PRINCIPLES OF SOCIOLOGY [45.211]
SYLLABUS
BloomsburgUniversity, Bloomsburg Pennsylvania
Course Objectives:
I have several objectives for this course. Generally, I hope that you grow as a person and as a scholar by the end of the semester. More specifically, by the end of this course, you should be able to:
Demonstrate an understanding of basic sociological terms and concepts.
Discuss strategies sociologists use to study social behavior.
Apply sociological perspectives to your own, and others’ lives.
Required Reading: (Both books are available at the campus bookstore)
McIntyre, Lisa J. 2006. The Practical Skeptic: Core Concepts in Sociology. Third Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill.
McIntyre, Lisa J. 2006. The Practical Skeptic: Readings in Sociology. Third Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Various handouts given out in class.
Breakdown of Grade:
Quizzes15%
Four exams80% (20% each)
Respectful contribution5%
Quizzes:
At a minimum, I expect you to attend class, and to be attentive, throughout the semester. In order for class time to be interesting and fruitful, you must read, and think about, the assigned readings before class time. To encourage you to do so, I will give a short quiz at the beginning of many class periods. The quiz questions will come directly from the readings for that day. These quizzes are not meant as inordinate challenges nor as tricks. They are simply incentives to read the material by the assigned due date.
What can you expect on the quizzes? Each question will be worth 10 points, with 100 total points per quiz. The maximum number of questions per quiz will be 5. Therefore, you will be given at least 50 points for each quiz just for attending class. (Keep this in mind if you ever consider skipping class because you haven’t done the reading). I will drop your lowest quiz grade, so you can miss one quiz without being penalized. I will also excuse absences over and above this, for illness, death in the family, or similar occurrences. (Of course, you must discuss this with me in order for your absence to be excused). Your remaining quiz grades will be averaged and multiplied by .15, to obtain a percentage score.
There will be NO make-ups given for quizzes. REMINDER: If you come to class late, you are likely to miss the quiz for that class. In these cases, it is your responsibility to make sure that I give you points for attending class.
Exams:
The main way for you to illustrate your Sociology competency for me will be through exams. In all, there will be four exams given during the semester. Exams will mainly consist of closed-ended questions, with the possibility of some short answer and/or short essay questions. The questions on the exams will come from the readings, lectures, class discussions, and the films we view in class. Exam 2 will include class material since Exam 1, and Exam 3 will include class material since Exam 2. As per University policy, Exam 4 will be cumulative.
If you must miss Exam 1, 2 or 3, please tell me before the exam date. If I decide that a make-up exam is warranted, an essay exam will be given at another day and/or time. Any requests for exception to the published day and time of Exam 4 must be approved by the Academic Dean.
Respectful Contribution:
Part of your grade will be what I call “respectful contribution.” Contribution is about investing in the class. You contribute in many ways, including preparing for each class session; being attentive during each class session; participating in small (and large) group discussions; and working steadily and seriously on course assignments. All of these should be done in a respectful manner, where the instructor and fellow students are taken into consideration. This involves at least the following: refraining from distracting side conversations; refraining from the use of electronic devices such as cell phones and PDAs; being constructive in any criticism of the material, the instructor, or fellow students; and participating in class in a thoughtful way – where the ultimate goal is to help one’s learning and the learning of others.
I suspect that you would do the above anyway. I include this as part of your grade so that you have added incentive to do so, and to help you become more conscious of how you can contribute respectfully in general (in your family, in your workplace, in your community, etc). You will all start out with the full 5 points. To the extent that you fail to do the above, your grade will be lowered accordingly.
Academic Honesty:
BloomsburgUniversity, as a respected institution of higher learning, is committed to academic honesty at all levels. You have all received The Pilot, which includes the University’s Academic Integrity Policy on pp. 59-60. This policy is also available on the University’s website.
As is discussed in the Policy, academic dishonesty includes but is not limited to:
cheating,
plagiarism,
fabrication,
misrepresenting circumstances,
impersonation,
obtaining an unfair advantage, and
aiding and abetting academic dishonesty.
In all of your dealings with the University, which includes this course, you simply must refrain from doing the above. I understand that there are pressures that may lead you to consider performing one or more of the above actions at one time or another. I implore you not to act on those considerations, at the very least so that you can maintain a standard of integrity in your life. If you do decide to act on them in this class, there will be consequences (or “negative sanctions” as sociologists would say). The most likely would be a zero on the assignment on which the dishonesty occurred.
