Fall 2000
W 6-9 PM
Susan Greenbaum
SOC 284
Soc 134; 974-0777
Office hours: T 3-5, or by
appt.
greenbau@chuma1.cas.usf.edu
Course objectives:
This course
addresses a series of highly elusive questions that have critical relevance to
applied anthropology. 1) What is a community? 2) What good are they? 3) Can they be ’developed’? 4) What can anthropology contribute to
this enterprise?
The
practice of community development has a venerable history in applied social
science, although it is not strongly associated with anthropology. Jane Addams, founder of the settlement
house movement of the early 20th century, pioneered in efforts to aid
newly arrived immigrants to adjust to the harsh urban environment of
Chicago. A half century later, also
in Chicago, Saul Alinsky developed a unique confrontational approach to grass
roots social change among descendants of those same immigrants. Throughout the United States a host of
urban programs, from the 60s to the present, have incorporated
various forms of what is
labeled “community development” into rhetoric and regulations. From patronizing
efforts to teach unlettered and “culturally backward” workers how to fit into
American society, to the bellicose radicalism of Alinsky, to the inept and
disingenuous social engineering of federal bureaucrats, the concept of community
development has been broad and contradictory.
The
purpose of this course is to reconsider the notion of community development,
from the perspective of anthropological theories of agency, practice, and social
structure.
Requirements & grading:
The course
is structured around a monograph (Halperin’s Practicing Community) and a set of
reserve readings that address topical themes related to issues in the chapters
of Halperin’s book. We will then
turn to a series of case examples of work, mostly done by anthropologists, that
can be defined as community development, confronting various issues and
conducted in a diversity of settings. Running concurrent with the readings and
discussion will be student projects designed to engage you directly in some
facet of community development work.
There are three basic
requirements for this course:
1)
All students must be on email; we will create an email list with everyone’s
address. Each week you will post a
question to the list based on the readings for the next class (by noon on Monday
prior to our meeting on Wednesday).
Based on the posted questions, you will choose one and write a response,
also posted to the list, no later than noon on Wednesday. These will begin with the week of September 6 and
conclude with the week of November
8; 10 opportunities, of which you are required to submit a minimum of 7 questions and 7 answers. In other words, you can choose 3 weeks
during that period when you do not have to participate in this exercise. Questions should be short and pithy, not
trivial or requiring some sort of descriptive response, but critical and thought
provoking. They should be drawn
from your thoughts about the week’s readings. When the questions all have been posted
in a given week (Monday by noon),
you will select one that is not your own
and write an emailed response that is between 1 and 2 pages long. Your responses must be posted on the
email list no later than noon on Wednesday prior to class
that evening. Not all email users
can download attachments, so please write your response as a direct
message. I will grade and return
your responses; your questions will be scored present or absent. Questions that look like soft balls or
weak efforts may not count. The total portion of your grade accounted
for by this requirement is 30%.
2)
You will write a term paper, no shorter than 15 and no longer than 30 pages,
that draws on literature and incorporates relevant aspects of the project you do
for the class. A draft of this paper
will be due on October 25. This
draft will mainly be a literature review that frames problems and issues related
to what you have begun to work on for a project. We will discuss these in class, and I
will make extensive suggestions on the papers and return them no later than the
next class period. A second draft will be due on November 13 (we do not meet on the
15th). We will discuss
them again on November 22. The final papers are due on December 6,
when you will present your work to the class. Term papers account for 40% of your grade. To get full credit
for the paper, you will need to have submitted all three
drafts.
3) You will keep a journal during the period you are working on the project, and you will assemble a portfolio based on your activities in the project. It should include field notes; any correspondence or written materials, photos or other visuals; a chronological account of your activities; your journal pages; and a brief written summary of what you did, why, how, and with what result. We will discuss and decide on projects during the first two weeks of class. There are several options; ongoing programs I am aware of, a research project I am doing, or projects you may be involved with already. We may decide to all work on the same thing, or each to do separate projects, or to work in small groups. Participatory planning is the hallmark of community development ideology. You will participate in planning this part of the course. Portfolios will count 30%.
Other information:
USF
policies require that the following information must be provided. Attendance is mandatory, but legitimate
excuses will be accepted. Please
make every effort to contact the instructor in advance if you cannot attend
class. No part of the grade in this
course will be based on attendance, per se. There are no formal examinations in this
course. Grades will be based on the
cumulative total of points received on the above assignments, with letter grades
on each converted to a numerical scale and weighted according to listed
percentages. Students’ final grades for this course will not feature
plus or minus, only straight letter grades. Students are free to tape-record
class sessions, but such recordings cannot be offered for sale. Students observing religious holidays
that are not part of the regular calendar of school closing may be excused if
the holiday falls on one of the class sessions, but advance notice is
requested. Plagiarism will not be
tolerated. Students who plagiarize
assignments will receive a failing grade for that assignment. Please see the USF Graduate School
catalog (97-98, p. 34) regarding academic dishonesty. Incomplete grades will only be given if
the work for the course has been substantially completed. Students who need incomplete grades must
make arrangements prior to the last day of class (Dec. 6, 2000) and will need to
fill out a written contract specifying when the work will be completed. Papers not collected by students will be
retained only until the last day of the semester that follows.
Text: Practicing Community: Class,
Culture, and Power in an Urban Neighborhood.
Rhoda Halperin, 1998 (PC); and other readings on electronic
reserve.
Weekly
assignments:
Aug 30 – Course introduction; what is
a community?
Sept 6 – What is community
development? (PC) 1-45; 297-310;
Bhattacharyya;
Goodenough.
Sept 13 – Participation, partnerships,
and advocacy; (PC) 46-102; Hastrup
& Elsas;
Singer (94); Greenbaum
Sept 20 – Organizing, organizations,
leadership; (PC)103-185; Alinsky;
Castells;
Durrenberger & Erem
Sept 27 – Health; (PC)186-217; Singer (96); Nichter; Kass
& Freudenberg
Oct 4 – Housing; (PC) 218-228; Kolodny; Logan &
Rabrenovic; Schuman; Zdenek
Oct 11 – Heritage; (PC) 229-250; Greenbaum & Rodriguez;
Verrey & Henley; Cameron
& Gatewood;
Howell
Oct 18 – Old politics and New Urbanism; (PC) 251-296; Rutheiser; Nesmith; Bennett;
Oct 25 – Displacement and
homelessness; Kasarda; Williams; Ceraso; Robertson; first
draft of paper due.
Nov 1 – Case studies
I
Nov 8 – Case studies
II
Nov 15 – No class, AAA meetings;
2nd draft of paper due on Nov. 13
Nov 22 – Community reconsidered;
theory, practice, roles and challenges.
Nov 29 – Presentations of final
papers
Dec 6 – Presentations of final
papers