University of Utah
Education, Culture and Society
ECS Course Descriptions
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University of Utah

 General Catalog 2001-2002
Posted April 4, 2001

Disclaimer: The course information below is current as of April 4, 2001, is intended for informational purposes only, and does not constitute a legal contract between the University of Utah and any person or entity.

This Web document is updated twice a year, on or about the first day of registration for Fall and Spring semesters.


4111  School and Society (3) Fulfills Humanities Integration.
   Social and institutional context of schooling. Addresses history of education; anthropology and sociology of education; and philosophy of education. Focuses on issues of diversity. Prerequisite to early childhood, elementary, and secondary teacher certification programs.

4150  Introduction to Multicultural Education (3) Cross listed as ETHNC 4150. Prerequisite: ETHNC 2550 or 2560 or 2570 or 2580 or 2590. Fulfills Diversity.
   History, concepts, and theoretical base for multicultural education. Models and strategies for teaching minority students as well as effective curriculum material. Creating a classroom climate for acceptance of differences--cultural, linguistic, genetic, disabling. Prerequisite to early childhood, elementary, and secondary teacher certification programs.

6600  Introduction to Critical and Cultural Studies in Education (3) 
   Examines the social, political, and economic context of schooling with an emphasis on historical and current problems, conflicts, and movements in education.

6610  History of Education in the United States (3) 
   Social and intellectual history of schooling in the U.S. from 18th- to early 20th-century. Focuses on relationship between the ideas of educational leaders and the practices of American public education.

6611  History of Teaching in the United States (3) 
   Examines teaching as a historically constructed and situated occupation. Focus on feminization of teaching, origins of teacher unionism, and development of professionalism in education.

6614  The Culture, Wars, and Educational Policy (3) 
   Focuses upon central debates over national educational policy: national curriculum, multicultural education, affirmative action in admissions, religion in the curriculum, and inclusion of gay and lesbian students.

6615  School, Work, and the State (3) 
   Basic principals and concepts that underlie Marxist, neo-Marxist, and other radical approaches to the study of education.

6616  History of Women's Education in the United States (3) Cross listed as WM ST 5616. 
   A historical and philosophical study of how the education of women has been understood in the United States. Addresses competing assumptions regarding purposes, values and standards.

6620  Seminar in Philosophy of Education (3) 
   Focuses on the philosophies which have undergirded student-centered pedagogies, specifically, the works of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, John Dewey, and Paulo Freire.

6621  Pragmatism and the Philosophy of John Dewey (3) 
   Looks at John Dewey's philosophy in the context of American pragmatism. Focuses on educational, political, cultural, and scientific issues.

6622  Feminist Epistemologies and Pedagogies (3) Cross listed as WM ST 5622. 
   Focuses on the role played by public vs. private assumptions in knowledge; individual and group experience, power, and difference. Highlights standpoint theories.

6623  African American Epistemologies and Pedagogies (3) 
   Examines a variety of African American approaches to knowledge and education. Addresses cultural and political dimensions of knowledge, theories of knowledge,and approaches to teaching.

6624  Whiteness Theory and Education (3) 
   This course examines theories that denormalize and decenter whiteness as the fallback framework for democracy and education.

6631  Minorities, Diversity, and Control in Public Schools (3) 
   Addresses issues of power and diversity regarding racial minorities in public schools. Social and theoretical constructions of diversity in education will be discussed in relation to the schools and various critical positions through research, social justice, policy, and equity.

6632  Issues and Research in Multicultural Education (3) 
   An advanced course in the history, concepts, and theoretical base for multicultural education as a field. Focus is on issues and research in the teaching and learning of cultural and linguistic minority students.

6633  Curriculum and Instruction in Multilingual Education (3) 
   Examines curriculum, pedagogical, and methodological issues in school settings with linguistically diverse students. A critical understanding of theory and practice of program and curriculum planning, teacher preparation, instruction, and classroom models and strategies will be emphasized.

6634  Bilingual/Bicultural Education (3) 
   A critical examination of bilingual/bicultural education and language issues in schools and communities, including legislation, court action, research in language learning, and different program types, i.e. ESL, transistional, bilingual/bicultural maintenance. This course includes a broad survey of case studies of bilingual/multilingual classrooms.

6635  Perspectives in Comparative Education (3) 
   Examines learning and teaching in formal and informal cultural settings outside the United States. Cross-cultural ethnographic studies will be analyzed from the perspectives of anthropology, sociology and cultural studies.

6636  Literacy as Cultural Practice (3) Cross listed as T L 6640. 
   Examines different perspectives on literacy and literate practice. Course readings, assignments, and discussions focus on what it means to say that literacy is not only the mastery of process that leads to acts of reading and writing, but is also a cultural, social, historical, and political practice.

6640  Sociology of U.S. Higher Education (3) 
   Examination of the sociological study of higher education, specifically in the United States. The course covers several theoretical approaches to the study of education and then examines a number of problems and questions regarding higher education.

6641  Text, Sign, and Performance: Critical Issues in Literacy (3) 
   This course draws from work in sociology, anthropology, linguistics, and cultural studies to explore intertextuality, representation, and the politics of difference in people's multiple literacy practices.

