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JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY
COURSE CODE: "PL 325H"
COURSE NAME: "Human Trafficking and Contemporary Slavery - HONORS (This course carries 4 semester hours of credits. A minimum CUM GPA of 3.5 is required)"
SEMESTER & YEAR:
Fall 2016
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SYLLABUS
INSTRUCTOR:
Silvia Scarpa
EMAIL: [email protected]
HOURS:
TTH 10:00AM 11:15AM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS:
60
CREDITS:
4
PREREQUISITES:
Prerequisite: Junior Standing
OFFICE HOURS:
by appointment
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COURSE DESCRIPTION:
After a brief, comparative overview of historical practices,
this course will examine contemporary manifestations, focusing in particular on
chattel slavery, religious slavery, domestic servitude, bonded labor/debt
bondage, forced prostitution and sexual slavery, early and forced marriages,
forced labor, and human trafficking. Less familiar forms of human trafficking,
such as trafficking for the purpose of illegal adoptions and organ sales, and
the difference between human trafficking and the smuggling of migrants will
also be studied. Special attention will be given to understanding what should be
done to fight against these contemporary exploitative practices.
Students who achieve high levels of academic excellence (minimum cumulative
grade point average of 3.5) have the option of taking specially designated
Honors Courses. These may also include occasional interdisciplinary seminars
open only to such students. More frequently, regular John Cabot University
courses may be offered with an option of taking them for four academic credits
as Honors Courses. Students who register for such courses as Honors Courses
must complete additional assignments (e.g., research papers or portfolios) in
which they delve more deeply into the subject matter in question. These
additional assignments are graded on a "grant of Honors credit/no grant of
Honors credit" basis and are not calculated into the final grade for the course.
For the granting of Honors credit, students should produce work of a quality
that would receive a B (3.00/4.00) or higher and this will be noted on their
transcripts. Students taking a course as an Honors Course also enjoy additional
mentoring time with the instructor. Instructors for Honors Courses are chosen
by the Dean of Academic Affairs in conjunction with the Department Chair, based
on their expertise and teaching excellence.
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SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:
Starting
with a brief overview on slavery and a comparison between slavery of the past
centuries and the contemporary subtle forms of slavery-like practices, this
course will analyze various forms of exploitation, focusing in particular on
chattel slavery, religious slavery, servitude, the bonded labor/debt bondage
practice, forced prostitution and sexual slavery including their link with sex
tourism, early and forced marriages, the exploitation of child soldiers and
forced labor. A definition for every form of exploitation will be given to
clearly emphasize differences and overlaps existing among them. The course will
subsequently deal with trafficking in human beings, assessing its spreading in
the world, emphasizing the lack of data, commenting on the available estimates
and analyzing its causes and consequences and the most common forms of
exploitation related to it, including sexual and labor exploitation, the
involvement of children in armed conflicts, illegal adoptions and
trafficking for the removal of human organs. The lack of an
internationally agreed definition of human trafficking until the adoption in
2000 of the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking
in Persons, especially Women and Children will be discussed and the differences
between this phenomenon and the smuggling of migrants will be studied. Specific
attention will be dedicated to understanding what can be done to fight against
the spreading of these contemporary forms of slavery and of human trafficking.
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LEARNING OUTCOMES:
Upon
completion of the course, students will be able to define the various
contemporary slavery-like practices and processes, being aware of their
spreading in the world, of their main causes and consequences, of the
international action aimed at abolishing them and of short and long-term
strategies that need to be adopted to eradicate them. They also will be able to
assess the major successes and failures in establishing a framework in which
these phenomena could be eradicated and they will have conducted research on a
specific issue of their interest and have conducted a group work on a selected
topic.
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TEXTBOOK:
| Book Title | Author | Publisher | ISBN number | Library Call Number | Comments | Format | Local Bookstore | Online Purchase |
| Ending Slavery: How We Free Today's Slaves | Kevin Bales | University of California Press | 9780520257962 | | | | | |
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REQUIRED RESERVED READING:
RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:
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GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:
| Assignment | Guidelines | Weight |
| Essay | 1,500 words minimum | 80% |
| Attendance and class participation | | 20% |
-ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:
AWork of this quality directly addresses the question or problem raised and provides a coherent argument displaying an extensive knowledge of relevant information or content. This type of work demonstrates the ability to critically evaluate concepts and theory and has an element of novelty and originality. There is clear evidence of a significant amount of reading beyond that required for the course
BThis is highly competent level of performance and directly addresses the question or problem raised.There is a demonstration of some ability to critically evaluatetheory and concepts and relate them to practice. Discussions reflect the student’s own arguments and are not simply a repetition of standard lecture andreference material. The work does not suffer from any major errors or omissions and provides evidence of reading beyond the required assignments.
