SOCIOLOGY 3383.004-ONLINE – SOCIOLOGY OF AGING
SYLLABUS – FALL 2013
Instructor: Lillian Dees
Office: UAC 447
Office Hours: 11 – 12 a.m. MW or by appointment
Telephone: 512-245-2455
E-Mail: ld01@txstate.edu
COMMUNICATING WITH YOUR INSTRUCTOR:
E-Mail
The best way to communicate with me is through email ld01@txstate.edu. However, if you
need to talk in person, please e-mail me so we can agree on a convenient time for a telephone
call or meeting in my office.
Please indicate the course number (SOCI 3383-Online) somewhere in the subject line of your
email so I will know to attend to it quickly.
Email Response Time
Generally I will respond to emails within a day of receiving them. If I plan to be away from my
computer for more than a couple of days, I will let you know in advance.
Grade Response Time
Grades for all assignments will be posted no later than 5 days after the due date.
COMMUNICATING WITH OTHER CLASS MEMBERS - FORUMS:
General Course Questions Forum
If you have a question about course content or mechanics, I encourage you to post it to the
General Course Questions Forum (described below). Doing so gives students in the course an
opportunity to interact with one another and allows everyone to benefit from answers to your
question. Of course, do not hesitate to email me directly if your concern is of a personal
nature.
Share and Tell Forum
Use this forum to celebrate your personal accomplishments, encourage each other, post
inspirational quotes, recommend videos, etc.
COURSE DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVES:
Course Description
This course focuses on the processes of aging primarily in American society and including
attention to the special problems related to the middle and later stages of the life cycle.
Course Objectives
This course is designed:
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1. To introduce students to the essential concepts, theories and research used in sociology to
analyze the aging process.
2. To develop an awareness of social issues related to aging, especially in regard to how
gender, class and race impact the individual aging process.
3. To provide an opportunity for students to engage in critical thinking so that students gain
a better understanding of the aging process.
4. To introduce students to politics, policies and programs related to the aged and to identify
issues for the future as they relate to the elderly.
REQUIRED AND RECOMMENDED MATERIAL
REQUIRED TEXT: Aging and the Life Course: An Introduction to Social Gerontology Jill
Quadagno, McGraw Hill, 5th Edition.
Firefox browser: To download Firefox go to: http://www.getfirefox.com
Microsoft Word: All assignments must be submitted in Word. (As a student you can
purchase Microsoft Office at the University Bookstore for a discounted price).
COURSE ORGANIZATION
Learning Modules
This is where the bulk of the course material can be found. There is a new module each week
of the semester. Modules will include the following, though not all are included in each
module.
Objectives
These are posted at the beginning of each module to indicate what you will learn by
the end of that module.
Text Reading Material
Required text readings are identified for each module.
Power Point Presentations
For each learning module there will be a Power Point presentation that will
supplement your reading requirements.
Video Viewing
Many of the topic modules have additional videos for you to view that are related to
the subject matter for that module.
Study Guide
For each learning module you will complete the Study Guide after reading the required
material and viewing the Power Point Presentation as well as videos related to the
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topic. The Study Guide will assist you in studying for quizzes as well as preparing for
the final exam.
Actively Elderly Videos
Each learning module will include as an opening exercise to view a video of older
people engaged in various activities. The videos will introduce you to seniors who are
staying active even in old age and to dispel the myth that older people are sedentary.
Assignments
Paper – Living Arrangements (See Learning Module /TRACS-Assignments for
instructions for completing this paper and see Course Calendar below for opening/due
dates.)
Paper – Reflection (See Learning Module /TRACS-Assignments for instructions for
completing this paper and see Course Calendar below for opening/due dates.)
Exercises
Instructions for the exercises are found in TRACS-Assignments and are due by the
assigned date in the Course Calendar below for opening/due dates.
Forums

General Course Questions Forum
Post any question or comment you may have about a topic, assignment, or
technical issues to this forum. Often, the answers to questions you raise will
benefit your colleagues as well. Feel free to answer one another’s questions! On
weekdays I will check and respond to the issues raised in this forum within 24
hours. Questions posted during the weekend will be answered the following
Monday.

Share and Tell Forum
Use this forum to celebrate your personal accomplishments, encourage each
other, post inspirational quotes, recommend videos, etc.

Module Forum Instructions and Rubric
(A copy of the Module Forum Instructions and Rubric can also be found in TRACSResources)
Overview of Module Forums
All students must respond to Forum 1, Introduce Yourself. Students will then
select three of the remaining six Forums they desire to participate in and indicate
your choices with the Sign Up tool on the TRACS site.
You are only required to participate in the three Forums you select. However, you
should read the other Forums as information from all forums may be used on
quizzes and the final exam.
