GDEV 3060 - Farmworkers: Contemporary Issues and Their Implications

(CU-CEL)

Fall. 1 credit. Letter grades only.

M.J. Dudley.

The course examines issues related to primarily unauthorized immigrant workers, in particular immigrant farmworkers and their perceptions on their role in agriculture, their socio-economic interactions, labor concerns, opportunities for advancement in agriculture, and concerns stemming from the context in which they live. Students will examine sociological issues (immigration detentions, farmworker access to health, education and other services, labor concerns, on-farm chemical safety issues, and integration into new home communities, pests), with particular emphasis on developing educational materials for farmworkers. Students will analyze data collected through interviews and focus groups, and examine participatory research methodologies.

Outcome 1: Conceptualize and discuss the challenges that farmworkers confront in their everyday lives, and how they overcome obstacles to their well-being.

Outcome 2: Construct a framework to understand contemporary issues within the farmworker community drawing from: farmworkers’ perspectives articulated through CFP interviews or focus groups; student observations based on interactions with farmworkers (through summer internships experiences, tutoring farmworkers in English as a Second Language, and/or participation in CFP on-farm activities); and the literature on sociological research on farmworker concerns.

Outcome 3: Design and field test educational resources for farmworkers (optional).

Outcome 4: Synthesize what they learned through the CFP summer internship program through the development and dissemination of academic posters/ publications, guidebooks, videos, fact sheets or other relevant publications.

Outcome 5: Utilize improved communication skills, state their opinion, question their assumptions and tolerate differing opinions, through participating as members of working teams that develop extension materials targeted for farmworkers and their employers.