Genesee Community College
	Course Syllabus
	Course ID:	SOC101	Course Section:
	Title:	Introductory Sociology
	Term:	Fall 2005
	Instructor Name:
	Contact Info:
	Catalog 	Studies social patterns affecting the structure and functioning of group life such as cultural 
	Description:	values, deviance, class structure, and social change. Examines methods and perspectives 
	sociologists employ, and the ways group forces influence the individual in society. 
	Prerequisite or corequisite: REA101 or having met the College's reading competency.
	Course 
	Description:
	Objectives:	At the conclusion of the semester, students will be able to:
	
	1.Write a 5  -  7 page paper utilizing a minimum of three correctly cited references (APA) in 
	which the three major theoretical perspectives (functionalism, conflict, and symbolic 
	interaction) are applied to a selected social issue, identifying how each perspective provides
	 a different view of the social issue. *
	
	2.Identify on a test a minimum of four types of research methodologies (survey, experiment, 
	content/secondary analysis, ethnography, etc.) as well as a minimum of eight basic 
	elements contained within the scientific method. *
	
	3.Analyze in extended writing, exam questions, or through classroom activities, a minimum 
	of two ways that at least four of the following six elements of culture impact the daily lives of
	 all members of society (material/nonmaterial culture; social structure, values, norms, and 
	laws; subcultures; cultural diversity; ethnocentrism and cultural relativism; culture change 
	and culture lag). 
	
	4.Apply, in extended writing, exam questions, or through classroom activities, a minimum of
	 three key elements within the process of socialization (for example, agents of socialization, 
	development of self-concept, nature/nurture, socialization across the lifespan, etc.), with 
	particular emphasis on the theories of Mead and Cooley.
	
	5.Analyze in extended writing or exam questions, the nature of role relationships, with 
	emphasis on such concepts as achieved/ascribed statuses, master status, role conflict, role 
	stain, secondary versus primary group relationships, reference groups, and the relationship 
	of roles to the social structure.
	
	6.Apply a minimum of two of the theories of deviance to a current example of deviant 
	behavior in society through extended writing, exam questions, or classroom activities.
	
	7.Identify a social movement within American society and then analyze in extended writing,
	 exam questions, or in group/class discussion a minimum of 3 elements of collective 
	behavior that are (or were) evident in that movement.
	
	8.Identify a minimum of three ideal attributes of the American stratification system, and 
	then compare and contrast in extended writing, exam questions or group/class discussion, 
	those attributes in regard to the reality of the American stratification system, identifying five 
	personal characteristics that are class-linked.
	
	9.Contrast the nature of prejudice and discrimination, and identify in extended writing, 
	exam questions, or through class/group discussion a minimum of two individual-level and 
	two societal outcomes of discrimination against minorities (such as racial/ethnic groups, 
	women, the elderly, differences in sexual orientation, etc.) within American society. 
	
	10.Analyze in extended writing, exam questions, or small group/classroom discussion, a 
	minimum of three manifest or latent functions of one of the following major societal 

	institutions (family, education, religion, economy, polity, media, technology, health and 
	medicine). Given the three functions, identify a minimum of two ways the current structure 
	of that institution supports those functions and a minimum of two ways the current structure 
	undermines those functions.
	
	*This course objective has been identified as a student learning outcome that must be 
	formally assessed as part of the College's Comprehensive Assessment Plan. All faculty 
	teaching this course must collect the required data (see Assessing Student Learning 
	Outcomes form) and submit the required analysis and documentation at the conclusion of 
	the semester to the Office of Assessment and Special Projects.
	Required 
	Materials:
	Required Text:
	Course 
	Requirements:
	Grading Criteria:
	Policies:
	Schedule 
	/Calendar:
	Outline:	Each instructor is required to cover the following content areas from the text.  Other areas 
	may be covered at the discretion of the instructor. It is expected that each instructor will 
	integrate the three theoretical paradigms and the appropriate research methodologies into 
	each content area:  culture, socialization, social structure, collective behavior and social 
	movements, deviance, social stratification, social inequality, and social institutions.
	
	1) Sociological Perspective:  historical views, the three major theoretical paradigms 
	(functionalism, conflict, symbolic interaction), and the sociological imagination.
	
	2) Research Methods:  the major steps in the scientific method, positive and negative 
	aspects of various research methodologies, and interpretation of data with identifications of 
	limitations of the data for reliability and validity.
	
	3) Culture:  material/non-material culture, social structure, values, norms, beliefs, laws, 
	subcultures, counterculture, cultural diversity, ethnocentrism, cultural relativism, cultural 
	change, and cultural lag.
	
	4) Socialization:  nature/nurture debate, Cooley, Mead, and other developmental theorists 
	based on instructor preference, socialization process and agents of socialization, and 
	socialization through the life course.
	
	5) Social Structure, Social Institutions, and Formal Organizations:  status, roles, primary and
	 secondary groups, reference groups, bureaucracy (ideal type), social institutions, and social 
	solidarity from the micro and macro perspectives.
	
	6) Deviance:  nature of deviance and social control, a minimum of one theory from each of 
	the three major theoretical paradigms, types of crime and crime statistics, and societal 
	response to deviance.
	
	7) Collective Behavior and Social Movements:  nature and scope of collective behavior and
	 social movements, conditions for and types of collective behavior and social movements, 
	and a minimum of two major explanations for collective behavior and social movements.
	
	8) Social Stratification:  types of stratification systems, class structure and life chances, 
	factors that influence social class, social mobility, and poverty in the United States.
	
	9) Social Inequality and Diversity:  nature of prejudice and discrimination, minority/majority 
	status, types of prejudice and discrimination (racism, sexism, ageism, etc.), and 
	consequences and explanations of discrimination.
	
	10) Social Institutions:  function and structure, interconnectness of social institutions, and 
	transitions and problems from a macro and micro perspective within one of the following 
	institutions: (family, education, religion, economy, polity, media, technology, health and 
	medicine).

Notes:
	PLAGIARISM / CHEATING:  Plagiarism is the dual act of presenting and claiming the words, ideas, data, or 
	creations of others as one’s own.  Plagiarism may be intentional--as in a false claim of authorship--or 
	unintentional--as in a failure to document information sources using MLA, APA, CBE, or other style sheets or 
	manuals adopted by instructors in the College.  Presenting ideas in the exact or nearly exact wording as found
	 in primary or secondary sources constitutes plagiarism, as does patching together paraphrased statements 
	without in-text citation. Each faculty member will determine appropriate responses to plagiarism.  Disciplinary 
	action resulting from confirmed instances of plagiarism and/or cheating may include receipt of a failing grade 
	on an assignment or the course, removal of a student from a class, or expulsion of a student from the College.