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Introduce Yourself
Negative Stereotypes
Age Norms and Roles
Employers and Future Employees
Centenarians/Life Expectancy
Alzheimer’s and Other Major Diseases
Privatized Social Security
______________________________________________________________________________
The rubric below will be used to grade your contributions to discussion forums.
Unless otherwise indicated in an announcement, all discussion forums begin on
Sunday and end on Saturday. See the Syllabus for exact dates and times.
You are expected to post a minimum of two responses to each of your selected
forums during the week (module) each one is active. I encourage you to use class
discussions to express your thoughts and opinions and learn from the insights of
your classmates.
Forum Rules

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Be sure you are responding to the specific post within the forum which you
would like your response associated. To add to an existing thread, click a
message and then click Reply and respond to the post.
If you click the Start New Thread button at the top of a forum and then post a
message, you create a new cluster of messages, known as a “thread,” within
the forum. This is sometimes appropriate and desirable. However, not all
messages within a forum should be new threads. Respect the views of others
even if you disagree. You may express disagreement but do so without any
harsh words or potentially inflammatory remarks. It is okay to disagree with a
person’s ideas, but it is not okay to attack a person. Try to be descriptive and
invoke well-reasoned arguments.
Offensive or abusive language will not be tolerated.
Do not criticize the grammar and spelling of those making responses. In this
case, as with gifts, it is most definitely the thought that counts.
Don’t send or post messages using ALL CAPS. It is the equivalent to
SHOUTING.
Provide a subject for all your posts.
Discussion Forum Guidelines
 Think of your posting in terms of a contribution to a dialogue, not a writing
exercise. Elaborate a single idea and keep your message to 150-200 words or less.
Texts longer than that are harder to follow.
 Make your posts clear and pertinent. Offer clarifying examples for complex and
abstract ideas. Always show source(s) for the information you provide.
 Make contributions to but try not to dominate a discussion.
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
Open new threads with a careful analysis, strong thesis, and supporting evidence.
Also include open-ended questions that invite dialogue.
 In response posts, read earlier posts and respond to one that contradicts or
supports your own thoughts. Offer evidence that supports the earlier post or your
contrasting point of view and ask challenging, open-ended questions. Or add to a
post that is lacking evidence or seems to fall short on an aspect that is important
to you.
 Accept some responsibility for the success of the discussion. Return to the forum
and respond to anyone who has responded to you to get the dialogue going. If
the discussion appears to be confused or off-topic, simply say so or ask for help in
understanding the point or relevance of remarks you do not follow.
______________________________________________________________________________
RUBRIC
GRADE (Points)
DESCRIPTION
25
Answers the question in detail with facts from the text, videos, and outside
sources. Student opinion or ideas are developed and supported by facts.
20
Answers the question in some detail with facts from the text, videos, and
outside sources. Opinions or ideas are supported by facts.
15
Answers the question with facts from the text and limited student opinion or
ideas. No ideas or facts from videos or outside sources.
10
Answers the question with facts from text only. No student opinion or ideas or
facts from videos or outside sources.
5
Short incomplete answer. Shows no thought, no student opinion or ideas.
Few, if any, facts.
0
No answer
ASSESSMENTS
Quizzes/Final Exam
You will complete quizzes in TRACS-ASSESSMENT. See Course Calendar below for
completion dates for the quizzes.
All of the quizzes, except the Syllabus Quiz, are timed for one (1) hour. The syllabus
quiz is not timed and may be taken as many times as you wish between the opening
date/time and the closing date/time. See Course Calendar below for quiz dates.
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The final exam is comprehensive and scheduled for a specific date. It will be a timed
exam of two and one half hours. See Course Calendar below for exam date and
open/close time.
ASSIGNMENTS
You will find assignment instructions in the Learning Modules/TRACS-ASSIGNMENTS.
The Assignments include two papers that are assigned for this course. See Course
Calendar below for due dates.
COURSE GRADE COMPUTATION
Your course grade will be based on a point system for the assignments listed above as
follows:
ACTIVITY
Assignments
Exercises
Forums
Quizzes
POINTS
150
219
80
495
TOTAL POINTS 944
The course grade will be calculated as follows:
A = 944 - 850
B = 849 - 755
C = 754 - 661
D = 660 - 566
F = 565 and below
EXERCISES
You will find exercise instructions in the Learning Modules/TRACS-Assignments.
Exercises are short assignments that expand on the topic of the module in which they
are assigned. See Course Calendar below for due dates.
EVALUATION CRITERIA AND FEEDBACK
Points are indicated for each assignment, exercise and quiz. These grades, with
comments, will be posted in TRACS-Gradebook.
GRADEBOOK
Grades for assignments, exercises, forums, quizzes, and final class grades will be
posted in TRACS-Gradebook. Grades will not be given out over the telephone.
