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CLASS INFORMATION SHEET
Sociology 1A
Spring 2009
Introduction to Sociology
MWF 11-12
Cunn 101
Harry J. Mersmann, Ph.D.
Phone: 954-5417
E-mail:hmersmann@deltacollege.edu
Office: Locke 226
Office Hours: MWF 10-11
TuTh 11-12
And By Appointment
This course examines how social forces affect human behavior. Students classify, discuss,
and analyze the major social forces such as: socialization, culture, class inequality and
differences, ethnic and racial relations, economic and political institutions, education,
family, religion, and social change. (UC, CSU, CAN Soc 2)
PREREQUISITES
Reading level II.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
This course provides students with an introduction to the "sociological imagination".
Diverse and important contributions of sociology to the understanding of complex social
issues will be presented and discussed. Students will gain an understanding of the
relationship between large social institutions and their personal lives as well as a
sociological understanding of more "micro" level interactions between people. Emphasis
will be placed on theory, sociological research methods, and learning how to critically
write and think in a sociological manner.
COURSE OUTLINE
I. The Foundations of Sociology
A. The Sociological Perspective
B. Sociological Theory and Theorists
C. Sociological Investigation
II. The Foundations of Society
A. Culture
B. Society
C. Socialization
D. Everyday Interaction
E. Groups and Organizations
F. Deviance
III. Social Inequality
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A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Social Stratification
Social Class
Race and Ethnicity
Sex and Gender
Sexual Orientation
IV. Social Institutions
A. Family
B. Education
C. Religion
D. Economy
E. Media and Leisure
TEXTBOOK
Kerry Ferris and Jill Stein, The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology, 2008.
NOTE: You must also purchase a pack of 3X5 Index cards
OBLIGATIONS OF THE STUDENT
1. Students are responsible for attending all lectures, taking notes, and reading all
assigned materials. The tests will cover material from readings, lectures, and other
classroom activities. If you miss a class, it is your responsibility to get notes on the
material that you missed.
2. It is the student's responsibility to be aware of all of the conditions and expectations of
this course. This includes any syllabus or administrative changes that are announced in
class. If you miss a class you assume the consequences of being uninformed about any
changes.
3. This course "requires a minimum of three hours of work per week for each unit of
credit, including class time." (California State Education Code: Title V, Section 55022).
Students who wish to do better than a passing grade will most likely need to spend more
time.
4. This course is like a prize drawing: You must be present to win. Regular attendance
and preparation is the key to success. You are strongly urged to have the material read
and prepared by the date it is listed on the course schedule.
5. It is your responsibility to drop courses.
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SOCIAL SCIENCES DIVISION CLASSROOM EXPECTATIONS
It is expected that students in all Social Science Division classes will:
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TURN OFF ALL CELL PHONES BEFORE CLASS BEGINS.
be attentive to, and participate in, all instructional activities.
be courteous to people with different perspectives and values.
be respectful of all persons.
be on time.
not leave early without instructor permission.
not disrupt class sessions by inappropriate behavior.
not cheat on assignments or examinations.
not engage in plagiarism.
make use of instructor office hours during designated times.
METHOD OF EVALUATION
Midterm Exam 3/13
Final Exam 5/18
Participation
Online Quizzes
Data Workshops
7 points
5 points
8 points
40 points
40 points
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100 points possible
EXAMS
Exams may be oral or written; individual or group. Format will be determined one week
prior to the exam. Exams are intended to be cumulative learning experiences.
Make-up exams will be given will be accepted at the discretion of the professor. All
requests (in-person or via email) for make-up exams MUST be made within 48 hours of
the original exam date. There is NO GUARANTEE that the request will be honored even
if made in time.
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PARTICIPATION
You MUST purchase a pack of 3X5 index cards and bring them with you every day to
class. At least once each week, there will be an in class opportunity involving the cards.
This may be a quiz, a short writing response, or another activity. If you miss class, you
miss the opportunity. Your participation grade will be partly based on your opportunity
cards.
Since it is hard to participate if you are not in class, any absence, beyond the first six, will
result in the deduction of one participation point.
ONLINE QUIZZES
Before class begins on the first day a chapter is listed on the course schedule, you must go
to the textbook website http://www.wwnorton.com/college/soc/real_world/diagnostic.asp
and take the 20 question quiz on the reading and then submit the results using my email
address (hmersmann@deltacollege.edu) and your section (MWF11-12). You may take
each quiz a number of times before you submit your results. Although there are 14
chapters, you only need to take 12 quizzes. Each quiz must be completed before class on
the day it is listed on the syllabus and no late quizzes will be accepted.
DATA WORKSHOPS
Here you will have the opportunity to actively engage as a sociologist through
participation in relatively short exercises and investigations. There are 14 possible data
workshops listed (one for each chapter), but you only have to do 8 of them. In each case
you must choose the “formal” option and your write-up should be 2-3 pages, typed and
double spaced. DO NOT JUST SUBMIT ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS, rather use
your answers to organize and provide fodder for a well thought out paper. Each write-up
is worth 5 points, for a total of 40 points possible. Papers are due in class on the day listed
on the syllabus and no late papers will be accepted.
