Soc 101 (H003): Understanding Society

Fall 2009, TuTh: 1:00-2:15, LAB 108

Course website: http://sites.google.com/site/jreidusm/

Instructor:	Dr. Julie Reid
E-mail:	Julie.Reid@usm.edu
Office:	LAB 439
Office Hours:	Tuesdays 2:15-4:15 and Thursdays 11:00-12:00 or by appointment

Course Introduction and Objectives

Welcome to our class. This course is designed to introduce you to the field of sociology, the scientific study of human social relations and society. Sociology is interested in why people do what they do and why society works the way it does. Upon completion of the course, you will be familiar with basic sociological concepts and terms, such as socialization, culture, social stratification, individual agency, social structure, and social institutions. More importantly, through a variety of assignments, you will develop your ability to think sociologically and to bring sociological concepts out of the classroom to apply them to your personal lives and the world around you.

Required Readings and Other Resources

Textbook (required): Anderson, Taylor, and Chasteen. 2008. Sociology 101: Understanding Society; University of Southern Mississippi. Cengage Learning.

Course Website (required): Students must download instructions for assignments from the course website (http://sites.google.com/site/jreidusm/ ) well in advance of the due date. The syllabus is also available on this site.

Textbook Website (optional): Purchase of the above textbook also allows you access to study materials available on the Cengage Learning website: http://login.cengage.com/sso//. This website includes the full text of your textbook, learning modules for each chapter, study videos, web resources, and more. These web materials are available for you to enhance your studying and perform better in class, but their use is optional. In order to use these web materials, you will have to register on line using the access code provided with your textbook and the course/section key for our class, which is E-4DUUWDRPAS65E .

Grading Policies

Grade components:

% of grade

Essays (2 at 17% each)

Tests (2 at 17% each)

Final Exam (1 at 20%)

In-class Assignments (10-25)

Take-home Assignments (3 at 2% each)

34%

20%

100%

Essays: Two essays (about 3-5 pages each) will be due in class during the semester. Specific instructions will be posted to the course website.

Tests: Two tests will be given during the semester. These tests will cover the material presented in the first and second sections of the class respectively; they are not cumulative tests. You will need to bring a Scantron form and a number 2 pencil on test days.

Final Exam: An exam will be given during finals week at the end of the semester. This exam will be cumulative and include material covered during the entire semester. You will need to bring a Scantron form and a number 2 pencil to the final exam.

In-class Assignments: These assignments are completed in class and assigned without prior notice; they require reflection on a topic that we are covering in class. You must attend class to receive credit on these assignments.

Take-home Assignments: These assignments (about 1 page each) are completed outside of class. Specific instructions will be posted to the course website.

Grading scale: Final grades will be based on a standard percentage grading scale: A=90.0%-100.0%, B=80.0%-89.9%, C=70.0%-79.9%, D=60.0%-69.9%, F=59.9% and below. You should not expect grades to be rounded up, so please do not make this request. If you are seeking a particular grade, work hard consistently throughout the entire semester in order to earn it. Therefore, if you are concerned about your grade at any time, it is important to see me as soon as you have concerns -- do not wait until the last weeks of the semester when it will be too late.

Replaced score: Prior to calculating your final grade for the semester, I will replace your one lowest score from your four essays and tests with the average of your remaining three higher scores. The final exam score and in-class and take-home assignment scores cannot be dropped or replaced. A word of warning: do not waste your only opportunity for a dropped score early in the semester unless it is absolutely necessary, because you cannot predict what might happen later in the semester that might cause you to really need this once-only opportunity.

