Syllabus
Border Crossing: Leadership, Value Conflicts and
Public Life
PPS 196.30, Spring 2007
Tuesday/Thursday 2:50-4:05
153 Rubenstein Hall
Discussion section: Wednesday 3:05-3:55
05 Sanford Institute Building
Duke University
Instructors: Steve Schewel and Alma Blount
sschewel@aol.com
blt@duke.edu;
Steve Schewel: 286-0111
Alma Blount: 613-7323
Room 104 Sanford Institute
Office hours: by appointment
Blackboard web site:
http://courses.duke.edu
This is the preparation course for students who plan to conduct community-based research projects in the summer through the Service Opportunities in Leadership Program, or another research service learning opportunity. Students will be trained in basic research methods, complete a 20-hour service project for a local community organization, and be introduced to a leadership framework for undertaking complex problem solving work in the public arena. The course is designed to provide students with theoretical knowledge and critical reflection skills for entering other cultures to conduct research with community organizations.
It is inevitable that you will encounter value conflicts when you enter a new culture, and some of the most important work of this course will be our mutual reflection on the meaning, uses and misuses of these conflicts. We will approach this work through our theme this semester: religion and public life. We will explore the history of how religion, politics and public policy issues have become intertwined in the U.S. and abroad and investigate contemporary issues that represent a spectrum of viewpoints on faith and politics in our culture. The heart of the course will be a presentation of case studies that illuminate the complexities of religious values that can become either impediments to public problem solving work, or resources for its successful completion.
We will study and compare several cases studies of religious and political groups--in the U.S. , Europe, and the Middle East --with conflicting views about the role of religious faith in public life. The case studies will provide an avenue for grappling with the complexities of public problem-solving work. The entire course is an exploration of leadership as the art of working productively with difficult value conflicts in groups, institutions, and social systems. Through the lens of religion and politics, we will address questions of leadership, politics, and public policy.
The course includes a research methods component in the final weeks of the semester. “Border Crossing” is a research service-learning (RSL) Gateway course, which is part of a campus-wide initiative called Scholarship with a Civic Mission. In the final portion of the semester, you will be trained in basic community–based research methods to help you prepare for summer field work as part of the Service Opportunities in Leadership program, Scholarship with a Civic Mission, or another community-based research opportunity during the summer. You will also receive instruction about the Duke Institutional Review Board protocol application process for human subjects research.
What are the highest goals of this class? Informed by scholarship and the ideas of your classmates, you will arm yourself emotionally and intellectually to enter a new culture prepared to serve and to reflect critically on your experience there. We will ask you to think deeply about how to approach the inevitable value conflicts you will face as you cross the borders of new organizations and cultures. We will ask you to examine your own religious and cultural values and preconceptions. We will challenge you to explore how you can, over time, become a fully engaged citizen of your own society. We look forward to doing this work with you.
We expect this class to stimulate and challenge each of us intellectually, emotionally and morally. We expect our work together to be both rigorous and enjoyable for all of us.
Course Outline
Introduction
Week #1—January 11
Introduction to the Course
1. Religion and Public Life
Week #2—January 16, 18
Church and State
• Jon Meacham , American Gospel: God, the Founding Fathers, and the Making of a Nation. New York : Random House, 2006.
(Essay due Monday, January 15 by 12:00 midnight, blackboard website.)
(Please plan to attend Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks' lecture, “The Dignity of Difference: How to Avoid the Clash of Civilizations,” at 5:00, Thursday, January 18 at Reynolds Theater, Bryan Center . Doors open at 4:30.)
Week #3—January 23, 25
The Power of Religion to Inspire Organizing and Social Change
• Adam Hochschild. Bury the Chains: Prophets and Rebels in the Fight to Free an Empire's Slaves. Boston / New York : Houghton Mifflin, 2005.
(Essay due Monday, January 22 by 12:00 midnight, blackboard website.)
Week #4—January 30, February 1
Religion, Ethics and Action
• Jonathan Sacks. The Dignity of Difference: How to Avoid the Clash of Civilizations . London / New York : Continuum, 2002.
