Discussion ForumsSyllabus for GLB-301
GLOBAL ISSUES AND SOCIETY
The study of global issues is more critical than ever now that we have truly become a "global village." The decisions that we make in the next few years—whether those decisions are made in Beijing, Brussels, Brazil, or Buffalo—will determine the collective future of this village. Together we are confronted with many pressing and often competing global challenges that demand thoughtful responses and solutions.
Population is growing at an alarming rate in some regions; environmental concerns are everywhere; global resources appear to be dwindling; national security eludes many countries, especially as terrorism has become an international phenomenon; and human rights are violated in a variety of ways. These crises certainly represent significant problems facing our world today; at the same time, they provide opportunities for us to bring about changes that will significantly increase the ongoing quality of life around the world.
The purpose of this course is to educate and encourage the development of globally competent citizens and leaders. The course is designed to provide students with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to be engaged, responsible, and effective members of a globally interdependent society. Most important, students will be asked to think deeply about their world (including its future, current issues, its impact on their local area, and our personal responsibility as global citizens).
In examining the crises cited above, and other global issues currently facing humanity, this course will attempt to achieve the following goals.
Knowledge
Upon completion of the course, students will be able to:
Skills
Upon completion of the course, students will be able to:
Attitudes
Upon completion of the course, students will be disposed to:
In attempting to accomplish these objectives, we will incorporate a variety of learning activities, all of which will be organized online. The Internet provides an invaluable source of information regarding global issues, and you will be provided a rich repository of Web-based resources and guidance in searching for additional resources. These resources will be organized within the Epsilen Web site. Students will also be encouraged to participate in additional outside learning activities, such as attending presentations and using interactive technologies to understand global issues.
Students will be encouraged to read and explore a variety of materials for this class. For all lessons, certain readings linked on the Epsilen Web site will be "required." There is, however, no required textbook for this course. The Internet will be used to manage this course and to provide numerous additional resources for each topic in this course. You will access the content of this course through the Epsilen Web site at www.epsilen.com. Each module provides a link to Epsilen so that you may access your content.
This course is made possible by the collaborative efforts of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities' American Democracy Project, the New York Times Knowledge Network, and teaching faculty from ten AASCU Institutions. The course uses the Center for Strategic and International Studies' Seven Revolutions framework. The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) developed the Seven Revolutions framework as a means of thoughtfully exploring seven key change areas impacting the world.
Students are encouraged to participate actively in this class. Please engage in the online learning activities in a timely manner. If you have ideas on how a certain topic might be presented and applied, please express them; if you are aware of learning resources that are not being used, please suggest them as well. If we work together, this can be a very interesting and rewarding class for all of us.
The American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), scholars from ten different AASCU campuses, and the New York Times have joined together to develop resources that will facilitate the education of globally competent citizens using CSIS' Seven Revolutions framework. The goal of this initiative is to increase the number of undergraduates who possess the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to serve as engaged global citizens.
Using the framework of Seven Revolutions—seven key worldwide trends identified by former CSIS analyst Erik Peterson—this project will integrate resources from CSIS, the New York Times, and other sources into a repository of materials for college faculty and students. The Seven Revolutions initiative is a research effort at CSIS that begins with the ambiguous question: What will the world look like in 2025? To answer this question, Seven Revolutions seeks to identify and analyze the driving forces of change that will transform our planet. The goal of Seven Revolutions is to promote strategic, forward thinking among current and future leaders.
The Seven Revolutions that will shape our world by the year 2025 include:
Because of the diverse nature of the Seven Revolutions, students will be exposed to multiple academic fields of study. The objective of this interdisciplinary course is that students will develop both a comprehensive understanding of some of the major global issues and a heightened appreciation for how diverse topics are interrelated.
Global Issues and Society is a three-credit online course, consisting of nine (9) modules. Modules include topics, learning objectives, a study outline, and activities (forums, written assignments, and blogs). Module titles are listed below.
For your formal work in the course, you are required to participate in online discussion forums, complete written assignments, participate in the Global Village blog activity, and complete a final project. See below for details.
Consult the course Calendar for assignment due dates.
Discussion ForumsYou are required to participate in nine (9) graded discussion forums as well as an ungraded Introductions Forum. The online discussions are on a variety of topics associated with the course modules.
For posting guidelines and help with discussion forums, please see the Student Handbook located within the General Information page of the course Web site.
Written AssignmentsYou are required to complete nine (9) written assignments. The written assignments are on a variety of topics associated with the course modules.
For help regarding preparing and submitting assignment activities, see the Student Handbook located within the General Information page of the course Web site.
Global Village Blog ActivityOne way to gain a valuable perspective on the world is to examine how people in different countries are affected by global issues and trends. Within your class, you will act as a particular member of a global village that is representative of the seven billion people who live on Earth. Your mentor will assign you a villager role, and you will use various Internet resources to investigate the characteristics of that villager as well as how various issues affect your villager. You will publish your findings in a blog on the Epsilen Web site and will be able to read and comment on the blogs of your classmates as well.
Final ProjectThere is no midterm or final exam in this course. Instead, you will write a 2000- to 2500-word paper (with a typical font and spacing this will be a paper of 8 to 10 pages) integrating your learning from this course in four areas: your perspective as a global villager, your analysis of global issues, your views of global citizenship, and some thoughts about what you have gained from this course.
Detailed information about this assignment is found in the final project area of the course site.
Your grade in the course will be determined as follows:
All activities will receive a numerical grade of 0–100. You will receive a score of 0 for any work not submitted. Your final grade in the course will be a letter grade. Letter grade equivalents for numerical grades are as follows:
A | = | 93–100 | C+ | = | 78–79 | |
A– | = | 90–92 | C | = | 73–77 | |
B+ | = | 88–89 | C– | = | 70–72 | |
B | = | 83–87 | D | = | 60–69 | |
B– | = | 80–82 | F | = | Below 60 |
To receive credit for the course, you must earn a letter grade of C or better (for an area of study course) or D or better (for a nonarea of study course), based on the weighted average of all assigned course work (e.g., exams, assignments, discussion postings, etc.).
