INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY
This course provides an introduction and overview to the discipline of sociology, the systematic study of human society. Sociology is a fascinating field. In this class you will learn a lot about yourself, the groups, the community, and the society in which you live, and the other 95% of the world you have yet to experience. Most importantly, you will be challenged, through exercise of the Sociological Imagination, to think about yourself and social life in new ways.
We will first learn what makes sociology unique among the social sciences and how to critically consider our personal environments and the larger world in which we live from a sociological perspective. Using this framework, we will come to understand basic sociological concepts and the process of sociological investigation. We will then look at a variety of contemporary social institutions, issues, and concerns, such as the economy and work, education, deviance, sexuality, social stratification, and inequalities of race, ethnicity, and gender, from both a micro- and macro-sociological perspective. Finally, we will approach each topic with the understanding that our culture, society, and social institutions are inextricably linked to the rest of the world through the processes of globalization and the dynamics of the global economy.
Required Readings:
Sociology, 8th Edition
John J. Macionis
2001: Prentice Hall
Fast Food
Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal
Eric Schlosser
2001: Houghton Mifflin
Your grade will be calculated as follows:
First
Exam
15%
Second
Exam
15%
Final
Exam
20%
Take-home writing 30%
assignments (3)
In-class assignments 10%
Attendance/Participation 10%
Exam materials include lectures, discussions, readings, and videos. All exams will be short-answer and essay format. In-class assignments will assess your comprehension of the assigned readings. The take-home writing assignments will be discussed in detail early in the semester.
Each student will come to class prepared for lecture, discussion, and questions. This means that a) readings will be completed no later than the week assigned, b) students will show up on time for each class meeting with text and questions in hand, and c) students will engage the materials by taking good notes, asking relevant questions and and actively and regularly participating in class discussions. Students who fail to follow these guidelines will receive no credit for participation.
There are no "excused" absences. Your attendance grade will be calculated at the end of the semester. Greater than 90% attendance will result in full credit for attendance; less than 75% attendance will result in no credit.
Students will turn in all assignments on time, and will take all exams as scheduled. Special arrangements for writing exams will be at the discretion of the instructor and will only be considered with prior written (or email) notification. There will be no "make-ups" for in-class assignments.
Students who doze off or sleep in class will be asked, and expected to leave.
Special
Needs:
Students with special needs should arrange to meet with the professor during the first week of class.
Contact Information:
Office: Wallace Hall,
Lower Level, Room 3
Email: jkessler@monm.edu
Phone: 457-2165
I respectfully request that you do not phone me at home. I check my email and voicemail frequently, and I promise to return your messages expeditiously (unless I am out of town). During the week I can usually be found in my office when I am not teaching.
Academic Integrity:
Students found to have engaged in any form of academic dishonesty
will fail the course.
http://www.monm.edu/academics/Registrar/academic_programs.htm
The
following areas are violations and subject to the dishonesty charge:
1) Cheating on tests, labs, etc
2)
Plagiarism, i.e., using word, ideas, writing, or work of another without giving
appropriate credit.
3) Improper collaboration between students, i.e., not doing one’s own work on
outside assignments specified as group projects by the instructor
Reading Schedule
Week 1
C1: Sociological Perspective
Week 2
C2: Sociological Investigation
Week 3
C3: Culture
Week 4
C4: Society
First
Exam
Week 5
C5, C6: Socialization; Social Interaction
Week 6
C7: Groups and Organizations
"Quiet Rage" (The Stanford Prison Experiment) - Fri.,
Feb. 22nd
First Writing Assignment Due Wed., Feb. 27th - WRITING TIPS
Week 7
Article:
Footballs versus Barbies
C8: Deviance
Article: Religious
Remarks... (deviance as clarifying moral boundaries)
Week 8
C10, C11: Social Stratification; Social Class in America
Week 9
C12: Global Stratification
Week 10
C13, C9: Gender Stratification; Sexuality
Article:
Muslim Women - An Identity Reduced to a Burqa
Article:
Same-Sex Adoptions
“Fast Food Nation”: Intro
Second writing assignment Due Wed., March 20th - WRITING TIPS
Second Exam
Week 11
C14: Race and Ethnicity
"Fast Food Nation": Part I
Week 12
C16: Economy and Work
“Fast Food Nation”: Part II
Article: "Indiana Steel
Generations See Way of Life Melt Away"
Week 13
"Fast Food Nation": Epilogue
Movers and Shakers
Third Writing Assignment (small group assignment)
Due Wednesday, April 24th
Week 14
Week 15
Work; Fast Food Nation
Article: Huge feedlots
pit economic need against quality of life
Week 16
Education
Final Exam
CELL PHONES AND AUDIBLE BEEPERS ARE TO BE TURNED OFF DURING CLASS