(Essay due Monday, January 29 by 12:00 midnight, blackboard website.)
2. Christian Politics
Week #5—February 6, 8
• Jeffrey L. Scheler. Believers: A Journey into Evangelical America . New York : Viking, 2006.
Roots and Branches, pp. 37-66
God's Country, pp. 67-113
Capital Crusaders, pp. 227-270
• Barak Obama. The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream . New York : Crown Publishers, 2006.
Values, pp. 43-69
Faith, pp. 195-226
• Sam Harris. Letter to a Christian Nation . New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2006.
(In class quiz, Tuesday, February 6.)
3. Current Events: Questions of Leadership in Public Life
Week #6—February 13, 15
Week #7—February 20, 22
Case studies from the news
(Op-ed pieces due Monday, February 12 and Monday, February 19 by midnight, blackboard website.)
4. Muslim Women's Identity: A Case Study in Value Conflicts
Week #8—February 27, March 1
Should French Schools Ban the Headscarf? Essays on Secularism Versus Religious Expression
• Jane Kramer. “Taking the Veil: How France's Public Schools Became The Battleground in a Culture War,” The New Yorker , November 22, 2004.
• “Should France Ban Head Scarves? Two French public school teachers offer differing views on the Hijab controversy,” Time International . February 9, 2004. Volume 163, issue 6, page 37.
• “French Law on Secularity and Conspicuous Religious Symbols in Schools,” Wikipedia. >http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_law_on_secularity_and_conspicuous_ religious_ symbols_in_schools<
• Asra Q. Nomani. “Veiled Babes: Why Are Western Publishers So Keen on Shrouded Cover Models?” Slate.com, November 7, 2006.
• Nor Faridah Abdul Manaf. “The Veil, My Body,” from Voices of Resistance: Muslim Women on War, Faith and Sexuality , edited by Sarah Husain.
(Op-ed piece due Monday, February 26 by midnight, blackboard website.)
Week #9—March 6, 8
No Class March 12-16—Spring Break
Week #10—March 20, 22
• Monica Ali. Brick Lane . New York : Scribner, 2003.
(Quiz in class, March 20.)
Week #11—March 27, 29
• Asma Gull Hasan. Why I Am a Muslim. London : Element, 2004
(Essay due Monday, March 26 by midnight, blackboard website.)
5. Preparation for summer community-based research (CBR) projects
• Introduction to adaptive leadership framework
• Training in research methods; critical reflection process for summer projects; IRB protocol for human subjects research
• Reflection on service-learning projects
Week #12—April 3, 5
(Quiz in class, April 3.)
Week #13—April 10, 12
(Essay due Monday, April 9 by midnight, blackboard website.)
Week #14—April 17, 19
(Research proposal due Monday, April 16 by midnight, blackboard website.)
5. Conclusion
Week #15—April 24
_____________________________________________________________________
Course requirements
• Complete and punctual attendance at all classes and discussion sections
(Discussion group meetings will be held each Wednesday from 3:05-3:55)
• Carefully read the required texts before class each Tuesday
• Come to class ready for full and vigorous discussion
• Weekly writing assignments (see below)
• View assigned films
• Attend presentation by Chief Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks, Thursday, January 18, 5:00, Reynolds Theater
• Service-learning group project in March; informal reflection paper (see below)
• Research proposal (see below)
• Final paper (see below)
Grading Policy
Weekly assignments 40%
Class Participation 30%
Research Proposal 10%
Final Paper 20%
Evaluation:
You will receive midterm grades for your weekly essays and class participation. Please note that you will not be graded on individual essays, but rather on the overall quality of your inquiry and growth throughout the semester. We will provide written comments on a third of the weekly assignments.
A note about participation
Participate actively in class. Pay attention to both the content and the dynamic of our class discussions, and find creative, effective ways to help deepen our conversations throughout the semester. Make your comments count. This is a safe place to express yourself honestly, so take some risks to bring fresh perspectives to our work. Quality matters far more than quantity. If your tendency is to talk a lot, try observing more, and you will be more effective. If you are shy about speaking in class, we can help you.
