LSP 110 - Discover Chicago

Fall 2011 - Chicago Labor History

Class Syllabus

Class Time and Location

Time: Tuesdays, 6:00 to 8:30 PM
Location: Loop Campus - Lewis 1512

Teaching Team

Instructor: Bamshad Mobasher
Office Hours: CDM Building 833, Tues. 4pm-5:30pm or by appointment.
Telephone: 312-362-5174
Email: mobasher@cs.depaul.edu

Staff Professional: Liz Ellis
Telephone: TBA
 E-mail: EELLIS@depaul.edu

Student Mentor: Kory Kendrick
Office Hours: TBA
Phone: TBA
E-mail: korylee@gmail.com 

Course Description

The labor movement in the United States has been the driving force behind many of the major social and economic reforms of the 20th century. Nowhere is the history of the labor movement better represented than in and around the City of Chicago. This rich and tumultuous history dates back to the late 19th century and includes many defining struggles with national and international ramifications, including: the 8-hour workday movement of 1864; the Haymarket riots of 1886; the Pullman  strike of 1894, the first national labor strike in the U.S.; the creation of Jane Addams Hull House as the nation’s first settlement house; the founding conventions for such organizations as the Industrial Workers of the World (the Wobblies) and the Communist Party; and organizing campaigns during the Great Depression.  Associated with these and other events are American icons such as Eugene Debs, Lucy and Albert Parsons, Mother Jones, John L. Lewis, Joe Hill, Upton Sinclair, Jane Addams, and many others. Chicago and the surrounding communities house a number of sites and monuments with great international significance. The goal of this class is to familiarize students with this rich history and encourage them to develop a broader understanding of many of the great social movements in the United States by drawing connections between historical events, locations, and figures, in the context of labor history. The Common Hour portions of the class are designed to address common issues of transition to DePaul and the university academic life for first-year students (see below for more information on the Common Hours).

Required Texts/Reading: 

Common Hour Components

The Common Hour component is worth 30% of the total Chicago Quarter course grade. The Chicago Quarter student and staff mentors are responsible for the delivery of the Common Hour curriculum and evaluation of Common Hour performance. This portion of the class may include additional reading material or assignments.

Common Hour is designed to support students through issues of transition revolving around the following themes: Academic Success Skills, Understanding Diversity and Culture, Sense of Belonging and Community, Educational/Career Planning, Financial Planning, Health & Wellness, Technology, and Socially Responsible Leadership.

Common Hour Learning Objectives:

Course Policies

Attendance, Participation and Late Policy  

Regular attendance every week is REQUIRED.  With (1) meeting per week it is important that everyone attend class and arrive on time.  Instructors must be notified AT LEAST (1) week prior to a planned absence.  Unless absences are for medical or family reasons (documentation required), an absence will affect the final grade.  (1) unexcused absence will reduce your final grade by one letter.  After (2) unexcused absences you may be asked to drop the course.  After (3) unexcused absences, you will receive an F for the class.

Participating in a meaningful way to class discussion is mandatory.  Failure to contribute will be reflected amidst the [10 points] Attendance and Participation portion of your final grade. Students are expected to read the assigned material and be prepared to discuss them in class. Class participation constitutes asking questions during presentations, providing feedback, providing summaries of reading material when requested. Please turn cell phones off while in class.  No text messaging will be allowed. Violating these protocols may result in a dismissal or other penalties.

All Assignments must be turned in at the beginning of each class. Late assignments can be turned in by the beginning of the following class, with an automatic deduction of 50 percent of the point total. After that time, we will no longer accept late work. We will, however, consider outstanding circumstances that may prohibit you from turning your work in on time.  You must email the instructor and the course mentors about this ahead of time.

Academic Integrity & Plagiarism  

You are expected to know and abide by university policies on academic honesty.  Academic dishonesty, such as cheating and plagiarism, will not be tolerated, and will result in an [F] for the course.  A common form of plagiarism committed by students, often unwittingly, is to quote or paraphrase secondary material (e.g., textbooks, internet publications, magazines, articles in periodicals, lectures and presentations, etc.) without citing the source.   Remember, anything not cited in your papers should represent your own original thoughts.  Please read the DePaul University Student Handbook for definitions and explanations of plagiarism.  http://studentaffairs.depaul.edu/handbook/ Please meet with either instructor if you are still not clear what constitutes plagiarism.  Violation of this policy will constitute failure of the class and expulsion from the University.

Assignments and Grading

Journals:  One entry for each one of our field visits. Each journal entry should reflect on the site visit and make reasonable connections to the readings or available online material. Your journals will be collected on October 4.

Your journal entries constitute short writing assignments capturing your observations and reflections related to each of our site visits. Journals will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

  1. You must incorporate at least 4 field observations from our tours during Immersion Week
  2. In each case you should connect your observations to other material from readings, online resources, or your own research. For each of the entries, in addition to a summary of your observations, you will try to answer the following questions: (1) what were the conditions (social, political, economic, etc.) that led to the events taking place at the site? (2) who were some of the significant players in the event and what were their roles? (3) what was the significance of the events and their influence on the labor movement, the city of Chicago, the country, or the world?
  3. Your entries must adhere to good writing style, spelling, organization, and grammar.
  4. You must also include as an entry a proposal for your final paper. The proposal should include a title for your topic, a one-page abstract for your paper, and an initial annotated bibliography. Your topic may be related to one of the themes covered during the immersion week, or a more detailed analysis of some of the figures, events, or locations in Chicago labor history. A list of possible topics, themes, and important figures will be provided at a later date.

Journal Entries for Class Discussions and Guest Speakers: In addition to the journal entries related to the immersion week visits, you will write a journal entry for each of the invited speakers who will present in class, as well as any sessions dedicated to class discussion on the lecture topics. For each of these journal entries, you should summarize the important points of the class session, try to connect the presentation/discussion to some of the readings and to some of the things you learned about Chicago labor history during the prior weeks. Each of these journal entries are due at the beginning of the class on the following week. They should be submitted as 1-2 printed double-spaced pages.

Final Paper and Presentation

The Final paper is due on November 1.  Papers will be [10] pages in length, typed, double-spaced and must include a reference list. Please see this website for what constitutes accepted style resources: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/01/ When making a reference list, please follow this style using MLA format: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/14/.

Presentations of the final papers will be scheduled for the final class session on November 1. Each student will have approx. 10 minutes to present the main ideas of his or her paper with some time allocated for questions and answers from the rest of the class. More details about presentations and the final paper will be provided later.

Grading

Your grade will be based upon the following point totals:

  1. 30% (30 points) Common Hour Activities and Assignments
  2. 70% (70 points) Lectures and Assignments Consisting of:
    • 10 Points Attendance and Participation
    • 20 Points Journals (including 4 entries related to immersion week activities and the entries for guest speakers)
    • 5 points Final paper proposal and Annotated Bibliography
    • 25 points Final Paper
    • 10 points Final Presentation

The final course grade will be determined as follows:

Total Points Earned

Final Grade

93-100

A

90-92

A-

87-89

B+

83-86

B

80-82

B-

77-79

C+

73-76

C

70-72

C-

67-69

D+

60-66

D

59 and below

F