Loyola University Chicago

Instructor:            Todd W. Waller            (twaller@luc.edu)      

Wednesdays:          1:00-3:35

Office Hours:         Monday 3:00-5:00

                              Wednesday 4:00 - 5:00

                              Thursday 3:00 – 5:00

Description:

Theory, actuality and application of select human rights issues in the Mediterranean region as viewed from the perspective of Rome.  This course includes 24 hours of required practical engagement with the local community. 

Background:

There are three primary themes to this class:

• Contemporary moral philosophy
• A review of current social issues within Italy and the Mediterranean region
• Self-reflection anchored in one’s experience from serving in the community

A primary theme of the course is an analysis of various contemporary philosophies pertaining to moral development.  In sum, a driving question will be for each student to develop his or her own perspective on what constitutes a moral society in a postmodern world (i.e. Spiritual Autobiography). 

A second theme is to gain a basic level of understanding of current pressing social problems facing Italy. Italy is situated in a geographic and political nexus where debates converge from across the Mediterranean, the Middle East, the Balkans and North Africa.  A few of the topics to be addressed by guest lecturers will be: the influence of Islam in the Mediterranean region, the need for Italy to welcome more immigrants in the face of a declining birth rate, and the racism encountered by many immigrants upon legal entry into Europe.

A third and central theme is for students to understand their service work on a personal level.  In the Jesuit tradition of working to morally educate the whole person, each class session will incorporate readings and creative methods from a range of religious traditions and academic disciplines allowing students to reflect on their strengths, weaknesses, and personal worldview.  Each session will include a reflective exercise (i.e. meditation, group activity, simulation game) and requires that students fully participate.  This is not a class in which one can sit and solely listen; active participation is expected. A re-occurring question in this course is how can one gain from his/her service experience in order to grow as an individual.  As a result of one’s service work and the reflection work (i.e. readings, class exercises, and journal work) it is envisioned that each of us will become more effective change agents working for the long haul.  At a minimum, an expected outcome is that each student’s moral values will be challenged as a result one’s service work while in Rome.  

Course Structure:

The course will include lectures, class discussions and student presentations.  Films primarily acquired from the Bologna Human Rights Night Films Festival will augment the readings in the course.  There will be three components to each class discussion. First, a brief introduction to the key moral authors/philosophers which will provide the backdrop for the day’s class discussion. The second part of each class will focus on current political or social issues impacting the Mediterranean region and will often include a guest speaker. Following a short break, the final part of each class will be a reflective session in which students analyze their work in the community.  Each student will be placed with a Rome based Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) which is the equivalent of a non-profit agency in the United States.

Course Expectations:

The class will meet a total of 12 times during the Semester. The final two class sessions will require that all students remain 10 minutes late in order that all students are given ample time to present their final project. We will meet on the Wednesday afternoon following the morning Papal visit.  We will not meet on the scheduled Friday “make-up day”.  In addition to in-class requirements, students will serve a minimum of 24 hours in the community. This does not include travel to and from the service site. Beginning in the second week of class students will start their service work. Students who have not begun their service work by week three will be encouraged to withdraw from the class.  The nature of the service requirement demands high levels of maturity and consistency from the Rome Center workers.  A map will be provided during your first week of studies and you are to find your service site independent of Professor Waller.  Excuses for not appearing at your service site will require a note from a medical doctor.

Objectives:

1. Contemporary moral philosophy
2. A review of current social issues within Italy and the Mediterranean region
3. Self-reflection anchored in one’s experience while serving in the community

Theme 1: Contemporary moral philosophy

• To compare and contrast the research and teachings of contemporary moral philosophers (Illich, Krishnamurti, etc.)

Theme 2: Social review of contemporary issues within Italy and the Mediterranean region.

• To learn about Italian and Mediterranean movements for social change.

Theme 3: Self-reflection anchored in one’s experience from serving in the community.

• To analyze some of the philosophical roots of community service specifically in light of the Jesuit vision of education.
• To move beyond the intellectualization of social issues and reflect on the potential for personal and emotional growth as a result of one’s service experience.

Schedule:

Planning ahead (optional):  March 27 to April 5, 2009.

The Bologna Human Right Nights Film Festival  / (www.humanrightsnights.org)

Week 1: January 14

Topic: Introduction and class description

Films: Clyde (5 Minutes)

            Bella Ciao: The 2001 G8 Summit in Genova (excerpts)

Reading to be discussed in class:

Moon, Susan. 2004. “On Beggars.”  Not Turning Away, The Practice of Engaged Buddhism.  Boston. Shambala Press.

Please Note: Class will meet next Wednesday (January 21) following the morning Papal Audience visit at 1:30 pm.

