 1 margins, so compare your document to this one, if you are unsure) The assignment should be double-spaced, with no additional spaces left between the paragraphs, and the titles (subtitles) and the text. To avoid problems with this requirement, please set up your word document to no spacing style. The assignment should include your name and HDE 160 in the upper left corner. This information should be spaced just like the text. I do not want to see any additional information, except an optional creative title, which should be centered. 3

4 Use a sentence-paragraph format; no bullets or lists. On sentence is not enough to constitute a separate paragraph. Do not use headers or footers, except for the use of page numbers. Left justify only, the right margin should be left uneven. First line of all paragraphs has to be indented.5 inch You can use no more than one (one or two sentence) quotations per paper, since quoting does not give you experience in expressing yourself in a professional manner nor shows that you have grasped the ideas or information presented by the source used. Grading: Class presentation of a textbook reading Personal reflection Class discussion participation /attendance Oral history project: Interview (Due day, 8/24, 5:10 p.m.) Oral history project: Written assignment or presentation 30 points Written Assignment due nesday, 9/02, 5:10 p.m. Midterm 1: nesday, 8/12 35 points Midterm 2: nesday, 8/26 35 points Final exam: nesday, 9/09 40 points Total: 200 points A % points C % points A 93-96% points C 73-76% points A % points C % points B % points D % points B 83-86% points D 63-66% points B % points D % points F below 60% below 120 points 1 A+ will be given at the discretion of the instructor; only in cases of exceptional performance. 4

5 COURSE SCHEDULE Date Topic Read 8/03 Overview of the course. Why study aging? Prologue Basic Concepts I pp /04 8/05 8/10 8/11 8/12 8/17 8/18 8/19 8/24 Controversy 1: Does old age have meaning? pp Controversy 2: Why do our bodies grow old? pp Controversy 3: Do intelligence and creativity decline with age? pp Basic Concepts II: pp Controversy 4: Should we ration health care for older people? Second part of class: Midterm 1: Assigned textbook pages, plus lectures and content/ conclusions of class discussions pp Controversy 5: Should families provide for their own? pp Controversy 6: Should older people be protected from bad choices? pp Controversy 7: Should people have the right to end their lives? pp Basic Concepts III: Interview data due pp /25 Midterm 2: Assigned textbook pages, plus lectures and conclusions of class discussions all material AFTER the 1 st midterm pp /26 8/31 9/01 9/02 9/07 9/08 9/09 We Controversy 8: Should age or need be the basis for entitlement? Controversy 9: What is the future for Social Security? pp Controversy 10: Is retirement obsolete? pp Controversy 11: Aging Boomers: Boom or Bust? pp Labor Day. No class. Controversy 12: The new aging marketplace- hope or hype? pp Finding your place in aging society. Concluding comments Final Exam. 5