Summer 2021 Courses

Six of the eight classes offered virtually inside the California Rehabilitation Center (CRC) this summer are open to 5C students, with enrollment contingent on instructor permission. 

Each Inside-Out class contains an equal number of outside (5C) students and inside students. Inside (currently incarcerated) students will participate in classes via videoconferencing, and those who receive passing grades will receive course credit from Pitzer College. Some of our inside students at CRC are also matriculated Pitzer students pursuing their Bachelor of Arts degrees in Organizational Studies.

CRC Courses Offered Summer 2021

Prof. Marcus Rodriguez (PTZ) *PSYCH 140: Psychology of Mindfulness (TuWThF 8:30-11:30am)

Introduce the philosophical and theoretical foundations of mindfulness, including its evidence base, intervention strategies, and adaptations for different populations. Explore various topics related to mindfulness, including spirituality, neuropsychology, and mindfulness based therapies. Explore theory and history surrounding social justice issues related to stigma and psychological disorders. Discuss equity in access to mental health treatment and strategies to challenge hegemonic structures and practices.

*5/24-6/11/21 (3-week course)

Prof. Mita Banerjee (PTZ) PSYCH 124: Psychology of Fatherhood (MW 12:30-3:30pm)

This course offers a broad, interdisciplinary look at the Psychology of Fatherhood. We will look at the role of fathers in households, as well as the histories of fathering, cross-cultural variation, and the impact of social class/race/ethnicity on Fathering. What are the challenges that face contemporary fathers, and how is this role understood in the light of shifting views on gender and family structure–the course will address these questions.

Prof. Hamid Rezai (PTZ) POST 154: Street Politics/Contentious Politics  (TuTh 5:30-8:30pm)

Why, how, and when do people protest? Why do some collective protests last just one or a couple of days while others continue for months or even years? Why do some episodes of contention turn into social movements or even into tragic civil war (Syria), while others disappear? Why and how do some protest events transform into radical revolutionary movements with the aim to topple the existing political order in their respective countries? Why are there social movements, but no revolutions, in functioning democracies? These are among the questions
we will be exploring, studying, and discussing comparatively this semester. We will examine different forms of coordinated collective actions of students, women, youth, ethnic minorities, and poor people in Asia, Europe, Latin America, and Africa to see whether there are common causes for the emergence of these movements across time and locations. Furthermore, we will unearth the ideological, demographic, economic and cultural origins of these movements and the tactics and strategies employed by the actors involved to understand why some powerful movements succeed while others fail.

Prof. Hamid Rezai (PTZ) POST 139: Politics of the Middle East (M 8:30-11:30am, F 12:30-3:30pm)

As the holder of one of the world’s largest reserves of petroleum and natural gas, and due to its proximity to Europe, the Middle East has been the focus of regional and international competition for millennia. In this course we will start with the domination of the states and societies of the Middle East by the Western Powers like France and Great Britain after the decline of the Ottoman Empire during the early 20th century and examine the implications of Imperialist intervention for societies in this region, including their diverse responses to Western colonialism. Subsequently, we will investigate ideologies, actors, and events that have shaped the domestic, regional, and international politics of the states of this region. To this end, we will analyze causes, trajectories, and outcomes of the constitutional revolutions in Iran and the Ottoman Empire in the early twentieth century and historical processes like economic development, rapid modernization, urbanization, and social and educational expansion to explore their short and long-term consequences for this region. We will also look at the influence of non- state actors and civil societies on the politics of the region. Civil society associations, countless forms of powerful social movements, and several revolutions since the beginning of the 20th century continue to shape the fate of states and societies in the modern Middle East.

Prof. Nancy Neiman (SCR) POST 135: Political Economy of Food (TuTh 12:30-3:30pm)
This course will examine the production, distribution, consumption, and waste of food in contemporary U.S. society and globally. It analyzes contemporary practices such as: the institutionalization of factory farming as expressions of the logic of modernity; and the legacy and impact of global colonial structures on the production, consumption, and meanings of food. The course will also take a look at alternatives to dominant food practices and students will develop group projects that engage community organizations involved in food justice work.

Prof. Suchi Branfman (SCR) DANC 151: Dancing Social Justice (TuTh 12:30-3:30pm)

Dance has long served as a locus for social change work in the United States. This has been true in times past and is increasingly the case locally, nationally, and globally. This course aims to bring together students with an interest in investigating and investing in social change work through Dance. Our classroom community will engage in discussion of readings and video viewings, will host and visit local choreographers and leaders of social justice movements, and engage in choreographic creation and presentation as required parts of the course. The course will culminate in a performance of choreographic work created and followed by a community dialogue.

 

Open to inside students only:

Prof. Linus Yamane (PTZ) ECON 052: Principles of Microeconomics (MWF 12:30-3:30pm)*

This course will introduce the central theme and some of the fundamental ideas of economics. We will acquaint students with the central analytical tools of microeconomics and use them to explain both how consumers and producers make decisions about what to buy and what to sell. We will study how these decisions interact in the marketplace and provide an extensive examination of the virtues and vices of free markets. The course will begin by extolling the remarkable accomplishments of an idealized system of markets, but gradually discuss some of the market system’s principle failings. Thus we will understand why, where and how the government intervenes in the economy.

*5/17-6/11/21 (4-week course)

Prof. Barbara Junisbai (PTZ) and Prof. Jeff Lewis (PTZ) **ORST 198C (MW 5:30-8:30pm)

Advanced research topics, organizational studies capstone.

**This course is only open to Organizational Studies majors in their senior year.