Week 2: January 21

Topic: Immigration: Who are our new Roman neighbors?

Film: Tarifa Traffic: Death in the Straits of Gibraltar (2003 Denmark / clips)

Guest Speaker: Chiara Peri, Centro Astalli Director, Jesuit Refugee Services.

The JRS provides relief services to refugees and asylum seekers primarily in South Asia and Africa. Centro Astalli focuses on immigrant needs in Rome.

Readings to be discussed in class:

Al-Azar. (2006) “Italian Immigration Policies: The Metaphor of Water.” BC Journal of International Affairs, Spring 2006.

McIntosh, Peggy. (1989) “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Backpack.” Peace and Freedom, July/August 1989

Week 3: January 28

Due to the fact that many will have attended the Papal Audience, class will begin 30 minutes late.  Please be present for class at 1:30 pm

Journal Entry #1 due via email before noon on Wednesday

Topic: Racism and xenophobia

Film: Medecins Sans Frontieres / Immigrant camps in Italy

Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors without Borders)

Doctors without Borders is headquartered in Brussels and provides medical relief for refugees in camps across the globe.  The Italian office serves immigrants in Italy.

Guest Speaker: To be announced

Readings to be discussed in class:

“Italy takes a hard line on migrants.” International Herald Tribune. October 4, 2004

Glenny, Misha. 2008.  “This xenophobia reveals the power of organized crime.”  The Gaurdian, May 21, 2008

Optional Reading:

JRS (Jesuit Refugee Services) Position on Proposals to Create Transit Camps in North Africa for Migrants / Asylum-Seekers. www.jrs.org. October 2004.

Week 4: February 4

Journal Entry #2 due via email before noon on Wednesday

Topic: Models of Social Change

Films: Lufthansa Airlines Deportation Class (Florian Schneider / 2002 Germany).

Reading to be discussed in class:

Sachs, Jeffrey (2005), “The End of Poverty,” Time Magazine, March 14, 2005

llich, Ivan S.J., “To Hell with Good Intentions.”

Optional Readings: 

Lakey, George (2005). ‘Pushing Our Thinking About People Power: three applications of non-violent action.’  TFC Training for Change Website; www.trainingforchange.org

Sontag, Susan, May 5, 2003. “Courage and Resistance,” The Nation.

Week 5: February 11   

Journal Entry #3 due via email before noon on Wednesday

Topic: Religion and Social Change

(Time will also be set aside during this class for an in-depth review of service sites)

Audio Lecture: Mother Teresa, 1978. Audio taped lecture given at Boys Town in Omaha, Nebraska.

Reading:  Nolan, Albert (1985). The Service of the Poor and Spiritual Growth, Justice Papers, No. 6.  Catholic Institute for International Relations, London. p. 3-11.

Week 6: February 18   

Journal Entry #4 due via email before noon on Wednesday

Topic: Moral Development; what makes for a ‘civil’ society?

Film:  Killing Time: Women Activists Awaiting Justice (Waller-Fabretti /USA-Italy 2001/ 23 minutes)

Audio Tape: Buddhist Monk, Thich Nhat Hahn,“The Practice of Peace.”         November 2003 lecture held at Plum Village France. 

Readings to be discussed in class:

Vanden Eynde, M. (2005). ‘Reflection on Martha Nussbaum’s Work on Compassion from a Buddhist Perspective.’ The Journal of Buddhist Ethics. ISSN 1076-9005 Available at http://jbe.gold.ac.uk/    

Please Note: Time will be devoted during this class period for reviewing the criteria for final assignments.

Week 7: February 25 - No Class today; Todd Waller will be out of town

Journal Entry #5 due via email before noon on Wednesday

Week 8: March 4

Journal Entry #7 due via email before noon on Wednesday

Topic: Being Compassionate versus “acting” Compassionate

Film:   Krishnamurti and Conversations with Fr. Eugene Shallert S.J. (1972 / clips)

Reading to be discussed in Class:

Krishnamurti, J. 1996 Total Freedom, Read Preface and Part 2,

“Insights into everyday life.” P. 59-66

Wednesday, March 11 – No Class Spring Break

Week 9: (Part I): Tuesday March 17 – 7:30 PM

GL 2 (we will not meet in Sala Chandler) – Open to entire Rome Center Community

Topic: Rom and Roma (“Rom” is the correct terminology for gypsies)

Evening Guest Speakers: Sevla Hidanovic & Roberto Saora;

Film Producer and Rom Activist

Film and Lecture: Life in a Rome Gypsy “Rom” Community (20 minutes)

Week 8 (Part II): March 18

Wednesday’s March 18 Class will begin at 2:15 in order to accommodate for the previous evening’s lecture.

