Understanding Society: Principles of
Sociology
|
Instructor: Dr. Dana Fennell |
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Sociology 101
LAB 208 |
e-mail: dana.fennell@usm.edu or tiramisu312@yahoo.com |
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Summer 2007 Mini Session May 12-16 8am to 5pm |
Office: LAB 439 Phone #: 266-4453 (better to e-mail) Office hours by appointment |
Course Description and Objectives: This course will provide you with an introduction to
sociology. Topics we will cover include
everything from stratification to sexuality.
In this course you will learn how to examine the social world around you
through a variety of theoretical perspectives.
You will gain experience in critically evaluating popular media and
scholarly texts, along with learning the basics of research methodology. By the end of this course you will be able to
see how the social world affects who we are as individuals, but also how people
act together to shape our social world.
Course Materials:
Book: All Sociology
101 sections at USM require the text Understanding Society by Diane
Kendall and Amy Chasteen Miller, published by
Thomson/Wadsworth. This is a special
edition of Diane Kendall’s text, modified for USM.
Additional
Online: I
set up a Facebook (http://www.facebook.com) account
for this class in order to keep you updated, provide you with test reviews, and
allow you to discuss class topics. You
will need to be a member of the Southern Miss network to join the group, and
the group is called SOC 101 Mini.
Classroom Environment:
Learning is an interactive
experience, and I expect everyone to participate actively in class discussions
and activities. Everyone will not always
agree, but the classroom environment must remain one of respect. We will be covering some sensitive topics so
if you ever feel uncomfortable discussing a particular topic for any reason,
please leave the room and meet with me later.
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 |
Assignment
|
|
May 12 (M) |
Introduction Sociology of Education Research Methods Theory |
“Pedagogy of the Oppressed” Ch 16 (p.515-525) Ch 2 Ch 1 |
|
May 13 (T) |
Test 1 Socialization Social Interaction Language and Culture |
Ch 4 (p. 108-112, 117-134) Ch 11 (p. 356-365) Ch 5 (p. 136-148, 156-167) Ch 3 |
|
May 14 (W) |
Test 2 Social Stratification Race |
Ch 8 Ch 10 |
|
May 15 (Th) |
Test 3 Race Family/Gender |
Ch 15 Ch 11 (p. 344-355) |
|
May 16 (Fri) |
Final Exam (Cumulative) Gender/Sexuality Deviance |
Ch 7 |
Grading and Assignments:
Tests (1, 2 and 3): 13% each
Final Exam (cumulative): 18%
Attendance and Participation:
4%
Paper Assignments: 13% each
Tests: There
are three tests, each worth 13% of your final grade. Your final exam is cumulative and is worth 18%
of your final grade. If you miss a test
for a documented reason, please contact me within a day by e-mail. These exceptional situations will be handled
on an individual basis.
Attendance and Participation: Attendance and
participation are crucial. I will take
attendance at random times throughout the day, and assign homework
periodically. 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. Do not expect me to provide you with notes
if you are absent. If you miss class for
a documented emergency, provide me with the documentation. Get notes from somebody first, and then come
to me if you have questions about what you missed.
Papers: All students in Sociology 101 must write a
minimum of 9 pages. You must pick 3 of
the below topics. Each paper should be 3
pages long, and is each worth 13% 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.
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--not a paragraph or even a
sentence short (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. Plagiarism is
unacceptable. 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: -30 points
*Paper turned in after the
assignment is due: paper will not be accepted
*Incorrectly formatted paper:
-15 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: -10-30points
*Plagiarism where you
paraphrase without a parenthetical reference: -10
*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.
Paper Topics:
Methods Due: May 13 You want
to know about discrimination in malls.
Write a paper outlining a fictional research project on this topic using
sociological terms. Tell me what your
research question is, your variables of interest, how you will operationalize them, your methodology, and why you chose
this methodology versus another (what benefits will this methodology provide
you).
Roles Due: May 13 Your book discusses what a role
is on page 144, and in various chapters describes the “agents of
socialization.” Write a paper about one
of your roles using sociological concepts.
Focus on one role, and describe in detail how you were socialized into
this role through various agents of socialization. In addition to this, you may also discuss
role conflict and role strain or other relevant terms.
Goffman Due: May 14 Your book discusses
dramaturgical theory. We will also discuss
this in class. Write a paper applying
this theory to one of your roles.
Describe your front stage, back stage, techniques for impression
management, experiences of failed impression management, etc.
