SOC351 CONTEMPORARY SOCIAL PROBLEMS
BryantUniversity
Dr. Carter
Office Hours are held in the KofflerCenter, #215: Th. 12;30--3:30 or by appointment (visits can be arranged almost anytime Monday or Wednesday afternoons); see me after class to arrange an appointment or call my office (401.232.6186). There may be some occasions that you feel it best to contact me by fax (401.232.6435) or e-mail (). For more information, please examine my web page at Bryant:
PRELIMINARY REMARKSStudents entering college are typically imbued with the American philosophy of individualism: They see their successes and failures, as well as the successes and failures of others, as solely caused by individual decisions and personal effort. Although this is a good philosophy to encourage hard work and success, and no one would deny its truth, it is misleading. The directions we go in life, our successes, our failures, our actions, and our thoughts -- all of these -- are intimately connected with forces larger than the individual. Sociology introduces these larger forces to the student and attempts to show their relevancy to all aspects of his or her life. Among these “larger forces” are social structure, culture, institutions such as the family and the economy, and the group. The “larger forces” that will be of particular interest to us in this class will be those which encourage the growth and resolution of social problems (including poverty, crime, the population explosion, hunger, environmental pollution, rebellion, war, racism, sexism, addiction, and divorce).
GOALSThe primary goal of this course is to get you to understand the world around you as it pertains to contemporary social problems. Why does poverty persist amidst affluence? Why do people commit crime? What makes people violent? Why do people persist in having large families when some 50 million individuals die of hunger and malnutrition every year? Why have we failed to achieve economic equality between men and women? What are the causes of divorce? Such problems make the news almost every day. What are the systematic, recurring, underlying causes of each of these social problems? By the end of this course you will know these causes and be able to apply them in your analyses of media reports about social problems and in your understanding of those social problems which touch you personally. As part of this process, you will learn to apply some of the universal principles of “causal analysis” in your interpretations of empirical facts and in your critiques of interpretations offered by others. Sociological concepts tend to be quite abstract and difficult to appreciate at first wash. As such, they need to be approached from more than one angle. In this course, our approaches emphasize readings, lectures, discussions, and actually “doing” sociology (with the assistance of a computer software package called Student Chip). The flavor of the readings is decidedly cross-cultural and international, as well as being “solutions” oriented.
READING & COMPUTER EXERCISESOur primary text is Solutions to Social Problem: Lessons from Other Societies (Allyn and Bacon, 2001); we will supplement this with selected exercises in Analyzing Contemporary Social Issues 2nd Ed. (A Workbook with Student CHIP Software), Allyn & Bacon, 2001. Reading and computer assignments are given out on a week-to-week basis.
CLASS TIMEis divided between lectures, focused discussions, and participation in sociological exercises. You are expected to take notes (some lecture areas are not covered in the books) and to actively participate in discussions and exercises. Attendance is mandatory!
STUDY PARTNERSVery early in the semester you should find a “study partner.” Many of your homework assignments will be turned in as two-person projects (you and your study partner). On rare occasions, I allow 3 individuals to form a study-partner team, but never more than 3. Your study partner will serve as a valuable resource in preparing for tests and for better understanding the lectures and workbook assignments.
GRADES Your final grade in this course is based on the following:
1. Two examinations (a midterm and a final—the final is not cumulative). Examstypically have two parts: a set of objective items and a component based on your homework (computer exercises; note: no knowledge of computers or data analysis is assumed-- everything will be taught to you). At least one of these may be a “take-home” exam.
2. Homework.Most of your homework will be from Analyzing Contemporary Social Issues. As the semester progresses, you can expect to usually do at least one set of computer exercises each week. I collect homework regularly, but usually only give letter gradesto 2--4 of your assignments.
Homework that is handed in late will receive a heavy grade penalty. The homework is not time-consuming, but you must keep up with it if you are to complete this course successfully. Graded homework is temporarily returned and discussed in detail in class; nongraded homework is not returned, but doing it is very important to doing well on the exams and keeping up with class discussion; indeed, the homework ideally represents the last line in the Confucian homily:
I hear and I forget
I see and I remember
I do and I understand
I keep all exams and graded homework assignments on file for 60 days after the end of the semester, after which they are discarded.
3. Class attendance participation.As part of your participation in this class, you are responsible for reading your Bryant e-mail on a regular basis; if you use another e-mail server (e.g., Yahoo or Hotmail), please be sure that you set up your Bryant e-mail account to forward to the e-mail account that you prefer using. It is not uncommon for me to send the class general informational e-mails on upcoming examinations, and on other matters as well.
The above are weighted as follows:
Exam #11/3 of your final course grade
Exam #21/3
Homework1/3
(#3, Class attendance and participation, will be invoked only if your grade falls on or very near the borderline between two grades, e.g., say an “A” versus an “A/B”).
(Please let me know if you have a physical or learning disability that may impact your academic activities in this class.)
Reading and Computing Assignments for the Semester
(with Special Notes for Honors Students)
Begin block “I” during the first week of the semester; when I say we will start “Block II” (or whichever block) the next class session, I expect you to begin--and finish in a timely manner--the appropriate block of assigned readings. Of the greatest importance is to have your computer workbook assignments ready to turn in on the day I say they are due (doing both the Basic and the Advanced exercises). Do not despair if early in the semester you struggle with the “Advanced” exercises--eventually you will not only be able to do them but to understand their importance in helping you to become a critical thinker. Some semesters, the course includes Honors Program students. If you are an Honors student, you need to see me before doing your first computer exercise to obtain a set of “Exploratory” exercises. The key difference in this course between Honors and nonHonors students is that the former must complete the Exploratory exercises for each chapter in Analyzing Contemporary Social Issues.
Solutions to Analyzing Contemporary
Reading Block Social Problems Social Issues Topics ^
ISection IBoth PrimersIntro. Concepts /
Chapter 1Methodology
IISections II, IIIChapter 3Inequality / Poverty /
Human Rights
First Examination
IIIChapter 4Racism / Ethnocentrism
IVSections IV, VIChapter 5Gender Inequality/
Chapter 8Sexuality / The Family /
Divorce
VSections XII, XIIIChapter 7Crime / Deviance
(Note: Our “Second Examination” is our “Final Examination” and is not cumulative; it always includes Reading Blocks III–V, but sometimes only sections of Blocks VI and VII—those particular sections being announced in class.)
VISections IX, VChapter 9Healthcare / Aging
Chapter 6
VIISection XIChapter 11Environmental Issues