Subject: USSO

Term: Fall 2012

USSO 243: The Art of Fact (100/9575)

MW 12:30-01:45 PM Aug 27-Dec 07

Simakis, A

As evidenced by the tragedy that unfolded in New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, we ignore the consequences of endemic poverty at our peril. How do you evacuate a city filled with thousands of people too poor to own cars? Where do you house them after they've been rescued from their drowned neighborhoods? Although Cleveland won't likely be erased by flood, it's one of the poorest big cities in the nation making it vulnerable to disaster in times of crisis and an incubator for a host of thorny social problems. Often, it's up to journalists to bring attention to these issues, give voice to the voiceless and force policymakers to come up with solutions to seemingly intractable problems. In this seminar, we'll read and dissect the works of journalists who've written stories about complex social problems and have done so using many of the conventions employed by writers of fiction. Writer Ben Yagoda described this literary journalism as "making facts dance." We'll spend our time researching numerous social issues and learn to write about them in a clear and compelling voice.

USSO 260: Spin, P.R., and America Today (100/9557)

TR 01:15-02:30 PM Aug 27-Dec 07

Ware, J; Doll, W

We live today surrounded by spin--corporations don't fire, they downsize; government pronouncements are assumed to be cynically slanted and misleading; even scholarly medical articles are written by public relations (p.r.) flacks. The guiding principle isn't truth or reality but the right message and staying on it. How and why has p.r. become such a seemingly potent force in our time? What does this say about America and its values--about even the meaning of truth? In this seminar we will explore the role of public relations and image-making, in American society today. Our objectives are (1) Examine the users of p.r. today in business, politics and popular culture to shape images and define reality; (2) explore the tools used to construct and sell those messages and perceptions and (3) Analyze the values underlying these activities--to the end of deepening our understanding society today. This seminar explores these issues through reading, both academic and popular writing, discussion, and research. The writing assignments will be both academic and various forms of media and public relations formats. We will use class time to discuss and review student writing.

USSO 266: Framing Our Legal System: Law in the Movies (100/9558)

MW 04:30-05:45 PM Aug 27-Dec 07, M 06:00-08:00 PM Aug 27-Dec 07

Mester, T

This course explores important themes in the study of law, lawyers, and legal institutions by regarding their representations in movies. We will cover such issues as race/class/gender and the law, legal ethics, legal education, the adversarial system, and the image and status of the lawyer in American culture. We will also look at the ways in which law and the legal profession affect popular culture and, conversely, the ways in which poplar views of legal problems and lawyers affect law.

USSO 285Y: Quest for Perfection: Law as a Vehicle for Social Improvement (100/9559)

TR 02:45-04:00 PM Aug 27-Dec 07

Leukart, B

Americans often seek to use U.S. law to create "fairness" and "civility"--in a world that can sometimes be brutal and fundamentally unjust. Increasingly, we rely on courts and statutes to "fix" identified social problems and to achieve a more just society. This course will examine our reliance on law to improve human behavior and to achieve social goals. Can statutes and lawyers lead the way to a better world? What are the limits (if any) of our ability to improve society by passing new laws and mandates? Are there unforeseen, negative consequences that arise from our legal efforts to improve public and personal behavior? This course will examine those questions in the context of selected social issues.

USSO 286V: Management of Chronic Illness in a Cultural Context (100/9609)

MW 05:00-06:15 PM Aug 27-Dec 07

Zhang, A

This course will explore the cross cultural, self-care approaches to health problems. It covers substance-based (e.g., herbs, acupuncture), mind-body (e.g., yoga, qigong), spiritual (e.g., prayer) and social (e.g., communal, family) approaches that have been used to manage chronic diseases and promote wellness in various cultural settings.

USSO 286V: Management of Chronic Illness in a Cultural Context (101/9736)

TR 11:30-12:45 PM Aug 27-Dec 07

Zhang, A

This course will explore the cross cultural, self-care approaches to health problems. It covers substance-based (e.g., herbs, acupuncture), mind-body (e.g., yoga, qigong), spiritual (e.g., prayer) and social (e.g., communal, family) approaches that have been used to manage chronic diseases and promote wellness in various cultural settings.

USSO 286Z: The Development of Consulting Services: Origins and Applications (100/9598)

TR 04:30-05:45 PM Aug 27-Dec 07

Grover, B

Most of you will work with consultants throughout your career. Many of you will become consultants at some point in time. We will review the history of this burgeoning profession, explore various issues impacting its continued growth and develop a point of view on the promises and pitfalls of consulting in the twenty-first century. This course is purposefully conducted in a seminar format with a relatively small group of students. Through our class time together you will learn skills and techniques, and gain practice in listening, presenting, discussing, debating, and persuading--all critical competencies in both business and life.

