Contemporary American Society Syllabus

Catalogue #:10809197

Class #: 62348

Section #:0001

Class dates: Jan 14, 2013-May 10, 2013

Instructor Information

Instructor:Nicole Kaufman, M.S. in Sociology, UW-Madison

Office:Room 216

Email:

Office Hours: By appointment

Class Information

Course Description: This course is an opportunity to understand and critically analyze the kind of society in which we live.Using mainly sociology, but also economics, political science and philosophy, we will hold up a mirror and ask, what is going on and what might explain the problems that many people face today?

We will examine the key values in American society:

Freedom:the idea that we should all be able to live our lives as we want to live them.
Prosperity: the idea that economies should generate the highest possible standard of living.
Efficiency: the idea that resources should be distributed to people through the economy based on what people need and what people want, in a way that is productive and not wasteful.
Fairness (Justice): the idea that we should all have an equal chance to make something of our lives, and enjoy equal protection under the law.
Democracy: the idea that the collective will and not only privileged few should determine public decisions.

We will ask how these values co-exist and conflict with each other in practice. How well do we carry out these values as a society? Where is improvement possible? How and where do Americans discuss and decideto make changes?

The course will also look at how to assess what is reliable information to answer these questions. How can we measure what is going on by using the tools of social science? What standards can we use to distinguish between opinion and fact?

Credits: 3 units

Course Format: Face to face

Class Schedule: Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 8:30-9:20 AM

Location:Room 207,Truax Campus

Pre-requisites:COMPASS: Reading 65 or greater, or Academic Reading 5/6, 77858752 with a grade of B/C or higher.

Textbook:Wright, Erik Olin and Joel Rogers (2011). American Society: How it Really Works. W.W. Norton # Company: New York. ISBN 978-0-393-93067-2. Available in the Madison College Truax bookstore.

Supplies:Three-ring binder for notes and handouts.

Course Competencies: You have the opportunity to learn the following skills in this course:

Analyze the social, political and economic structures of American institutions and how they operate
Interpret current trends impacting these institutions
Recognize the value of diversity in a multi-cultural society
Articulate a position on current public policy issues

Program Outcomes

Program Outcomes are statements of specific knowledge, skills, and abilities that a program graduate should be able to demonstrate upon completion of a program at Madison Area Technical College. No program outcomes are addressed in this course because it is a support course for various programs.

Core Abilities

Madison College Core Abilities are eight key life and success skills that contribute to the development ofstudents as life-long learners on the job, at home, and in the community. The Core Abilities are skills and abilities taught and assessed in classes, labs, and field experiences at Madison College. For more information on Core Abilities, please visit

The key Madison CollegeCore ability in this class is critical thinking. Students develop critical thinking when they: understand and use effective strategies; identify tasks; evaluate information; make decisions; and assess decisions.

Responsibilities and Policies

Student Responsibilities: Students are expected to be familiar with Madison College policies and procedures. Many of the important policies and procedures are on the Madison College website, located at a situation arises that prevents the successful completion of this course, please note that it is each student's responsibility to formally withdraw from this course.

Accessibility: Please let me know if you have accommodations that should be met in this class. Please also contact Disability Resources Services at 246-6716 (Students who are deaf via Relay 711), room 159 at Truax or email . If you have an accommodation card from their office indicating that you have a disability which requires academic accommodations, please present it to me so we can discuss the accommodations that you might need in this class. It is best to request these accommodations at the beginning if not before class so there is ample time to make the accommodations.

Academic Integrity: Academic integrity an expectation in all Madison College classes and applies in individual and group work in this class. Plagiarism, cheating and collusion are prohibited at Madison College. Plagiarism is defined as passing of another person’s work as your own. Students who fail to observe these standards are subject to disciplinary action. Madison College has a strong policy on Academic Misconduct which is published on the Madison College website. Please refer to this page on the Madison College Website to review all Academic Integrity and Misconduct policies located at

Citation is an important part of attribution of sources. American Sociological Association (ASA) citation formats will be used in this class. Reference them at:

During the exams, there will be a completely tech-free environment but one page (two-sided) of written notes is allowed.

Attendance: Regular attendance is expected. Attendance is reflected in the “participation” portion of the grade below. Attendance is essential for doing well in integrating the information in this course and performing group activities. Each student is allowed four absences during the semester.

Class participation: Participation means coming to class prepared: having done the reading and required podcast listening, and being ready to take notes, reflect aloud, and ask questions. Students will lose participation points without all of these key elements.Participation includes group work and presentations. Since 20 percent of the grade is participation, it is very important to come to class prepared.

Sensitivity: The goal is for our classroom to be safe for everyone. Our discussions require an environment of mutual respect. Differences in experience and how we identify make the classroom rich. There may be times when you hear opinions that you do not agree with, particularly in assigned roles in debate, but please notify me (the instructor) if you feel uncomfortable with the way we are going about discussions or addressing the course content.

