Sociology 111: Introduction to Sociology
Instructor: Michael Abel
Office: Ricks 132F
Phone: 496-4156
E-mail: abelm@byui.edu
Office Hours: MWF 9:00-10:00 am, or by appointment
Course Website: See I-Learn
Text: Society: The Basics by John J. Macionis, Prentice-Hall, 9th Edition
________________________________________________________________________
INTRODUCTION
An introduction to sociology is an introduction to yourself. What do we really know
about factors affecting our lives? Is your life similar to or radically different from the lives of
other members of your local, national and international community? How does your lifestyle,
income, religious behavior, family life, educational attainment and work life compare to the
general tendencies observed in our society? How do societal forces impact your life and the lives
of others?
Everyone lives in a society that influences them in ways that they do not always realize.
Everything from language and the economy to our families and religion can impact our sense of
individuality, our beliefs and behaviors, and even our opportunities for success. These shaping
forces result in general patterns of behavior that can be observed and analyzed. Sociologists are
very interested in identifying and understanding these types of patterns in society. Indeed, the
primary goal of sociology is to comprehend human society by studying it in a systematic,
scientific way.
In this class we will learn about the different theoretical perspectives sociologists bring
into the study of social action. Throughout the semester, we will refer to these basic theories and
discuss how they can be applied to the substantive areas of interest to sociologists including
family, religion, deviance, education, race, ethnicity, culture and others. We will seek to
understand and apply information and tools that can help us to more effectively evaluate our own
behaviors, beliefs and attitudes as well as the behavior, beliefs and attitudes of others. By so
doing, we can all come to a greater appreciation of how our position in regard to social
institutions and processes impacts our lives.
Of course, the success of this class depends on our collective efforts. As we learn
together please keep in mind the following course objectives and how effectively we are
achieving them.
1. Enhance our understanding of how societal forces influence individual lives
2. Learn about and apply the major theories used in sociology
3. Develop our understanding of the substantive areas in sociology
4. Further develop our social science writing skills
5. Apply what we learn as we analyze our own lives and social environments
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COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Prepare
Quizzes: You are expected to read and study each assigned text by the date listed on the Course Outline.
You should plan on helping to shape the discussions we have in class by being prepared to relate
your thoughts, insights, and questions. In order to give you some incentive to prepare there will
be 12 quizzes given throughout the semester. There will be NO make-up quizzes for any
reason, but since I know you may have no other choice than to miss class at times, I drop your
two lowest scores. Each quiz is designed to evaluate your preparation for the class since the
preceding quiz. Each quiz will be worth 20 points. 14 points will be available for correctly
answering multiple choice or short answer questions about the readings. The final 6 points will
be awarded based on your own evaluation of your preparation since the previous quiz as follows:
Please indicate what you have done to prepare for class since the last quiz. BE HONEST!
____ I read and studied ALL of the assigned reading
____ I learned ALL the bold and italicized terms and the lists noted in the text
____ I took useful notes on class discussions and the text and thoroughly studied them
Teach One Another
Participation: You will be expected to participate in activities and discussions designed to deepen
your understanding of course content. Your involvement in these activities will determine your
participation grade. Since participation is of vital importance to the success of this class, each
participation activity is worth 5 points.
Ponder and Prove
Sociology Applied: Instead of exams, you will have opportunities throughout the semester to
demonstrate your understanding of course content by applying what we are learning in fun and
interesting ways. You will write a brief 1-page, single-spaced report about your experiences
completing these assignments. You are required to complete 4 out of 6 Sociology Applied
assignments. Everyone must complete the first one on Theory, but other than that you may
choose any other three. Each one will be worth 25 points. You can find specific requirements for
these assignments on the Sociology Applied Guidelines sheet which is posted on I-learn. Make
sure you follow directions and plan ahead to make sure you complete them on time. These
assignments are due at the beginning of class on the day indicated on the Course Outline.
Journal: You will all be expected to keep a daily journal wherein you write about yourself and
your life. Keeping a journal will help you to think about how your social environment shapes
you and your life, the lives of those around you, and the world in general. I hope that you will
take this assignment seriously and use it as motivation to keep a personal journal. I will not read
your journal, and thus, you can fulfill this assignment as you do your normal journal writing.
Your journal will be worth 50 points. You will lose 1 point each day you do not write, so don’t
miss!
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Journal Paper: Each of you will be expected to write a paper indicating some of the things you
have learned about yourself and your social environment by studying your journal. As you
prepare to write this paper reread what you have written in your journal over the semester and
ponder it. This paper should be two pages, single-spaced and will be due on Friday, July 16th.
Please refer to the Journal Paper Guidelines for more details about how to complete this
assignment. It is worth 50 points.
GENERAL POLICIES
Decorum and Etiquette—Sociology addresses many complex issues about which people have
widely varying insights. In my experience, people are rarely trying to offend others, even if they
do sometimes. Because it is so important to hear all sides of an issue, we should always respect
what others have to say and also be willing to share our own thoughts. Never assume that others
in the class believe the same way you do. I expect each member of the class to try to understand
the perspectives of others. Do not hesitate to simply think before you speak. Unless I say
otherwise, NO LAPTOPS OR CELLPHONES should be on or in use during class time. While
your ring tone will basically tell me everything I need to know about you, I would rather not hear
it in the middle of class.