NOTE: Some of the workshops require a few days of observation and can not be
completed the night before….Plan Ahead!
GRADES
I will do my best to return exams and papers within two weeks.
Grades will be assigned on a curve based on the highest total of points earned by a student
in the course:
90-100% of highest score = A
80-89% of highest score = B
70-79% of highest score = C
60-69% of highest score = D
0-59% of highest score = F
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COURSE SCHEDULE AND ASSIGNED READINGS
Note: Assigned readings are given for each week. It is strongly suggested that you
complete the readings by the first day listed on the syllabus. This will make you more
prepared for the lectures and exercises in class, allow you to ask questions on material that
is unclear, successfully complete the quizzes, and get a higher grade in the course.
We will usually spend three days on each chapter in the text. You will have completed the
online quiz for the chapter before we meet and we will spend the first two days of each
chapter covering the ideas and concepts therein utilizing discussions, lectures, and in class
exercises. On the third day, about half of you will have a completed data workshop to
submit and we will spend much of our class time exploring your results and observations.
1/12
Introductions
Go to the website
http://www.wwnorton.com/college/soc/real_world/diagnostic.asp
and complete the 5 question quiz on Chapter 16 to make sure you
understand how to use the system. Don’t worry about getting the questions
right, just send me the results and yourself a copy.
1/14
Introductions: Continued
Read the preface to the book
1/16
Chapter 1: Sociology and the Real World (Online Quiz Due Before Class)
1/19
Holiday
1/21
Chapter 1: Continued
1/23
Chapter 1: Data Workshop Due: Doing Nothing p. 20
1/26
Chapter 2: Sociology’s Family Tree: Theories and Theorists (Online Quiz
Due Before Class)
1/28
Chapter 2: Continued
1/30
Chapter 2: Data Workshop Due: Shopping for Theoretical Perspectives at
Wal-Mart p. 54-55 (Last names A-H do Functionalist; I-P do Conflict; Q-Z
do Interactionist)
2/2
Chapter 3: Studying Social Life: Sociological Research Methods (Online
Quiz Due Before Class)
2/4
Chapter 3: Continued
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2/6
Chapter 3: Data Workshop Due: Observing and Describing Verbal and
Nonverbal Communication p. 67-68. (Do both verbal and non-verbal
exercises, but you only need to write up one of them. Bring 3-4 pages of
typed written descriptions and we will analyze them in class according to
Option 1)
2/9
Chapter 4: Cultural Crossroads (Online Quiz Due Before Class)
2/11
Chapter 4: Continued
2/13, 16
Holidays
2/18
Chapter 4: Data Workshop Due: Seeing Culture in Popular Magazines p.
108-109
2/20
Chapter 5: The Self and Interaction (Online Quiz Due Before Class)
2/23
Chapter 5: Continued
2/25
Chapter 5: Data Workshop Due: Impression Management in Action
p. 125
2/27
Chapter 6: Separate and Together: Life in Groups (Online Quiz Due
Before Class)
3/2
Chapter 6: Continued
3/4
Chapter 6: Data Workshop Due: Virtual Communities and “Netiquette”
p.146-148
3/6
Chapter 7: Deviance and Conformity (Online Quiz Due Before Class)
3/9
Chapter 7: Continued
3/11
Chapter 7: Data Workshop Due: Deviance (found at the end of the
syllabus)
3/13
MIDTERM EXAM
3/16
Chapter 8: Social Class: The Structure of Inequality
3/18
Chapter 8: Continued (Online Quiz Due Before Class)
3/20
Chapter 8: Data Workshop Due: Class Consciousness p. 206
3/23
In Class Exercise
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3/25
Chapter 9: Race and Ethnicity as Lived Experience (Online Quiz Due
Before Class)
3/27
Chapter 9: Continued
3/30
Chapter 9: Data Workshop Due: The Politics and Poetics of Racial Identity
p. 236-237
4/1
Chapter 10: Constructing Gender and Sexuality (Online Quiz Due Before
Class)
4/3
Chapter 10: Continued
4/6-10
SPRING BREAK
4/13
Chapter 10: Continued
4/15
Chapter 10: Data Workshop Due: Gender and the Mall (found at the end of
the syllabus)
4/17
Chapter 11: Politics, Education, and Religion (Online Quiz Due Before
Class)
4/20
Chapter 11: Continued
4/22
Chapter 11: Data Workshop Due: Religion and Culture (found at the end of
the syllabus)
4/24
Chapter 12: The Economy, Work, and Working (Online Quiz Due Before
Class)
4/27
Chapter 12: Continued
4/29
Chapter 12: Data Workshop Due: Are Your Clothes Part of the Global
Commodity Chain? (Do all three exercises) p.344
5/1
Chapter 13: Life at Home (Online Quiz Due Before Class)
5/4
Chapter 13: Continued
5/6
Chapter 13: Data Workshop Due: The Second Shift: Gendered Norms and
Household Labor p. 266 (note: This is in Chapter 10 and be sure to
interview someone from a two parent family).
