Fall 1997, SOC 101 Instructor: Dr. Jayne E. Maugans Office: 301AB; Office Hours: M 3-5:00PM, W 3-4:00PM, or by appointment; Phone: X445

Professor’s prerogative: Note well that I may alter this syllabus as needed during the semester—but I will avoid doing so, if possible. Changes to the syllabus will be announced in class.

Student’s responsibility: You are responsible for all announcements made in class and completing class activities and assignments on time, even if you are not in class when they are given. If you miss a class, please see a fellow student or the professor—and makeup the work immediately.

I. Course Description. This is an introductory course to Sociology. It presents the main approaches, theories, methods, statistics, and concepts of sociology to first year college students. Throughout the course, faith and learning will be integrated.

II. Required Texts.

A. Macionis, John. Sociology, 6^th ed.—and accompanying student materials (e.g., CD ROM).

B. Stark, Rodney. Doing Sociology: An Introduction Using MicroCase, 2^nd ed.

(Includes workbook and software containing actual national and cross-cultural data sets.)

III. Grading Policy. Your final course grade will be determined as follows:

A. CD ROM Quizzes: 10%

B. Midterm Exam: 25%

C. Final Exam: 25%

D. MicroCase Exercises: 20%

E. Research Paper: 10%

F. Class Participation & Activities: 10%

G. Library Research Sessions: P/F

IV. Grading Scale.

A = 94-100 B+ = 89 C+ = 79 D+ = 69 F = 59-0

A- = 93-90 B = 85-88 C = 75-78 D = 65-68

B- = 84-80 C- = 74-70 D- = 64-60

V. Course Requirements.

A. CD ROM Quizzes. There will be CD ROM quizzes accompanying each chapter. The quizzes are multiple choice—and answers are included in the program. You are to submit, in class, your printout score sheet—no photocopies accepted!

 

B. Midterm Exam. The midterm covers material to date (comprehensive) and is a combination of any of the following: multiple choice questions, short answers, fill in the blank, and essay. Bring a #2 pencil to class on day of the midterm exam.

 

C. Final Exam. The final exam is comprehensive. Same format as the midterm exam.

 

D. MicroCase Exercises. Complete workbook pages for the assigned computer exercises. You are to submit your printout score sheet—no photocopies accepted! The exercises will usually be graded in class.

E. Research Paper. One research paper is required for this course. You will receive a handout for this assignment. The paper is to be typed, double-spaced, and stapled. Please use only APA style—otherwise, your paper will be returned to you with an "incomplete" status. At the top of the first page of your paper, type your name, campus post office number, Soc. 101 and your section (CR or DR), the date, and the title of the paper—failure to do so will result in the loss of one letter grade (I’m not kidding!). Your paper is to be turned in on Nov. 25, 1997 no later than 5:00PM. Late papers, which are highly discouraged, will not be accepted unless prior arrangements were approved by Professor Maugans.

 

F. Class Participation and Activities. You are expected to participate during class discussions. It is crucial that you have the reading assignments completed before coming to class so that you are prepared to talk informatively during class discussions. Simply commenting on a topic will not result in class participation credit; you must speak informatively on the topic, referring to material covered in the readings and using appropriate concepts, etc.

 

During the semester, you will be asked to engage in various in-class activities ranging from written responses to videos viewed in class to internet searchers. Some assignments may involve homework. You will receive a grade for each class activity. If you miss class on a day of a class activity, you will receive an F for the activity you missed, unless you make up the activity. You may be asked by me, Dr. Maugans, to write a paper in place of the activity assigned in class. This policy applies to all students, even those who miss class for legitimate reasons such as illness and college related activities. Again, you are responsible for all announcements and in-class activities--even if you miss class.

 

G. Library Research Sessions. This is an "R" designated course (101AR, 101BR). Every Houghton student must pass an "R" (library research) designated course in order to graduate. You will attend eight extra sessions taught by Linda Doezema in which you will learn skills and resources applicable to research—skills which will be used in completing the papers for this course. You will be graded pass/fail on (1)your attendance at these sessions and (2)your score from an exam covering the materials taught during these sessions.

VI. Attendance Policy.

An attendance sheet will be circulated in class. Please initial next to your name for the appropriate date. If you have more than two unexcused absences, your final letter grade will be lowered by one mark.