First Steps to Success
To succeed in this course, take the following first steps:
Study Tips
Consider the following study tips for success:
Students at Thomas Edison State College are expected to exhibit the highest level of academic citizenship. In particular, students are expected to read and follow all policies, procedures, and program information guidelines contained in publications; pursue their learning goals with honesty and integrity; demonstrate that they are progressing satisfactorily and in a timely fashion by meeting course deadlines and following outlines procedures; observe a code of mutual respect in dealing with mentors, staff, and other students; behave in a manner consistent with the standards and codes of the profession in which they are practicing; keep official records updated regarding changes in name, address, telephone number, or e-mail address; and meet financial obligations in a timely manner. Students not practicing good academic citizenship may be subject to disciplinary action including suspension, dismissal, or financial holds on records.
Academic Dishonesty
Thomas Edison State College expects all of its students to approach their education with academic integrity—the pursuit of scholarly activity free from fraud and deception. All mentors and administrative staff members at the College insist on strict standards of academic honesty in all courses. Academic dishonesty undermines this objective. Academic dishonesty takes the following forms:
Academic dishonesty will result in disciplinary action and possible dismissal from the College. Students who submit papers that are found to be plagiarized will receive an F on the plagiarized assignment, may receive a grade of F for the course, and may face dismissal from the College.
A student who is charged with academic dishonesty will be given oral or written notice of the charge. If a mentor or the College official believes the infraction is serious enough to warrant referral of the case to the academic dean, or if the mentor awards a final grade of F in the course because of the infraction, the student and the mentor will be afforded formal due process.
If a student is found cheating or using unauthorized materials on an examination, he or she will automatically receive a grade of F on that examination. Students who believe they have been falsely accused of academic dishonesty should seek redress through informal discussions with the mentor, through the office of the dean, or through an executive officer of Thomas Edison State College.
Plagiarism
Using someone else’s work as your own is plagiarism. Although it may seem like simple dishonesty, plagiarism is against the law. Thomas Edison State College takes a strong stance against plagiarism, and students found to be plagiarizing will be severely penalized. If you copy phrases, sentences, paragraphs, or whole documents word-for-word—or if you paraphrase by changing a word here and there—without identifying the author, then you are plagiarizing. Please keep in mind that this type of identification applies to Internet sources as well as to print-based sources. Copying and pasting from the Internet, without using quotation marks and without acknowledging sources, constitutes plagiarism. (For information about how to cite Internet sources, see Online Student Handbook > Academic Standards > “Citing Sources.”)
Accidentally copying the words and ideas of another writer does not excuse the charge of plagiarism. It is easy to jot down notes and ideas from many sources and then write your own paper without knowing which words are your own and which are someone else’s. It is more difficult to keep track of each and every source. However, the conscientious writer who wishes to avoid plagiarizing never fails to keep careful track of sources.
Always be aware that if you write without acknowledging the sources of your ideas, you run the risk of being charged with plagiarism.
This course would not have been possible but for the efforts of the Seven Revolutions scholars who developed courses using the Seven Revolutions framework on their home campuses, sharing their insights, teaching strategies, and teaching materials with colleagues at Seven Revolutions Institutes across the country and collaboratively sharing those materials in this course shell.
Special thanks in particular to: Denny Falk, Chair of the Seven Revolution Scholars and Professor of Social Work, University of Minnesota Duluth; Bill Payne, Interim Dean, School of Fine Arts, University of Minnesota Duluth; Blase Scarnati, Director, First Year Seminar Program and Global Learning; Brett Whitaker, Instructor of Leadership Studies, Fort Hays State University; Curt Brungardt, Omar C. Voss Distinguished Professor of Leadership Studies and Executive Director of the Center for Civic Leadership, Fort Hays State University;Darrell Hamlin, Senior Fellow at the Center for Civic Leadership, Fort Hays State University; Karie Hollarbach, Associate Professor of Mass Media, Southeast Missouri State University; Keisha Hoerner, Chair for the Department of First Year Programs and Professor of Communication, Kennesaw State University; Ken Hill, Lecturer of Management, Kennesaw State University; Larry Gould, Provost, Fort Hays State University; Martin Shapiro Professor of Psychology, University of California Fresno; Nathan Phelps, Assistant Professor of Honors and Interdisciplinary Studies, Western Kentucky University; Paul McGurr, Assistant Dean, School of Business Administration, Fort Lewis College; Shala Mills, Chair and Professor of Political Science, Fort Hays State University; Steve Roderick, former Provost, Fort Lewis College; Steven Elliott-Gower, Associate Professor and Director of Honors and Scholars, Georgia College and State University; Susan Moss, Chair and Professor of Art, Fort Lewis College; Willie Redmond, Professor of Economics and Finance, Southeast Missouri State University; Yohannes Woldemariam, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Fort Lewis College.
Special thanks, as well, to the American Association of State Colleges and Universities’ American Democracy Project’s George Mehaffy, Jennifer Domagal-Goldman, and Cecelia Orphan, for their vision, support and encouragement in developing and implementing this project; to Felice Nudelman for the New York Times Knowledge Network’s critical role in making the blended learning model course possible; and to Karen Meacham and, especially, to Scott Aughenbaugh of the Center for Strategic and International Studies for Seven Revolutions framework support and materials; and finally, enormous thanks to Erik Peterson, who originally created the Seven Revolutions framework and with whom we started this venture.
Thomas Edison State College. All Rights Reserved.