For clarity purposes, I thought I’d give a few examples of possible actions that would be considered academically dishonest in this class:
Cheating: using notes or textbooks during quizzes or exams.
Plagiarism: using phrases or sentences from readings on quizzes/ exams without using quotation marks and the page number of the book from which they came.
Impersonation: representing oneself as another student in a quiz or examination, or allowing oneself to be replaced by another student in a quiz or examination.
Grading Scale:
I will be using the plus/ minus grading scale as follows*:
88 – 89 B+ 78 – 79 C+68 – 69 D+ Below 63 E
93 – 100 A83 – 87 B 73 – 77 C63 – 67 D
90 – 92 A-80 – 82 B- 70 – 72 C-60 – 62 D-
*Rounding up will be used only in cases of .5 or above.
Student Services:
Any student with a documented disability (e.g., physical, learning, psychological, vision, hearing, etc.) who needs to arrange accommodations must first contact The Office of Accommodative Services for Students with Disabilities, Room 043 in the WarrenStudentServicesCenter, telephone 389-4491. After doing so, please talk to me as needed to discuss accommodations. NOTE: You cannot request accommodations for a particular exam or quiz after the fact.
Additional Information:
There will be no extra credit opportunities in this class.
Course Schedule:
(Subject to change, if necessary)
ClassReadings
August 28(None)
August 30From Core Concepts:
Introduction
Chapter 2, “The Sociological Eye”
Chapter 3, “Science and Fuzzy Objects,” pp. 38-40 only
September 1From Readings:
Reading #1, Mills, “The Promise
September 4No Class – Labor Day
September 6From Core Concepts:
Chapter 8, “Social Structure”
September 8From Core Concepts:
Chapter 1, “Responding to Chaos: A Brief History of Sociology”
Chapter 3, “Science and Fuzzy Objects,” pp. 40-46
September 11From Core Concepts:
Chapter 4, “Who’s Afraid of Sociology?”
September 13From Core Concepts:
Chapter 7, “Culture”
September 15Chapter 7, continued
September 18From Readings:
Reading #8, Kluckhohn, “Queer Customs,” and
Reading #9, Miner, “Body Ritual Among the Nacirema”
September 20To Be Announced
September 22Review for Exam 1
September 25Exam 1
September 27From Readings:
Reading #14, Goffman, “The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life”
September 29From Core Concepts:
Chapter 9, “Society and Social Institutions”
October 2From Core Concepts:
Chapter 10, “Socialization”
October 4From Readings:
Reading #21, Cookson and Persell, “Elite Boarding Schools: Curricula as Cultural Capital,” and
Reading #22, Ammerman, “The Nurture and Admonition of the Lord: Raising Children”
October 6From Readings:
Reading #23, Cowan and Pape Cowan, “New Families: Modern Couples as New Pioneers”
October 9To Be Announced
October 11Reading #23, continued
October 13No Class – Mid-Semester Break
October 16Review for Exam 2
October 18Exam 2
October 20From Core Concepts:
Chapter 5, “The Vocabulary of Science”
Chapter 6, “Doing Social Research”
October 23Chapters 5 and 6, continued
October 25From Core Concepts:
Chapter 11, “Deviance and Social Control”
October 27Chapter 11, continued
October 30From Readings:
Reading #28, Chambliss, “The Saints and the Roughnecks”
November 1From Readings:
Reading #29, Rosenhan, “On Being Sane in Insane Places”
November 3From Core Concepts,
Chapter 12, “Stratification and Inequality”
November 6Chapter 12, continued
November 8From Core Concepts:
Chapter 13, “Inequality & Achievement: Social Class”
Handout: Explanations of Poverty
November 10Chapter 13, continued
November 13From Readings:
Reading #34, Tumin, “Some Principles of Stratification: A Critical Analysis”
Handout on functionalism and conflict theory
November 15Review for Exam 3
November 17Exam 3
November 20From Core Concepts:
Chapter 14, “Inequality and Ascription: Race, Ethnicity, and Gender”
November 22No Class – Thanksgiving Holiday
November 24No Class – Thanksgiving Holiday
November 27Chapter 14, continued
November 29From Readings:
Reading #16, Tannen, “Marked: Women in the Workplace”
December 1From Readings:
Reading #38, Kelley, “Confessions of a Nice Negro, or Why I Shaved My Head”
December 4Handout: Excerpts from “Imagining Futures” chapter of Sociology
in Action
December 6Previous reading, continued
December 8 Tying it all together
Review for Exam 4
Final Exam PeriodExam 4
1