Writing assignments
1. • Twelve weekly assignments. Assignments will include essays, quizzes, and short op-ed pieces. (Instructions for op-ed pieces will be provided in class.)
2. Reflective paper about the service-learning experience. This is a required but non-graded paper that explores the civic, ethical and intellectual dimensions of the service-learning project that will be conducted in the local community during the semester.
3. Research proposal— 5 pages. Due Monday, April 16. The research proposal presents a research question and proposes methods for conducting a community-based project (CBR) identified by the student. This can be a hypothetical project, or a specific CBR project funded by a SOL grant or another funding source.
4. Final paper— Due Thursday, May 3. You may choose one of two options for the final paper: an op-ed column or essay about a current issue of religion and public life. In either case, please address the issue in its ethical and political complexity, exploring options for public deliberation on the topic, and concluding with recommendations about how to proceed in the policy design process.
Guidance for Written Assignments
Whether you are writing an essay or op-ed piece, or taking a quiz on the readings, the following principles are operative. What is your analysis of the reading? What are the author's core themes and arguments? What are your own thoughts and ideas in relation to the author's viewpoint?
Your essays should be concise, well crafted, energetic pieces of writing that are a pleasure to read. Limit them to 500 words. As you write your essay, think of yourself as priming the pump for our class discussions. Use the essays to develop your own distinct voice, and remember that you are doing so in order to add something useful to our class discussions, and to enhance the quality of the learning experience for all of us.
As the semester progresses, you will be able to relate earlier readings, films and class discussions to the texts for the current week. We are interested in your reflections about the various people and issues we study in relation to the core themes of the class: religion and public life, values conflicts, and border crossing.
We are also interested in your response to the way in which the authors represent their subjects—in both works of fiction and non-fiction. What points of view do you detect in their portraits of these subjects, and how does that matter? Do you agree or disagree? What points do you find most compelling, most interesting, most challenging? Pick a salient aspect of the text and focus on that.
Some weeks we will read several short pieces by different authors, or we might read some history, say, and see a film. If so, please feel free to compare and contrast the texts and films, to write about their interplay and the ideas that interplay sparked in your own mind.
It is important to remember, however, that the readings are your primary focus of analysis. Use your creativity in these papers, but anchor them closely to the text, to demonstrate that you are coming to grips with the reading in some important way. We are looking for original, challenging thought and excellent writing on a coherent thesis closely related to the texts and to the themes of the course.
We will provide training in class for how to write op-ed columns.
At times we may read excerpts of your papers in class, or ask you to post your papers on our blackboard website so the entire class can read and respond to them. Required Texts
• Jon Meacham , American Gospel: God, the Founding Fathers, and the Making of a Nation. New York : Random House, 2006.
• Adam Hochschild. Bury the Chains: Prophets and Rebels in the Fight to Free an Empire's Slaves. Boston / New York : Houghton Mifflin, 2005.
• Jonathan Sacks. The Dignity of Difference: How to Avoid the Clash of Civilizations . London / New York : Continuum, 2002.
• Sam Harris. Letter to a Christian Nation . New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2006.
• Monica Ali. Brick Lane . New York : Scribner, 2003.
• Geraldine Brooks. Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women . New York : Anchor Books, 1995.
The required books are available in the textbook department of the Regulator Bookshop on Ninth Street. Additional readings will include articles and book excerpts, which will be distributed in class.
SOL summer grants
March 2, 2006 is the due date for Service Opportunities in Leadership summer grant applications for community-based research. An information session about the grant application process will be held Wednesday, January 17 (room 05 Sanford Institute Building) during our first discussion group meeting.
Further details about SOL grants and other funding opportunities for research service learning will be provided in the Wednesday sessions.
If you receive a SOL grant, you are required to attend an afternoon training retreat on Wednesday, April 18. Grant checks will be available by April 30.
Service-Learning Project
During the section of the course in March about Muslim Women's Identity, the entire class will undertake a service project with a local Islamic religious organization. Details will be announced early in the semester. Dinner and informal discussion
In the second half of the semester we will invite you to dinner at Steve Schewel's house, which is near campus. We will provide the food and drinks.
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