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University of Georgia Maymester 2000
RLST 4000 Special Problems in Recreation and Leisure Studies [call # 31-924] 2:15-5:45 daily, 224 Ramsey Student Center
Instructors
Purpose
The purpose of this course is to enhance students’
understanding of diverse cultures and to see implicit but invisible values
in their own culture. Leisure reflects the beliefs, values, and social
structures of its host culture, making it a good context for examining
diversity. Using fiction, art, music, and other media, students will
learn the power of leisure for promoting cultural understanding, and examine
dominant forces that shape leisure opportunities including representation
and bias in public recreation.
Objectives
At the end of this course students should be able
to:
Class Materials
Owens, L. The Sharpest Sight. [fiction]
Class packet to be available at a local copy shop
A notebook to use exclusively for keeping a journal
of thoughts and ideas
Students will be required to pay a small fee towards
the expense of two field trips
Format of the Course
Because of the unique and intense schedule of Maymester
courses, this class will use a variety of media to sustain student interest
including art, history, fiction, music, film clips, guest speakers, and
field trips. Each lesson incorporates activities that focus on some
aspect of cultural diversity, with facilitated discussion periods for students
to explore and assimilate these ideas.
Students are expected to attend class every day, actively
participate in class discussion, and maintain a journal of their thoughts.
Short, in-class assignments will assess their understanding of class discussion.
In addition, students will develop a project to be
shared with the class.
Daily Summary Questions
\What did I learn about another culture or ethnic
group? What new insights did I gain about myself and my own culture?
What did I learn about equity or bias in public and
organized recreation?
What did I learn about leisure as a way to reveal
cultural values or promote cultural understanding?
Assignments and Exams
1) Assigned Book, The Sharpest Sight by Louis Owens This detective novel was written by a Native American.Students
will read and evaluate this book using guidelines provided by the instructor.
The ways that this story deviates from “traditional” detective fiction
reveals aspects of Native American culture and beliefs. Students
will write an essay on what they learned about Native Americans through
reading this book, and the value of fiction more generally as a mechanism
to promote cultural understanding.
2) Informal Assignments Many class periods will include a short activity to
help students integrate and respond to class issues. These often
occur in class, but some may require a short reflective piece to be written
outside of class (up to 2 points apiece).
3) Site Visits The students will be required to visit the J&J
Flea Market on Saturday May 20 or 27. In addition, there will be
field trips to the Martin Luther King Memorial and the National Park Service
offices in Atlanta, and a visit to Cherokee, NC for a full day of meetings
and observations. Each of these site visits will have a nominal assignment
to help students focus on important aspects of culture and cultural diversity
at that site.
4) Journals Students will be required to keep a journal throughout
this course. Writing in a journal will help you focus your attention
on what you’ve learned and provide a forum for reflecting on new ideas
and insights. Since you'll know at least one final exam essay question
at the beginning of the course, the journal will be a place to record ideas
relevant to those essays. Periodically throughout the class periods,
you'll be asked to write short thought-pieces on what you are thinking
as a way to encourage you to maintain this journal. The journal will be
collected and grades will reflect the depth of thoughtful reflection recorded.
5) Student Projects A list of possible assignments will be made available
and students will work in groups to complete one of these projects.
Students will present their projects during the final two days of the term,
and turn in a final written report.
6) Exam There will be a final take-home essay exam.
Students will be given several possible essay questions at the beginning
of the term and encouraged to organize their thoughts around those topics
throughout the course. Towards the end of the term the instructors
will announce which question(s) to answer and turn in for the final exam.
Grading
Each assignment will include a description of how
it will be graded. Grades will be recorded numerically and may include
decimal points (e.g. 8.5). Final grades will be calculated on a standard
scale as follows.
Possible Final Exam Questions
One question will be chosen from among the following
three for the take home final exam. Keep these questions salient
as you move through the course, and arrange your notes and thinking around
these topics. While writing in your journal, it may be useful to
record some reflections towards each of these topics so you have material
to draw upon when you begin writing the exam. Notice that each question
has two parts. You will write two separate essays for each question.
(a) Present and discuss three examples of how you
might use your leisure to learn about another culture. For each example
you give, explain what is unique or different in that leisure activity
and what you might learn about diversity or other cultures through doing
that activity. (b) Write a 5-page essay discussing the value of leisure
as a forum for learning about diverse populations. Think of this
as a letter to a friend in which you are sharing ideas from this course.
Your essay should offer a convincing discussion of the power of leisure
for teaching about diversity, equity, and respect.
(b) Present and discuss three examples of how white
middle-class values shape mainstream leisure opportunities in ways that
overlook or exclude other segments of our population. For each example
you give, identify who is being excluded or underserved in that
situation. (b) Write a 5-page essay about the way that structured,
public leisure opportunities reflect white middle-class America better
than other parts of our population. Think of this as a letter to
a newspaper editor in which you express your opinions about community leisure
opportunities. Your essay should offer a convincing discussion of
the cultural biases that shape public leisure opportunities.
(c) Present and discuss three examples of how a marginalized
group of people took control of their leisure by creating leisure settings
in which they felt comfortable and valued. For each example you give,
explain what that group of people were “escaping” in creating their own
leisure space. (b) Write a 5-page essay discussing the value of leisure
as a way to way to affirm and celebrate a sense of community for people
who are otherwise marginalized in our society. Think of this as a
letter to a social services agency that you hope will begin promoting and
facilitating better leisure opportunities for overlooked populations.
Your essay should offer a convincing discussion of the power of leisure
as a way to instill pride and acceptance for people who sometimes face
intolerance and discrimination in mainstream leisure settings.
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