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5/8
Chapter 14: Recreation and Leisure in Everyday Life (Online Quiz Due
Before Class)
5/11
Chapter 14: Continued
5/13
Chapter 14: Data Workshop Due: Unsportsmanlike Conduct ? (exercise 2)
p. 383-384
5/18
FINAL EXAM 10-12
CHAPTER 7 DATA WORKSHOP: DEVIANCE
(Adapted from an assignment by Joyce Johnson)
For the next week take note of whenever you find yourself thinking or feeling someone
else is “weird” or “crazy.” Pick one or two examples and write a 2-3 page paper that
covers the following issues and questions:
Describe the behaviors and situations.
What norms were being violated by this person? Did you know those norms were
“there”? Where is this “there?’
How were the norms specific to the person’s social status (age, gender, race, class, etc.)?
Are there situations in which these behaviors might appear rational? Describe them.
What is the significance of this?
Can you imagine a situation where you might behave similarly and not think of yourself as
“weird or “crazy?”
How did the label (“weird,” “crazy,” etc.) affect how you perceived the situation and the
person? How did the label affect your interaction with or feelings about the person?
CHAPTER 10 DATA WORKSHOP:
GENDER SOCIALIZATION AT A LOCAL MALL
Designed and created by Keith Roberts.
Purpose: to understand the visible and subtle messages about self, values, and identity
that are communicated in an American mall.
Do any two of the six exercises below. Then answer the summary questions at the end in a
two to three page paper.
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Observation One:
1.
2.
Video Arcade: Name of Arcade
As you walk through the arcade, note the following:
a.
Are the characters in the game mostly male or female?
b.
What roles do they assume in the game?
c.
What stereotyped role do the characters assume?
d.
Are the customers playing the games predominately male or female?
e.
What messages are communicated and what values are transmitted through
these games?
Have one of the group members play a game. Name of game
a.
Describe the males in the game
b.
Describe the females in the game
c.
What was the object of the game?
d.
Describe the violence in the game.
Observation Two:
Music Store: Name of Store
1.
How are men and women portrayed on the CD covers? Look at 10-15 of each.
2.
What types of music are men likely to perform? women?
3.
What values are portrayed and modeled on the CD covers?
4.
Are these significant for adolescent’s or children’s sense of who they want to
become?
Observation Three: Card Store or Section. Name of
Store__________________________
1.
Look at the two sections: “Birthday Boy” and “Birthday Girl”. Note the colors of
each type of card.
2.
What roles are assumed in the cards by gender?
3.
Describe the difference between male/female birthday cards.
4.
Look at the wrapping paper. How does that reflect gender?
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Observation Four:
Toy-Store or Toy Department. Name of Store:
1.
Look at the dolls: Do they appear to be targeted toward boys or girls? How is this
done? Are there any gender neutral dolls? What messages are reflected back to a
child about what it means to be a girl or a boy in our society?
2.
Look at the guns: Are they targeted primarily for boys or girls?
3.
What personality characteristics are promoted by the dolls? by the guns?
Check the packaging—what message does it convey?
4.
Describe the color and pictures on the packaging for various toys. What messages
are reflected back to a child about what it means to be a girl or a boy in our culture?
5.
What social roles are various toys teaching and training children? Given special
attention to any messages about the meaning of being a boy or a girl.
Observation Five:
Clothing stores/departments
1.
Walk through the departments for men’s clothing and for women’s clothing,
including the sections devoted to underwear. Notice the models and the
advertisements.
2.
What differences do you notice? Is there any difference in the appeal?
3.
What messages are communicated in these ads and displays?
SUMMARY OBSERVATIONS:
1.
How does the mall strengthen gender identity and gender roles?
2.
What agents of gender socialization exist at the mall?
3.
Do American malls influence shopper’s values and beliefs about gender? If so,
how?
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CHAPTER 11 DATA WORKSHOP: RELIGION and CULTURE.
I want you to attend a church or worship service different from the one you usually attend.
If you do not usually attend a worship service, you can choose any one. I would like you
to explore a different setting from the one with which you are familiar. If you are
Methodist for example, do not just go to another Methodist Church. Instead, consider
attending a Jewish, Buddhist, Unitarian, or Greek Orthodox worship service. Try to push
past your ethnocentrism. Write up a 2-3 page paper of your experience explicitly
discussing the cultural concepts of symbols, language, norms, values, and material
artifacts (You might want to review these concepts from Chapter 4). This paper should be
an exploration of the components of culture, NOT a chronology of your experiences and
observations at the service. Also include a paragraph answering the following questions:
What do you think about this other place of worship and belief system? How do you think
someone of this other faith would perceive your religious services and beliefs?