DATE ASSIGNMENT & CLASS CONTENT

Sept. 2 Introduction

4 Chap. 1, "The Sociological Perspective" (Issues and Troubles/Structure)

CD ROM, Chap. 1 Quiz due

Handout: "Microsociology v. Macrosociology"

9 Ron Sider, "Ambulance Drivers or Tunnel Builders?" (Reification)

Video: "Power of the Situation"

11 MicroCase Exercise 1, "The Social Geography of Rates" due

MicroCase Exercise 2, "Exploring a National Sample" due

Handout: "Ideology" (Sociological Theories)

16 CD ROM, Chap. 2 Quiz due (Box outside my office)

No Class

18 Chap. 2, "Sociological Investigation"

MicroCase Exercise 3, "Doing Micro Sociology: Cross-Tabulation" due MicroCase Exercise 4, "Doing Macro Sociology: Scatterplots & Correlation" due

23 Chap. 3, "Culture"

CD ROM, Chap. 3 Quiz due

25 Chap. 4, "Society"

CD ROM, Chap. 4 Quiz due/INTERNET

30 Chap. 5, "Socialization"

CD ROM, Chap. 5 Quiz due

Video: "Social Construction of Reality"

Oct. 2 Chap. 6, "Social Interaction in Everyday Life"

CD ROM, Chap. 6 Quiz due

Handout: "Impression Management"

7 Chap. 7, "Groups and Organizations"

CD ROM, Chap. 7 Quiz due

Video: "Social Interaction and Structure"

Handout: "Rationalization"

9 Chap. 8, "Deviance"

CD ROM, Chap. 8 Quiz due

Video: "The Attempt to Expand Police Power"

14 MicroCase Exercise 6, "Cocaine and Alcohol Abuse" due

MicroCase Exercise 7, "Crime Victims" due

Review for Midterm Exam

16 MIDTERM EXAM (IN CLASS)

23 MicroCase Exercise 8, "Social Evolution and Stratification" due

Chap. 9, "Social Stratification"

CD ROM, Chap. 9 Quiz due

Video: "Stratification"

28 MicroCase Exercise 9, "Social Mobility in Europe" due

Chap. 10, "Social Class in the United States"

CD ROM, Chap. 10 Quiz due

30 Chap. 11, "Global Stratification"

CD ROM, Chap. 11 Quiz due

INTERNET

Nov. 4 Chap. 12, "Race and Ethnicity"

CD ROM, Chap. 12 Quiz due

MicroCase Exercise 10, "Multi-Culturalism: Conflict and Integration" due

6 MicroCase Exercise 5, "Socialization: Gender Roles" due

Chap. 13, "Sex and Gender"

CD ROM, Chap. 13 Quiz due

11 MicroCase Exercise 11, "Sexuality and Marriage" due

Chap. 17, "Family"

CD ROM, Chap. 17 Quiz due

13 MicroCase Exercise 14, "Job Satisfaction" due

Chap. 15, "The Economy and Work"

CD ROM, Chap. 15 Quiz due

Video: "Changes in the Workplace"

18 MicroCase Exercise 13, "Public Goods, Liberty and the State" due

Chap. 16, "Politics and Government"

CD ROM, Chap. 16 Quiz due/INTERNET

20 MicroCase Exercise 12, "Religion and Suicide: USA and Europe" due

Chap. 18, "Religion"

CD ROM, Chap. 18 Quiz due

25 RESEARCH PAPER DUE

Chap. 21, "Population and Urbanization"

CD ROM, Chap. 21 Quiz due

Video: "World Population Crisis" (Allyn & Bacon)

Dec. 2 Chap. 19, "Education"

CD ROM, Chap. 19 Quiz due

Video: "Mismanagement in Schools: Reading, Writing, and Ripoff?"

4 Chap. 20, "Health and Medicine"

CD ROM, Chap. 20 Quiz due

9 Chap. 22, "Environment and Society"

CD ROM, Chap. 21 Quiz due

Video, "Drinking Water Safety"

Handout: "Tragedy of the Commons"

11 Chap. 24, "Social Change..."

CD ROM, Chap. 24 Quiz due/INTERNET

FINAL EXAM SCHEDULE:

SOC 101CR: Monday, December 15, 10:00AM-12:00PM

SOC 101DR: Tuesday, December 16, 8:00AM-10:00AM