LEC , 03:30 P.M. - 04:45 P.M. , Tu,Th (01/22/2008 - 05/09/2008)

Instructor: Ross PhD,Terrance Kwame

Grading basis/credits: 4 credit(s)

Prereq: 1001 or instr consent

Description: Urban youth are the subjects and objects of adult (and youth) interest and concern, and this is found in movies, television, magazines and on the internet; it is heard in music and seen in clothing; it is part of the $500,000,000,000,000 yearly expenditure on advertising and merchandising, much of it directed at (pre)teens. This too we attend to. But most basic to our inquiry is what it is like to do ?young person? in a city and to be a young person in a city, in the United States and worldwide. What are the everyday lives of teenagers, as these vary by historical period, neighborhood, social class, race/ethnicity, sex, and the like, and what do their lives and their ways mean to these youth ? that is our major concern: How do they go about their youthness? ? that is our question. And what sense do adults make of them? ? that is our second concern. The course title includes the words ?youth issues.? This does not mean ?problems;? rather, it refers both to topics of our interest and scholarship, on the one hand, and, on the other, to what is of interest to particular groups of adults (and youth), at a specific moment/place. All of this is important because there is theory and some evidence that ?the youth questions/youth problem? is a persistent cultural discourse which is used regularly when local conditions are of a certain type and magnitude, such as changes in adult life-circumstances. That is, there are long-time folk and professional ways of thinking and talking about young people, especially so as ?problems,? that are used at certain moments of social tension/confusion, almost regardless of the actual situation/condition of young people in that area and at that moment. This too we must study and understand. A ?youth issue? is not (necessarily) a ?youth problem,? while youth as such are often an issue to adults. We use the word issue in the course title to open up this reticulum of, yes, issues. All of this and more are the substance of this course about youth in cities, here and internationally. It is not a course only about kids on the streets, kids of the streets, teen gangs, prostitution, and the like. It is this, but more; it is about the reality that most young people in the United States and the world are ?city kids? and it is our obligation to understand them in situ, in their terms and ours, and to respond to their call to become adults in ways caring, safe, decent and just.

Class Time: 10% Lecture, 10% Film/Video, 20% Discussion, 15% Small Group Activities, 20% Student Presentation, 15% Field Trips, 10% Guest Speakers.

Work Load: 100 pages reading per week, 20 pages writing per term, 10 papers, 1 presentations, 1 special projects.

Grade: 25% special projects, 25% reflection paper, 25% class participation, 25% other evaluation. Other Evaluation: Field visits.