GEOG 128
Geography of International Affairs

GEOGRAPHY 128: Geography of International Affairs

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This syllabus is divided into several sections. You can read it sequentially by scrolling down the length of the document or by clicking on any of the links below to “jump” to a specific section. It is essential that you read the entire document as well as material covered in the Course Orientation. Together these serve as our course "contract."

Instructor

Instructor

Melissa Y. Rock received her Ph.D. in Geography and Women's Studies from The Pennsylvania State University. Her dissertation, titled Splintering Beijing: Socio-spatial fragmentation, commodification, and gentrification in the hutong neighborhoods of Old Beijing, investigated the impacts of Olympic urban redevelopment upon low-income and marginalized communities in China's capital city. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Geography, core faculty in the Asian Studies program, and affiliate faculty in the Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGSS) Department at the State University of New York (SUNY) at New Paltz. She teaches a wide range of human geography courses including Human Geography, Political Geography, Gender and Geography, Cultural Geography, Contemporary China, Global Cities, and Geography of International Affairs. She received her Masters in International Relations from Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, and a bachelor's degree from the University of Oregon in Environmental Studies and International Studies. Melissa is also a Teach for America Alumna (2000, Oakland, CA), a 2004 NSEP Boren Fellow (China), and a 2008 Fulbright Fellow (China).

E-mail: Send all e-mail to me at myr100@psu.edu or via Canvas.

To make sure that you will receive Canvas e-mails, please follow the guide on How do I set my Canvas notification preferences?

Office Hours: May be established on an as-needed basis once the semester has begun.

NOTE:

I will read and respond to e-mail at least once per day during the work week (Monday through Friday). I will attempt to respond to emails at least once over the weekend. If you have any general course questions, please post them to our Course Questions discussion located in the General Information Module in Canvas. I will check that discussion forum regularly to respond as appropriate. While you are there, feel free to post your own responses and comments if you are able to help out a classmate.

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Course Overview

When we think of international affairs, we often think of the United Nations, foreign wars, and world trade summits. Though the geography of international affairs is certainly comprised of these and other such elements, each of these has a historical antecedent and a theoretical frame. In order to understand the realm of international affairs in its contemporary context, it is necessary to understand how we got here. One fundamental part of this is understanding how our global political system came to be and how contemporary systems are based on past iterations. The other fundamental part is to understand the theories that shaped these developments insofar as their influence on global political systems. In this course, we will examine the global political system as it is, as it was, and as it might be in the future.

Course Objectives

This course provides you with conceptual tools, which will enable you to not only understand, analyze, and explain international affairs/geopolitical phenomena for academic purposes, but also to use these concepts in ‘real’ life so that you develop critical skills to comprehend, and articulate your reality more comprehensively. I encourage you to think critically; think critically means to delve really deep beneath appearances, superficiality, and manifestations to understand the mechanisms, the nuts and bolts, systemic imperatives, and the hidden power structures guiding events and phenomena.

You will be introduced to the World of Geography, and demonstrate the use of spatial perspectives (like territory, resources, raw material, place-based specialized labor) in understanding and explaining global and local events.

Learning Outcomes

By taking this course, students will:

  1. become familiar with the major approaches in political geography for examining territorial forms, structures, and change; and
  2. develop critical reading and analytical skills to aid in better understanding contemporary global, regional, and national debates and issues of geopolitical importance.

Expectations

On average, most students spend eight to ten hours per week working on course assignments. Your workload may be more or less depending on your study habits.

I have worked hard to make this the most effective and convenient educational experience possible. The Internet may still be a novel learning environment for you, but in one sense it is no different from a traditional college class: how much and how well you learn is ultimately up to you. You will succeed if you are diligent about keeping up with the class schedule and if you take advantage of opportunities to communicate with me as well as with your fellow students.

Specific learning objectives for each lesson and project are detailed within each lesson. The class schedule (including all assignment due dates) can be found in the Calendar in Canvas (the learning management system used for this course).


Required Course Materials

Introduction to Geopolitics (3rd Edition), by Colin Flint (Routledge), ISBN 978-1138192164

Most assigned readings will be out of Flint’s Introduction to Geopolitics. Additional reading and viewing assignments will be accessible in Canvas and via this course space. Assigned readings can be accessed via the Course Schedule below.