Late Work and Make-ups—As a general rule, I believe it is unfair to students for me to accept
late work. You all have a syllabus and know the due dates and format of the class. You must
arrange your own schedules in a way that allows you to be in class every day and complete
assignments on time. If you cannot do this, you should not be in this class. Late assignments will
be penalized 20% per day with no exceptions. There will be no make-up quizzes given.
However, I will drop your two lowest quiz scores since I know that unexpected things can come
up.
Students with disabilities—I will gladly provide accommodations for students with disabilities as
recommended by Disability Service Center. If you have any disability that may impair your
ability to complete this course successfully, please contact the Disability Service Center (McKay
158, 496-1158). All services are coordinated with the student and the instructor by this office.
They will provide you with important information about accommodations that may be available
to you for this class.
Cheating and Plagiarism—While all students, especially those at BYU-Idaho, know it is wrong
to cheat, it still happens. It can sometimes be difficult for students to deal with the stress and
strain of college life without participating immoral practices. Please let me or someone else
know if you are feeling this kind of pressure so we can try to help. Each of you must read the
Honor Code policies related to academic honesty, including how the university defines and
punishes this kind of academic misconduct:
http://www.byui.edu/studenthonor/academic%20honest.htm. If none of this keeps you honest,
then remember what one of my teachers used to say—“Cheaters die!”
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GRADING
Your grade in this course will be calculated by adding up all of your points, subtracting the two
lowest quiz scores, and converting them into a percentage. The percentage will be rounded to the
nearest whole number and can be interpreted as follows:
(%)
93-100
90-92
87-89
83-86
80-82
77-79
73-76
70-72
67-69
63-66
60-62
below 60
Grade
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
CD+
D
DF
Meaning
Outstanding Understanding
Considerable/Significant Understanding
Sufficient Understanding
Poor Performance and Initiative
Failure in the Course
COURSE OUTLINE AND READING ASSIGNMENTS
Day
Wed
Date Required Reading
04/21 Syllabus
BYU-Idaho Academic Honesty Policy link
Fri
04/23 Religion and Science (*Johnson 2006; *Cannon 2002)
Mon
04/26 The Sociological Perspective (Pages 1-13)
Wed
Journal Writing Begins to Count
04/28 Macro-level Theory: Structural-Functional and Conflict (Pages 13-17)
Fri
04/30 No Reading
Mon
05/03 Micro-level Theory: Symbolic-Interaction and Exchange (*Stark 2004)
Wed
05/05 No Reading
Fri
05/07 Research Methods (Pages 25-34)
Mon
05/10 Defining Culture (Pages 40-50)
4
Wed
05/12 Diversity, Ethnocentrism, and Cultural Relativism (Pages 52-62)
Fri
1. Theory Sociology Applied Due (**Required**)
05/14 Theories of Socialization (Pages 70-77)
Mon
05/17 In-Class Video—Wild Child: The Story of Feral Children
Wed
05/19 Agents of Socialization (Pages 77-87)
Fri
05/21 Status, Roles and Reality (Pages 96-102)
Mon
05/24 Dramaturgical Analysis (Pages 102-114)
Wed
05/26 Groups and Conformity (Pages 120-127)
Fri
05/28 In-Class Video—Obedience
Mon
05/31 NO SCHOOL—MEMORIAL DAY
Wed
06/02 Formal Organizations (Pages 127-133, 137-140)
Fri
2. Culture and Socialization Sociology Applied Due
06/04 Stratification and Social Class (Pages 206-213; 220-228)
Mon
06/07 Experiencing Stratified Society
Wed
06/09 Experiencing Stratified Society
Fri
3. Status, Roles, Groups and Organizations Sociology Applied Due
06/11 In-Class Video—Secrets of the SAT
Mon
06/14 Explaining Inequality and Social Mobility (Pages 213-220, 228-232)
Wed
06/16 No Reading
Fri
06/18 Gender Differences (Pages 272-288)
Mon
4. Class Stratification Sociology Applied Due
06/21 Gender Theories (Pages 288-294)
Wed
06/23 Defining and Describing Race and Ethnicity (Pages 300-304; 314-328)
Fri
06/25 Prejudice, Discrimination and Racism (Pages 304-314)
Mon
06/28 Theories of Deviance (Pages 174-183)
5
Wed
06/30 Crime (Pages 183-193)
Fri
5. Gender, Race and Ethnicity Sociology Applied Due
07/02 Poverty in the United States (Pages 232-238)
Mon
07/05 NO SCHOOL—INDEPENDENCE DAY OBSERVED
Wed
07/07 Global Poverty (Pages 249-263)
Fri
07/09 Economic Systems (Pages 334-342)
Mon
6. Deviance Sociology Applied Due
07/12 Politics and Power (Pages 350-360)
Wed
07/14 War, Revolutions and Terrorism (Pages 360-366)
Fri
07/16 Defining and Explaining Family (Pages 372-377; 387-390)
Mon
Journal Paper Due—Report how many days you missed writing.
07/19 Family Relationships (Pages 377-387)
Wed
07/21 *Family Proclamation, *Same-Gender Attraction
Explaining Religion (Pages 391-404)
*Can be found on I-Learn
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