Journal Entry #6 due via email before noon on Wednesday

Topic: Rom and Roma

Readings to be discussed in class:

European Commission Against Racism and Intolerance: Second Report on Italy, 22 June 2001, Strasbourg. (Excerpts)

“End Europe’s ugly racism towards Roma,” The International Herald Tribune, March 1, 2005.

Please note: All paper topics are to be confirmed by this date. A two paragraph description is due at the start of class.

Week 10: March 25

Journal Entry #8 due via email before noon on Wednesday

Topic: Italy and Islam

Guest Speaker: To be announced

Film: Gaza Strip (excerpts from the film by James Longley, USA / 2002, 74 Minutes)

Readings to be discussed in class:     

“Rachel’s War,” March, 2003. The Guardian.

“A Poor Fit for an Immigrant: After 20 Years of Hard Work in Italy, Still Not Italian.” January 1, 2006. The New York Times.

Week 11: April 1 – John Felice Rome Center International Conference

Journal Entry #9 due via email before noon on Wednesday

The Changing Face of the Mediterranean: Migrant Woman’s Creativity & Constraints

Locations: Centro Studi Americani  / Via Michelangelo Caetani, 32

2:30-4:30         Conference Panel #2: Topic: Faith and Tradition

Chair: Dr. Susan Ross, Professor of Theology, Department of Theology,

Loyola University Chicago

                    

                        Panelists:

1.      “The Future has an Ancient Heart: Transformational African Migration

Paths Around the Mediterranean,”

Dr. Lucia Chiavola-Birnbaum, Professor of Philosophy and Religion, California Institute of Integral Studies

 

2. “Living with the Qur'an between the Worlds,”

Dr. Halima Krausen, Islamic Theologian, An-Nisa Society

 

3.      “Pilgrims in the Wilderness: Religion and Filipino Women in the

Context of Migration,”

Dr. Gemma Cruz, Program in Catholic Studies, DePaul University 

 

Discussant:

4. Dr. Ahmad Vincenzo, Professor of Law, Universita Federico II di Napoli

Week 12: April 8

All first drafts of final papers are due

Final Journal Entry #10 due via email before noon on Wednesday

Final Paper: individual presentations

Week 13: April 15

Topic: Spiritual Activism

Guest Speaker: Sean O’Neil (Rome Center Class of 2001) has been working in Palestine for the past two years as a non-violent activist engaged in protecting shepards from attacks by Israeli settlers.  Sean will discuss his work, politics of the mid east and his approach to non violent intervention.

Final Paper: individual presentations

Week 14: April 22

Final Paper: individual presentations

Evening dinner at Prof. Waller’s home

 

Grading:

A. Class Participation 40 points

B. Three Quizzes 40 points

B. Community Service 100 points

C. Journal Entry / Collected weekly via email 120 Points (12 points per journal entry)

D. Final Paper & Presentation: 200 points

     Students may choose between a social justice topic, a client narrative, or one’s spiritual autobiography.

500 total points

A   = 957 up

A-  = 914 up

B+ = 871 up

B   = 828 up

B-  = 785 up

C+ = 742 up

C   = 699 up

C-  = 656 up

D+ = 613 up

Extra Credit:  Friday Night Food Run (7 Points per Volunteer Experience)

It is possible to acquire extra credit by participating in the Friday Evening Food Run.   Julio Vincente has been preparing meals for 27 years for homeless people living in the parks of Rome.  JFRC student are allowed to assist in the distribution of sandwiches and clothes on Friday evenings. You are to coordinate the evening on your own. All is rather straight forward, depart from the JFRC at 6:45 pm and arrive at the Piramide at 7:30 pm.  Please feel free to bring other students with you if you so desire.  You need to meet Mr. and Mrs. Vincente and the other volunteers at the PIRAMIDE which is directly across the street from the OSTIENSE Train stop.  Take the Balduina train (near the Rome Center Calcio fields) and exit at Ostiense.  You will finish your food distribution near at Piazza Sant Pietro in the Vatican City.  The Food Run will finish at approximately 9:00 pm.  It is critical that you send Professor Waller an email titled “Friday Night Food Run” with a brief journal entry as to what occurred at the actual Food Run.  This is considered a separate email and not part of your weekly service learning email journal entry.

A.  Class Participation:   40 points

Attendance will be taken every class period. Students are expected to attend all class periods. Those who arrive more than ten minutes late will not be counted for the day.

B.  Three Quizzes:   40 points

Three quizzes will be given during the course of the Semester.  The days in which the quizzes will be give will not be announced in advance. All are expected to come to class having read the material for the week and be willing to discuss the content. Each quiz will ask a few simple questions related to the day’s readings.  Those who have come to class having pre-read the day’s readings will have no problems answering the quiz questions.