Additional Resources

  • New York Times: All PSU students (including World Campus) do have access to the digital version of the NY Times.
  • Videos: Throughout the course, we will watch videos (full or in part) on relevant topics. The purpose of these videos is to foster connections between the theoretical material and real-world issues. They will not only serve to add new content (case studies) for discussion but provide an important ‘eye’ into various issues we will discuss throughout the semester. As it is impossible to actually travel to various places discussed in this course to conduct ethnographic, or embodied and in-the-field research, such video content will allow us a greater ability to engage with critical and feminist (see prologue) analysis of contemporary geopolitics.
  • International News Source: To choose an English language news source based on your research project country/region go to PSU’s International News Databases.

Assignments and Grading

This course will rely on a variety of methods to assess and evaluate student learning, including:

  • Introductory Blog Post (5%)
  • Geopolitical Analysis Blog (40%)
  • Introduction to Geopolitics (Flint, 3rd Edition) Reading Quizzes (20%)
  • Multi-Media Research Project (MMRP) (25%)
    • NOTE: This course requires students to maintain a web presence that may include things such as video sharing and other Internet participation. You will be required to participate in online activities that are widely accessible to all, including others outside of Penn State.
  • Peer Review and Analysis of All Groups’ Multi-media Research Project (5%)
  • Reflective Essay (5%)

Please read below for more detailed descriptions of the above assignments. Assignment due dates are listed in Canvas.


Introductory Blog Post (5%):

In Lesson 1, you will be asked to complete a blog post comprised of five components. This post will allow you to share a little bit about yourself with the rest of the class while becoming familiar with Canvas discussions, as well as my expectations for your writing.

Assessment:

  • 5% Introductory Blog Post

Geopolitical Analysis Blog Assignment (40%):

  • 2x/semester + comments on group member’s posts (8 weeks)
  • NYTimes & one other English language news source from the targeted/researched country or region

Blog Assignment Summary

Similar to your group multi-media project, this assignment is facilitated through group interaction and engagement. The activities at the end of each lesson will provide you with instructions for what to focus on in your blog post. Each team member will compose two blog posts (approximately 500 words) throughout the semester. In addition, you will be commenting (approximately 200 words) on each of the blog posts from your members when they take the lead. After your teammates comment on your original blog post, you will then respond (approximately 200 words) to their cumulative comments in a summative post/analysis (within the comment section of that original post).

In total, you will compose two blog posts and two subsequent summative responses as well as six blog comments by the end of the semester.

News Resources & Recommended Databases

  • Highly recommended: All PSU students (including World Campus) do have access to the digital version of the NY Times.
  • Highly recommended: To choose an English language news source based on your research project country/region, go to PSU’s International News Databases
  • Recommended: Historical archives, academic and peer-reviewed journals and official government documents – both US-based as well as official documents from your country/region.
  • Not recommended: Wikipedia, Reddit, personal blogs and the like. While these types of sources can be very informative, the information posted is not exactly peer-reviewed and vetted (with the exception of Wikipedia – but some pages are better than others, and those pages that need more cleaning up are flagged if you go to the site; but looking at a reference/citation, I would not be able to be 100% sure).

This assignment is facilitated through group interaction and engagement. The activities at the end of each lesson will provide you with instructions for what to focus on in your blog post.

Each blog post should 1) connect to the course content, 2) connect to that assigned lesson’s activity, 3) highlight the important geopolitical aspects of the articles, and 4) utilize the recommended resources (listed in the previous section) to discuss how such treatment of the topic is connected to the respective geopolitical national interest.

A brief note on this assignment: The intention of this assignment is not only to encourage us to get to know the international current event of our assigned country/region but also to better understand how these current events are represented in the media. How are the current events and issues discursively constructed (Flint, Prologue, Pg. 4) to project the geopolitical interest of that particular state/region? Through gaining familiarity with the news sources based in your country you will come to better understand the topics of primary concern to that country. You will also start to be able to understand the geopolitical code of that country. That is, this assignment should help you be able to discern who are the country’s (current or future) geopolitical friends and allies and who might be their (current or future) enemies or challengers.

One limitation of this assignment is that we are utilizing the English language version of the digital international news sources. To gain a better understanding and more revealing insight into the particular national perspective on an issue, we would want to read the news in the national language (i.e., French, Spanish, Arabic, Mandarin, etc.) – because the English version vs. native language version of a newspaper (yes, the very same newspaper) can actually differ in their emphasis on particular points and angles of a story. Here is a more extreme example of this practice.