Late or missed work: Attendance and timely arrival is expected at every lecture. It is your responsibility to acquire the notes for any missed classes from another student; please do not ask me for notes. Tests and exam: There are no makeup tests or makeup exam. If you miss a test or exam, you will receive a zero on it. Essays and take-home assignments: All papers are due in class on the date specified. Any paper received after class time on the due date will be penalized 5%; papers turned in after the due date will be penalized 10% for each day the work is late. Late papers may be submitted to the Department of Anthropology and Sociology main office (LAB 428) but must be dated and initialed by the front desk staff; otherwise, they will count as turned in when I see them. Students are always welcome to turn papers in early. Papers may not be submitted electronically; you must turn in a hard copy to receive credit. In-class assignments: Since in-class assignments are completed during class, if you are absent, you will not be able to make it up. However, if you were absent with a valid reason and present it in writing, you may receive partial credit.

Office Hours

My office location and hours this semester are listed at the beginning of this syllabus. During office hours, professors are scheduled to be in their offices in order to meet with students who wish to discuss any matter related to the course. During these hours, students are free to drop by professors’ offices without prior notification or appointment. If you are unable to make my normal office hours, please let me know, and I will be happy to make an alternative appointment time with you.

I have found that students often do not take sufficient advantage of office hours, allowing a valuable opportunity to pass by. Office hours are for you and me to further discuss information presented in the class or readings and to answer any questions that you might have. However, I encourage non-class related visits as well, for this will give me a better understanding of who is in our class.

Email

If you have something to discuss, I encourage you to come to office hours. Please note that I am unable to hold substantive discussions or address questions about sociological topics over email. Email should primarily be used to schedule an appointment if necessary or notify me of a problem that you need to discuss. Remember, course work must be printed and submitted on paper; do not email any papers or assignments to receive credit.

Professors often receive many emails everyday, which sometimes makes it difficult to keep them organized if they are not appropriately labeled. If you email me, please make sure to write something identifying that you are student and in which class in the subject line, for example, “SOC 101–H003,” rather than something generic such as “A question for you” or “Important.” This will greatly increase your chance that I will see your email and read it promptly. Also, many students’ have email addresses that include only an ID number or a name different than used at USM; therefore, make sure every email you send includes your full name, so I can identify who you are.

If I wish to contact you, I will likely use your email address listed in the USM records (as appears in the USM People Directory or SOAR). There may also be an occasion when I wish to communicate to the entire class immediately and use email. Therefore, students are advised that if their correct emails are not on record, they may miss these messages.

Professionalism

The purpose of college is not only to teach students academic knowledge but to assist them to develop the skills associated with being a professional. As such, you are expected to conduct yourself accordingly in all matters pertaining to this course. One aspect of professionalism is conveyed by your behavior in class and the respect you show to others. For example, do not pack up before the end of the lecture, because this can quickly become noisy and disruptive. Being professional also importantly includes demonstrating a work ethic and initiative in addition to responsibility and reliability, such as being aware of class policies and assignment deadlines and following through with all the requirements of the course.

Academic Integrity

Scholastic dishonesty (including unauthorized collaboration, plagiarism, cheating, and using uncited information sources in your papers) is a violation of the Code on Student Conduct and will not be tolerated. It is each student’s responsibility to understand what constitutes scholastic dishonesty; ignorance or forgetfulness is not an acceptable excuse for failure to comply with these policies. The penalty for cheating/plagiarism in this course is a zero on the assignment or an F in the course at the discretion of the professor. Students who engage in scholastic dishonesty may be reported to the Dean of Students and subject to probation, suspension, and/or expulsion from the University. Since such dishonesty harms the individual, all students, and the integrity of the University, policies on scholastic dishonesty will be enforced. Please consult page USM-4 at the beginning of your Sociology 101 textbook for further information on Academic dishonesty and plagiarism.

Accommodations

If a student has a disability that qualifies under the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) and requires accommodations, he/she should contact the Office for Disability Accommodations (ODA) for information on appropriate policies and procedures. Disabilities covered by ADA may include learning, psychiatric, physical disabilities, or chronic health disorders. Students can contact ODA if they are not certain whether a medical condition/disability qualifies.