C. Community Service Placement Site:  100 Points
Students choose a nonprofit (non governmental) organization that is working on issues of social change. They will spend 24 – 30 hours at the site during the semester. They will plug into this agency as a volunteer. Students will get to know the agency’s work, mission, etc. 

Service Sites: (see class reader for details)

Missionaries of Charity, Sant’Egidio Soup Kitchen, International Youth Action for Peace

Joel Nafuma Refugee Center, Jesuit Refugee Services Rome Outreach Center, etc.

During class periods, students may be asked to discuss their service learning experiences. Typically, students will be asked to describe their specific on-site activities and relate their experiences to the topic being discussed in class. Students are expected to participate in those discussions.

While volunteering at a local service organization, students will be expected to act in a responsible manner. Each student must keep scheduled work hours and complete assigned duties. Students also are expected to maintain good working relationships with supervisors and peers. Conduct that is deemed unacceptable to the agency supervisor may result in the student being dismissed from that placement and from the course. In the unlikely event a student were to not be present at his/her agency on a particular week it is mandatory that he/she send and email or place a phone call to the agency describing the purpose of one’s absence.  Students will not be excused due to individual travel needs.  Failure to appear due to an illness will require a note from the campus doctor (Dr. Scarpa). Failure to appear at your site during your assigned time reflects poorly on the entire Loyola community.

On occasion a full-year JFRC student will want to use his/her internship site as a service learning site.  This “might” be possible but normally requires an additional 4 night commitment, during the entire semester, to the Friday Night Food Run as well as a final paper which is 3500 words in length.  All agreements for full-year students hoping to combine their internship with their service learning work must be pre-arranged with Professor Waller. Only internship sites which have a clear human-to-human and a social justice focus will be considered (i.e. YAP, Emergency, Caritas, etc)

D.  Journal Entry: 120 Points

Students will write weekly journals on this experience (12 points each). Each journal should include at least one of the following:

-a summary of volunteer activities
-what the student has learned
-relate the experience to readings and discussions from class
-anything else a student might think is important.

Journals must be submitted via email and may be brief.  Each journal entry must be a minimum of two paragraphs (100 words) and no longer than 800 words.  Please submit your journal no later than NOON on the Wednesday in which it is due.  Send your journal entry to twaller@luc.edu.   Any journal received past the noon deadline will automatically be marked down by 50%.

E. Topical Paper, Oral Histories or one’s Spiritual Autobiography: (200 Points)

A student may choose one of three options for his / her final paper.  Option one is to develop a social justice topic area which has been discussed in class.  Students are free to choose a topic (to be approved by Prof. Waller) examples might include: gypsy lifestyles, immigration, the future of Islam in Italy, human rights and recent immigrants, charity versus justice models of change, the status of the European youth anti global movement, racism in Italy, etc. This is not meant to be an exhaustive list.

A second option exist allowing students to interview individuals they have spent time with during the course of their service work.  The interviews are to capture the oral histories of immigrants in Italy. The final paper will require that the oral histories are augmented by at least five sources other than readings from class. In essence the interviews cannot stand alone; each oral narrative will need background information to place the story in a broader context in relation to topics that had been reviewed in class. 

Finally, students will be given a third option which is to write a “Spiritual Autobiography.” Guidelines will be provided explaining how this process will unfold. It is recommended that the Spiritual Autobiography contains background information on one’s family, education, etc – dimensions of difference.  The body of the paper will explore how one’s life might change or deepen based on the teachings of a particular contemporary theologian or spiritual teacher.  The final aspect of your Spiritual Autobiography needs to articulate your vision. Due to the confidential nature of your story the actual classroom presentation may be slightly abbreviated and will most likely not reflect the final paper to be submitted for your grade.  Once again, the writing must be grounded in academic sources from both the classroom readings, discussions and elsewhere.

During the sixth week (February 18) of class an outline will be provided offering guidance on the format for the final paper.  All topics for final papers must be approved no later than March 11.  A draft of your final papers is due on April 8.  A “draft” implies that your paper is 80% complete.  Each student will be required to deliver a ten minute presentation on his/her topic on either April 8, 15, or 22. All papers must use primary and secondary sources.   Wilkipedia is NOT considered a source but may be useful for directing you towards primary and secondary sources.

The final paper must be 3000 words in length (no longer than 3100 or shorter than 2900). It is essential that all quotes in the text are referenced properly, using an established style of referencing (e.g. Harvard style, APA style – see the “Referencing Style” information in the final pages of your course reader).