Introduction to Sociology
Course Information
Organization
Course Number
Credits
Instructor
E-mail Address
Course/Faculty Website
Office
Campus
Address
City/State/Zip
Office Hours
Office Phone
Beginning Date
Number of Weeks
Mercer County Community College
SOC 101
3
Dr. Gianna Durso-Finley
finleyg@mccc.edu
mccc.edu/~finleyg/index.htm
LA169
WWC
1200 Old Trenton Road
West Windsor, NJ 08550
W 12-1; T/R 9-10 and 1:30-3:00 or by appointment
(609) 570-3301
08/31/2009
15
Description
Students will engage in sociological analysis of society and culture. Students will investigate the origin and design
of political, economic and social institutions, such as religion, the family, class and caste, education, urban and
rural life styles, values, norms, roles, and sociocultural change. Students will learn to analyze, evaluate and
critique social structures.
Textbooks
Jon Witt, “SOC (2009), 1st ed.” McGraw-Hill, 2009. ISBN 13: 978-0-07-352824-3
Source: College Bookstore or any vendor.
General Education Outcomes
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.
H.
I.
A. Written and Oral Communication in English: Students will communicate effectively in speech and writing,
and demonstrate proficiency in reading. (See General Education Goal 1.)
B. Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving: Students will use critical thinking and problem solving skills in
analyzing information.
C. Ethical Decision-Making: Students will recognize, analyze and assess ethical issues and situations.
D. Information Literacy: Students will recognize when information is needed and have the knowledge and
skills to locate, evaluate, and effectively use information for college level work.
F. Collaboration and Cooperation: Students will develop the interpersonal skills required for effective
performance in group situations.
G. Intra-Cultural and Inter-Cultural Responsibility: Students will demonstrate an awareness of the
responsibilities of intelligent citizenship in a diverse and pluralistic society, and will demonstrate cultural,
global, and environmental awareness.
Goal 1. Written and Oral Communication in English: Students will communicate effectively in speech and
writing, and demonstrate proficiency in reading.
Goal 5. Social Science: Students will critically evaluate behavioral or societal issues using theories and
concepts from a social science.
Goal 10. Diversity and Global Perspective: Students will analyze the importance of a global perspective and
culturally diverse peoples.
Competencies
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Understand the history and scientific methodology of the academic discipline of sociology
Identify, describe and evaluate the nature and role of social institutions in society
Define, identify and critique the importance of norms and values in any society, particularly
contemporary U.S. society
Analyze a familiar topic sociologically and apply the analysis effectively
Apply the sociological perspective to the student's own life experience in order to evaluate the
relationship between self and society.
Grading Information
Grading Rationale
The learning goals of this course are designed to prepare you for future coursework in Sociology both at Mercer
and at any other institution you may attend. Graded activities are opportunities for you and your professor to
measure what you know and help you to further your own learning.
It is not my policy to give pop quizzes or create questions on exams that will surprise or trick you. If you have
been keeping up with the reading and actively participating in all class activities, your grade should be an
accurate reflection of your level of knowledge of the course's key learning outcomes and your ability in key
general education and social science skills as part of Mercer's General Education Policy.
Grading Scale
20%
20%
15%
15%
30%
Exam 1
Exam 2
Exam 3 (Cumulative)
Class Activities and Assignments
Term Project
Guidelines for Success
Caveat: The class schedule, policies and assignments are subject to change and can be superseded by
oral or written changes by the professor.
Readings: All reading must be completed BEFORE the date of the class for which they are assigned. In
other words, read Chapter One ASAP - BEFORE class meets again!
Students are expected to comply with Mercer's Academic Integrity Policy, as published in the Student
Handbook. If you need a copy, please ask the professor.
Late Assignments will incur a penalty of 1 letter grade for each class meeting they are late.
All students are expected to adhere to Mercer County Community College’s Academic Integrity Policy.
Attendance is a crucial part of your learning experience in this class. Each absence beyond the first two
will result in a reduction in your final course grade. This is in accordance with Mercer's attendance policy
and the attendance policy of the Social Science Department.
Schedule – Dates may be changed as we move through the semester
Session
Target Competencies
Notes
Week 1
8/31
Explain what the sociological perspective is, and why Mills refers
to it as the "intersection of biography (the individual) and history
(the social factors that influence the individual)."
Discuss the social changes that fostered the growth of the
discipline of sociology
Describe and evaluate the purpose and utility of each of the six
major research methods sociologists employ
Identify the major contributions of Marx, Weber, Durkheim, etc…
Understand and apply the three major analytical perspectives in
sociology: conflict theory, functionalism, and symbolic
interactionism.
Understand and apply the three major analytical perspectives in
sociology: conflict theory, functionalism, and symbolic
interactionism.
Understand and apply the three major analytical perspectives in
sociology: conflict theory, functionalism, and symbolic
interactionism.
Apply Sociological Methods to a research question
Read Chapter 1 - Activity:
Sociological hypothesis testing
versus common sense
Chapter 1 - Activity
Define culture and the related concepts of ethnocentrism and
cultural relativism
Explain the importance of language as the basis of culture and
shared meaning Discuss and provide examples of important
values, norms, mores, folkways, taboos and sanctions in U.S.
culture
Apply the three sociological perspectives to the concept of
culture
Chapter 3 - Activity: Class
conversation / Martian instructions
game(?)
