Course ID: SOC101 Course Section: Period 5
Title: Introductory Sociology
Term: Fall 2006
Instructor Name: Mr. Thomas Cook
Contact Info: Phone 468-2541 ext 2044 Email: tcook@keshequa.org
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 : This is a college level course offered at Keshequa as an elective for juniors and seniors. Students are encouraged to enroll with GCC to obtain the college credit.
Objectives: Upon successful completion of the course, as documented by exams, papers, discussion, group projects, and application exercises, students will be able to:
1. Apply the three major theoretical perspectives (functionalism, conflict, and symbolic interaction) to a selected social issue, identifying how each perspective provides a different view of the social issue. *
2. Identify a minimum of four types of research methodologies (survey, experiment, content/secondary analysis, ethnography, etc.) as well as the basic elements contained within the scientific method. *
3. Analyze 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 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.), to their own lives, with particular emphasis on the theories of Mead and Cooley.
5. Analyze 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.
7. Identify a social movement within American society, and then analyze 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 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 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 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 Text: James M Henslin Essentials of Sociology, A Down to Earth Approach.
Course:
Requirements: Each student will be required to
Maintain a minimum of a 70 average to remain the college course
Successfully complete a 5-7 page paper(see outcome 1)
Demonstrate competence in the required student performance outcomes through quizzes, tests, classroom activities and/or extended writing assignments.Grading Criteria: Your course work will be based upon the following categories: Classwork (such as assignments, research activities, paper) 50 % and Tests and Quizzes 50 %
Individual items in these categories may be weighed differently. For example, the research paper will be given higher weight in the class average that other work. Students will be able to make up low classwork grades by redoing the work. Extra credit options and remediation for quiz grades may be made available at the discretion of the instructor. There is no remediation for tests. Since our school gives numerical grades, here in the conversion for the college grade: 90-100% = A; 80-89% = B; 70-79% == C; 60-69% = D and 59 and below F. There will be a 5% curve put on grades when entering into the school grading system at each quarter. The curve will NOT count toward the college letter grade.
Policies:
Attendance – The district policy for attendance will be in effect. Students will have 5 school days to make up any quizzes or classwork they have missed. Students are responsible for all content covered in the class. Test days will be noted in the class schedule issued at the beginning of each semester or at least two weeks ahead of time by the instructor. Students are not able to make-up missed tests, unless a unique and unavoidable circumstance has occurred. The student must contact the instructor immediate to inform the instructor they will not be in attendance for the test. Decisions regarding a make-up will be made on a case-by-case basis and are done at the discretion of the instructor.
All assignments are due at the beginning of the class assigned unless specifically indicated. Students have access to Internet resources at several locations. Assignments involving the use of the internet will not be accepted late because of difficulties with personal internet connections or problems with computer hardware.
Students who are legally absent must turn in work at the beginning of the next class period, or will begin to receive penalties based upon the list below. Work not completed will receive the following penalties: 2 pts off if not compelted at the beginning of the period; 5 pts off per school day. THIS INCLUDES THE RESEARCH PAPER. No work will be accepted or graded after the close of each ten-week marking period. Students who are absent for an extended period are required to contact the instructor to make arrangements for work. Students are encouraged to review all emergeny procedures for the guilding. Evacuations procedures will be reviewed the first day of class.
Schedule
Calendar: (Please note the required college content outline which follows the schedule)
(See attached schedule for specific dates. All work is subject to change. Students will be notified one week in advance of changes of quizzes, tests, or assignments.)
Week: Summer work and weeks 1,2
Topics: The Sociological Perspective
Student Outcome Focus: #1,2
Assignments: Read Chapter 1
Quiz/Test:
Other :Library Media/Computer Lab visits to become familiar with resources, text websites, and reserve reading process.
Week: 3
Topic The Sociological Research Method
Student Outcome Focus: #2
Assignments: Read chapters 1
Quiz/Test : Quiz on topics weeks 1-3
Weeks: 4/5
Topic: A Look at Culture
Student Outcome Focus: #3
Assignments: Read Chapter 2
Quiz/Test: Writing assignment – elements of culture
Weeks: 6/7
Topic: The process of Socialization
Student Outcome Focus: # 4,5
Assignments: Read Chapters 3 & Observation assignment
Quiz/Test: Quiz on topics
Weeks: 8/9
Topic: Society
Student Outcome Focus: #3, 10
Assignments: Chapters 4,5/ Reading
Week 10 Review & Midterm
Week: 11
Topic: Deviance
Student Outcome Focus: # 6
Assignments: Chapter 6
Week: 12
Topic: Collective Behavior and Social Movements
Student Outcome Focus: # 7
Assignments: Chapter 15
Begin Research Paper Work
Week: 13
Topic Social Stratification
Student Outcome Focus: 8
Assignments: Chapter 8
Quiz/Test: Quiz
Research Paper Work
Week: 14/15
Topic: Social inequality and Diversity
Student Outcome Focus: #9
Assignments: Chapter 9,10 & Observations
Research Paper Progress Report Due
Week 16/17
Topic: Social Institutions
Student Outcome Focus: # 10
Assignments: Chapters 11/12/13
Quiz/Test: Quiz on topics
Week: 18
Research Paper work
1st paper due at end of Week.
Week: 19
Sharing of Research Findings
Week 20 Review / Final TestOutline: 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.