And, although you may be fluent in a second, third, or fourth language, I would be challenged to assess your reading and comprehension proficiency in your selected foreign language (for the entire class—unless everyone chose Mandarin, which is unlikely), and so we will limit our examination of international current events in the media to English language sources.

Please Note

To say that many people have strong, often passionate, feelings about politics would be an understatement. What we will encounter in this news-oriented discussion, and in the content of this course, can, and likely will, elicit strong feelings and opinions on a wide variety of topics. Why? Because these events are real, ongoing, and touch our lives. Some events may feel more abstract and distant from some of us, while others may have friends or relatives who are directly dealing with the events we hear about in the news.

I am a firm believer in academic freedom and freedom of speech. Nonetheless, dialogue and conversation via e-mail, blog, and so forth, require that we understand some basic rules of "netiquette" to maintain our academic integrity and virtual classroom civility. I want to encourage conversation and dialogue (within our formal assignments as well as in your various discussions with classmates) that are based on a framework of mutual respect and a desire for continued and deeper understanding of the issues at hand and also the multiple perspectives represented.

Healthy debate and exploration are encouraged in your blog posts. At the same time, you must support your well thought out claims and analysis with accurate and appropriate references. Points will be docked when the rules of decorum are disregarded.

Citing Sources

Papers and projects for this class require both in-text citations and a reference or works cited list. The discipline of Geography and many other Social Sciences require the use of the APA citation format. Since it the convention of the discipline, it is important for you to know how to use this format. If you are not familiar with APA format, see the links below for help.

Why are citations important? Well, in an academic environment citations are important for at least two basic reasons. The first is to give credit to the author(s) from whom you have read and found their ideas worth repeating (whether paraphrasing, building from their foundation, or directly quoting). Using someone’s work without proper citation is considered plagiarism because without proper citation your readers are going to assume you came up with that idea, claim, argument, and so forth. Thus, it’s truly important to acknowledge (through proper in-text citations) whose ideas, thoughts, and arguments you are building from. Secondly, proper citations are important and advantageous to you because you are letting your reader know that the claims you are putting forth have been built on the foundations of other respected scholars/thinkers. In choosing what resources you will be working with, you are choosing which scholars (and which of their ideas/claims/arguments) will be supporting your research—or, in some cases, you will cite certain scholars and their works to highlight that you are deliberately not in agreement with their ideas/claims/arguments. In short, your selection of scholarly resources tells your readers which authors you are engaging with. Lastly, if you have a question about how to cite sources, do contact me—or reach out to your classmates—to get clarification. Some sources may seem hard to figure out how to cite, but there is a proper citation format for pretty much every source of information out there—from a book to a podcast to an e-mail exchange.

Geopolitical Analysis Blog Schedule
Assignment Timeline Due date (Submitted by midnight on the dates below)
Introductory Geopolitical Analysis Blog Post - (All students complete) 1/26 (Friday)
Blog 1A  2/9 (Friday)
2/3/4 comment 2/13 (Tuesday)
1A responds 2/16 (Friday)
Blog 2A  2/16 (Friday)
3/4/1 comment 2/20 (Tuesday)
2A responds 2/23 (Friday)
Blog 3A  2/23 (Friday)
4/1/2 comment 2/27 (Tuesday)
3A responds 3/2 (Friday)
Blog 4A  3/16 (Friday)
1/2/3 comment 3/20 (Tuesday)
4A responds 3/23 (Friday)
Blog 1B  3/23 (Friday)
2/3/4 comment 3/27 (Tuesday)
1B responds 3/30 (Friday)
Blog 2B  3/30 (Friday)
3/4/1 comment 4/3 (Tuesday)
2B responds 4/6 (Friday)
Blog 3B  4/6 (Friday)
4/1/2 comment 4/10 (Tuesday)
3B responds 4/13 (Friday)
Blog 4B  4/13 (Friday)
1/2/3 comment 4/17 (Tuesday)
4B responds 4/20 (Friday)

Assessment

  • 30%: 2 x 15% for each blog post + follow up responses to comments
  • 10%: quality of comments/discussion about on your team members’ blog posts

Introduction to Geopolitics (Flint, 3rd Edition) Reading Quizzes (20%):

You will be quizzed on your readings assignments for each week where one group member is submitting a blog post. The quiz will be due on the Friday that the initial blog post is due. These quizzes are designed to encourage you to complete your readings on time so that you can productively contribute to your group's ongoing blog discussion and assignments as you comment on each week's blog post. Each week there is a quiz, you will have three chances to take the quiz and your best of the three scores will be recorded for your quiz grade that week. The quiz questions can change between each quiz attempt. You will have 20 minutes to complete each quiz attempt. I strongly suggest that you read the Flint chapters in advance of taking the quiz. (You may, of course, have your book in front of you when you take the quiz. You'll do best having read the material in advance so that you will know where to consult in the book to check your answer selection before submitting!)

