Sociology 101 Honors |
Instructor: Dr. Dana Fennell e-mail: Dana.Fennell@usm.edu |
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Fall 2009 LAB 433 T/Th 11-12:15 H01H 19196 |
Office: LAB 441 Phone #: (601)266-5355 (better to e-mail) Office Hours: T/Th 10:00am-11:00am; 2:30pm-3:00pm or by appointment |
Course Description and Objectives: This course is an honors level introduction to sociology class. Together we will explore the social world from a number of theoretical and methodological avenues. Topics we will cover include everything from language to sexuality. Objectives for this course include:
- providing you with the tools to use your sociological imagination
- providing you with knowledge of how the social world shapes who we are as individuals
- showing you how we as individuals create and participate in society
- teaching you how to critically assess and evaluate scholarly materials, and
- providing you with an active learning experience in
*Be
aware that this class will be making a trip to
Course Materials:
Books:
Barndt,
Deborah. 2007. Tangled Routes: Women, Work, and
Globalization on the Tomato Trail. 2nd
Edition.
and Littlefield.
Hughes, Michael, and
Carolyn J. Kroehler. 2008. Sociology: The Core 9th
Edition.
Stepick, Alex,
Guillermo Grenier, Max Castro, and Marvin Dunn.
2003. This Land is Our Land:
Immigrants and Power in
reading 2 chapters from this book]
Tweed, Thomas
A. 2002.
Our Lady of the Exile: Diasporic Religion at a Cuban Catholic Shrine
in
University Press. [note that you
can read this book online through the library and we will be reading a bit less
than half the
book]
Additional
Online: I set up a
facebook (http://www.facebook.com) account for this class in order to keep you
updated, and allow you to discuss class topics. The name of this group is: Sociology Honors
101.
Classroom Environment: I believe that learning is an interactive experience, which we will partake in together during this class. We will discuss some sensitive topics in this class, so if a topic is ever too explicit for you, please leave the room and meet with me later. I expect you to participate in class activities and discussions, and share your ideas. Everyone will not always agree, but I demand an environment of respect, free from ridicule and harassment. Not following this policy will lead to points being taken from your final grade.
Notes: Policies on Academic Honesty and support for students with disabilities are located in your textbook.
*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
Address:
The
Office
for Disability Accommodations
Voice
Telephone: (601) 266-5024 or (228)
214-3232 Fax: (601) 266-6035
Individuals with hearing impairments can contact ODA using the
Service at 1-800-582-2233 (TTY) or email Suzy Hebert at Suzanne.Hebert@usm.edu.
Tentative Schedule:
Date |
Topic |
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Aug 20 (Th) |
Introduction |
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Aug 25 (T) |
Religion and Identity |
Our Lady of the Exile (p3-60, 83-95) Sociology: The Core (p41-54) |
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Aug 27 (Th) |
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Sept 1 (T) |
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Sept 3 (Th) |
What is Sociology/ Methodology |
“Researching Crack Dealers” Sociology: The Core (p2-3, 18-35) |
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Sept 8 (T) |
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Sept 10 (Th) |
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Sept 15 (T) |
Socialization and the Self |
“Video Game Characters” “Death Around the Corner” “Becoming a Marijuana User” Sociology: The Core (p54-62, 67-93) |
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Sept 17 (Th) |
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Sept 22 (T) |
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Sept 24 (Th) |
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Sept 29 (T) |
When Cultures Clash Race/Ethnicity |
This Land is Our Land (Ch 1, Ch 4) Sociology: The Core (p209-240) |
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Oct 1 (Th) |
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Oct 6 (T) |
No Class: Get Ready for Trip |
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Oct 8 (Th) |
No Class: Fall
Break |
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Oct 13 (T) |
Discussion of the Trip/ Stratification |
Sociology: The Core (p172-205, 296-299) |
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Oct 15 (Th) |
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Oct 20 (T) |
Test 1 |
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Oct 22 (Th) |
Stratification/ Organizations/ Political Economy of Food |
Tangled Routes |
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Oct 27 (T) |
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Oct 29 (Th) |
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Nov 3 (T) |
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Nov 5 (Th) |
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Nov 10 (T) |
Gender/Sexuality |
“Defining and Producing Genitals” Sociology: The Core (p244-275) |
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Nov 12 (Th) |
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Nov 17 (T) |
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Nov 19 (Th) |
Crime/Deviance |
“Saints and Sinners” “Moral Career of the Mental Patient” Sociology: The Core (p130-168) |
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Nov 24 (T) |
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Nov 26 (Th) |
No Class: |
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Dec 1 (T) |
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Dec 3 (Th) |
Last Day of Class/
Review for Final |
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Dec 8 (T)… 10:45 -1:15 |
Final Exam |
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* This syllabus is not set in stone, nor does it provide all the details of each assignment. I reserve the right to modify this syllabus at any time.
Grading and Assignments*:
First Exam: 19%
Final Exam (cumulative): 24%
Attendance and Participation: 3%
Paper Assignments: 13.5% each
*If you miss a test or other assignment for a documented reason, please contact me within a week by e-mail and be prepared with documentation. These exceptional situations will be handled on an individual basis.
Exams: There are two exams. Your final exam is cumulative.