The Office of Disability Accommodation’s address is USM, ODA, 118 College Drive # 8586, Hattiesburg, MS 39406-0001. The voice telephone is (601) 266-5024 or (228) 214-3232; it’s fax number is (601) 266-6035. Individuals with hearing impairments can contact ODA using the Mississippi Relay Service at 1-800-582-2233 (TTY) or email Suzy Hebert at Suzanne.Hebert@usm.edu.

Course Schedule

Week	Date		Lecture Topic / Assignments Due	Required Readings
1	Th	8/20	Course introduction	Syllabus
2	Tu	8/25	Fundamentals of sociology	Ch. 1 (Sociology Intro): pp. 1-11 Ch. 4 (Society): pp. 93-101
2	Th	8/27	Sociological imagination DUE: Take-home assignment #1	Ch. 1 Supplement: (1) Mills, C. Wright (2) James, Katie
3	Tu	9/1	Theoretical frameworks DUE: Take-home assignment #2	Ch. 1 (Sociological Theory): pp. 11-18
3	Th	9/3	Theoretical frameworks
4	Tu	9/8	Sociological research	Ch. 1 (Sociological Research): pp. 18-31
4	Th	9/10	Sociological research	Ch. 1 Supplement: (5) Best, Joel
5	Tu	9/15	Human socialization DUE: Take-home assignment #3	Ch. 3 (Socialization & Life Course): all
5	Th	9/17	Socialization & the self	Ch. 3 Supplement: (8) Anonymous
6	Tu	9/22	Social interaction DUE: ESSAY #1	Ch. 4 (Social Interaction): pp. 101-119 Ch. 4 Supplement: (10) Blankenship, Lacey
6	Th	9/24	Culture	Ch. 2 (Culture): all
7	Tu	9/29	Culture	Ch. 2 Supplement: (6) Easterling, Joy
7	Th	10/1	Groups & organizations	Ch. 5 (Groups): pp. 121-128 Ch. 5 (Organizations): pp. 133-141
8	Tu	10/6	TEST #1
8	Th	10/8	NO CLASS – Fall break
9	Tu	10/13	Social stratification	Ch. 7 (Social Class & Stratification): all
9	Th	10/15	Social class	Ch. 7 Supplement: (16) Conley, Dalton
10	Tu	10/20	Global stratification	Ch. 8 (Global Stratification): all
10	Th	10/22	Global inequality
11	Tu	10/27	Racial & ethnicity	Ch. 9 (Race & Ethnicity): all
11	Th	10/29	Race & ethnicity	Ch. 9 Supplement: (18) Farley, J. & G. Squires
12	Tu	11/3	Race & ethnicity
12	Th	11/5	Gender	Ch. 10 (Gender): all Ch. 10 Supplement: (20) Hartmann, Douglas (21) Dull, D. & C West
13	Tu	11/10	Gender and sexuality	Ch. 11 (Sexuality): all Ch. 11 Supplement: (24) Schwartz, P. & V. Rutter
13	Th	11/12	Social Institutions & Mass media
14	Tu	11/10	Mass media
14	Th	11/12	The family	Ch. 12 (Families & Religion): all
15	Tu	11/17	Education	Ch. 13 (Education & Health): all Ch. 13 Supplement: (25) Kozol, Jonathan
15	Th	11/19	Groups & conformity DUE: ESSAY #2	Ch. 5 (Social influence): pp. 128-133
16	Tu	11/24	Deviance	Ch. 6 (Deviance & Crime): all Ch. 6 Supplement: (13) Chambliss, William
16	Th	11/26	NO CLASS – Thanksgiving holiday
17	Tu	12/1	Conclusions
17	Th	12/3	TEST #2

18	Th	12/10	FINAL EXAM, 1:30 - 4:00 p.m. in LAB 108

Note: The list of weekly topics in the course schedule is only a guide and may change without notice. The professor reserves the right to make changes to this syllabus during the course of the semester. Any major changes will be announced in class, and students are responsible for attending every class in order to be aware of any announcements.