USSO 287A: Writing Life: Understanding Narrative Biography (100/9560)

TR 11:30-12:45 PM Aug 27-Dec 07

Ricca, B

The study and practice of biography, that is, writing the life of someone, is an important tool for understanding history, the creative impulse, and even the discovery of scientific phenomenon. In this class, we will learn some of the history of biography and what it hopes to accomplish in its various sub-genres. Primarily, we will engage in reading and discussing some important and contemporary biographies in a variety of styles and genres. By looking at different sub-genres such as autobiography, life-writing, and even fictive narrators, we will learn how researchers use facts to construct narratives constructed around an argument that tells a story about someone's life in a way that engages with important issues of self, audience, and the location of truth. As our final research project, we will undertake our own biographical projects where we will do primary research in order to construct focused narratives of people of our own choosing. To work up to this point, we will work on our own autobiographies, look at the lives of things, and look at some films which foreground the narrative of life. This course will be of great use to writers and researchers who must be able to communicate any kind of true account in a way that is both engaging and comprehensive.

USSO 287C: Murder in the Jazz Age (100/9561)

TR 10:00-11:15 AM Aug 27-Dec 07

Absher, A

Having lived through the devastation and consequences of World War I, you might think that Americans would have been appalled by the violent murders that marred the 1920s. To be sure, they were. Americans were also drawn to the infamous murders as though understanding these crimes would enable them to explain the changes in society, such as changes to gender rules and urbanization, brought about and accelerated by the war. In this class, we will examine the major crimes of the decade in the hopes of gaining the insight that the people at the time sought. The course readings include secondary sources that provide an analysis of the decade and primary sources from the murder cases themselves. In addition, students will become familiar with the historical context and scientific advancements that gave birth to modern forensics.

USSO 287Q: Social Constructs Associated with Marginalization: Making a Difference (100/9681)

TR 04:30-05:45 PM Aug 27-Dec 07

Warner, C

The purpose of this course is to increase the students' awareness of selected social constructs within the global society (i.e., vulnerability) that have the potential to generate circumstances that place some individuals or groups at risk for marginalization and diminished well-being. The course will be conducted within a seminar format and will provide opportunities for scholarly inquiry and debate regarding the nature of the constructs posited. Students will critique each other's social constructs with intent to generate innovative strategies to reduce individual and global marginalization. Each student will prepare a formal written report of their findings related to their construct of interest.

USSO 287R: The Business of Sports-Content, Television, Social Media, Consumer Products, Advertising & Marketing (100/9581)

MW 04:00-05:15 PM Aug 27-Dec 07

Veras, G

The sports industry is experiencing rapid growth and is expected to become one of the nation's top 25 industries by 2030. This seminar will explore five elements of the business model that is driving this growth: content, television, social media, advertising, and consumer products. In addition, it will examine the marketing of these five elements. Students will be graded on class participation, essays, and a final paper. They will be asked to read weekly articles on each aspect of the sports industry and to participate in social media sites in order to understand how powerful this platform is to the sports business. In addition, they will work together in groups to create their own sports marketing websites and present these sites for evaluation by the entire class. The results of the evaluation will contribute to their grade for this part of the course. Guest lecturers for the seminar will include nationally recognized experts and representatives of the sports industry, many of whom visit northeast Ohio for sporting events. Students in the course will acquire a unique perspective on a business that is projected to become one of the world's leading growth industries in the 21st century.

USSO 287T: Gender, Visibility and Performance: The Courtesan (100/9610)

MW 09:00-10:15 AM Aug 27-Dec 07

Nielson, L

Throughout history, the figure of the courtesan has embodied seduction, performance, and mystery; occupying the private spaces of the real and the imaginary across cultures. The impact of the courtesan on society can be seen in travelogues, poetry, and historical treatises, as well as in texts written specifically about courtesans themselves. Those cultures which had a courtesan class frequently experienced varying degrees of social discomfort. Within the culture, there was tension between those who patronized courtesans and those who considered them a social menace. From without, cultures which had courtesans were believed to be either excessively decadent or highly civilized, depending on the cultural standpoint of the observer. In this seminar, we will study real courtesans as well as examine the figure of the courtesan within the context of literature, religion, music history, and gender theory. The seminar will begin with an overview of the origins of the courtesan, focused on the roles of women and slave musicians in the court and temple in Egypt, India, Greece, and Mesopotamia starting in 3,000 BCE. Then, we will explore factors leading to the development of a courtesan class and compare the roles of courtesans and their place in their culture in Europe, India, Asia, and the Middle East. Readings and class discussion will encompass issues relating to the impact of gender on performance, literary genres, education, and social and legal status, as well as continuing questions related to translation of primary sources, colonialism, and religious movements. In addition to the readings, we will also study images of the courtesan from antiquity to the present, listen to music by and about courtesans, sample some of their writing, and watch films about "real" courtesans. The primary goal is not only to look at the impact of courtesans in history, but also to engage issues related to gender and performance from a variety of different disciplinary and cultural points of view.

USSO 288J: Museums and Community (100/9577)

MW 12:30-01:45 PM Aug 27-Dec 07

Rao, S

This course will use Cleveland-area museums as a laboratory to think critically about the role of museums within society. It will combine literature review, museum visits, and discussions led by museum professional. The goal is that students consider what role, if any, they believe museums should play in society in general, and in their local community in particular. Since experiential learning is key to understanding museums, museum visits will be foundational elements of the course. Students will first explore a local museum with the instructor and collaborate on a case study. They will then work individually on case studies of two local institutions that they have not previously visited. Finally, drawing on the readings and class discussions, each student will expand one of the case studies into a plan to make that institution fall more in line with their personal vision of museums in society.