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SJUS

392:

Social

justice

issues

in

engineering

capstone

projects

Spring

2016

Instructor

Dr.

Daniel

Lacks,

Dept.

of

Chemical

Engineering

Office

Hours:

Anytime

‐‐

either

stop

by

or

make

an

appointment

Course

Meetings,

Credits

Each

team

has

weekly

meeting

with

course

instructor.

This

is

a

1

credit

course.

Course

Description

This

social

justice

course

is

taken

alongside

a

disciplinary

capstone

project

course.

In

the

disciplinary

capstone

project

course,

students

work

in

teams

on

projects

that

develop

engineering

solutions

to

help

the

poor

and

marginalized

members

of

society.

The

projects

include

interactions

with

the

relevant

communities,

and

address

the

social,

political,

economic

and

environmental

constraints

on

the

solutions

in

addition

to

the

technical

engineering

aspects.

The

social

justice

course

addresses

the

root

causes

and

contexts

of

the

issues

associated

with

these

projects.

These

issues

are

covered

in

weekly

readings,

and

discussed

in

blog

posts

and

in

a

weekly

meeting

with

course

instructor.

Course

co

‐

requisite

and

permissions

The

course

is

open

to

students

from

all

majors,

subject

to

permission

from

course

instructor.

Students

must

be

concurrently

enrolled

in

their

department’s

capstone

course,

and

they

must

have

permission

from

their

department’s

capstone

instructor

to

use

the

interdisciplinary

project

towards

their

department

capstone

course.

Each

student

must

satisfy

the

requirements

of

his/her

home

department’s

capstone

course

while

working

on

the

project

with

teammates

from

other

departments.

The

course

will

address

the

following

objectives

of

the

Social

Justice

curriculum:



Understand

competing

perspectives

concerning

diversity,

equality,

fairness

and

human

rights

in

historical

and

contemporary

local

and

global

contexts.



Learn

how

cultural

practices,

social

relations,

social

structures

(e.g.,

the

class

system)

and

institutions

(e.g.,

education,

religion,

business,

medicine

and

law),

can

reproduce,

reduce

or

eliminate

inequalities.



Examine

the

disparate

consequences

of

the

social

and

physical

environment

and

available

resources

on

human

development

and

well

‐

being.



Develop

skills

to

facilitate

advocacy

and

leadership

of

social

change

from

diverse

community,

academic,

and

professional

perspectives.

Course

assignments

and

grading

•

Short

assignments

(70%).

There

will

be

8

short

assignments

during

the

semester.

•

Final

paper

(30%).

Readings

and

assignments

1.

Please

read:

(a)

Mitchell

article,

sections:

Introduction

and

“Traditional

vs.

Critical

Service

‐

Learning”

(pages

1

‐

3);

(b)

Pompa

article,

sections:

"A

Fragile

Calculus”

and

“Mutuality”

(pages

2

‐

3).

Your

blog

entry

should

describe

what

you

feel

is

the

main

point

of

these

authors,

and

how

this

main

point

relates

to

your

project.

The

entry

should

be

200

‐

300

words.

•

T.

D.

Mitchell,

“Traditional

vs.

Critical

Service

‐

Learning:

Engaging

the

Literature

to

Differentiate

Two

Models”,

Michigan

Journal

of

Community

Service

Learning,

14,

50

‐

65

(2008).

•

L.

Pompa,

“Service

‐

learning

as

crucible:

Reflections

on

immersion,

context,

power,

and

transformation”,

Michigan

Journal

of

Community

Service

Learning,

9,

67

‐

76

(2002).

2.

Please

read

the

article

by

Loue.

In

your

blog

entry

describe

what

Loue

means

by

the

terms

"cultural

competency"

and

"cultural

humility",

why

she

feels

one

is

better

than

the

other,

and

how

this

relates

to

your

project.

The

entry

should

be

200

‐

300

words.

•

S.

Loue,

“Sandplay

therapy:

Identity,

diversity,

and

cultural

humility”,

J.

Sandplay

Therapy

21

(2012).

3.

This

reading

is

related

to

the

urban

garden

project.

Please

read

the

excerpt

from

"When

a

Heart

Turns

Rock

Solid"

by

CWRU

sociology

professor

Tim

Black.

This

book

tracks

the

lives

of

three

Puerto

Rican

brothers

that

grow

up

in

a

poor

neighborhood

and

face

issues

with

gangs,

drugs,

prisons,

etc.

This

section

of

the

book

describes

the

efforts

of

one

brother,

Julio,

to

buy

a

home.

Your

blog

entry

should

address

the

following:

(a)

What

does

homeownership

mean

in

terms

of

intergenerational

middle

class

privilege,

and

what

does

this

require

in

terms

of

the

house

and

the

neighborhood?

(b)

Describe

the

difficulties

for

poor

people

to

own

homes

in

terms

of

mortgages,

homes

that

will

maintain

or

rise

in

value,

and

the

role

of

advice

from

family

members.

(c)

How

does

Julio

and

Clara’s

experience

relate

to

the

above?

The

blog

entry

should

be

300

‐

400

words.

•

T.

Black,

“When

a

Heart

Turns

Rock

Solid:

The

Lives

of

Three

Puerto

Rican

Brothers

On

and

Off

the

Streets”

(excerpts)

4.

Please

read

the

following:

Nunn

section

VI

(Possible

Channels

of

Causality),

VII

(Conclusion);

Whatley

Conclusion

section;

Rodney

pages

231

‐

234,

320

‐

323,

376

‐

382.

These

readings

address

the

factors

that

have

led

to

the

current

state

of

underdevelopment

in

Africa

‐‐

i.e.,

such

that

most

people

in

Africa

are

living

without

electricity,

running

water,

automobiles,

etc.

In

particular,

from

about

1500

to

the

mid

‐

1800's

the

slave

trade

dominated

the

African

economy.

Then

right

after

that,

from

1885

to

about

1960,

Africa

was

controlled

as

colonies

by

Europe.

So

while

the

rest

of

the

world

underwent

tremendous

growth

from

1500

‐

1960,

Africa

was

restrained.

In

your

blog

entry

describe

how

the

slave

trade

came

to

dominate

the

economy

of

Africa

and

relate

this

to

a

'prisoner's

dilemma'

(if

you

don't

know

what

a

prisoner's

dilemma

is

you

can

google

to

find

out),

how

the

slave

trade

has

consequences

that

continue

to

affect

things

now

(hint

‐

in

terms

of

fractionation

of

peoples),

and

how

the

European

colonialism

hurt

African

progress.

The

entry

should

be

200

‐

300

words.

•

W.

Rodney,

“How

Europe

underdeveloped

Africa”

(excerpts)



N.

Nunn,

“The

long

‐

term

effects

of

Africa’s

slave

trades”,

Quarterly

J.

Economics,

139

(2008)



W.

C.

Whatley,

“Guns

‐

for

‐

slaves:

The

18

th

century

British

slave

trade

in

Africa”,

(working

paper,

2008)