CThis is an acceptable level of performance and provides answers that are clear but limited, reflecting the information offered in the lectures and reference readings.
DThis level of performances demonstrates that the student lacks a coherent grasp of the material.Important information is omitted and irrelevant points included.In effect, the student has barely done enough to persuade the instructor that s/he should not fail.
FThis work fails to show any knowledge or understanding of the issues raised in the question. Most of the material in the answer is irrelevant.
-ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS:
Students are expected to attend classes regularly, to read assigned reading materials before classes and to contribute to class discussions.
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ACADEMIC HONESTY
As stated in the university catalog, any student who commits an act of academic
dishonesty will receive a failing grade on the work in which the dishonesty occurred.
In addition, acts of academic dishonesty, irrespective of the weight of the assignment,
may result in the student receiving a failing grade in the course. Instances of
academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Academic Affairs. A student
who is reported twice for academic dishonesty is subject to summary dismissal from
the University. In such a case, the Academic Council will then make a recommendation
to the President, who will make the final decision.
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STUDENTS WITH LEARNING OR OTHER DISABILITIES
John Cabot University does not discriminate on the basis of disability or handicap.
Students with approved accommodations must inform their professors at the beginning
of the term. Please see the website for the complete policy.
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SCHEDULE
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WEEK
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TOPICS TO BE
DISCUSSED
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READING
ASSIGNMENTS
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Week 1 (August 30 and September
1)
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Introduction to the Course
What is contemporary
slavery? What is human trafficking?
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Quirk, Ch. 1 – p. 23-33;
Scarpa, Ch. 1 – p. 3-8; Scarpa-Article-Groningen J..
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Week 2 (September 6 and 8)
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Con’t
Is slavery of the past
different from the one of today?
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Bales, Ch. 1; Quirk, Ch. 3.
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Week 3 (September 13 and 15)
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Vestiges of past slavery:
chattel slavery and religious slavery.
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Bales, Ch. 3; Black, p. 1-26; 35-38.
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Week 4 (September 20, 22 and
23)
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Forced labor.
Child labor. Child labor in
cocoa plantations.
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Readings
on forced labor: ILO Handbook, p. 8-16;
Kang Muico, p. 1-19 and 27; Anti-Slavery Report, p. 1-5.
Readings
on child labor: Lieten; Hindman; AI_Cocoa
Report, p. 3-18 and 40-69.
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Week 5 (September 27 and 29)
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Debt bondage.
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Bales, Ch. 4, 5 and 6.
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Week 6 (October 4 and 6)
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The commercial sexual
exploitation of children and child sex tourism.
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Bales, Ch. 2 and Ecpat
Report.
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Week 7 (October 11 and 13)
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Trafficking in persons: lack
of data, estimates, causes & consequences and distribution in the world.
October 13:
Mid-term exam.
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Scarpa, Ch. 1 – p. 8-21; Weitzer.
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Week 8 (October 18 and 20)
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The forms of exploitation
related to human trafficking.
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Scarpa, Ch. 1 – p. 22 - 34
and 40.
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Week 9 (October 25, 27 and
28)
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Peacekeeping and human trafficking.
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Allred.
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Week 10 (November 3)
November 1: NO CLASS
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Trafficking in persons for
the removal of organs.
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Pearson; Scheper-Hughes;
Scarpa, Ch. 1 - p. 34 - 39.
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Week 11 (November 8 and 10)
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The smuggling of migrants:
definition. Trafficking in persons v. the smuggling of migrants.
Trafficking in persons in the wider context of international migrations.
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Bhabha and
Zard; Gallagher; Anti-Slavery International Report on Migration-Trafficking
Nexus, p. 1-15.
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Week 12 (November 15 and 17)
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What can be done to fight
against contemporary slavery and human trafficking?
Students’ presentations.
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Bales, Ch. 7.
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Week 13 (November 22)
November 24: NO CLASS
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Students’ presentations.
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Week 14 (November 29 and
December 1)
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Con’t and Final summary.
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Week 15 (December 3-9)
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Final Exam
Date TBA
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