Learner Responsibilities: As a student in this class, I expect you to:

take responsibility for your own learning
be prepared for class and be an enthusiastic participant during class
treat others with tolerance and respect
act responsibly and reliably in group work
set high standards for your work
monitoring your Madison College student e-mail account (
keep electronic copies of all your assignments
turn in written assignments both in hard copy and on Safe Assign via Blackboard.

Instructor Responsibilities: As your instructor, I commit to communicating openly and frequently with you about this class. I will maintain a professional, safe learning environment adhering to the policies of the college. You can expect a reply to communication, be it via e-mail, voicemail, or in person, within 24-48 business hours.

Syllabus Changes: As your instructor, I retain the right to make changes based on the timeline of the class, feedback from learners or logistical issues and will inform you as soon as a change is made.

Use of Electronic Devices: Please keep your distractions to a minimum in the class. Computers are allowed because they can facilitate note-taking, which improves the retention of information. However, if the use of computers and devices begins to interfere with learning, I will request a no-device, no-computer classroom.

Computing:Staying up to date on emails and the content of the Blackboard site are essential parts of this course. Please make sure you are checking your Madison College account every day. Computer difficulties are not a long-term excuse for non-participation. If you experience problems with your computer, call the computer help desk at (608) 243-4444 or toll-free at (866) 277-4445. They can talk you through fixing many problems. A student Computer Help Desk is located in the Truax Campus Library Room 230. Student lab assistants are available in person, and by phone, (608) 243-4444; toll-free at (866) 277-4445; by email at to provide computer support to fellow students. These services are available Monday - Thursday: 7:30 a.m. - 9:00 p.m., Friday: 7:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., and Saturday: 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. In addition, students can call an afterhours help desk until 10 pm most days, by calling (608) 246-6666.

A Blackboard course site has been created for this class. You can access this course by logging in to the following page: . Written assignments will also get turned in here via Safe Assign. If you have problems accessing our course on Blackboard, please let me know. Here is the site for Madison College Blackboard Student Support information: It is possible that Blackboard mayhave outages or temporary failures. If you cannot access our classroom, call the student help desk: (608) 243-4444; toll-free at (866) 277-4445. They can often resolve your problem over the phone.

Class Cancellation: Besides local radio stations and the Madison College website, students can call this hotline to inquire about weather related school closings: (608) 246-6606.

Other Resources

Student Writing Center Assistance: (608)243-4289,
Peer to Peer Tutoring Services at Madison College:

Counseling Services at Madison College: 608-246-6076,
Career Resources at Madison College: (608) 246-640,

Grading Policy

Late Assignments: Work is due at the beginning of class in paper form and on Safe Assign via Blackboard. Work is considered late when it does not meet these specifications. Late work is deducted 10% of the possible points for that assignment for every day late. Exceptions can be grantedin the case of a religious observation or emergency.

Exams:The exams will be based on comprehension of and critical thinking about the core ideas presented BOTH in readings and in class. I am looking at whether you understand crucial concepts (especially those on the term sheets each unit). Each exam covers only one unit, so the final is not cumulative. Exam corrections may be completed within a week of students getting back the exams, for up to 50% of the points a student lost.

Extra credit: There is one extra credit item: the submission of a revised draft of the op-ed (a third draft) to a news source. This is worth up to five points toward the final grade.This extra credit can start once you have gotten your second draft back and received comments from the instructor. It is due by Exam #3.

Grade breakdown:

Item / Points
(of 200 total points) / Percent of Total Grade
PARTICIPATION / Participation is 20% of grade
Participation in class, including presentations and group activities / 40 pts. / 20%
WRITING / Writing is 30% of grade
Op-ed Draft 1 / 10 pts. / 5%
Op-ed Draft 2 / 10 pts. / 5%
Tulsa talking points / 20 pts. / 10%
Democracy short paper / 20 pts. / 10%
EXAMS / Exams are 50% of grade
Unit 1 Exam / 33.3 pts / 16.67%
Unit 2 Exam / 33.3 pts / 16.67%
Unit 3 Exam / 33.3 pts. / 16.67%
TOTAL / 200 / 100%

Grading:

Letter Grade / Percent Attained / Points Attained
A / 93-100 % / 185-200 pts.
AB / 89-92 / 177-184
B / 84-88 / 167-176
BC / 80-83 / 159-166
C / 76-79 / 151-158
D / 70-75 / 139-150
F / 69 and below / 138 points and below

Note: half-percents are rounded up to the next number. For instance, 83.5% is 167 points and is treated as a B.