Reading Quiz Schedule
Assignment Timeline Due date (Submitted by midnight on the dates below)
Reading Quiz 1 (Lesson 2 readings) 2/9 (Friday)
Reading Quiz 2 (Lesson 3 readings) 2/16 (Friday)
Reading Quiz 3 (Lesson 4 readings) 2/23 (Friday)
Reading Quiz 4 (Lesson 6 readings) 3/16 (Friday)
Reading Quiz 5 (Lesson 7 readings) 3/23 (Friday)
Reading Quiz 6 (Lesson 8 readings) 3/30 (Friday)
Reading Quiz 7 (Lesson 9 readings) 4/6 (Friday)
Reading Quiz 8 (Lesson 10 readings) 4/13 (Friday)

Assessment:

  • 20%: 8 x 2.5% for each reading quiz

Group Multi-Media Research Project (25%):

  • 4 members to a group – all will contribute to creating the Multi-Media Research Project

You will collaborate by utilizing the online discussion forums and shared folders to upload research, links and video clip content. To actually create the MMRP on our course blog space, you will be working (together) with StoryMapsJS, TimelineJS, PSU's video archives as well as academic journals. There will be more information forthcoming about the expectations for this assignment.

Assessment:

  • 2% StoryMap introduction
  • 5% Outline of components
    • Introductory paragraph
    • Annotated list of video resources
    • StoryMaps draft (description of ideas or mock-ups)
    • Timeline draft (chronology of dates/events listed in excel)
  • 5% Rough Draft of MMRP
  • 3% Rough Draft Critique and Proposed Edits/Modifications
  • 10% Final Draft of Video

Peer Review and Analysis of All Groups’ MMRPs (5%):

After the completion of your multi-media research project, you will be asked to view, analyze, and evaluate the completed MMRPs of your fellow classmates. I will provide you with the forms and criteria for completing the peer review and analysis as the course progresses.

Assessment:

  • 5% Peer Review and Analysis

Reflective Essay (5%):

The reflective essay is a one-page, single-spaced writing assignment that is due during the last week of class. The reflective essay should draw connections between course material including readings, films, and blog posts, as well as from your collaborative multi-media research project assignment. This is your time to reflect on what you learned throughout the semester and draw some preliminary conclusions on how you think this course provided a new perspective with which to understand our globalizing world. It should not be a summary of class content, but a personal reflection regarding how the content of the course has influenced your ability (set of tools with which) to analyze a variety of current events. As you reflect on the course, you might look back over the various materials and ask yourself, “in five years what (of this material) will stick out as most memorable and influential in shaping the way I understand the complexity of our globalized world?”

Assessment:

  • 5% Reflective Essay

It is important that your work is submitted in the proper format to Canvas by the designated due date. I strongly advise that you not wait until the last minute to complete these assignments—give yourself time to ask questions, think things over, and chat with others. You'll learn more, do better...and be happier!

Due dates for all assignments are posted in Canvas.

Grading

Your final grade will be based on the following calculation:
Assignment Percent of Grade
Introductory Blog Post 5%
Geopolitical Analysis Blog  40%
Reading Quizzes 20%
Multi-Media Research Project (MMRP) 25%
Peer Review and Analysis (of the MMRP) 5%
Reflective Essay 5%

I will use the Canvas grade book to keep track of your grades. You can see your grades in the grade book, too, by clicking on Grades in Canvas. Final grades will not be curved. The following ranking system will be used to determine final grades for the course:

Letter Grade and Corresponding Percentages
Letter Grade Percentages
A 93 - 100
A- 90 - 92
B+ 87 - 89
B 83 - 86
B- 80 - 82
C+ 77 - 79
C 70 - 76
D 60 - 69
F < 60
X Unsatisfactory (student did not participate)

Note: Final grades will not be rounded up to the nearest whole number, or letter grade. For instance, if you have a total of 92.75, you still get an A-, rather than an A (see above). In order to get an A, you must have a 93 or higher.

