Requirements
How your final grade is calculated
Attendance and class participation 10% Three essays (total) 30% Two group essays 30% Final paper 30%
Special note
Academic accommodations are available for students with disabilities who are registered with the Office of Disability and Support Services. Students in need of disability accommodations should schedule an appointment with me early in the semester to discuss any accommodations for this course which have been approved by the Office of Disability and Support Services, as indicated in your DSS accommodation letter.
Attendance and class participation
Attendance in class is mandatory. Missing more than two classes will affect your final grade. Class participation entails having read the required readings by the date they are scheduled and coming to class prepared to discuss them, as well as taking part in the exercises conducted in class and on Blackboard.
Essays
You are required to write three of the following four essays. If you write all four, I will count the three best grades toward your final grade in the course.
| Essay 1: Find three primary sources about QOL. How do these illustrate diverse understandings of QOL: its domains, its conceptual tensions, etc.? Minimum 3 pages (+ photocopies or extensive quotations from these sources). Due September 12. |
| Essay 2: Should we be pessimistic or optimistic about where our QOL is headed? How might we sociologically explain the opposing viewpoints of De Graaf and Easterbrook? Minimum 5 pages. Due October 3. |
| Essay 3: Find a newspaper or magazine article about families, parenting, or children. Use this source to discuss, What QOL conflicts are structured into today's middle-class families? Minimum 3 pages (+ photocopies or extensive quotations from these sources). Due November 7. |
| Essay 4: Discuss a local QOL conflict or problem in your hometown. Use the Claritas Segments database, Neighboroo, and the 2000 US Census to identify and describe the different groups involved in this conflict or problem. (If your hometown is outside the US, see me.) Minimum 5 pages (+ tables or other presentations of data, which you can photocopy). Due December 5. |
Group essays
Each of these essays will be written collectively by groups assigned in class, who will divide up a set of readings among themselves. This assignment also requires the group to participate in an in-class debate with other groups, all of whom will advocate and defend a particular reading.
| Group essay 1: Summarize the debate on overwork based on the shared readings. Minimum 10 pages (combined from all group members). Final grade includes participation in in-class debates. For instructions, click here. Due October 12. |
| Group essay 2: Summarize the debate on sprawl based on the shared readings. Minimum 10 pages (combined from all group members). Final grade includes participation in in-class debates. For instructions, click here. Due November 21. |
Final paper
Minimum 8 pages. For instructions, click here. Due December 15.