Student Directed Seminars bring together highly motivated students that explore and investigate a topic through learning activities including group discussions, presentations, and Community Service Learning. I have designed the following seminar in response to recent events on UBC campus. The democratic learning environment of the SDS program is a perfect fit for this course: a student led seminar on university culture.
SOCI 433A 002: Sexualized Violence in Universities
Term: 2
Coordinator: Paz Villar
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Becki Ross
Time/Place: Wednesdays 3:00 to 6:00- ANSO 119
Female university students are the group at greatest risk of rape and other forms of sexual assault, four times more likely to be attacked than women the same age who are not university students. In this seminar, we will attempt to understand why the university campus is a dangerous place for women. But we will not stop at understanding. Our objective will be to both develop a theoretical analysis and design final projects with the potential to impact positively our communities.
Final projects will be partly developed in class workshops and we will have the option to work individually or in teams. Options for final projects include (but are not limited to) a report of best practices from other universities, a paper based on volunteer work for an organization of relevance to the course (SASC, SAAM, WAVA), a critical analysis of university news articles, conducting a survey for an organization on campus, an analysis of policies and practices of residences, fraternities, and sororities, and other similar projects.
We will start working with a sociological perspective but readings and theories from other disciplines are welcome (gender studies, political science, history, anthropology, etc). If you are interested in joining the seminar, please write a short (max. one page) statement of interest explaining why you have chosen this course and describing interests, classes, and/or work experience related to the topic. You should send your statement of interest to sds433a@gmail.com. Feel free to email any questions about the content and/or structure of the course.
For more information on Student Directed Seminars, visit the UBC SDS website
http://students.ubc.ca/
Whati if you’re a woman who was assaulted on campus over a decade ago, but is interested in such a seminar? I was sexually assaulted on the U of C campus over a decade ago, which caused me to quit school 6 credits shy of my degree.
Hello Miranda,
Thanks for your interest in our course. Unfortunately, this seminar is only open to UBC students. However, if you are interested in this conversation, January is Sexual Assault Awareness Month at UBC. There are several events and talks planned throughout the month and they are open to the community. You can find all the information on the following website: http://students.ubc.ca/livewell/topics/sexual-assault/sexual-assault-awareness-month
Kind regards,