GEOG 128 Course Schedule

imagePrintable Schedule

Below you will find a summary of the primary learning activities for this course and the associated time frames. This course is fifteen weeks in length, with twelve lessons and an orientation week preceding the official start of the course. Two of the lessons are two weeks long. The remainder of the lessons are one week in length. See our Calendar in Canvas for specific lesson time frames and assignment due dates.

NOTE: See Canvas for a full semester list of assignments and due dates.

Orientation
Topics Orientation to the online course.
Readings/Assignments Online orientation material, Orientation Assignments (StoryMap Introduction Assignment due!)
Unit 1: Introduction
Lesson 1: Geopolitics - An Introduction to Historical Roots and Theories 
Group Project Timeline Introduce the group MMRP, assign groups.
Readings/Assignments See Lesson 1 in Canvas for due dates and directions.
Unit 2: Geopolitical Agency
Lesson 2: Geopolitical Agency - The Concept of Political Codes
Group Project Timeline Narrow research focus, establish group work responsibilities and communication expectations.
Readings/Assignments See Lesson 2 in Canvas for due dates and directions.
Lesson 3: Justifying Geopolitical Agency - Representing Geopolitical Codes
Group Project Timeline Research: video archives, academic journals, newsprint & broadcasts, historical archives
Readings/Assignments See Lesson 3 in Canvas for due dates and directions.
Unit 3: Geopolitical Boundaries, Territories & Identities
Lesson 4: Embedding Geopolitics Within National Identity
Group Project Timeline Research: video archives, academic journals, newsprint & broadcasts, historical archives
Readings/Assignments See Lesson 4 in Canvas for due dates and directions.
Lesson 5: Territorial Geopolitics - Shaky Foundations of the World Political Map?
Group Project Timeline Research: video archives, academic journals, newsprint & broadcasts, historical archives (Outline of all elements due next week!)
Readings/Assignments See Lesson 5 in Canvas for due dates and directions.

Unit 4: Geopolitical Globalization - Spaces of Flows (People & Data)
Lesson 6: Network Geopolitics - Social Movements and Terrorists
Group Project Timeline Outline of MMRP due
Readings/Assignments See Lesson 6 in Canvas for due dates and directions.
Unit 5: Geopolitical Positioning, Power & Agency: The Modelski Model
Lesson 7: Global Geopolitical Structure - Framing Agency
Group Project Timeline Working on your MMRP draft (due in two weeks!)
Readings/Assignments See Lesson 7 in Canvas for due dates and directions.
Unit 6: Special Topics
Lesson 8: Economic Globalization
Group Project Timeline Working on your MMRP draft (due next week!)
Readings/Assignments See Lesson 8 in Canvas for due dates and directions.
Lesson 9: China on the Rise
Group Project Timeline Completed draft of MMRP due.
Readings/Assignments See Lesson 9 in Canvas for due dates and directions.
Lesson 10: North Korea
Group Project Timeline Peer comments on 1st drafts, compiling a list of editing/further research "to do's".
Readings/Assignments See Lesson 10 in Canvas for due dates and directions.
Lesson 11: Environmental Geopolitics - Security and Sustainability
Group Project Timeline Edit, edit, edit!
Readings/Assignments See Lesson 11 in Canvas for due dates and directions.
Unit 7: Conclusion
Lesson 12: Messy Geopolitics - Agency and Multiple Structures
Group Project Timeline Final MMRPs are due.
Readings/Assignments See Lesson 12 in Canvas for due dates and directions.
Exam Period
Group Project Timeline Review of other teams' MMRP policy memos.
Readings/Viewings Multi-Media Research Projects (MMRP)
Assignments

Peer Review and Analysis


Course Policies

Academic Dishonesty

Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated and will result in an automatic ‘F’ for the course grade, as well as possible disciplinary action by the university. This consists of cheating on exams or plagiarism on the papers. Plagiarism includes using another author’s work as your own or fabricating information or citations in your paper. Properly citing sources is absolutely fundamental to academic writing, so if you have any questions about whether you are adequately citing your sources, please discuss them with me during office hours. For further information on the EMS College’s academic dishonesty policy, see the Academic Integrity and Research Ethics website.

Late Policy

I do not accept any "late work." Many of your assignments are group oriented in scope, and as such, any late work can adversely impact your classmates' work as well. In exceptional circumstances, you should contact me to discuss a reasonable accommodation for submitting late work. The earlier you contact me to request a late submission, the better. Requests will be considered on a case by case basis.

