DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY UNIVERSITY OF WEST GEORGIA Summer 2016
Global Families SOCI 4999, Section E02
Dr. Emily McKendry-Smith Office: Pafford 319 Email:
[email protected] Course Information: In this class we will study family life from a comparative and international perspective. We will look at the same issues that interest sociologists studying family life in America, and we will look at how those issues play out differently in different contexts around the world. Two of the most important issues we'll look at are spousal selection (how people decide who to marry or partner with) and household division of labor (how people share the work of living in a household.) We'll try to see how people in different situations make different decisions, and we'll think about how those decisions are influenced both by the situation and by people's own free will. We're also going to look at families participate in globalization, and how they are affected by it. Typically, when we think about globalization, we think about politics, or economics, or culture. But families are also affected by money, and jobs, and workers all moving across international borders and around the world. In particular, we're going to try to understand how the familyrelated choices that people make in some countries affect the family lives of people in other parts of the world. When comparatively wealthy people find a way to divide their household labor by hiring comparatively poor people from other countries to do their housework for them, there are consequences both at home and abroad. We want to understand both the decision to hire, and the decision to be hired, for such intimate work. And once again, we want to understand how both decisions are influenced not only by the economic situation, but also by people's hopes and aspirations. Course Goals: This course four primary learning objectives: o Describe how people select spouses and partners in a variety of contexts. o Describe how people in different contexts divide their household labor. o Describe how Western demand for household labor affects the lives of migrating workers, the families those workers leave behind, and the families they join.
o Compare and contrast how people exercise their agency to make family decisions under conditions that are constrained by social and economic structures. Contacting your professor: Monday through Friday 9 AM to 5 PM EST, I check my email frequently and will respond to you as soon as possible. You can expect me to reply to your email within 24 hours. I will reply to emails sent during the evening/night on the next day and emails sent over the weekend on Mondays. When you email me, please remember to note in the email which class you are taking and to use the same name that you use in our online course. Feedback: For the midterm exam, final exam, and two paper assignments, you can expect to receive a grade and feedback within a week after the exam date or due date of the paper. In addition to your paper grade, I will provide written feedback on your paper and how you can improve in the “Feedback” box in the “Grades” section on CourseDen. * Exception: If you turn your paper in after the due date, your grade and feedback will be delayed and will probably take longer than a week. Preparing for class: Readings are listed in the syllabus on a daily basis. It is your responsibility to complete the readings for each week. Your readings are the most important resource to succeeding in this course. You will need to be familiar with the terms and concepts discussed in the readings to understand the videos. Periodically reviewing your readings is the best way to stay familiar with important ideas. Honor Code and UWG Policies: The University Honor Code is in effect for all written assignments and exams. Please read the provisions of the Honor Code carefully, and make certain that you understand and follow them. Violations of the Code will not be tolerated. In addition to the Honor Code, you should review the University’s policies on the Americans with Disabilities Act, Email, and Credit Hours, as these change periodically. You can view the Honor Code and other policies here: http://tinyurl.com/UWGSyllabusPolicies I expect you to do all of your own work. Initial instances of academic dishonesty (ie plagiarizing on an assignment or cheating on a quiz/exam) will result in a grade of 0 for that assignment/quiz/exam. Additional instances of academic dishonesty will result in a failing grade for the course. Readings:
I have assigned the following three books for our course. They are available for purchase at the university bookstore and online. I strongly encourage you to obtain your own copy of these books. o Hoodfar, Homa. 1997. Between Marriage and the Market: Intimate Politics and Survival in Cairo. Berkeley: University of California Press. o Ehrenreich, Barbara and Arlie Russell Hochschild, Editors. 2002. Global Women: Nannies, Maids, and Sex Workers in the New Economy. New York: Metropolitan Books. o Constable, Nicole. 2003. Romance on a Global Stage: Pen Pals, Virtual Ethnography, and “Mail Order” Marriage. Berkeley: University of California Press. All other readings will be available on CourseDen. Course requirements and evaluation: All written assignments must be turned in to the appropriate CourseDen dropbox. I will not grade papers that I receive over email. Grammar and composition are not a formal part of your assignment grades, but both are necessary to clearly present your ideas and experiences in a relatively small number of pages. If I cannot understand what you are trying to say, it is as though you have not said it, which may result in a lower grade. Your final grade will be based on the following required assignments: o Reading Responses (20%) o Midterm Exam (20%) o Household Division of Labor Assignment (20%) o Structure and Agency Assignment (20%) o Final Exam (20%) Details for assignments are available on CourseDen. I do not grade on a curve. You will receive point values, but not letter grades, for individual tests and assignments. I will award final grades using this scale: A = 90-100 B = 80-89 C = 70-79 D = 60-69 F = 0-59 Global Families Schedule: Summer 2016 Tuesday, July 5th: Introduction to the Course Wednesday, July 6th: Readings: o Meadow, Tey and Judith Stacey, 2006 – “Families” (CourseDen) o Stone, Linda, 1997 – “Gender, Reproduction, and Kinship” (CourseDen) Other:
o Group A Reading Response due by 11:59 PM to CourseDen dropbox Thursday, July 7th: Readings: o Hoodfar – Introduction & Chapter 1 Other: o Group B Reading Response due by 11:59 PM to CourseDen dropbox Friday, July 8th: Readings: o Hoodfar – Chapters 2 & 3 Other: o Group A Reading Response due by 11:59 PM to CourseDen dropbox Monday, July 11th: Readings: o Hoodfar – Chapters 4 & 5 Other: o Group B Reading Response due by 11:59 PM to CourseDen dropbox Tuesday, July 12th: Readings: o Hoodfar – Chapters 6 & 7 Other: o Group A Reading Response due by 11:59 PM to CourseDen dropbox Wednesday, July 13th: Readings: o Hoodfar – Chapters 8 & 9 Other: o Group B Reading Response due by 11:59 PM to CourseDen dropbox Thursday, July 14th: Readings: o Hoodfar – Chapter 10 o Khazan, Olga – “Why Some Women Choose to Get Circumcised” http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/04/female-genitalmutilation-cutting-anthropologist/389640/ Other:
o Group A Reading Response due by 11:59 PM to CourseDen dropbox Friday, July 15th: Midterm Exam becomes available Sunday, July 17th: Midterm Exam due by 11:59 PM to CourseDen Dropbox Monday, July 18th: Readings: o Global Women – “Introduction,” pp 1-13 o Global Women – “The Care Crisis in the Philippines,” pp 39-54 o Rabinowitz, Abby – “The Surrogacy Cycle” http://www.vqronline.org/reporting-articles/2016/03/surrogacy-cycle Other: o Group B Reading Response due by 11:59 PM to CourseDen dropbox Tuesday, July 19th: Readings: o Global Women – “Just Another Job?” pp 104-114 o Global Women – “Filipina Workers in Hong Kong Homes,” pp 115-141 o Global Women – “Among Women,” pp 169-189” Other: o Group A Reading Response due by 11:59 PM to CourseDen dropbox Wednesday, July 20th: Readings: o Global Women – “Selling Sex for Visas,” pp 154-168 o Global Women – “Because She Looks Like a Child,” pp 207 o Joyce, Kathryn – The Child Catchers: Rescue, Trafficking, and the New Gospel of Adoption – Excerpt (CourseDen) Other: o Household Division of Labor Assignment due by 11:59 PM to CourseDen dropbox Thursday, July 21st: Readings: o Global Women – “Breadwinner No More,” pp 190-206 o Global Women – “Chasing Dreams,” pp 230-253 o Global Women – “Global Cities and Survival Circuits,” pp 254-274 Other:
o Group B Reading Response due by 11:59 PM to CourseDen dropbox Friday, July 22nd: Readings: o Constable – Chapters 1 & 4 (NOTE WE ARE SKIPPING CHAPTERS 2 & 3) Other: o Group A Reading Response due by 11:59 PM to CourseDen dropbox Monday, July 25th: Readings: o Constable – Chapter 5 Other: o Group B Reading Response due by 11:59 PM to CourseDen dropbox Tuesday, July 26th: Readings: o Constable – Chapter 6 Wednesday, July 27th: Readings: o Constable – Chapter 7 Thursday, July 28th: Readings: o Constable – Chapter 8 (Read before taking final exam) Other: o Structure and Agency Assignment due by 11:59 PM to CourseDen dropbox o Final Exam becomes available Friday, July 29th: Other: o Final Exam due by 11:59 PM to CourseDen dropbox
