Peer Review

21A.235 American Dream: Exploring Class in the U.S.

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Reviewed:: Oct 10, 2018 by Sociology

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Ratings

Overall Rating:

Content Quality:

Effectiveness:

Ease of Use:

Overview:

Americans have historically preferred to think of the United States in classless terms, as a land of economic opportunity equally open to all. Yet, social class remains a central fault line in the U.S. This material explores the experiences and understandings of class among Americans positioned at different points along the U.S. social spectrum. It considers a variety of classic frameworks for analyzing social class and uses memoirs, novels and ethnographies to gain a sense of how class is experienced in daily life and how it intersects with other forms of social difference such as race and gender.

Type of Material:

Online Course.

Recommended Uses:

This could be used by professors or teachers as a basic foundation for a course on class in the US.

Technical Requirements:

High speed internet and browser.

Identify Major Learning Goals:

Compare and contrast the lifestyle and values of the middle class and "old money" as explored in the works of C. Wright Mills, John Cheever and Nelson Aldrich and considering the films The Graduate and Born Rich.

Compare and contrast the writings and ideas of two hypothetical authors whose childhood origins are of different social and economic classes. What are the kinds of class issues with which each is concerned? How and why did they end up becoming concerned with these issues? Consideration of their home life as children, their relationship to schooling, their feelings about their work, etc.

Target Student Population:

College General Ed, College Lower Division.

Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:

Introductory course in Sociology or related topic.

Content Quality

Rating:

Strengths:

It is very brief and succinct.

Concerns:

This course depends upon a syllabus written almost 10 years ago and so the materials are at least in part outdated.

The assignments do not have rubrics and so it is unclear how they are graded and to what standards

It is unclear who the instructor or monitor is.

There is no exam or other form of evaluating the theoretical knowledge from the readings- the papers are too subjective in that regard (without rubrics)

There is no clear specified means of interaction with the instructor There is no Learning Mangement System for that purpose.

The course is top heavy with reading (6 texts).

The movies are entertaining but older and only indirectly address the assignment questions.

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

Rating:

Strengths:

There is potential for student learning as the topic of the course is addressed through the initial summary and assignments.

Concerns:

The teaching and learning goals are unclear except as suggested in the initial summary and assignments.

There are no recorded lectures.

The lack of interaction both between students and within the program itself would make it difficult to share ideas, dialogue, and formulate applications - this would make it harder to do the assignments.

It is unclear how this course can be used in a variety of ways including taking some of it to incorporate into other courses.

Reading list is dated (2008) and many links do not work.

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

Rating:

Strengths:

The home page has a user friendly means of selecting how to go to syllabus, readings, and assignments.

The site has a clear and consistent layout.

Concerns:

There are no explicit instructions as to how to use the course. Students may surmise how, but the directions are not there.

The syllabus is heavy in readings but there is no interaction within the program itself, so need immediate feedback.

Most of the hot links work but several are broken.

Other Issues and Comments:

This course needs to be upgraded both in content and in useability. It needs to be much more interactive with the students and interactive within the program itself as the student goes through the materials..

The student needs continual feedback.

The course needs to be paired down in amount of reading materials assigned and more material placed internally.

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