ANNOUNCEMENT

SYLLABUS

CALENDAR

DISCUSSION BOARD

BOOKS,

ARTICLES

ASSIGNMENTS

NOTES

LINKS

Syllabus

Human Behavior in the Social Environment

This course will examine the border between self and other; between individuals and their associations; between the individual and the social formation.

During this course we will study the social construction of conduct and the ways in which behavior is given meaning and consequences. We will examine the usefulness of social theory in understanding the regularity of behavior. We will look at Role Theory and dramaturgical explanations for conduct, and we will examine attempts to understand how actions can be both free and, at the same time, constrained.

We will study socialization theories as preparation for social work practice. We will study novel social environments and the behaviors they elicit, as preparation for 'navigating professions', i.e. those jobs and careers that connect clients, customers, beneficiaries, target groups - persons and peoples - to the institutions, agencies, corporations, organizations and systens that provide services, information and goods to them.

Objectives

Gain an understanding of the major social explanations for meaningful and consequential activity of persons and peoples.

Develop a capacity to see and assess the morphology of the social milieu, the generative codes that structure our patterns of associating.

Develop a critical appreciation for the importance of context - historical, architectural, cultural, institutional - for the significance, evaluation and consequences of conduct.

Situate social work practice and development within a history of social changes in this century in developed and developing countries.

Increase skill at being able to communicate within a scholarly discipline via research, writing, argument, and presentation.

Format

The course will be a hybrid of class gatherings, fieldwork observation, and internet reporting and discussions. Each week we will meet in class for two and a half hours to discuss what we have learned in our readings. Each week students will devote minimally at least one hour in field observation of distinctive social environments, and one hour on internet reporting and one-half hour internet collaboration with classmates In addition to these structured activities, each student will be expected to study one of the textbooks, and to read assigned articles.

Texts

Human Behavior and the Social Environment
Theory and Practice
Authors: Joan Granucci Lesser and Donna Saia Pope
Publisher Allyn and Bacon, Pearson 2007
ISBN: 0-205-42019

Additional readings will be available through www.tenebrae.org, in class, or in Library.

Student Requirements

Preparation and Participation

• Students will be expected to prepare for classes by reading and studying for the class topics. Most classes will be lecture and discussion format, prior reading in topical area will be a necessity for useful participation in discussions.
• All students will be required to do a multiple brief research projects that will involve field work and field observations.
• Each student will be required to report their field observations to their classmates via 'discussion board' of www.tenebrae.org
• Each student will be required to publish a 1000 word report, summarizing their observations at conclusion of session
• Students will be required to take two exams during session.

Research

Make observations in various social environments. Write up observations. Read and review cogent literature. Publish findings to class and classmates.

Examinations

There will be two tests during course. Each test will cover material discussed in class and assigned readings. The tests will be partly objective (multiple choice questions) and part written essays.

Evaluations and Grading

Teacher will evaluate individually each student's progress in acquiring knowledge in course area. This will be accomplished in these ways: verbal feedback and advice during class discussions, grading of exams, written evaluation of research papers, and private meetings, correspondence and calls at student request.
Evaluation will be based on what student has learned during course; evidence of effort made by student to acquire a mastery of the content, and success of student at articulating and communicating an understanding of the course work.

Read grading policy for detailed discussion.