How your final grade is calculated
20%
40%
40%
Special Note
Academic accommodations are available for students with documented disabilities. Please schedule an appointment with the instructor early in the semester to discuss any accommodation that may be needed for the course. All accommodations must be approved through the Office of Disability and Support Services (ext. 7584) as indicated in their accommodation letter.
Class attendance and participation
First, regular attendance is a must for this class. Absence in more than two classes will definitely impair your participation grade.
To be successful, this class demands good-faith participation by all its members. You may not think corporate power will be your favorite topic of study, but as the assignments suggest, you will have to engage it seriously and frequently to do well. For example, at the beginning of each class I will ask students to raise questions concerning the reading(s). Be prepared to present these questions every week; they are your opportunity to direct the day's discussions. More generally, take part in classroom discussions. Do not just answer my questions; pose some of your own, and call attention to other issues or events of relevance.
Participation also means employing your interest in corporate power outside of the class. Via the business news I have asked you to read, keep abreast of current events or public concerns that relate to the topics we discuss. Think about how corporate power pertains to ideas you have learned in other classes. The insights and curiosity revealed in your comments should indicate whether you have fulfilled this extracurricular participation.
I realize that all students are not equally vocal in class, whether by general disposition or an occasional loss for something to say. If you do not speak up in class on a given week, you should compensate by joining in subsequent on-line class discussions that I initiate, starting your own on-line discussion (e.g., by calling attention to a relevant news item and posing some relevant questions for discussion), or at least attending my office hours to ask substantive questions.
For eight (8) weeks of your choice, you will write a brief roughly 500 words (1 1/2 pages) long. There will be two kinds of briefs, for which you will write 4 of each: those written before the class and those written after the class. Plan your reading/writing well over the course of the semester. I expect that these briefs will be about and developed in clear analytic progression (thesis, evidence, counter argument, conclusion). Stream of consciousness or personal feelings might be fascinating but are not appropriate. You do have choice with regard to format, however; this need not be a narrative but can be in the form of an outline, memo, combination text/bullet points, etc.
Briefs written before the class will explicitly respond to the reading(s) assigned for that week (no bibliographic citation is necessary). They are due at the beginning of class, and no late briefs will be accepted. These can take the form of either (1) a theoretical discussion or (2) an application of the readings to a real-life example you find in the news. In either case you should strive to analyze, synthesize, integrate, or apply the ideas you have found provocative. Do not simply summarize or compare two readings. Think of topics that you would like to discuss in class. Good commentaries often raise more questions, so you may conclude your analysis by listing several additional concerns.
Briefs written after the class will correspond to the readings and debates discussed in this previous lecture. These are due within 24 hours after each class meeting; for example, one student will submit by October 12th a statement that pertains the October 11th seminar discussion of Useem's The Inner Circle. The point of these on-line statements is to reflect and build upon the ideas generated in seminar and the readings; they should demonstrate a more knowledgeable and sophisticated understanding of the materials, after you have resolved confusion over and/or better understood the readings and had some time after class to mull the ideas over. On-line statements can address various issues that include:
ADDENDUM: As of October 25th, I am waiving an 8th brief in exchange for attendance and participation at the extra class scheduled for Friday, December 8th. If you cannot attend this special session, then you must still turn in an 8th brief.
The final assignment is a term paper in which you select a case study event or problem of corporate power, describe its history, and analyze it in terms of the theory and methods we encounter in the course. You will turn in a proposal after fall break, present your research in progress on the last week of class, and turn in the final paper during finals week.
The Case: Select a corporation, nonprofit business organization, business event, or social problem that is current and relevant to the class. Here are some suggestions, although you are encouraged to propose your own topic and submit it for my approval:
Data Sources: I expect that you will rely upon secondary sources for this case study, primarily journalistic and electronic. A session with the librarians will assist you in identifying online resources. Corporations produce numerous documents about themselves, so you should request an annuarl report as well as other legally mandated reports; use written advertisements, promotion brochures, and media communications. You may also gain enough access so that you can obtain internal memos or press releases, or possibly complete interviews with key informants. IRB approval will be sought as needed.
Case Description and Analysis: Your challenge will be to consolidate the various sources of information into a 10-12 page case description, followed by a 5-6 page case analysis.
The description should include
This portion will be graded for completeness and clarity of presentation.
The analysis should assess the case as a whole from several sociological perspectives, as covered throughout the course readings, lectures, and additional sources that I refer you to. This section should also include alternative solutions to the issues at hand. This portion will be evaluated for depth and breadth of analysis, use of course concepts, and writing ability.
For an excellent example of a Corporate Power term paper, here is one written by Rob Strauss in Spring 2000. (For some reason, it lost its title page on its way to this site -- don't let that happen to your paper!)
|
|
|
|