Society and the Individual*

SOCIETY AND THE INDIVIDUAL*

SYP 3000: Spring 2017 (Sect:1A23)

Petta-Gay Hannah, PhD.

Email:

*Note: This course does not satisfy the Gordon Rule writing requirement.

COURSE DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVES:

This course is about you and can be used to enhance your interactions in everyday life. We will spend the course focusing on sociological social psychological perspectives, specifically the symbolic interactionist (SI), and the social structure and personality (SSP) perspectives. To accurately apply sociological social psychological perspectives in our lives, we must explore the relationship between the individual and their social environment. We will achieve this task by investigating the impacts of social forces on the individual’s live, perception, and experience paying special attention to other topics such as: person perception, self-formation, attitude formation and change, social structure and personality, and emotions.

The themes selected in this course will aid you in gaining a better understanding of how people interact, are influenced by each other, and are shaped by their social environment. Consequently, we will be able to see the individual not just as an object shaped by society but also as a social actor within society, this will illuminate how you/we navigate and perceive (y)our social world. That is, if we can understand how we participate in the construction of our own realities then, we can actively change and manipulate our environments and our realities, simultaneously.

Our main objective is to critically untangle and grasp a better understanding of the simultaneity among social actors and their environments.

Required Textbook: Macionis, John, J. and Nijole V. Benokraitis. 2010. Seeing Ourselves: Classic, Contemporary, and Cross-Cultural Readings in Sociology. 8th Ed. Pearson

Highly Recommended Textbook: Rohall, David, Milkie, Melissa and Lucas, Jeffery. 2010. Social Psychology: Sociological Perspectives (2nd Edition) 2nd Edition

Use the recommended text to help clarify lecture materials. You can use the topics of the week/module (last two pages of the syllabus) as these are organized by the sections in the text to locate the appropriate section that correlates with the lecture material each week.

All required readings are listed in the required text, except for two readings, which are located in Ares/Course Reserve. The Ares/course reserves’ readings are listed on the weekly schedule on the last two pages of the syllabus. You can access Ares/Course Reserve directly from Canvas/e-learning.

CONTACT INFORMATION

The best way to contact me is through my ufl.edu (gatorlink) email, I will usually respond within 24-48 hours during the weekday and within 48 hours over the weekend. Do NOT use the email feature on e-learning to contact me, please contact via .

CLASS ETIQUETTE

To create a friendly learning environment for all, you should be respectful of everyone’s perspectives. In addition, you are expected to think critically about what you learn, read and discuss. While this may be a delicate balance, I hope that everyone feels comfortable to share his or her thoughts. Violation of class etiquette may result in a loss of participation points for that day.

READINGS AND IN-CLASS ASSIGNMENT

To facilitate an environment where we can all learn from each other, you must complete all assigned readings before the beginning of the assigned module. You are expected to read all materials by Sunday, so that you are able to participate fully in weekly discussions. Your participation in in-class discussion is also required to aid in the exploration of the topics adequately (class discussions will count towards a portion of your final grade). If you are unable to incorporate the required readings in your responses you will lose a majority of your discussion points each week.

I will often ask you many questions throughout the course; I encourage you to think about them critically, and to pose your own questions as the semester progresses. Furthermore, I believe that everyone in the course has a unique perspective therefore; I want to hear your thoughts on the topics addressed each week.

ASSESSMENT AND GRADES:

Exams (40%)

There are two exams, worth 40 percent of your final grade. The exams are not cumulative but you will be expected to recall concepts and terms learned throughout the semester, therefore, there is no final exam for this course. Exams will be a combination of multiple choice and short answers. Exam one is worth 10 percent of your final grade. Exam two and three are worth 15 percent of your final grade each.

Quizzes (15%)

Four quizzes will be given over the course of the semester and they will count as 25 percent of your final grade. You may use your class notes, books or the articles assigned to answer the quiz questions. The quizzes may cover everything from class discussions, lectures, readings and videos.

Presentation and Paper (25 %)

The presentation (which includes a peer evaluation) and paper count as 20 percent of your final grade. You will be expected to prepare and present an overview of the material on a topic of your choice from the assigned readings and facilitate a discussion with other members in the course for the week you choose. As part of your presentation, you must pose 3-4 discussions questions. The presentation is due before the beginning of the week (Sunday 11:59 pm) for which the reading is assigned and you must moderate other students’ responses to the questions that you have posed. You should also compile your presentation as a group by using the Voice Thread tool to create a seamless presentation of every member’s portion of the presentation. You are also responsible to complete a peer evaluation of the other members in your group; this will be part of your presentation grade. Please see Canvas for a detailed description and breakdown of the presentation and paper.

Active Participation via Discussion Boards and VoiceThread (20%)

Active participation counts as 20 percent of your final grade. You will be required to reply to the VoiceThread group presentation discussion questions (all except your own group’s presentation) as well as the discussion questions on the Canvas discussion board. Active participation for discussions posts are determined by your contributions to discussions posts, engagement and completion of assigned activities, and any required course engagement. You should plan to have the assigned readings read early each week so that you are able to incorporate the readings in your discussions posts. Failure to incorporate readings will result in a significant loss of discussion points each week.

You will have many opportunities to contribute through discussions boards, there are 6 discussion posts and 4 of them will count towards your final grade; therefore you can miss a total of two discussion posts without penalty. There are 6 Voice Threads/Presentation Reponses, 5 of them will count towards your final grade since one will be your own group’s presentation. There are also two module activities (they are labeled module activity) that are mandatory and will count towards your final grade.

Though speaking with others about controversial or sensitive topics can be difficult for many people, you are encouraged to push beyond your own comfort zone in this course. Failure to follow proper discussion conduct, for example, if you are disrespectful or you bully other students, will result in a loss of your points for that discussion post.

Late Assignments, Missed Exams, Missed Activities and Quizzes

If you miss assigned activities, discussions, quizzes and or exams, in most cases, an appropriate excuse note will be needed in order to make up work that is missed. Make up exams and quizzes may differ from those previously given to peers. Some class activities cannot be made up as these may have been completed in groups.

1