Students are responsible for checking their grades on TRACS on a regular basis and
notifying the instructor in a timely manner if there appears to be a discrepancy
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between what the student believes his/her grades should be and what is posted.
Grade discrepancies must be resolved prior to the last week of class.
LATE WORK POLICY
All work must be submitted no later than 2 hours after the deadline listed in Course
Calendar.
NAMING AND SUBMITTING DOCUMENTS
Save your files as LastNameFirstInitial_Name of Exercise_ModuleNbr.doc (e.g.,
SmithJ_Cohorts_Module 3.doc)
RESOURCES
The items listed below can be found in TRACS-Resources
Power Point Presentations
For each learning module there will be a power point presentation that will
supplement your reading requirements.
Study Guide
For each learning module you will complete the Study Guide after reading the
required material and viewing the Power Point Presentation as well as videos
related to the topic. The Study Guide will assist you in studying for quizzes as
well as preparing for the final exam.
Forum Instructions and Rubric
This document provides instructions for participating in the Forums and the
grading rubric that will be used to grade your contributions to the forums. See
Course Calendar below for dates.
SYLLABUS
The Syllabus is posted in TRACS-SYLLABUS.
Conduct and Civility
Every student is held accountable for abiding by the tenets of required conduct outlined in the
Texas State Student Handbook (http://www.dos.txstate.edu/handbook/rules.html). Students
should create a learning environment and refrain from interfering with the learning of fellow
students. When students voice opinions with which you do not agree, feel free to voice your
opinion in a polite and civil manner. This approach can help us enhance the free flow of ideas.
Investment in Learning
Each student is expected to demonstrate investment in learning through your attitude and
work ethic. Specifically, each class member will be expected to submit assignments in a timely
and correct manner, seek help promptly when necessary, and treat others with respect.
Academic Honesty
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Academic dishonesty refers to a variety of transgressions such as cheating on a test to
committing plagiarism when writing a paper. The Sociology Department assumes that it is the
responsibility of each student to know what constitutes academic dishonesty. Ignorance of
what academic dishonesty is does not excuse such acts. Similarly, a student may not be
excused from a current transgression because he/she committed a similar act in the past and
was not charged with a violation of university policy.
Special Accommodations
Students with special needs (as documented by the Office of Disability Services
(http://www.ods.txstate.edu/) must identify themselves to the instructor within the first week
of the semester. The Department of sociology is dedicated to accommodating students with
special needs by providing them the necessary assistance which will facilitate their
participation and performance in the classroom.
COURSE CALENDAR AND DUE DATES
The instructor reserves the right to modify this course calendar at any time during the semester
All Assignments and Quizzes open at 7 a.m. And close at 11 p.m. on dates indicated below
AUGUST
26
26
26
31
31
31
1. INTRODUCE YOURSELF - Sunday 8/26 - Saturday 8/31
OPEN: Forum: Introduce Yourself
OPEN: Quiz: Syllabus (not timed)
OPEN: Selection of three Forums
DUE: Forum: Introduce Yourself
DUE: Quiz: Syllabus (not timed)
DUE: Submit selection of three Forums (See Forums for instructions)
1
2
5
7
7
2. DEFINING THE FIELD - Sunday 9/1 - Saturday 9/7
OPEN: Forum Negative Stereotypes
LABOR DAY HOLIDAY
OPEN: Quiz: Terms & Categories (Timed: 1 hour)
DUE: Forum: Negative Stereotypes
DUE: Quiz: Terms & Categories (Timed: 1 hour)
8
8
3. HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE - Sunday 9/8 - Saturday 9/14
OPEN: Exercise: Cohorts
OPEN: Exercise: Population Pyramids
8
14
14
OPEN: Assignment: Module 10 - Paper: Living Arrangements (See Assignments
for instructions) Note: This paper will be due on November 2
DUE: Exercise: Cohorts
DUE: Exercise: Population Pyramids