Economics/Stratification in the Future Due: May 14
Drawing off sociological
terms tied to stratification, describe your vision of a utopia. Will it be a caste system, class system, or a
meritocracy? 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 make this possible.
Film Analysis Due: May 15 Pick any film, and use at least
3 sociological concepts to analyze the film.
Deviance Story Due: May 16 Imagine you
have been labeled as a deviant and have been thrown into a "total
institution." Using sociological
concepts/theories, write a fictional story describing your experiences, how it
made you feel, etc.
Poetry Analysis Due: May
16 Use 3 sociological
concepts/theories to analyze/critique the following poem:
Rage #5 (Rebollo-Gil, Guillermo.
2000. Veinte.
|
first thing in the morning |
she is the hush hush |
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she does the windows, the
blinds |
underpaid oppressed
architect |
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and the living room floor. |
of the rose petal walkways |
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notes are plastered all
over the house |
that protect the tender
feet |
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reminding her what to do |
and secure the simple life |
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where to go... |
of the rich family in the
white house |
|
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with the white walls |
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up the stairs down the
stairs |
splattered with the white
lie |
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mend the clothes, make the
beds |
of an unsubsidized dream |
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up down again and again |
in a doom foretold |
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vacuum the carpets, clean that mess. |
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|
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but never believed |
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oh! and be careful not to trip |
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over the tonka trucks |
there is no picket line
loud enough |
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and blue-eyed dolls |
no support group strong
enough, |
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in your way |
no lawyer or union |
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and don't pay no mind |
or compassionate
association |
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to the fact |
of deep pockets and
charitable souls |
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that barbie
has a bigger room than you |
to make a plea for her |
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and better threads than you |
to shout for her |
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and a better life than you |
to protect her. |
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because...well, because we
tell you to, |
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|
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she is housekeeper/ |
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she cooks the meal, |
nanny/mother/woman/giant |
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sets the table |
but that don’t really
matter |
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and takes the blame |
does it? |
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for any mishap |
|
|
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'cause in |
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in the mr.
and mrs. scotch-guarded world |
cheap labor is her name, |
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but nevertheless... |
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she goes on. |
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a genie in the kitchen, |
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a wiz with the hose, |
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the mop her forced passion, |
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the broom her imposed love. |
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--------------Group
Project Instructions----------------------
This
is optional. You may choose to do a
group project in place of one test. (you can not get out of the final though) You may not do both and take the better grade. Groups should
contain 2-3 people. You must pick your
group members yourself.
If you choose the group
project, instructions are as follows.
Your assignment is to take a
sociological concept or theory and instruct the class in it. Do not pick too broad of an area to
cover. You must not lecture the entire
time. Instead you have to pick an
interactive format (or formats) that includes class
participation. For example, this could
be a game, role play, group assignment (where you would break the class up into
groups and give them an assignment), etc.
However, you must do more than simply present information to the class
and make them regurgitate it.
You may need to do some
lecture or debriefing. Just make sure
that the bulk of the project is not. Each
person in the group must participate in the group presentation somehow,
although they do not have to necessarily speak.
You do not have to do research outside of the class readings, but you
may choose to.
Your project should last 20
minutes. The following outlines
deadlines you must meet. For every
deadline you miss, I will take 10points off your grade.
-You must form your groups and
pick the specific concept/theory you will be covering approved by me by May 12. Turn in a paper with all group members’ names
and the area.
-You must submit a 1-2 page
proposal at least a day before you give the project.
-You must meet with me and
discuss your project at least a day before you give your project. I will accept or reject your plan and give
you feedback.
Put a decent amount of time
in the project, because I will grade this as if I were grading a test.
I will grade you on the
following:
1. (most
important) how well your project conveys the said concept or theory, as the
class must learn from what you do
2. how
accurate the information is that you present
3. how
thorough your project is (does it cover all the important aspects of the topic
or theory)
4. how
creative your proposal and presentation are
5. the
clarity of your proposal
6. how
well you engage the class
7. your
presentation style
8. your
ability to stick to the designated time
Note: All group members do
not have to omit the same test. Each
individual who has chosen this option needs to send me an e-mail before the
test they are omitting indicating such.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism occurs when you do not
appropriately give credit to others for their ideas. You must appropriately 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.
If you fail to do this, you will get a zero as your final grade in the
class and I will report you to the administration.
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.
This applies for all papers that must be turned in whether they are
reaction papers or homework. 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. If it is a journal article make sure you include not only the title
of the article but also the title of the journal:
Ex.
Kendall, Diana, and Amy Chasteen Miller. 2007. Understanding
Society. Mason: Thomson