A Critical Examination of American Culture

05 - 28 of November, 2013 36 hours

educontinua.com@javeriana.edu.co PBX: 3208320 ext. 4569-4625

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 6:00 to 9:00 pm Presential

$ 738,000

Department: Languages Presentation The goal of this course is to develop advanced English listening skills through a critical examination of urban American life. It will take a critical look at the marginalizing nature of the American system and how its tragedies are not isolated events, but rather, manifestations of a broken democracy. Objectives The course will be structured to critically explore issues of poverty, lack of economic opportunity, corruption, and the failure of urban institutions such as schools and the legal system. Through the various course methodologies students will

develop advanced English listening skills, particularly with their comprehension of informal/ nonstandard language and expressions. read critically and analyze texts related to course topics. develop language to speak coherently and intelligibly - in both formal and informal contexts regarding course topics. develop an understanding of the challenges and difficulties that face urban America and what they say about American democracy. understand the interconnectedness of various facets of urban life.

Methodology This course is composed of six modules. Each module combines a video component from The Wire with a case study component focused on a particular educational, legal, or political aspect of American society. The listening component will be structured in such a manner as to focus on the development of the following skills: extracting gist/specific information, making inferences/predictions, increasing knowledge of informal vocabulary/expressions, understanding attitudinal/implied meaning, and developing the ability to recognize and emulate word stress patterns and rhythm in local English dialects. The accompanying case studies will be chosen to compliment themes introduced in The Wire and to further develop students understanding. Readings will be selected that highlight current realworld examples that, while focused on a particular subset of the U.S. population, are illustrative of the greater failures of American society. These readings will be presented in such a manner as to challenge students prior conceptions of the American society and used as the basis for class discussions, debates and presentations.

Content Module
1 2 3 4 5 6

Thematic A Third-World City in the First World The Disintegration of the American Family Urban Education and the Truly Disadvantaged No Child Left Behind Corruption in Law Enforcement Disenfranchisement of Voting Rights

Hours 6 6 6 6 6
6

Student Profile The English used in this course will at times be very informal and nonstandard. Thus, the ideal candidates for this course will be language teachers and students who are interested in developing an advanced level listening and reading skills to utilize in their own professional careers. Interviews may be conducted to assure that course candidates meet the listening and reading demands of the course. Disclosure: The Wire contains the following elements: coarse language and considerable profanity (some sexually explicit), some scenes of violence and drug use, and brief nudity. Teacher Profile Gary Sardn Currently he is a teacher of english in the Faculty of Communications and Language at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana. He obtained a Bachelors Degree in Chemistry from Boston College, Masters Degree in Education from Loyola University Maryland, an Advanced Professional Certificate in School Administration from the Maryland State Department of Education, a CELTA certificate issued by the University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations program, and has participated in continuing education courses in Epidemiology and Statistical Methods at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Formerly he served as the Assistant Principal of Saint Ignatius Loyola Academy in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, was a member of an Association of Independent Maryland Schools school accreditation team, and had led workshops on school culture, best practices in science education and Jesuit education.

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NOTE: A minimum attendance of 80% to all sessions is required to complete the course. The opening and ending of the course will depend on the minimum number of enrolled.