Technical Requirements

For this course, we recommend the minimum technical requirements outlined on the World Campus Technical Requirements page, including the requirements listed for same-time, synchronous communications. If you need technical assistance at any point during the course, please contact the IT Service Desk.

Internet Connection

Access to a reliable Internet connection is required for this course. A problem with your Internet access may not be used as an excuse for late, missing, or incomplete coursework. If you experience problems with your Internet connection while working on this course, it is your responsibility to find an alternative Internet access point, such as a public library or Wi-Fi ® hotspot.

Equations

This course must be viewed using the latest version of Firefox, Safari, Chrome, or Edge. Internet Explorer is not supported. If you use any other browser, or if you are not using the latest version of your browser, some pages containing equations may not render properly. In addition, javascript must be enabled for equations to render properly. If you have any issues with equations not rendering properly, please update your browser to the latest version or try using a different browser. If you need additional technical assistance at any point during the course, please contact the HelpDesk (for World Campus students) or the IT Service Desk (for students at all other campus locations).

Penn State E-mail Accounts

All official communications from Penn State are sent to students' Penn State e-mail accounts. Be sure to check your Penn State account regularly, or forward your Penn State e-mail to your preferred e-mail account, so you don't miss any important information.

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is the pursuit of scholarly activity in an open, honest, and responsible manner. Academic integrity is a basic guiding principle for all academic activity at Pennsylvania State University, and all members of the University community are expected to act in accordance with this principle. 

According to Penn State policy  G-9: Academic Integrity, an academic integrity violation is “an intentional, unintentional, or attempted violation of course or assessment policies to gain an academic advantage or to advantage or disadvantage another student academically.” Unless your instructor tells you otherwise, you must complete all course work entirely on your own, using only sources that have been permitted by your instructor, and you may not assist other students with papers, quizzes, exams, or other assessments. If your instructor allows you to use ideas, images, or word phrases created by another person (e.g., from Course Hero or Chegg) or by generative technology, such as ChatGPT, you must identify their source. You may not submit false or fabricated information, use the same academic work for credit in multiple courses, or share instructional content. Students with questions about academic integrity should ask their instructor before submitting work.

Students facing allegations of academic misconduct may not drop/withdraw from the affected course unless they are cleared of wrongdoing (see G-9: Academic Integrity). Attempted drops will be prevented or reversed, and students will be expected to complete coursework and meet course deadlines. Students who are found responsible for academic integrity violations face academic outcomes, that can be severe, and put themselves at jeopardy for other outcomes which may include ineligibility for the Dean's List, pass/fail elections, and grade forgiveness. Students may also face consequences from their home/major program and/or The Schreyer Honors College.

Please also see Earth and Mineral Sciences Academic Integrity Procedures, which this course adopts. To learn more, see Penn State’s “Academic Integrity Training for Students.

Course Copyright

All course materials students receive or to which students have online access are protected by copyright laws. Students may use course materials and make copies for their own use as needed, but unauthorized distribution and/or uploading of materials without the instructor’s express permission is strictly prohibited. University Policy AD 40, the University Policy Recording of Classroom Activities and Note-Taking Services addresses this issue. Students who engage in the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted materials may be held in violation of the University’s Code of Conduct, and/or liable under Federal and State laws. For example, uploading completed labs, homework, or other assignments to any study site constitutes a violation of this policy.

Accommodations for Students with Disabilities

Penn State welcomes students with disabilities into the University's educational programs. Every Penn State campus has an office for students with disabilities. The Student Disability Resources (SDR) website provides the contact information for every Penn State campus. For further information, please visit the Student Disability Resources website.

To receive consideration for reasonable accommodations, you must contact the appropriate disability services office at the campus where you are officially enrolled, participate in an intake interview, and provide documentation. See Student Disability Resources: Applying for Services. If the documentation supports your request for reasonable accommodations, your campus’s disability services office will provide you with an accommodation letter. Please share this letter with your instructors and discuss the accommodations with them as early in your courses as possible. You must follow this process for every semester that you request accommodations.

Change in Normal Campus Operations

In case of weather-related delays or other emergency campus disruptions or closures at the University, this online course will proceed as planned. Your instructor will inform you if there are any extenuating circumstances regarding content or activity due dates in the course due to these delays or closures. If you are affected by a weather-related emergency, please contact your instructor at the earliest possible time to make special arrangements.