Course Schedule

Class number / Date / Topic / Assignments due
1 / Mon., Jan. 14 / Introduction to course themes and expectations. Discuss syllabus. / (none)
2 / Wed., Jan 16 / Capitalism Unit (Unit 1)
Perspectives and values in this course / American Society pp. 1-9
3 / Fri., Jan 18 / What kind of society is American society? / American Society pp. 10-32
4 / Wed., Jan. 23 (no class on Monday) / Capitalist market in the ideal: Introduction to capitalism as a system / American Societypp. 33-46 (for this class and next two classes)
5 / Fri., Jan. 25 / Capitalist market in the ideal: Markets in theory / American Societypp. 33-46
NPR Podcast, “Planet Money” from 10/28/11 on John Maynard Keynes and Friedrich Hayek. 28 minutes (on Blackboard)
6 / Mon., Jan. 28 / Economic policies built on capitalist principles / American Societypp. 33-46
7 / Wed., Jan 30 / Problems in capitalist markets (1) and info on writing op-eds / American Society pp. 47-57 middle of page
8 / Fri., Feb. 1 / Meet in the library computer classroom for a session on doing research, with Matthew Coan. / Bring handouts.
9 / Mon., Feb. 4 / Problems in capitalist markets (2) / American Society pp. 57- 68
10 / Wed., Feb. 6 / Review market concepts / (none)
11 / Fri., Feb. 8 / Critiques of free-market capitalism / American Society pp. 85-102
12 / Mon., Feb. 11 / Problems related to markets: Transportation / American Society pp. 85-102
13 / Wed., Feb. 13 / Problems related to markets: The environment / American Society pp. 69-84
14 / Fri., Feb. 15 / We do not meet as a class—meet instead with peer partner. Peer review session on op-eds. Hold on to the draft marked by your peer reviewer because it will be due with the second draft. / First draft of op-ed due to partners.
15 / Mon., Feb. 18 / The Prisoner’s Dilemma / Podcast: Prisoner’s Dilemma podcast, “One good deed deserves another.” WNYC Radiolab, 12/14/10. 25 minutes.
16 / Wed., Feb 20 / Follow-up on Prisoner’s Dilemma, discussion of concepts / Game: come to class havingplayed the Prisoner’s Dilemma coin game. Record your and Serendip’s best
scores and the strategy you used to achieve these.
17 / Fri., Feb. 22 / Follow-up on Prisoner’s Dilemma, discussion of concepts (continued) / (none)
18 / Mon., Feb. 25 / High Road Economic Development / Second draft of op-eds dueto instructor (staple both drafts together) and to Safe Assign via Blackboard.
19 / Wed., Feb. 27 / Exam Review / (none)
20 / Fri., March 1 / Exam #1 (on Capitalism unit) / (none)
21 / Mon., March 4 / Inequality Unit (Unit 2)
Fairness and inequality / Podcast: “Michael Sandel on Justice”
22 / Wed., March 6 / Fairness and inequality (2) / American Society pp. 183-194
23 / Fri., March 8 / Understanding privilege / McIntosh “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack”
24 / Mon., March 11 / Understanding privilege (2) / McIntosh “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack”
25 / Wed., March 13 / Class and economic inequality / American Society pp. 195-204
26 / Fri., March 15 / Class and economic inequality (2) / American Society pp. 195-204
27 / Mon., March 18 / Class and economic inequality (3) / American Society pp.218-232
28 / Wed., March 20 / Class and economic inequality (4) / American Society pp. 218-232
29 / Fri., March 22
(no class the following week) / Ending poverty in America / American Society pp. 238-246
30 / Mon., April 1 / Inequality on lines of race and ethnicity / American Society pp. 265-271, 293 (beginning) - 295 (end)
31 / Wed., April 3 / Introduce case of Tulsa / Podcast: Tulsa Podcast from NPR 3/24/05 (on Blackboard
32 / Fri., April 5 / Independent research in library on Tulsa topics (we do not meet as a class) / (none)
33 / Mon., April 8 / Gender and inequality / American Society pp. 301-318.
34 / Wed., April 10 / Presentation day 1 / (none)
35 / Fri., April 12 / Presentation day 2 / Debate talking points due, in person and on BlackBoard
36 / Mon., April 15 / Wrap up unit 2, Review / (none)
37 / Wed., April 17 / Exam #2 / (none)
38 / Fri., April 19 / Democracy Unit (Unit 3)
What is democracy? / American Society pp. 337-346 (middle)
39 / Mon., April 22 / Citizen involvement in a democracy / American Society pp.446-453
40 / Wed., April 24 / Obstacles to democracy: Demand and resource constraint / American Society pp. 346 (middle)- 352
41 / Fri., April 26 / Elections and Voting; discuss new paper assignment / American Society pp. 358 (bottom)-364 (bottom)
42 / Mon., April 29 / Elections and Voting (2) / American Society pp. 364 (bottom)-374
43 / Wed., May 1 / Obstacles to democracy: Corporate control of media / American Society pp. 396-411
44 / Fri., May 3 / Guest Speaker, Professor Erik Olin Wright (UW-Madison Dept. of Sociology)—textbook author / (none)
45 / Mon., May 6 / Militarism and empire / American Society p. 412-422
46 / Wed., May 8 / Guest Speaker, Jake Hajdu (Wisconsin Democratic Party) / (none)
47 / Fri., May 10 / Review unit 3, major course themes / Democracy paper due in class and on BlackBoard
48 / Monday, May 13 / Exam #3, 9:30 am- 11:20 am / Extra credit due (revision of op-ed draft 2 and submission to a newspaper)