SEPTEMBER
SEPTEMBER
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19
21
4. BIOLOGICAL THEORIES - Sunday 9/15-Saturday 9/21
OPEN: Quiz: Biological Theories (Timed: 1 hour)
DUE: Quiz: Biological Theories (Timed: 1 hour)
22
28
5. THE AGING BODY - Sunday 9/22 - Saturday 9/28
OPEN: Exercise: The Changing Body
DUE: Exercise: The Changing Body
3
5
6. THE PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE - Sunday 9/29 - Saturday 10/5
OPEN: Quiz: Learning & Memory (Timed: 1 hour)
DUE: Quiz: Learning & Memory (Timed: 1 hour)
10
12
7. SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES - Micro - Sunday 10/6 - Saturday 10/12
OPEN: Quiz: How Familiar Are You With Micro Theories (Timed: 1 hour)
DUE: Quiz: How Familiar Are You With Micro Theories (Timed: 1 hour)
17
19
8. SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES - MACRO - Sunday 10/13 - Saturday 10/19
OPEN: Quiz: How Familiar Are You With Macro Theories (Timed: 1 hour)
DUE: Quiz: How Familiar Are You With Macro Theories (Timed: 1 hour)
20
24
26
26
9. INDIVIDUAL ASPECTS OF AGING - Sunday 10/20 - Saturday 10/26
OPEN: Forum: Age Norms & Roles
OPEN: Quiz: Sexuality (Timed: 1 hr)
DUE: Forum: Age Norms & Roles
DUE: Quiz: Sexuality (Timed: 1 hr)
27
31
2
2
2
10. SOCIAL SUPPORT - Sunday 10/27 - Saturday 11/2
OPEN: Exercise: Living Arrangements
OPEN: Quiz: Social Support & Living Arrangements (Timed: 1 hour)
DUE: Exercise: Living Arrangements
DUE: Quiz: Social Support & Living Arrangements (Timed: 1 hour)
DUE: Assignment: Paper - Living Arrangements
3
3
3
9
9
9
11. WORK VS. RETIREMENT - Sunday 11/3 - Saturday 11/9
OPEN: Exercise: Retirement & Leisure Activities
OPEN: Exercise: Mandatory Retirement
OPEN: Forum: Employers and Future Employees
DUE: Exercise: Retirement & Leisure Activities
DUE: Exercise: Mandatory Retirement
DUE: Forum: Employers and Future Employees
SEPTEMBER
SEPTEMBER
SEPTEMBER
OCTOBER
OCTOBER
OCTOBER
OCTOBER
OCTOBER
NOVEMBER
NOVEMBER
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10
10
10
10
16
16
16
16
12. HEALTH ASPECTS OF LATER LIFE - Sunday 11/10 - Saturday 11/16
OPEN: Exercise: Age-Based Health Care Rationing
OPEN: Exercise: Caregivers
OPEN: Forum: Centenarians/Life Expectancy
OPEN: Forum: Alzheimer's & Other Major Diseases
DUE: Exercise: Age-Based Health Care Rationing
DUE: Exercise: Caregivers
DUE: Forum: Centenarians/Life Expectancy
DUE: Forum: Alzheimer's & Other Major Diseases
17
21
23
23
13. ABUSE AND DEATH OF THE ELDERLY - Sunday 11/17 - Saturday 11/23
OPEN: Assignment: Longevity Game (See TRACS-Assignments)
OPEN: Quiz: Elderly Abuse & Death (Timed: 1 hour) (See TRACS-Assessments)
DUE: Assignment: Longevity Game
DUE: Quiz: Elderly Abuse & Death (Timed: 1 hour)
NOVEMBER
NOVEMBER
NOVEMBER
24
24
2729
28
30
30
DECEMBER
1
1
1
7
7
DECEMBER
9
10
12
14. POLITICS AND PROGRAMS - Sunday 11/24 - Saturday 11/30
OPEN: Reflection Paper (See TRACS-Assignments)
OPEN: Forum: Social Security
THANKSGIVING HOLIDAYS
OPEN: Quiz: Politics and Programs (Timed: 1 hour)
DUE: Forum: Social Security
DUE: Quiz: Politics and Programs (Timed: 1 hour)
15. AGING AND SOCIETY - Sunday 12/1 - Saturday 12/7
OPEN: Exercise: Social Inequality & Abuse
OPEN: Exercise: United Nations Principles for Older People
OPEN: Student Perception Survey (See TRACS-Assessments)
DUE: Exercise: Social Inequality & Abuse
DUE: Exercise: United Nations Principles for Older People
WRAP-UP - Sunday 12/8 - Friday 12/13
DUE: Reflection Paper
DUE: Student Perception Survey (See TRACS-Assessments)
Comprehensive Final Exam (Timed: 2.5 hours) - Opens 7 a.m./Closes 11
p.m.this date only
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“Are You Interested in a Career in Aging?”
Minor in Aging and the Life Course
It requires 18 semester hours including 9 hours from the following core courses: SOCI 3329, 3383,
SOWK 4320 and PSY 3313. The remaining 9 hours should be selected from SOCI 3327, 3329, 3337,
3338, 3353, 3383, 3384, 3395; SOWK 4320; PSY 3313, 3330, 3361; and REC 1320
Specialization in Aging and the Life Course
Any major in the Department of Sociology can specialize in Aging and the Life Course by completing
any four of the following courses: SOCI 3319, 3329, 3337, 3338, 3363, 3383, and 3384.
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