Reporting Educational Equity Concerns

Penn State takes great pride in fostering a diverse and inclusive environment for students, faculty, and staff. Acts of intolerance, discrimination, or harassment due to age, ancestry, color, disability, gender, gender identity, national origin, race, religious belief, sexual orientation, or veteran status are not tolerated (Policy AD29 Statement on Intolerance) and can be reported through Educational Equity via Report Bias.

Counseling and Psychological Services

Many students at Penn State face personal challenges or have psychological needs that may interfere with their academic progress, social development, or emotional wellbeing.  The university offers a variety of confidential services to help you through difficult times, including individual and group counseling, crisis intervention, consultations, online chats, and mental health screenings.  These services are provided by staff who welcome all students and embrace a philosophy respectful of clients’ cultural and religious backgrounds, and sensitive to differences in race, ability, gender identity, and sexual orientation.  Services include the following: 

Counseling and Psychological Services at University Park  (CAPS): 814-863-0395
Counseling Services at Commonwealth Campuses
Penn State Crisis Line (24 hours/7 days/week): 877-229-6400
Crisis Text Line (24 hours/7 days/week): Text LIONS to 741741

Military Personnel

Veterans and currently serving military personnel and/or spouses with unique circumstances (e.g., upcoming deployments, drill/duty requirements, disabilities, VA appointments, etc.) are welcome and encouraged to communicate these, in advance if possible, to the instructor in the case that special arrangements need to be made.

Connect Online with Caution

Penn State is committed to educational access for all. Our students come from all walks of life and have diverse life experiences. As with any other online community, the lack of physical interaction in an online classroom can create a false sense of anonymity and security. While one can make new friends online, digital relationships can also be misleading. Good judgment and decision-making are critical when choosing to disclose personal information with others whom you do not know. 

Deferred Grades

If you are prevented from completing this course within the prescribed amount of time for reasons that are beyond your control, it is possible to have the grade deferred with the concurrence of the instructor, following Penn State Deferred Grade Policy 48-40. To seek a deferred grade, you must submit a written request (by e-mail or U.S. post) to the instructor describing the reason(s) for the request. Non-emergency permission for filing a deferred grade must be requested before the beginning of the final examination period.  It is up to the instructor to determine whether or not you will be permitted to receive a deferred grade. If permission is granted, you will work with the instructor to establish a communication plan and a clear schedule for completion within policy.  If, for any reason, the coursework for the deferred grade is not complete by the assigned time, a grade of "F" will be automatically entered on your transcript.

Attendance

This course will be conducted entirely online. There will be no set class meeting times, but you will be required to complete weekly assignments with specific due dates. Many of the assignments are open for multiple days, so it is your responsibility to complete the work early if you plan to travel or participate in national holidays, religious observances, or university-approved activities.  If you need to request an exception due to a personal or medical emergency, contact the instructor directly as soon as you are able. Such requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

In EMS, inclusivity is one of our core values. We prioritize fostering a diverse and equitable community where each member knows they belong here and is inspired to succeed. We encourage everyone in our EMS community to be actively engaged in fostering this ideal, and all members of this class should contribute to a respectful, welcoming, and inclusive environment and interact with civility. Our commitment to inclusivity aligns with Penn State’s values and policies. 

To learn more, visit EMS Educational Equity.  Here, you will find information about the EMS ALLWE initiative, the Rainbow EMS Network, Anti-Racism, active ally-ship, bystander intervention, and more. The site also has resources for where to turn if you need assistance and links to University references.  Also, contact your EMS department’s Associate Head for DEI for more information about department initiatives. 

Mandated Reporting Statement

Penn State’s policies require me, as a faculty member, to share information about incidents of sex-based discrimination and harassment (discrimination, harassment, sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, dating violence, domestic violence, stalking, and retaliation) with Penn State’s Title IX coordinator or deputy coordinators, regardless of whether the incidents are stated to me in person or shared by students as part of their coursework. For more information regarding the University's policies and procedures for responding to reports of sexual or gender-based harassment or misconduct, please visit Penn State's Office of Sexual Misconduct Prevention & Response website.

Additionally, I am required to make a report on any reasonable suspicion of child abuse in accordance with the Pennsylvania Child Protective Services Law.


Disclaimer

Please note that the specifics of this Course Syllabus can be changed at any time, and you will be responsible for abiding by any such changes. Changes to the syllabus shall be given to you in written (paper or electronic) form.