6641  Social Inequality in U.S. Higher Education (3) 
   Investigates the mechanisms by which higher educational institutions foster and maintain inequalities in U.S. society. Consideration is given to the kinds of inequalities which have historically existed in our society, to their bases and sources. Analysis of higher educational practices and structures related to the production and maintenance of inequalities is examined.

6642  Impact of College on Students (3) Cross listed as ELP 6560. 
   This course provides a framework for assessing and improving the organizational structures and programs that promote student learning and engagement, especially in the early stages of college. The main objective of this course is to review and synthesize research on the influence of college on students. To introduce students to major theoretical models of college effects on student change. This course will look at key historic, malevolent, and contemporary benign institutional and student related encounters that affect the 'integrating experience' for African-American and Latina/o college students.

6643  Affirmative Action & Diversity Policies in U.S. Higher Education (3) 
   This course covers the current research on affirmative action and diversity in higher education. The class is designed to provide a foundation for those implementing an affirmative action program or conducting research on the topic. There are five areas of concentration: 1) Overview, 2) Practice, 3) Legal/Policy, 4)Attitudes, Beliefs, and Experiences, and 5) the 'Next Phase.'

6650  Curriculum Inquiry and Practice (3) 
   Introduces students to the dominant traditions within the field of curriculum and considers how these theories might be translated into practice. The course should enable students to consider the assumptions embodied within a tradition, how the traditions differ from each other, and the practical implications of implementing a particular tradition in the school classroom.

6652  Advanced Curriculum Theory (3) 
   Focuses on exploring current thinking in the area of cultural marxist, feminist, and post-modern theories of curriculum. For each tradition we will explore the roots, assumptions, & implications in order to compare and contrast the traditions. Finally, this course should enable students to position themselves within these theoretical frameworks.

6655  Critical Pedagogy (3) 
   Considers a variety of pedagogies devoted to pursuing social change through education. The critical pedagogies of Paulo Freire, Ira Shor, and Henry Giroux are discussed. We also study feminist pedagogies which criticize and develop out of critical pedagogies.

6813  Teacher Research (3) Cross listed as T L 6813. 
   Explores teacher-research literature in its historical and methodological context, including findings from teachers' studies. Investigates teacher research practices and ways it can be used to study teaching and teacher education.

6830  Classics of Educational Literature (3) 
   Students will read and discuss some of the most influential writings in education. Content will vary depending on the specific area being considered. Authors vary.

6831  Issues and Action in School Change (3) Cross listed as T L 6831.
   Examines specific reform efforts, explores promising practices, and requires participation in a change project.

6950  Special Topics in Education (3) 
   Variable subject matter or experimental format. Topics offered on an occasion al and non-repeated basis.

6955  Field Projects in Education (1 to 3) 
   Field project involving educational research.

6960  Directed Reading and Research for Master's Students (1 to 9) 
   Independent study involving library based reading and research.

6970  Thesis Research: Master's (1 to 9) 
   Selecting, designing, and researching an appropriate problem for the master's thesis.

6980  Faculty Consultation: Master's (1 to 9) 

7610  History of Education in Twentieth-Century United States (3) 
   History of education from 1900 to the present with an emphasis in the social, economic, and political forces that have shaped the structure and ideology of American education in the 20th century.

7630  Anthropology and Education (3) 
   The American educational system from an anthropological perspective. Applies anthropological theories, using qualitative or ethnographic methods, in the study of schooling and education. Teaching and learning examined within the cultural context of formalized schooling.

7631  Sociological and Anthropological Theories in Education (3) 

7650  Schools and Inequality (3) 
   Combines ethnographic studies of students' resistance to schooling with curriculum research intended to explain the educational practices of U.S. schools. Focuses on the influence of divisions of class, race, and gender.

7670  Conceptual Issues in Qualitative Research (3) Cross listed as T L 7762. 
   This introductory research course examines connections among theoretical frameworks, research questions, and methods of data collection and analysis. Specific methods are not taught in detail.

7671  Qualitative Research Methods (3) Prerequisite: ECS 7670. 
   Focuses on a variety of data collection, analysis, and write-up methods for conducting qualitative research in schools and classrooms. Techniques, tools, and strategies of classroom research will be used by students in conducting research.

7672  Ethnographic Research Methods (3) Prerequisite: ECS 7670. 
   Ethnography in educational research; course examines this qualitative research method and its theoretical underpinnings and uses in fieldwork. Techniques, tools, and strategies of ethnography will be used by students in conducting research.

7673  Evaluating Qualitative Research (3) 
   Focuses on the evaluation and critique of qualitative methodology, design, and practice.

7950  Dissertation Seminar (3) 
   For students in education and related areas working on the dissertation proposal. Course focuses on defining a dissertation topic, translating a topic into a researchable question, making claims and how to support them, and the conventions of academic writing.

7960  Directed Reading and Research for Doctoral Students (1 to 9) 

7961  Directed Reading for Doctoral Preliminary Exam (1 to 3) 

7970  Thesis Research: Ph.D. (1 to 9) 
   Selecting, designing, and researching an appropriate problem for the doctoral thesis.

7980  Faculty Consultation: Ph.D. (1 to 9) 
   Independent consultation with faculty for doctoral students

7990  Continuing Registration (0) 
   For doctoral students admitted to candidacy.


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