Attendance and Participation: I take attendance on random days. I assign homework periodically, and daily quizzes will be implemented if the majority of the class does not read/participate. Participation in verbal discussions, group assignments, and short writing exercises is expected. You are responsible for all material covered in class and in the readings whether you are present or not. If you miss class for a documented reason, provide me with the documentation. Get notes from somebody first, and then come to me if you have questions about what you missed. If you miss more than 2 classes (without documentation), I will start to take 2 points off your final grade for every class you miss.
Papers: You are required to write 4 papers for this class. Each paper should be 3-4 pages long, and is each worth 13.5% of your final grade. I am grading you on your ability to do the assignment and link it to sociology. When writing your paper, actively and explicitly refer to and draw off of sociological concepts and/or theories, making sure to cite the book. I will be grading you on: 1.) your ability to explain and discuss core sociological concepts in the course of your paper, 2.) your ability to apply these concepts to the real world issue assigned to you, 3.) your paper organization, 4.) your grammar, and 5.) your ability to describe the real world issue the paper addresses.
Topics: Choose four of the following topics:
Socialization Option #1 Due Sept 24 In class we have been talking about culture and socialization into roles, and you have been assigned a reading on the messages in gangsta rap. Print out the lyrics to one of your favorite songs (one you wrote or one you just like to listen to) and interpret these lyrics. Then write a paper where you first explain what cultural messages the song contains, and then describe how it has socialized you and/or reflects your attitudes towards society.
Stratification Due Oct 27 In class we’ve been discussing stratification. Drawing off class lecture and readings, describe your vision of a utopia. Begin by describing the type of stratification present (or if there is no stratification), and spend the rest of the paper outlining how you will alter the structures and institutions of the society to make this possible. You may want to also describe the political system, and the type of economic system (how goods are distributed).
Deviance Due Nov 24 In
class we’ve discussed what deviance is, and you have read how some sociologists
feel that a picture is worth a thousand words.
For this paper, take two pictures that you feel embody non-criminal
deviance (e-mail them to me or print them out).
Then write a paper
describing/analyzing these pictures (and explaining how they illustrate
deviance). The pictures need to be taken
by you and just for this project (i.e. don’t use pictures off the Internet and
don’t use pictures you took in the past).
General Paper
Guidelines:
Papers must be turned in during the first 10 minutes of class as a hard copy (not by e-mail and not after the first 10 minutes of class), or they will considered late and not be accepted. Furthermore, you must be in class the day your paper is due (do not just leave your paper off). If you have an emergency, provide documentation within 1 day. Be prepared to share your paper with the class on the day we cover that topic, or your grade will be negatively impacted. All papers must be typed, double spaced, and in 12 point Times New Roman font. You must write complete pages to get full credit (works cited and charts do not count towards assignment length). You should use a word processing program to check for obvious grammatical mistakes. I take off for grammar, especially when mistakes impede your meaning. Also, do not use wikipedia or wiki-products as sources in your papers. Be careful and make sure not to plagiarize. Plagiarism occurs when you directly quote or paraphrase a source and do not give credit to that source. If you are referencing classroom texts, you still must cite. For more information, see the last page of your syllabus. If you are not sure what plagiarism is, please meet with me.
More specifically, violating the following guidelines will result in these penalties:
*Paper turned in after the first 10 minutes of class but the day the assignment is due: -20 points
*Paper turned in the day after the assignment is due: paper will not be accepted
*Incorrectly formatted paper: -10 points
*Paper is not the correct length: points deducted according to what percentage of your paper is missing…for example, if paper is half of the designated length then 50 points will be taken off
*You are not in class or prepared to discuss your paper in class when called upon: -10 points
*Wikipedia is cited as a source: -5-10 points
*Plagiarism where you do not appropriately use quotation marks although you have an accurate parenthetical reference, or plagiarism where you use quotation marks but do not have a parenthetical reference, or plagiarism where you paraphrase without a parenthetical reference: -10-20points
*Plagiarism where you fail to use appropriate quotation marks and an appropriate parenthetical reference: you fail the class and face administrative sanctions
Note: Feel free to discuss your paper ideas and drafts with me.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism occurs when you do not appropriately give credit to others for
their ideas. You must cite and reference
your sources in order to avoid this.
Unless material is common knowledge, or you are documenting your own
thoughts and ideas, you must cite your sources.
Plagiarism can happen in a number of ways. You are plagiarizing if you are: 1.)
paraphrasing material from a source and not giving credit to the source, 2.)
directly quoting a source and not giving credit to the source, or 3.) directly
quoting from a source and not using quotation marks (even though you may be
giving credit to the source). For this class, you must always mention
your sources in the text of your paper (a parenthetical reference) and create a
works cited page. You must even quote
definitions from the book and readings.
For example:
*If directly quoting: A “dominant group is one that is advantaged and has superior resources and rights in a society” (Kendall and Miller 2007:314). Or:
According to Kendall and Miller, a “dominant group is one that is advantaged and has superior resources and rights in a society” (2007:314).
*If paraphrasing: According to Kendall and Miller (2007), the terms advantaged and disadvantaged are used by sociologists to emphasize the importance of power relations versus group size to patterns of discrimination; a subordinate group may be larger in size than the dominant group, yet still have less power in society.
For your works cited make sure you include the author(s)’
name(s), year of publication, title, city of publication and publisher’s
name. Ex. Kendall, Diana, and Amy
Chasteen Miller. 2007. Understanding
Society. Mason: Thomson
If it is a journal article, make sure you include not only the title of the article but also the title of the journal.