Week 1
9/2
Week 2
9/9 (no
class 9/7)
Week 2
9/14
Week 3
9/16
Week 3
9/21
Week 4
9/23
Week 4
9/28
Week 5
9/30
Week 5
10/5
Week 6
10/7
Week 6
10/12
Chapter 1 - Activity: Small group
analyses
Chapter 1 - Activity: Small group
analyses
Chapter 1 - Activity: Small group
analyses
Chapter 2 - Activity: Pair analyses
Chapter 3 - Activity: Film (?)
Pair work on U.S. values and
value conflicts - In-class writing
Chapter 4 - Activity: Self-analysis /
Role play
Understand the concepts of nature and nurture and how they
relate to socialization
Explain and provide examples of how social interaction creates
cognitive and social development, and the consequences for
those raised without sufficient social interaction
Apply the concept of the looking glass self and the I/Me
Chapter 4 – Activity: Self- analysis
distinction to the student's own experiences
Identify 6 major agents of socialization and provide examples of
how each imparts cultural messages
Activity: Exam 1
Demonstrate understanding of the concepts of status, role,
group, institution and social class and micro versus macro level
analysis
Unpack and apply the ways in which a person's social location
underlies his/her perceptions and beliefs
Apply concepts to own experience
Chapter 5 - Activity: Jigsaw / Selfanalysis
Week 7
10/14
Week 7
10/19
Week 8
10/21
Week 8
10/26
Week 9
10/28
Week 9
11/2
Week 10
11/4
Week 10
11/9
Week 11
11/11
Week 11
11/16
Week 12
11/18
Compare and contrast the terms aggregate, category and group
Identify the four technological revolutions that have transformed
society and give examples of key transformations in social
structure, labor and social inequality.
Give an expanded example of the concepts of dramaturgy and
the Thomas Theorem
Understand and give examples of key issues in group dynamics,
conformity, obedience and group-think.
Differentiate between physical, psychological and sociological
explanations of why people violate norms
Give examples of mild, moderate and severe social sanctions to
control deviance and evaluate their effectiveness
Understand and apply ineractionist theories of deviance association, control, and labeling
Understand and apply functional theories of deviance, including
the positive functions of deviance and strain theory
Understand and apply the conflict theory of deviance
Identify common and universal cultural themes that run through
marriage and the family
Understand the three sociological perspectives on the family symbolic (multi-faceted relationships), functional (roles with
families and of the family in society), and conflict (inequality
within and between families).
Apply the analyses to the student's experience
Identify and provide examples of general trends in U.S families
and marriages - one-parent families, blended families, same-sex
families, cohabitation, delayed marriage, etc.
Understand the three sociological perspectives on Education symbolic (expectations), functional (purpose of education in
society), and conflict (inequality within and between schools).
Examine and critique the major forms of government
Examine and critique the major economic structures
Define social stratification and explain why it is relevant to the
understanding of society, including social inequality and gender
stratification
Define and give characteristics of the 6 major social classes
provided in Gilbert and Kahl
Explain and critique functional theories of stratification (Davis
and Moore)
Explain and evaluate Marx's focus on economic stratification
versus Weber's discussion of power, property and prestige
Apply interactionist implications of stratification
Compare and contrast US Class Structure with structures and
institutions of Global Inequality
Chapter 5 - Activity: Mini-skits
Chapter 6 - Activity: Class
Conversation
Chapter 6 - Activity: Jigsaw
Chapter 7 - Activity: Pair Writing
Chapter 8 - Activity: Class
Conversation
Chapter 9 - Activity: Class
Conversation
Chapter 9 - Activity: In-class
writing
Activity: Exam 2
Chapter 10 - Activity: Jigsaw
Chapter 10 - Activity: Debate
Chapter 11 – Activity: Create
Chart
Week 12
Provide examples of gender inequality in education, work,
Chapter 12 - Activity: Debate
11/23 (no
politics, violence and the family, including general devaluation of
class 11/25) the feminine
Apply functional, conflict and interactionist theories to gender
stratification
Week 13
11/30
Week 13
12/2
Week 14
12/7
Week 14
12/9
Week 15
12/14
Week 15
12/16
Explain why race is both a myth and a reality - give examples
Describe the characteristics of dominant versus minority groups
(ethnic identification), and give example of the six types of
relations that emerge between the groups
Provide examples of individual and systemic discrimination
Understand and provide examples of the ways in which
prejudice is learned and internalized by both dominant and
minority groups
Explain and give examples of functionalist, conflict and
interaction theories on discrimination
Solve the world’s problems
Okay – not really solve them, but analyze, critique and discuss
approaches to solving global issues
Chapter 13 - Activity: Class
conversation
Chapter 13 – Activity: Film critique
Chapter 14 - Activity: Class
conversation
Chapter 15 - Activity: In-class
writing / Analysis
Final Exam
Last Revisions
Reasonable Accommodations for Students with Documented Disabilities
Mercer County Community College is committed to supporting all students in their academic and cocurricular endeavors. Each semester, a significant number of students document disabilities, which may
require learning, sight, hearing, manual, speech, or mobility accommodations to ensure access to
academic and co-curricular activities. The college provides services and reasonable accommodations
to all students who need and have a legal entitlement to such accommodations.
For more information regarding accommodations, you may visit the Office of Academic Support
Services in LB218 or contact them at 609.570.3422 or urbanb@mccc.edu.